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Why is there going to be a snap election? In 1966 Edward Heath called a snap election, with a result which went down in history - gaining 96 seats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1966. Theresa May is intending to pull off much the same, but in particular trying to secure a majority in order to make passing Brexit related bills, a tidied up Westminster mostly ousted of traitors and rebels. How long will the election process take? The minimum possible time that an election can be called in advanced is six weeks, due to purdah laws. Currently it's 7 weeks and 2 days until polls open - so it very much is being called a snap general election for a reason! This immediacy plays quite a role in the campaigning style of UK general elections. Where in the US or other nations election campaigning is very regular, formulaic, and regularly funded. This campaign is going to be very rough-shot, on-feet and sporadic. Party candidates Theresa May Has a relatively long history in senior public office. Served numerous minor roles in the shadow cabinet since William Hague (1998) before securing shadow Home Secretary in 2005, becoming outright Home Secretary in 2010, overseeing policing and intelligence service. 'The west's most extreme authoritarian' as I recall Glenn Greenwald put her, being the architect of draconian 'blanket' drug laws and even more draconian mass surveillance laws. All this gives her an iron-fisted, heavy weight appearance despite being totally ideologically devoid. Decade of training in public speaking and being patient, loyal and slimy to the party. All pays off, I guess. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell They are cute! I love these guys, two peas in a pod. I ship them. I can't help but mention Corbyn simultaneously to McDonnell, McDonnell being the loyal right hand man to Corbyn who has pretty formal plans for the economy as an (im)potential Chancellor of the Exchequer. This includes ending quantitative easing for central banks (yay!) and instead have money printed by an infrastructure investing national bank (oh). You can read more of this here: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/19/corbynomics-why-we-should-take-it-seriously. I wish these two well, and I hope they will end up resigning (or maybe succeeding) together. Tim Farron Reversing brexit, quite ambitiously. Don't really know more that. Paul Nuttall We're the ones who can really deliver brexit will no doubt be the campaign line, though I don't see anything more compelling than that. He's not an incompetent leader it takes guts to lead UKIP, and he came off as pretty strong when making My predictions George Galloway will be returning to parliament! An perennial independent candidate, having left Labour in 2005, detesting the party line's pro-Iraq war stance. Gorton-by-Election has already been cancelled in lieu of the general election, a by-election he has been standing in and has been campaigning quite successfully. I suspect he can pull this off again, anything is possible. A firmly pro-brexit lefty, I'm sure Theresa May won't mind seeing him on the opposition bench. Conservatives will gain 100 or so seats. An inverse of the 1966 general election where Labour Harold Wilson recovered a majority of 96 from 4. Labour will lose 100 or so seats. Jeremy Corbyn is polling quite poorly. Party in-fighting, entailing figures such as Tom Watson and Hilary Benn who do not deem Corbyn's even mere clerical management of the party to be any good. Claims of 'anti-semitism', etc. SNP will strengthen themselves in Scotland. SNP hasn't even reached peak popularity yet, Sturgeon's popularity keeps growing. Though I suppose Orkney and Shetlands will hold their seat, given Lib Dems recovering popularity. Liberal Democrats will moderately recover a doze seats. Their anti-brexit stance has piqued interest of good portion of the electorate. UKIP will gain zero seats, and will probably hurt them quite a bit. Over all lower votes across most constituencies. UKIP was never suited for Westminister, so it's time they just give up now. Watching UKIPs performance in the House of Commons chamber, for example Mark Reckless and Douglas Carswell, is like watching a goldfish in a shark tank. Sure they perform well in the European 'parliament', but the House of Commons is something different. UKIPs short forays into Westminister are quite embarrassing and I will be happy to see this come to an end. Douglas Carswell's westminister career will be finished. Officially, not to say it practically isn't currently. Douglas Carswell is a radical libertarian, the nerdy 'down with central banks!' kind. As a Conservative MP from 2005 to 2014 he wrote good deal of literature on state planning for a Conservative-led post-brexit Britain, of which is now materialising. Indeed the bill which repeals the European Communities Act of 1972, 'The Great Repeal Bill', is a plan and title which was more or less was proposed by him along with Daniel Hannan in 2008. In 2014 he defected to UKIP, maintaining his seat through to the 2015 general election. UKIPs relationship with Carswell became fraught as character assassinations piled up, his libertarianism poorly coupling with the party's hard-borders stance, as well as accusations of undermining the brexit campaign. He became an independent, leaving UKIP a couple of weeks ago. Disowned by every party.

When you’re in the watchtower of a ship and you see the ship is about to collide into an iceberg, warning the pilot about the incoming collision becomes top priority. If the building you’re in is on fire, the fire and the means of extinguishing the flame or escaping the building tends to take priority over other topics. In situations of great emergency, people’s priorities shift so that responding appropriately to that emergency becomes top priority. In situations of great emergency it is essential that those who are committed to fighting the great moral ills of the world also prioritize their focus rationally. If you are a doctor in a plague, you don’t want to step over the guy suffering from a flesh wound to attend to the person who only has a hang nail. Right now we are in a situation of great emergency not much different from the emergency the British faced in June. There is a fork in the road ahead to which we draw nearer and nearer to everyday. The paths up ahead lead to two separate destinations that couldn’t be further apart from one another. The path on the left leads to a world of doom. The path on the right leads to a world of possibility. The world of doom is the world we shall live in should Hillary Clinton — one of the most physically ill, mentally unstable, corrupt and wicked politicians of all time — be elected president. Hillary has made it clear that she will do to the United States what Angela Merkel has done to Germany. This means that Hillary Clinton will gradually transform the United States into a third world country by indiscriminately importing third worlders along with their anti-western cultures. In this world, the real threat of a nuclear war with Russia looms larger than it ever has. In this world, the West will fall. The world of possibility is the world we will live in should Donald Trump — a candidate that is unprecedented in the history of politics —become the next president of the United States. In this world, there is the possibility of preserving the West. In this world, we will be in a situation not much different from the situation of hope the British found themselves in after the EU referendum. Yet, there are those who have for months insisted that these two paths are equivalent, that there is no emergency, that it doesn’t matter which road we take, and that the people have chosen to focus on the emergencies which threatens the West have “lost their way.” In order to satisfy their moral high ground, these nihilists who like to negate stuff and call it thinking like to imagine that they stand on top of the hierarchy of important topics, while the ones who are working the hardest to move the needle towards a free society, like Stefan Molyneux, have foolishly descended to the bottom of the hierarchy by focusing on the fork in the road that is this upcoming election. If we discuss the facts which show the dangers of importing millions of Islamic migrants into the First World, they are quick to remind us of the “big picture”, which is that the immigration is a symptom of the welfare state. If we talk about the facts which show how the media slanders Donald Trump, we are reminded of the “big picture”, which is that nobody should be president and that the state is an agency of violence. If we express a desire to vote with the hope of better conditions in a state of nature under coercion, they tell us we are the ones with the gun who wish to impose our will on millions of people. If we talk about the importance of preserving the West, we are then reminded how much more important it is to talk about peaceful parenting. They tell us that we are merely distracting ourselves with politics and swapping consistency for pragmatism, while they are the ones truly adhering to principles. They are fools. And the degree to which these people are overeager to boast about their “consistency” is the degree to which they have been consumed by arrogance. The people who bemoan Stef and other’s decision to focus on that which threatens the West as of late and then beam out these distress signals calling for a “return to form” simply aren’t listening. I am voting for Donald Trump to preserve the West. Preserving the West means preserving the progress Europeans have made in improving the relationship between parents and children for the past 150 years since Rousseau, which is absolutely necessary to bring a peaceful society. Mass immigration under Hillary Clinton will displace the most child friendly culture the world has ever produced with the child hostile cultures of the 3rd world. Displacing a high IQ population that adheres to Western values with a low IQ population that adheres to a culture which is antithetical to everything the West holds dear — and then expecting that ideas of personal and political liberty will take root and bloom just as well as they would within the high IQ population — is like replacing your flower garden’s rich soil with cement and then expecting that you’ll be able to grow daffodils and lilies just as well. You need a certain cultural soil for these ideas to have a chance at taking root. Thus, it’s perfectly consistent with the goal of getting to a free society through peaceful parenting to fight back against those who wish to destroy the West. It is not those of us who accept this reality who have abandoned our principles, but rather it is the grandiose anarchists and libertarians that constantly undermine and negate our efforts who have abandoned humility, who have abandoned curiosity, who have abandoned empiricism, who have abandoned empathy, and who have abandoned the West. As a consequence of choosing to selfishly indulge in their own cynicism at a time when the West needed defending the most, they will have have abandoned the cause of bringing the world towards a more free society founded upon the sturdy foundation that is peaceful parenting. They are in no position to lecture. Find more of my writing on Medium

Next video up on Youtube. Stef finally gave me the proper kick in the ass last week to begin reaching out to my network. I made a fundamental realization that, because people do not change their minds on reason, they change their minds depending on what people with alpha status say--and alpha status is easy to acquire. Just act confidently and be ready to contend with whoever comes your way. You don't have to win every time, but the simple knowledge of knowing you bite back with confidence will keep haters at a distance and will bring others closer to you. I realized that the simple fact of me openly and unapologetically coming out saying that I support Donald Trump, as well as being ready to engage anyone that challenges me on it (emotionally and rationally), will cause others to follow in my wake, particularly of the "I'm not so sure" variety. If this seed can be sown if those down the line, they in turn can do the same thing and find unsure people in their networks looking for someone strong to stand with. My challenge for everyone, assuming they haven't done so already, is find a method of coming out strong in open support of Trump, back up your decision with reason and confidence, and be ready to entangle with the haters that emerge. Here's the video: And the text: Closet Trump Supporter? You'll Be Needing These Hi everyone, this is Dylan Moore here. This is a message for everyone out there who is just isn't quite sure about Trump, yet. You just don't know. You're on the fence. You like him, but you're worried about that one thing you just can't describe. Or you're already convinced. You know that Trump is the way to go, but you don't want to voice it to your friends, your family, your neighbors, and your Facebook entourage. “Friends”, I think they're referred to, there. That's okay. I'm here to describe that one thing for you. That inner tension you feel is probably coming from the fact that you're finding out more and more that everything that the media has been telling you about Donald Trump is an absolute lie. When you actually went back to look up the things he said, the things he wrote on Facebook, and the things he tweeted, you found out that he wasn't very racist at all. Or misogynist. Or xenophobic. Heck, he actually is a pretty damn good businessman and he doesn't actually want to blow anyone up. Even all the sexual assault charges turned out to be completely made up. There is not one shred of evidence supporting anything any of these women have said who have come out with claims against him. And deep down, you know, that his arguments about illegal immigration, border controls, and welfare really, really make sense. So despite the fact that you know all this stuff that the mainstream media is squawking about is a bunch of made up nonsense, and that as a rational, moral man who wants to see the dignity brought up from humankind, you're really getting that feeling in your gut telling you that this is the man to support for the presidency. But there's that tension inside. What's holding you back? You see, right now it's really cool to hate Donald Trump. Nothing will get you a round of applause and a pat on the back for calling him a racist or an idiot. It's just the hip thing to do. However, the uncool thing to do is to like him, isn't it? While you know you're not a racist or a misogynist or a xenophobe or a warmonger, it just doesn't feel that great to have everyone call you that for suggesting you like Trump, does it? Actually, now that you think about it, what you're really worried about in announcing that you support Trump is that cute girl you've trying to get to know better. If she finds out you like Trump, you're totally not getting laid. And your friends? You would be a laughing stock! Oh man, they'll be making fun of you for the rest of eternity for even thinking about liking such a buffoon. Your family will just be shocked. Well, I mean, there's that crotchety uncle and that redneck cousin that you have who will give you high-fives and buy you a six pack of beer if you show you're support. But they're the crazies that everyone else is giving the smug shoulder to. Just imagine your next family dinner when all your level-headed kin realize you're in with the wrong crowd. But all your friends and your family aren't really what's grinding at you. Even if you can't get in that cute girl's pants—it would be a swift kick to your ego's ass, but you would get over it. There's that one person in your life who is going to judge you hard. You know who I'm talking about. That one who is looking down over the fence into the inner machinations of your mind right now as you're thinking about this. They're going to be shocked and disappointed, to say the least. They've have all the reasons why you've gone off the deep end, and they have perfected the skill of interrupting your well-thought out arguments and reasons to let you know. That person is one thing you can't describe, and he's backed up by your friends, family, your dating pool, half of your Facebook “friends”, and your co-workers. But it's okay, your one vote won't change anything. You'll just keep quiet and nod silently in appreciation for those voting, or unobtrusively make your way to the ballot box yourself. Man, I'm letting you know, you're wrong. And it's time for you to get some balls. It's time for you, after having realized what is right and what the proper course of action is, to take that course of action, and screw everyone in your life that you might offend. You know that Donald Trump is standing in the way of Hillary Clinton, who represents the death-nail of the United States, which will take Western Civilization down the drain with it. Let me give you some insight on how people work, and why you need to stop thinking about your single vote. There is at least one person in your life who is thinking the same as you are. In fact, a good chunk of your friends on your social media networks are thinking exactly what you are. They too are afraid of their friends, their families, and their sex lives. They've got cute girls they're working on, too. They're afraid that they're going to be the first nail that gets smacked with a hammer for putting it's head up. They're afraid they won't get any support. And they're watching you. They're watching to see if you're going to be the one they can feel safe next to. In this ribald intoxication of hypocrisy the mainstream media has proliferated, many of us have come to worry that no one else is thinking like us. It's not true. You see, human beings are not primarily driven by reason. They're primarily driven by tribal influences. Out of these tribal influences, the one thing that everyone looks out for, the one thing that everyone likes is confidence. You don't convince people with reason. Oh sure, sometimes people can be smart and they'll like the words you're saying. But what people judge about you by is your attitude and your actions. If you can find your spine, stand up tall, and not be deterred when you move forward, then you will generate a momentum that will fill people in your wake. Thinking about your individual vote isn't enough. It's time to think about how your attitude and choices will affect the votes of others. There are literally millions of people in this country right now unsure of Trump. Liberals, conservatives, democrats, republicans, anarchists, libertarians, democratic socialists—they're all seeing the unfiltered evil of Hillary Clinton and they're turning to see Donald Trump making more and more sense. They're realizing that they may not have a country to vote in if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency. They're looking for that one person in their social circle to stand up with. It's time for that person to be you. There is still time before this election is over to make a difference larger than your own decision. You need to stand up and let people know that you are no longer phased by stupid bullshit. Let them know you openly and unapologetically support Trump. Make sure you let them know why. Reason is very convincing when it arrives on a platter of confidence. How you do it is up to you. Write a note or a post on Facebook, write in a blog, make a Youtube video, send a text message announcement; WHATEVER. Be prepared to get flack. Haters gonna hate and you're going to get all sorts of emotional attacks disguised as rational arguments. Be strong, don't back down. Know your facts and be work to deliver them. And don't be afraid to strike out when someone refuses to engage you rationally and can do nothing but call you names and twist what you say. Everyone is watching you. If you fold under the pressure, then your cause must not have been worth it. If you shake everyone off and move forward with confidence— you must be possessed with strong ideas. Be prepared to lose friends, lose dates, and anger family. In the end you will have better friends and better dates (trust me, confidence will multiply your hotness level). And most importantly: challenge others to do the same thing! Every person watching you has other people watching them. I don't think I need to explain the concept of exponential growth. I've included a link in the show notes below to my original Facebook Note of doing the same thing. Feel free to use it as inspiration, copy parts of it, or even the whole thing. Send it to me after you do it, and especially send me the interplays you have with others who respond to it. The country and the entire history of freedom emboldened in the traditions of Western Civilization hangs on the thread of this election, and there is still time to do your part to help save it. Remember, posture is everything. Find your balls and act with precision and confidence.

Here is an excerpt from my latest post analyzing what the market's reaction to Trump's victory tells us about investor expectations: So in summary, it looks like investor expectations of inflation remain low, while their expectations of corporate profits have jumped significantly, prompting them to sell gold and long bonds, while adding to their stock positions. You can read more on the components contributing to aggregate corporate profits in this post about the Kalecki equation, which basically reveals that mathematically corporate profits can only be derived via the following spending/saving decisions made by different entities: Corporate Profit = Investment + Dividends – Household Saving - Government Surplus + Export Surplus There are several reasons why investors expect boosts to corporate profits, just to name a few: Donald Trump has promised a significant corporate tax cut, which, all else being equal, will boost corporate profits noticeably. (In the equation above it would manifest itself in the form of a smaller budget surplus or a larger deficit). Furthermore, the elimination of arbitrary and scientifically unwarranted CO2 emission restrictions will likely boost domestic investment in oil, coal, and natural gas, which again, all else being equal, constitutes a net positive for corporate profits. (In the equation above this would affect the "Investment" component.) It remains to be seen where household saving is headed, and also what happens to the trade balance, and other government spending programs which, if unmatched by tax hikes, could provide a further boost to corporate profits.

This post has been created to continue the discourse from this thread in order for the title to more accurately reflect the content that developed.

So many of us are thinking about the election and something I always had a fishy feeling about, the Electoral College, this time around struck a bell in me that led to some surprises in how it actually works. CGP Grey gives a video about how it works and follows up with the recent video. CGP Grey talks about an anti-republic measure that while yet unused in the US could in fact alter election's outcomes in December. Given the outrage riots in the left, succession threats in the west coast, the (laughable) declarations of "revolutionaries" among celebrities, and most importantly the ongoing resistance to anti-globalism that still encumbers votes such as the Brexit the ability for the electors of the electoral college to disregard the primary election and vote as they choose in December is something I do not underestimate. tell me what you think, certainly there is a need to review the election system for an abundance of reasons

Congratulations everyone, It's been emotionally exhausting for most of us and I'm soooooooo glad; I have had a giant grin on my face all day. I wanted to gauge everyone's thoughts (especially Stefan's) regarding a possible big reunion of FDR listeners in D.C. on Trump's inauguration day and maybe have a meal/event together afterwards? What do you guys think?

The quest for an unriggable secret ballot. Suppose we used electronic voting machines that gave a printed receipt with the selected candidate along with a twenty digit random number that would also be included on the ballot. After the election, the list of vote numbers would be published so that voters could check that their vote was credited properly. If the names of all the voters was also published then it would be very difficult to pad the record with imaginary ballots. That's my idea for accurate elections. Can you see any weaknesses? Does anybody else know of ways to bullet-proof the election system?

Man is this election cycle interesting and sort of exciting. Now, don't get me wrong...I'm an anarcho capitalist so this changes none of that but I enjoy observing and interacting with the statist to try to get them to think amongst the chaos. I have actually succeeded in not only getting through to some to get them to actually listen (maybe not agree but have a pleasant convo) but I had a few of them actually step out of the statist indulegence of political advocacy and at least peak behind the door of anarcho-capitalism. I rarely reveal my 'persuasion' unless they ask me directly. I keep it ambiguous and simply stick to the mental exercises to snap them out of the rhetoric. I will share some of my tactics. And I go in with low or reasonable expectations. I don't expect them to go from statist to non statist by the end of the conversation. I go in hoping to give them pause, thought and insight that will hopefully carry with them and be a beacon in their brain even after the fuss of elections that will draw them towards their path to find their answers....which of course I hope will be anarcho-caplitalism or 'worst case' libertariansim. And this was mostly with Bernie supporters! Here's how I did it, this is my general forumula: Bernie supporter: I don't support him because of the free stuff.... (we've all heard this one) Me: So you voted for Ron Paul in 2012? Bernie Supporter: No, why? Me: He was basically Bernie without free stuff.. Bernie Supporter: ..... oh Me: Yeah, it's best to not look at which party line these people choose to run on because of the Commission of Presidential Debates. BS: the what? Me: The Commision of Presidential Debates, it's common knowledge for those who follow actual anti-establishment candidates as they have been known to expose this outright or at least the symptoms of it. Look it up and make your own judgment but it's the reason why Donald Trump, or your guy Bernie Sanders is even running on main party tickets and don't really have the 'freedom' to run as a third party, so it's odd that Bernie doesn't point that out and Trump actually has, Ron Paul has, Ralph Nader has. You can see how they treat people who expose this and Trump is actually getting further than any of the others, which is incredible and will expose the level to which the establishment will go to try to shut him down or steer people away from him. BS: I'll look into it. Me: yes. Look...I don't agree with B.S. but I wish he could run in whatever party he seems fits his platform the best. I loath the 2 party monopoly and I would rather work together with all the voters on this issue than bet on the horse-race. Exposing this would liberate voters from the 2 party monopoly and liberate future candidates so they can run on any party ticket they want without being blocked from media and getting their message out and they can speak as frankly and be their genuine selves without having to be P.C. all the time. BS: Makes sense. Another approach: BS: Free college....help the poor....bla bla bla...I'm donating to BS Now! Let's do this! Activate your friends...get them to donate, buy merch.! Me: Wow, that's incredible how much effort, time and resource such as your money or expertise and energy to rally people to voluntarily give their money to a man for a cause you believe in. BS: Yes....we really believe he's the one to finally...bla bla bla Me: Great. Tell me, have you ever put this much effort in actually helping a poor person or the poor or needy in general? BS: ............avoids question completely. Me: I mean I look at Bernie. He has a lot of interesting things to say, he's seems like a nice and likable guy, he knows how to rally young people, he cares about the disenfranchised and you guys are willing to help him in this cause and you work together, voluntarily to raise him hundreds of millions of dollars! That's incredible! BS: It really is. I mean when you care about these issues you do whatever.... bla bla bla Me: I get it. I guess my only question is, how many poor people could this effort to raise his hundreds of millions actually help if it was given to them or given to the proper organizations directly? How many studen loans could this campaign money pay off? How many private school tuitions for poor kids could this pay for? How many medical bills could this pay off for people? BS: ..........How much time do you put in to help the poor? Me: (gives list of my effots) BS: Well...there aren't many people like you and why we need....bla bla bla Me: But wait...there are. I mean Bernie's campaign proves how many there are and there are MORE because I don't support BS and do my share and know many others, that's the point. BS:...... Me: I just find it to be a charity with high overhead BS: what do you mean? Me: Well you put in all this time and effort and get everyone involved to raise a LOAD of cash for the guy you want to solve the inequality problem. Then you hope he wins the nomination and dump more money into his campaign. Then you hope he wins the election and dump more money into the campaign. Then once he's president you hope Congress will pass his policies and if he does, it's been several hundreds of millions and then they need to tax everyone to make this plan work when he had people willing to VOLUNTARILY work and donate to help poor people but refused to open a charity with the guy or use this momentum to actually go out and do it. Every month that he brings in tens of millions and it doesn't go to poor people or uneducated people is another day of hypocricy. BS: I..... I mean.... yeah but.... I don't even know what to say. Me: Me neither. Ther eis no reason you and all of his supporters can't do this as an actual charity rather than (and this applies to all campaigns) go out and use the same effort and cooperation and volunterrism to solve the issues you find most important. But you are rallying for political power and force to help when you already prove the voluntarism WORKS, otherwise the guy wouldn't have a dime to his campaign. BS: ......... stunned silent. Me: If you have more to respond later once this sinks in, i'm available to listen but never forget how well voluntarism has helped you help him to help the poor...but it's a WHOLE lot of overhad and risk that has no or little guarantee when you could just simply....help the poor. And another one: Me: How will we pay for all of Bernie's plans? BS: Wallstreet, taxes and future generations. Me: Having the future pay for it doesn't bother you? BS: No, why should it. that's very common thing and guarantees we can get what we need and what' sbest...bla bla bla Me: Well, then you are simply enslaving the children. Could you look a child in the eye and at least explain to them the implications and ask their permission before you sell their future wealth? BS: oh that's ridiculous. Me: I know, so you are taking without asking or you couldn't live with yourself to have to face them in the eye while you take their future wealth knowing they have no idea what's going on or the implications. Me: tell me, do you enjoy now having to pay for past decisions that use your tax dollars today but you receive no benefits for? BS: Huh? ME: Well, most of the income tax goes to interest on borrowed money and this is for things that were voted on when you and I were too young or not even born yet and certainly couldn't vote on. Those benefits have been used up, are not available for you and me and we are still paying for them. And you are sitting here complaining that our generation is out of money or it's unevenly distributed and we have no benefits or not enough. Don't you see the problem you are repeating? BS: yea but the money is spent anyway so what does it matter ME: that we can have some moral, ethical integrity and disciple to at least be the generation that stopped this cycle. Our elders sold our future and we feel now what that is like and you have no problem doing the same to the future? Are you giving any guarantee that they future who will be held to pay for this will have anything left for them or how long do you want this cycle to go on? BS: I guess I can see how paying for the past decisions I wasn't a part of didn't work well for this generation. Me: Exactly and if you have kids or think of having kids, this is the exact posiiton or feeling you will be heiring to them. Now you call yourself moral and good and altruistic. Do you think our elders were moral and good and altruisitc when they made these decisions for you to pay for? BS: absolutely not. Me: ok. so you can feel moral and good now but when your children grow up, they will see you as freeloading jerks as we see our elders. Bs: yea...I guess that's true. Sometimes I ask if they think money is private property. Typically...as leftists do...they ask me WHY I'm asking. That is so they can scan and try to sniff out any advantage and wiggle and move the goal posts. But I just ask them again until they leave the conversation or answer me. of course it always ends with them realizing that taxation is theft. Doesn't mean they will instantly switch to libertarianism or anarcho-capitalism but at least they have come to terms with taxation is theft. ...always a good start.

In light of Donald Trump's rise in popularity (which I support) I've noticed a lot of my politically plugged in friends on the libertarian end of things are vehemently against him for some bizarre reasons and attack him more harshly even than Hillary. I've found previously very rational people to lose their collective minds over the Trump issue and seem to almost take it personally if you question there assertions (many of which are based on the false rumours Stef dealt with). I guess my question is, from a psychological viewpoint, is this pull-back from Trump right on the cusp of his victory a sort of panic induced by actually succeeding at advancing a non-mainstream candidate and being on the verge of a non-politician, successful, intelligent guy winning a popular election without having to sell his soul to the machine? Personally I think yes. There is a weird perfectionism in Libertarianism that makes it impossible to support anyone in concrete terms (only abstractly).

Do you like Donald Trump but on principle reject the idea of voting? Perhaps there's a third way...

I'm often amazed by the level of discussion people, who think most politicians are corrupt, go into over all sorts of policy details. I think engaging in these debates adds credibility and hope where there should be none and distracts from what we should be doing, which is continuously driving the discussion back to the founding problem we have with any form of elected government. For a democratic decision to be made, voters must be able to make an informed choice. For voters to make an informed choice, candidates must be transparent and honest about what they intend to attempt and, once elected, be accountable to trying primarily to achieve those things. When you buy a sandwich you have the right to a list of ingredients and money back guarantee if those ingredients are missing. When you buy a service that is not provided you have the right to you money back. When you buy a candidate (with your vote, worth about £42k over 5 years in the UK) you have very few rights. So when you do engage in a high end political discussion, or interact with a seemingly lovely stranger on your doorstep who sings the praises of another stranger who the would like you to vote for. Please drive the discussion back to where it should be. Do not vote for a strangers stranger without requiring them to provide you with the 'Voter Consumer Rights' you and your community need and deserve to be protected from rip off merchants. If an educated public can not even request facts from representatives seeking election...we are far from ready for functioning anarchy. https://www.facebook.com/smart.voter.org/photos/pb.1415501838715507.-2207520000.1443447230./1625156991083323/?type=3&theater Please consider the system suggested in http://smart-voter.org