Beyond the Ballot Box: Understanding the Foundations of American Democracy and the Stakes for 2024 In the recent election, many opponents of Donald Trump warned that his presidency posed a fundamental threat to American democracy. Yet, for many Americans, this warning fell flat.

Pascal explains our flight from self-examination. Descartes explains how the will overrules the understanding. Lewis reminds us that we know the good—and break it anyway. Distraction, rationalization, and denial aren’t mistakes. They’re chosen—so we can feel innocent and

#BlaisePascal warned that we distract ourselves to avoid hard truths. #ReneDescartes shows what follows: a will unrestrained by understanding chooses what it wants and calls it good. Error isn’t accidental. It’s preferred.

#BlaisePascal nailed it: we distract ourselves so we don’t have to confront who we are or what’s demanded of us. We excuse what we want to do so we can do it guilt-free—quoting scripture out of context or avoiding self-examination altogether. And there will always be false

This observation from David Brooks in today’s NYT is revealing. “In general, conservatives believe in economic freedom (low taxes, fewer regulations) but social obligations (faith, family, flag). Progressives tend to favor economic obligations to reduce inequality but more

‘Ketman’ and doublethink: what it costs to comply with tyranny – @realDonaldTrump @elonmusk @JohnCornyn @JudgeTedPoe @tedcruz @WesleyHuntTX @DanCrenshawTX @jamestalarico @AdamKinzinger https://t.co/I2XWCjPCLM via @aeonmag

‘Ketman’ and doublethink: what it costs to comply with tyranny – @realDonaldTrump @elonmusk @JohnCornyn @JudgeTedPoe @tedcruz @WesleyHuntTX @DanCrenshawTX @jamestalarico @AdamKinzinger https://t.co/I2XWCjQaBk via @aeonmag

Mises called it “interventionism.” Hayek called it the “road to serfdom.” Today, Trump’s partial nationalizations & coercive deals echo those warnings. If America abandons liberty & property rights, it won’t be great again—it will be unrecognizable. 👉 https://t.co/91matPRLM5

Conservatives once stood for constitutionally limited government. But when federal agents violate rights under a Republican president, those same voices fall silent. True constitutionalism means accountability—no matter who’s in power, writes @foxmike90:

When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space

"The average man does not get pleasure out of an idea because he thinks it is true; he thinks it is true because he gets pleasure out of it." (H. L. Mencken, H. L. Mencken Seven Book Collection) #Truth

When did @TheJusticeDept itself start serving it's King above the Country and Constitution? When did it become a tool for the political power of one man? When did the #4thEstate (The Press) stop being a check to power and instead become the megaphone for power? When did

Again, this No Kings thing is not my bag. But the almost cultish refusal to understand the point by Trump’s usual apologists is bizarre. Yes: He was lawfully and legitimately elected. But Stephen Miller’s Jacksonian-Wilsonian theory that Trump has a “mandate” to do whatever he

H.L. Mencken on Balder and Dash Takes a while to get started, but one of the best and most apropos articles I have read in a very long time. Sound like the stump speech style of Harding won out and the simpletons multiplied or got dumbed down Amusing Ourselves to Death style by

I have been an opponent of the imperial executive for as long as I have been old enough to vote. Conservatives used to talk about the dangers of executive power and the enchroachment on the balance of power by the executive since Woodrow Wilson. Now the so called conservatives

Sorry I forgot to mention this was a prompt and reply from Perplexity AI.

[12] US prosecutors to seek indictment of former FBI Director ... - YouTube https://t.co/j0My6t3fqJ [13] Comey Accuses White House Of 'Lies, Plain And Simple' About His ... https://t.co/U9RsMA5s58 [14] Former FBI Director James Comey facing imminent indictment threat

is this just more partisan power games? or did he actually lie? and is the lie of any real import. often in partisan tribalism it's tiny things mountains out of molehills Concerns over whether the case against James Comey is substantive or mostly the result of partisan politics

‘UNBELIEVABLY DANGEROUS’: Sen. Ted Cruz warns that advocating for FCC action against political adversaries after Jimmy Kimmel’s removal from ABC would set a censorship precedent “every conservative in America … will regret.”

Has there ever been a bigger bunch of nanny staters than MAGA, Inc.? They’re obsessed with federalizing & outlawing everything. Far too many laws are already on the books. They’re creating a dystopia in which We the People submit to a central government monitoring our every move.

Strauss’s Escape from Plato’s Cave The answer to modernity’s shallow historicism lies in rediscovering true philosophy. Leo Strauss (1899–1973) was among the most profound philosophers of the twentieth century. He, more than any other individual, bears responsibility for reviving