One cheer for the British
Those poor Brits lack a true conservative party. The group that bears that name are lukewarm Center Lefties who, uncoerced, gave the country same-sex "marriage." Bear in mind that this comes from a person who supported McCain in 2008 and Romney in 2012, who is routinely accused of being a RINO, and who, in fact, is a registered Independent.
The UKIP is crazy. So essentially sane British voters have a choice of three flavors of "progressive." Not much of a choice.
Brits, like our Western European allies generally, also suffer from a sadly diminished brand of freedom. Here you can get run off a college campus or lose your job for hurting somebody's feelings; there, you can be arrested and jailed for it.
Freedom is also curtailed in other ways. You don't have to be a potential terrorist to be denied the right to enter the country. You just need to have the people in charge not like your politics, your philosophy, or pretty much anything else.
Well, there's good news and bad news from Blighty. It seems, on one hand, that there is a growing movement to refuse to allow Donald Trump into the country. I guess they figure they have enough home grown demagogues over there. And that's a shame. The free exchange and interplay of ideas- even bad ideas- is the lifeblood of democracy, and bloodletting as a medical treatment went out a long time ago.
On one hand, it's sad that the Mother Country has still to figure out this democracy thing they wrongly claim to have given the modern world. Magna Carta was merely a document limiting the power of the crown and guaranteeing the rights of the nobles. It was a milestone in the emergence of constitutional government, but it had nothing to do with democracy!
In fact, the majority of England's adult male population wasn't even allowed to vote until Disraeli's time. Until then England can most accurately be described as an oligarchy. No, it's the United States- that rogue nation which actually lets people speak their minds and relies on counter-arguments and shame to keep the morons in line- which first practiced the theory of government our European friends are still trying to get right.
True, the far Right UKIP likes the Trumpster's un-American plan to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. But there's a growing movement to deny Trump the right to enter the country on the ground that he's a dangerous extremist.
On one hand, I cannot condone this attempt to silence somebody's voice, however, obnoxious his opinions might be. But on the other hand, you have to give the Brits credit for the fact that they recognize Trump for the dangerous demagogue he is.
I only wish more Americans would get a clue. Which I'm confident they will, once the 2016 campaign gets to the point where it becomes about choosing a president rather than expressing frustration.
HT: Drudge
The UKIP is crazy. So essentially sane British voters have a choice of three flavors of "progressive." Not much of a choice.
Brits, like our Western European allies generally, also suffer from a sadly diminished brand of freedom. Here you can get run off a college campus or lose your job for hurting somebody's feelings; there, you can be arrested and jailed for it.
Freedom is also curtailed in other ways. You don't have to be a potential terrorist to be denied the right to enter the country. You just need to have the people in charge not like your politics, your philosophy, or pretty much anything else.
Well, there's good news and bad news from Blighty. It seems, on one hand, that there is a growing movement to refuse to allow Donald Trump into the country. I guess they figure they have enough home grown demagogues over there. And that's a shame. The free exchange and interplay of ideas- even bad ideas- is the lifeblood of democracy, and bloodletting as a medical treatment went out a long time ago.
On one hand, it's sad that the Mother Country has still to figure out this democracy thing they wrongly claim to have given the modern world. Magna Carta was merely a document limiting the power of the crown and guaranteeing the rights of the nobles. It was a milestone in the emergence of constitutional government, but it had nothing to do with democracy!
In fact, the majority of England's adult male population wasn't even allowed to vote until Disraeli's time. Until then England can most accurately be described as an oligarchy. No, it's the United States- that rogue nation which actually lets people speak their minds and relies on counter-arguments and shame to keep the morons in line- which first practiced the theory of government our European friends are still trying to get right.
True, the far Right UKIP likes the Trumpster's un-American plan to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. But there's a growing movement to deny Trump the right to enter the country on the ground that he's a dangerous extremist.
On one hand, I cannot condone this attempt to silence somebody's voice, however, obnoxious his opinions might be. But on the other hand, you have to give the Brits credit for the fact that they recognize Trump for the dangerous demagogue he is.
I only wish more Americans would get a clue. Which I'm confident they will, once the 2016 campaign gets to the point where it becomes about choosing a president rather than expressing frustration.
HT: Drudge
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