After eight months of near-constant media hysteria, desperate Interior Ministry campaigns against the political opposition and unceasing warnings from every last establishment political figure about the crypto-fascist antidemocratic menace of Alternative für Deutschland, Thüringen and Saxony have elected new state parliaments.
I really think the most crazy thing to me is that in ALL the western countries the line is the same!…if you don’t agree with these people… you are fascist, authoritarian; going to destroy democracy…
In America- I was just discussing my concern about free speech, democrats lying and then smiling our faces, taking away merit; open borders, censorship, and dominating all our institutions etc etc….and a very intelligent friend disregarded all of this and says trump will be a dictator… I have learned high IQ really does not mean anything- there’s a different kind of intelligence that understands these complex issues
This is so true. I am stunned at how Liberals have transformed into Anti-Liberals, and they pretend nothing has changed.
I think things are changing. One by one they realize that it is their former allies who are the problem and they are leaving the party. I just hope that we can fight off total censorship before their inevitable collapse occurs.
There is some truth in that. I think that it is more accurate to say that they are in favor of Equality more than Liberty. So when their policies inevitably failed to create Equality, they double down and this results in an unintended decline in Liberty.
The Left needs to admit that Equality is impossible and they should change goals to promoting long-term widely-shared economic growth and upward mobility.
I have a different take: "Equality" in the olden days referred mostly to equality *before the law* -- no more of this "one law for the aristos, another for the plebs/serfs/peasants".
Equality of Outcome is an entirely different manner, and a completely pernicious notion.
Yes, the term “Equality” by itself is very vague. It include Equality of Outcome, Equality of Opportunity, Racial equality, gender equality, etc.
I think previously Liberals believed that Equality before the law, Equality of Opportunity and better education would inevitably lead to Equality of Outcome. When that did not happen after 60 years of trying, they got…. well, …. creative.
They have not come to terms with their failed assumptions.
The idea that law ever has, ever could, or ever should be applied equally is itself a completely pernicious notion. How a law should treat different people is very frequently written into laws themselves. Beyond that, the application of the law as written is always skewed by those tasked with enforcing it, as it should be. Laws are words on paper without spirit. Ask any lawyer how easy it is to mutate the intent of law. An authority acting in the interests of his people interprets the law favorably for his people, even if inconsistently.
The need to formalize authority into law is understandable, but a fatal weakness if one can be made to forget that authority is what matters at the end of the day, or if one buys into the lie that the virtue of any of it was meant to be equality of any sort. Outcome, opportunity, or application.
By the people who for the last four years shrieked "F**k your freedom!" ?
The only "freedom" the left ever believes in is abortion - and like their other phony "freedom," they would make it mandatory for all dissidents if they could get away with it.
Otherwise they want "free stuff," but can't see or don't care that others being forced (compelled) to provide it is the opposite of freedom.
Trump may well be an obnoxious 8 year old brat, as he once proudly claimed. But the left are foot-stomping, screaming, toy throwing toddlers!
Yes, the result is largely unintended. There are some sociopath leaders who deliberately want to destroy Freedom, but most voters just have a hard time understanding the trade-off.
True. They were already in lockstep with each other 21 years ago. They had the same scorn, the same anger, the same self-righteousness, but they didn't have the GOAT scapegoat as we do now.
The "Liberals" of today that are now shedding the liberty skinsuit are the same folks as the "Progressives" of 120 years ago. They have to keep changing their name every once in a while because people keep realizing that they suck.
Yes. Party first, reason second. Amplified by a two party (Uniparty) system. Then again, assuming Eugyppius' assertions are true, the traffic light coalition has perverted the German proportional representation.
I posted it on my Facebook page and one of my friends replied "Dim-witted blow-hard". How much you want to bet my friend has never bothered to actually listen to RFK Junior, but is parroting impressions gleaned from corporate media?
Same. I once lived in the Bay Area.. (I have since left- no thanks)… I told my family (about 10 years ago)… they are going after the conservatives… but soon they will be going after each other.. And that’s what is happening… thank goodness for the solid liberals who are standing behind the ideals they have always stood for- they seem so right wing now! 🙄😅
It never ceases to amaze me how people are shocked(!) when they move from California or Oregon or Washington to Florida. It is like landing on a different planet. "People are so nice here". "No one is out to mock you for whatever you do". "Police actually do something but not stupid stuff"
I get these unsolicited comments all the time from people with wide eyes who cannot believe it. It takes them a year to really appreciate that there are places not as dysfunctional as the Left Coast.
I just hope we all survive the noxious Left (Coast/People/Parties) long enough to reverse the trend. The German results are some of the rare encouraging news. Of course, they come at the same time as Brazil is going full Totalitarian.
yes, hubbs and I are retired living in northern virginia, kind of at the western edge but it is THE Loudoun county. I would say there is a very good mix here, a few nuts, but family is super important
But things really haven't changed. The constant is the leftist craving for power. Everything else is stage dressing: trotted in or switched out to appeal to or repel a certain demographic, and it's all utterly interchangeable. The left has never cared about its victim group du jour. It has always cared about only one thing, and that's getting and maintaining power. Seen in that light, the apparent flip-flops and hypocrisies become nothing of the kind and are internally consistent with their agenda of ruling. The joke is on anyone who believes them when they call him a victim and who thinks they're his champions.
There are definitely sociopathic politicians that will say anything to win elections, but I am more interested in the psychology of regular people who vote for them. I don’t think those people just want power.
I think ‘the psychology of regular people’ is that they want to be kind, to not rock the boat and be accepted by going along with ‘the current thing’ until that ‘current thing’ bites them on their backsides: jab mandates; gas/electric prices; a local hotel taken over by illegals or their jobs taken by a legal; their wallet or phone stolen or their daughter (or even son) sexually assaulted by one of the ‘welcome’ ‘refugees’; a man dressed as a woman giving their daughter the eye in a public toilet or knocking her out during some ‘sport’. Even then, some regular people make excuses for those that trespass against them: poverty/different culture/saving the planet.
Since WW2 the populations of the west have been conditioned to be kind, not racist or homophobic or sexist, all that All We Need is Love/All We need is a Great Big Melting Pot absolute childish rubbish, our human kindness exploited by very evil entities. Regular people have been brainwashed for at least sixty years by captured media, especially television. Regular people are on the whole malleable and easily led (see ‘Covid’). In my opinion, regular people are rather dim. As someone once said, remember how dim those of average intelligence are, and then remember that half are below average. If you think I am being harsh, remember that 99% of people wore masks for over two years, outside and inside, and many forced their little children to wear the filthy things, too, as well as having them injected with the poison. Regular people. They are not that hard to understand.
Another thing I hear from seemingly intelligent people is that they're "not political". Which means they barely follow politics or the news, and generally have no idea what their representatives are doing and how they are voting. In fact, I know people who take pride in their lack of interest, often mentioning that they don't bother to vote, as if that is a badge of honor.
Thanks for the link. I'll read that, but meanwhile I'll just say that what makes a lot of those regular people regular is that they share a common craving to be ruled. They're the left's target audience.
When I graduated from high school in 1967 and started college, I had 3 month summer jobs with the California State government as I worked through college. Even as an 18 year old, the very first thing I noticed was how those in positions of authority had astonishingly little talent for anything, very little intellectual curiosity or prowess, and they didn't work very hard. But what was clearly obvious was their desire to have power over others and work their way up the promotion chain, which governments seem very much set up for. If you know the right people and toady to them enough, you'll rise to a high level, ability or competence be damned. In general, I began to view the government as a workplace where no-talents could settle in without having much asked of them, never having to demonstrate much of any specific knowledge, never worrying about being fired for performance failures, laziness or even pure incompetence, and they knew they would continue to get raises merely for staying put year after year. I could barely tolerate the environment for the 3 months each summer!
"If you know the right people and toady to them enough, you'll rise to a high level, ability or competence be damned."
Exactly. Exhibit A: The current VP of the United States.
I never worked in government, but as a teenager I noticed that in my private sector jobs it didn't take much to be considered above ordinary. I once got employee of the month for doing exactly what was in my job description.
Most of these so-called "liberals" are and have always been Marxists, determined to destroy the rule of law that underpins civilization with lies, indoctrination, and terror. They are a cancer which must be excised.
It's called good old fashion horsesense, which is EARNED through the process of separating hay from horseshit.
That takes effort...which is exactly the problem with all these so-called intelligent people.
That's what happens when you offshore critical thinking to the state/media complex.
Individual agency has been sacrificed, and by default the state has been coronated as the "unmoved-mover". The exact opposite of what The Founders intended; that the state should ALWAYS require external agency.
That intelligence is called 'intellectual intuition'. It's an intuitive knowledge of principles which directly accesses truth and has nothing to do with education.
The decision to evade reality isn't a matter of intelligence but of integrity. Plenty of smart people choose evasion. Plenty of people with average IQs choose integrity.
It's what the Australians derisively call the "bogans" (uncultured underclass) who have integrity and balls, that's the type of person the people in power are really afraid of. People who are willing not to behave, and willing to act.
high intelligence doesn't necessarily mean the ability to maintain a free, independent brain. i live near UCLA and all my neighbors are fancy profs and they would all say the same thing in the exact same language. these people can often be deep thinkers in their sphere of mastery but quite naive and lost outside of it.
their brains have been blasted by propaganda, they never encounter a contrary opinion (and the few people who do offer one are quickly ostracised), and it seems that Satan Trump provides the social glue for the liberal tribe that a god provides for other tribes.
100%…. I just was listening to Jonathon Haidt doing a talk and he asked the audience- “How does it feel to be wrong?”… and they replied with a bunch of standard responses… And he said, “No, that’s what it feels like when you realize you’re wrong. You and I are wrong about so many things right now… and the only way to figure that out is by talking to people who think differently than you do.” What great wisdom.
True, but in my experience these Profs aren't anywhere near as intelligent as they believe. Just niche idiots, mostly their sophistication is in getting ahead at their institutions.
When I went into higher education at the university level, I naively thought I would be entering a world of independent thinkers and vibrant debate and argument about all kinds of things. I soon found out how very wrong I was. The group think I saw even in the 1970s was astonishing to me.
we forget sometimes how social our brains are, how they're not independent reasoning machines but organs meant to help mortal mammals survive and flourish, which means our tribal place and status have to be tended to, as our tribe often has life-and-death power over us. but this is why we developed a liberal class over the centuries, people charged w defending the space where brains can roam free and think and speak unencumbered--and it's these people who've let us down, who have allowed illiberalism to flourish and the rot of groupthink to set in, due to some combo of career, cowardice and conformity.
it is easy. The left has taken over the democrat party. they just caved and let them have it. This Anti liberal party accuses others of the precise things they are doing.
This is because these high IQ people, as well as medium and low IQ people, are partisan first and rational second. Their dogmatic belief/ "personal Overton window" does not allow for questioning these central assumptions. Therefore cognitive dissonance kicks in, or it is all filtered out.
As a sort of counter-example to my paragraph above: In the UK, a "prominent" economist, Danny Blanchflower, recently admitted to indulging in self delusion/ wishful thinking, in that he assumed New Labour would not do what they said they would do if they gained power. The corollary here is that he expected them to be standing on a platform based on lies, and he was apparently OK with that.
Yeah. But the problem is these high IQ people think they are always right and always noble bc of their educations or IQ… and they run all our institutions… I worked with them at a US renowned institution….at first I thought maybe something was wrong with me… but I then figured it out with time… they play the politics of middle school/ high school kids … they don’t actually think for themselves
{...there’s a different kind of intelligence...} BINGO !!!👍👍
It's the "gut feeling" which NEVER lies to you; just listen to it because once a single nerve-impulse goes from brain to gut, there's SIX of them in the opposite direction ...
"If you don’t agree with these people… you are fascist, authoritarian; going to destroy democracy…"
This is true. However, it is a good thing to come to terms with. It's not as if democracy, as it's called, abrogates the need for authority, it just makes it even more unaccountable than a king. A king is unaccountable by virtue of his authority. A liberal democracy is unaccountable by virtue of obfuscation and deception.
So true. I know some people who are highly intelligent in certain specific areas, yet they appear to lack all common sense. High IQ doesn't confer common sense about everyday matters, I've learned.
Marxist tactics are the same everywhere, and must be fought against tooth and nail, and their censorship, doxxing, lawfare, and rule by terror and intimidation returned in kind.
20% Starmer is also going after the left that challenges state narratives. Journalist Richard Medhurst and activist Sarah Wilkinson. One might disagree with their views but neither has committed a violent act. Same as with many anti mass migration folks arrested for social media posts. And rumours persist that Starmer played a role in the detention of Julian Assange. Starmer is a perfect petty authoritarian for the establishment.
I think that the East German experience of living under communism would make them highly familiar with the concept of democracy, and more likely to spot where it’s missing
this is indeed what we need to watch. I read that several families coming from the former East block have left the US because they see what is going on. I also read quite a few mixed families (one parent from East block country) preferred to leave even though the other parent was not fluent in the language. Recently Russia made immigration albeit on temporary basis, easier. Some parts of Russia, specially the southern provinces, are quite appealing. Of course, the language... I think my head is too old to learn it anymore!
The East German's experience with the Stasi police state was also excellent training for life under Scholz, Baerbock, Faeser et al. The real Fascists in power in Germany who are always seeking to harrass, vilify and imprison any legitimate opposition to their ruinous rule.
Actually it made them familiar with totaliarianism, which they recogize in the current regime, and they know they have to oppose it now or get swallowed up.
Them still voting for leftist parties like "Die Linke" and former GDR state party communist Sahra Wagenknecht's new party show that a big part still hasn't learned the lesson, even in the East
Imagine being labeled a “far right extremist” if you think that being born a man makes you a man and being born a woman makes you a woman, despite what they “think” or what outrageous surgeries they get. That marriage is between ONE man and ONE woman. And that unfettered immigration from third world s***holes isn’t good for the country. How radically extremist of us. Here’s hoping this is the proverbial snowflake that kicks off the avalanche…
Shit, I'm a "far right extremist" and I *don't* think "marriage is between one man and one woman". That's how far the Overton Window has shifted in the broadcasted sentiment. I seriously wonder how many people they could possibly have left over there *outside* the "far right" at this point! 🤣
We lived for a while in South Sudan (back when it was just part of Sudan.) A few of the shops were owned by Arabs from the north instead of locals.
A (single) female expat colleague of ours frequented one of the shops near her, and another of the regulars was always hitting on her. One day she said to the shopkeeper in frustration: "Ahmed! This guy keeps pestering me--how come *you* never ask me to marry you???"
"Oh", he replied, "two wives, Khartoum. Two wives, Maridi. [in other words, he's at his Islamic limit.] **VERY** expensive!"
"Gee, I wonder why a majority of the electorate voted against me."
This was the question the US Democratic Party asked itself after the 2016 Trump election, and they never did manage to (officially) figure it out. There is none so blind as he who will not see.
There was about 15 seconds of introspection in the early morning hours of November 9th, 2016, but it was quickly replaced with "Trump is Hitler", "MAGA is racist" and "Russia, Russia, Russia."
This year, as far as the USA is concerned, my watchwords have been "good news is bad news" (and I consider myself an optimist, but realism must take precedence). Specifically, when Trump and his nasty band of patriotic Americans surge in popularity despite nonsense lawfare, bogus convictions, pending incarceration, failed assassinations, etc., this looks like very good news. However, all it really does is lead to further desperation and escalation from an already-panicked establishment. We are already seeing a massive ramp-up in censorship and initimidation. One wonders to what lengths they will go to protect themselves and their cartel (More lockdowns? Cancelled elections? Martial law?).
Is there a risk that the similar resilience of the dreaded AfD nasties could lead to a scorched-earth approach by the German elite?
Our would-be lords and masters perceive themselves (correctly), as being under attack from the forces of evil. (That would be you and I!)
WE, the "ultra far right", the normal citizens of the western democracies, have the unmitigated gall to vote for political parties that do not agree with whatever flavour of world domination they are pushing this week.
Honestly, I almost hope they do something as blatant as a cancelled election. It would be a clear sign to a lot of people that it's time to "dig them up", as the saying goes.
The silver lining could be that they go so far that the NPCs start to notice. I have seen glimmerings of this following the disastrous debate and ensuing Joy™ of Kamala Harris.
The political cartels in both countries are ‘losing it’ and after watching what they have already tried to hold onto power at ALL costs, I dread what they will try next.
I think the only way through, is through - come what may. I don't pretend that this process won't come without cost and suffering. But it is too far into the game and we can't vote our way out and we can't go "back to normal." Gird your loins.
"according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is proven to be right-wing extremist"
This has always seemed so Orwellian. Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a government organization, declares the political opposition to be illegitimate and illegal.
Yeah, I am hoping that Eugyppius will explain at some point what that phrase actually means (if anything) from a legal perspective. Like, even if it's true that the AfD is definitively "right wing", is that actually illegal?
it mainly means that the the constitutional protectors – who are really just domestic intelligence agents – can infiltrate the party with informants, tap their phones, and employ other spy techniques against them, in service of 'defending democracy.' it does not mean, however, that their opinions are illegal. the constitutional protectors are charged primarily with policing *legal* opinions, that is how crazy our system is.
I am in South Africa and my son in Germany (now a German citizen) and I must say that even we are careful with we discuss over Telegram, it is really bad. Also my family in law (my son is married to a German) were Mennonites that came from Russia and they see all the signs.
Their heads are exploding in Canada also. One of the government sponsored “news” media outlets (CTV) ran a headline. Germany elects first far right party since the Nazi’s. 🤡
Trudeau has bought and paid for all of our now ‘State’ media. Which is why he is going after and trying to censor social media. Good luck with that, loser.
"Has not occurred to her that they care *more* about voting *against* the current administration?"
NO! And that seems to be true of ALL of the commucrats all over the world. It has not occurred to totalitarians in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, or the UK, that votes for their opposition are NOT necessarily votes for that party, but are votes AGAINST totalitarianism.
Direct quote from Lange: "For a start, it would help a lot if certain people stopped participating in talk shows. Because it's unbearable." Lange is referring specifically to SPD head Saskia Esken, who can't say anything in public without making an ass of herself, and shortly before the elections said, in response to a question about the lessons of the Solingen attack, said "there is not very much to learn" from it. This caused a minor controversy and in a post-election interview yesterday Esken walked back her remarks and acknowledged they were a problem.
I'm not surprised Harris won't do interviews. I'm surprised that so many Americans are willing to accept that and let her get away with it. And as Democrats, they will vote for her despite having no idea what she thinks about much of anything. She's not Trump, and that's the main thing to them.
Can but hope your long term analysis is correct but fear the CDU etc will find another way to deny democracy to the AFD's supporters such as outlawing the AFD and forcing a restart.
i think a ban is pretty unlikely at this point. what would stall the decay, is if CDU forget the Brandmauer and enter coalitions with the AfD, especially at the state level. i think we might be one election cycle away from this.
Germany is but a few years behind Sweden where the AFD-like Sweden Democrats went through all the same travails and now share power at the national level.
The actual policy changes have not been dramatically different, but that's because SD is in a coalition government with the Swedish CDU. Changes are happening.
What's more important is if SD continues to maintain and push its positions or just becomes another party that listens to consultants and its "moderate" wing. The Danish People's party did the latter and has pretty much disappeared.
Changes will happen in Sweden only to the extent that the Establishment deems necessary to put the people back to sleep.
Coalition with the CDU would be death to AfD. It would mean diluting its message and taking ownership of the CDU's corruption. CDU politicians would stymie any attempt to make meaningful change, and AfD's resulting ineffectiveness would discredit it.
Coalition with the far left parties would be preferable.
Nice! It sounds like the AfD has transcended its status as a mere party of protest.
This is very good news for all of us FAR-FAR-FAR Right ...Normal people....across the world.
Rejoice! We're in the fight.
I really think the most crazy thing to me is that in ALL the western countries the line is the same!…if you don’t agree with these people… you are fascist, authoritarian; going to destroy democracy…
In America- I was just discussing my concern about free speech, democrats lying and then smiling our faces, taking away merit; open borders, censorship, and dominating all our institutions etc etc….and a very intelligent friend disregarded all of this and says trump will be a dictator… I have learned high IQ really does not mean anything- there’s a different kind of intelligence that understands these complex issues
This is so true. I am stunned at how Liberals have transformed into Anti-Liberals, and they pretend nothing has changed.
I think things are changing. One by one they realize that it is their former allies who are the problem and they are leaving the party. I just hope that we can fight off total censorship before their inevitable collapse occurs.
Ah, but see, those "liberals" were *never* actually in favor of liberty. They were just wearing the term as a skinsuit.
There is some truth in that. I think that it is more accurate to say that they are in favor of Equality more than Liberty. So when their policies inevitably failed to create Equality, they double down and this results in an unintended decline in Liberty.
The Left needs to admit that Equality is impossible and they should change goals to promoting long-term widely-shared economic growth and upward mobility.
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/why-achieving-equality-is-an-impossible
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/why-progress-and-upward-mobility
I have a different take: "Equality" in the olden days referred mostly to equality *before the law* -- no more of this "one law for the aristos, another for the plebs/serfs/peasants".
Equality of Outcome is an entirely different manner, and a completely pernicious notion.
Yes, the term “Equality” by itself is very vague. It include Equality of Outcome, Equality of Opportunity, Racial equality, gender equality, etc.
I think previously Liberals believed that Equality before the law, Equality of Opportunity and better education would inevitably lead to Equality of Outcome. When that did not happen after 60 years of trying, they got…. well, …. creative.
They have not come to terms with their failed assumptions.
They want "equity," not "equality," per Comrade Kamala.
The idea that law ever has, ever could, or ever should be applied equally is itself a completely pernicious notion. How a law should treat different people is very frequently written into laws themselves. Beyond that, the application of the law as written is always skewed by those tasked with enforcing it, as it should be. Laws are words on paper without spirit. Ask any lawyer how easy it is to mutate the intent of law. An authority acting in the interests of his people interprets the law favorably for his people, even if inconsistently.
The need to formalize authority into law is understandable, but a fatal weakness if one can be made to forget that authority is what matters at the end of the day, or if one buys into the lie that the virtue of any of it was meant to be equality of any sort. Outcome, opportunity, or application.
"Unintended?"
By the people who for the last four years shrieked "F**k your freedom!" ?
The only "freedom" the left ever believes in is abortion - and like their other phony "freedom," they would make it mandatory for all dissidents if they could get away with it.
Otherwise they want "free stuff," but can't see or don't care that others being forced (compelled) to provide it is the opposite of freedom.
Trump may well be an obnoxious 8 year old brat, as he once proudly claimed. But the left are foot-stomping, screaming, toy throwing toddlers!
Yes, the result is largely unintended. There are some sociopath leaders who deliberately want to destroy Freedom, but most voters just have a hard time understanding the trade-off.
True. They were already in lockstep with each other 21 years ago. They had the same scorn, the same anger, the same self-righteousness, but they didn't have the GOAT scapegoat as we do now.
The "Liberals" of today that are now shedding the liberty skinsuit are the same folks as the "Progressives" of 120 years ago. They have to keep changing their name every once in a while because people keep realizing that they suck.
Yes. Party first, reason second. Amplified by a two party (Uniparty) system. Then again, assuming Eugyppius' assertions are true, the traffic light coalition has perverted the German proportional representation.
In his speech about joining the Trump campaign, RFK Junior spoke very eloquently about this.
I'm fairly certain we will look back upon that speech as one of the most consequential speeches in American history.
Still gives me goosebumps.
I think it's definitely consequential.
I posted it on my Facebook page and one of my friends replied "Dim-witted blow-hard". How much you want to bet my friend has never bothered to actually listen to RFK Junior, but is parroting impressions gleaned from corporate media?
Their intellectual laziness means they never actually read or know much about what they comment on. Much easier to call people names.
Zero chance.
I saw his hour and a half interview with Tucker Carlson on the Tucker Carlson Network and came away very impressed.
The significance of the passage of time is that it's significant.
Want goosebumps? 1:50 to 5:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWy-Tlzqh0
Same. I once lived in the Bay Area.. (I have since left- no thanks)… I told my family (about 10 years ago)… they are going after the conservatives… but soon they will be going after each other.. And that’s what is happening… thank goodness for the solid liberals who are standing behind the ideals they have always stood for- they seem so right wing now! 🙄😅
Same exact time we left. Could see it a mile away.
Unfortunately we moved to a purple city in a very red state that went full-on all things totalitarian c19.
So we up and left there for Florida in May of 20'
It never ceases to amaze me how people are shocked(!) when they move from California or Oregon or Washington to Florida. It is like landing on a different planet. "People are so nice here". "No one is out to mock you for whatever you do". "Police actually do something but not stupid stuff"
I get these unsolicited comments all the time from people with wide eyes who cannot believe it. It takes them a year to really appreciate that there are places not as dysfunctional as the Left Coast.
I just hope we all survive the noxious Left (Coast/People/Parties) long enough to reverse the trend. The German results are some of the rare encouraging news. Of course, they come at the same time as Brazil is going full Totalitarian.
We moved to Illinois 😂 .. not far off from California… but wanted only place we could do to be close to family and still continue our careers
It was st. Louis for us.
yes, hubbs and I are retired living in northern virginia, kind of at the western edge but it is THE Loudoun county. I would say there is a very good mix here, a few nuts, but family is super important
But things really haven't changed. The constant is the leftist craving for power. Everything else is stage dressing: trotted in or switched out to appeal to or repel a certain demographic, and it's all utterly interchangeable. The left has never cared about its victim group du jour. It has always cared about only one thing, and that's getting and maintaining power. Seen in that light, the apparent flip-flops and hypocrisies become nothing of the kind and are internally consistent with their agenda of ruling. The joke is on anyone who believes them when they call him a victim and who thinks they're his champions.
There are definitely sociopathic politicians that will say anything to win elections, but I am more interested in the psychology of regular people who vote for them. I don’t think those people just want power.
I think this article is a better explanation:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/where-does-ideology-come-from
I think ‘the psychology of regular people’ is that they want to be kind, to not rock the boat and be accepted by going along with ‘the current thing’ until that ‘current thing’ bites them on their backsides: jab mandates; gas/electric prices; a local hotel taken over by illegals or their jobs taken by a legal; their wallet or phone stolen or their daughter (or even son) sexually assaulted by one of the ‘welcome’ ‘refugees’; a man dressed as a woman giving their daughter the eye in a public toilet or knocking her out during some ‘sport’. Even then, some regular people make excuses for those that trespass against them: poverty/different culture/saving the planet.
Since WW2 the populations of the west have been conditioned to be kind, not racist or homophobic or sexist, all that All We Need is Love/All We need is a Great Big Melting Pot absolute childish rubbish, our human kindness exploited by very evil entities. Regular people have been brainwashed for at least sixty years by captured media, especially television. Regular people are on the whole malleable and easily led (see ‘Covid’). In my opinion, regular people are rather dim. As someone once said, remember how dim those of average intelligence are, and then remember that half are below average. If you think I am being harsh, remember that 99% of people wore masks for over two years, outside and inside, and many forced their little children to wear the filthy things, too, as well as having them injected with the poison. Regular people. They are not that hard to understand.
Another thing I hear from seemingly intelligent people is that they're "not political". Which means they barely follow politics or the news, and generally have no idea what their representatives are doing and how they are voting. In fact, I know people who take pride in their lack of interest, often mentioning that they don't bother to vote, as if that is a badge of honor.
Thanks for the link. I'll read that, but meanwhile I'll just say that what makes a lot of those regular people regular is that they share a common craving to be ruled. They're the left's target audience.
My favorite explanation for the psychology of both types of people--and their antithesis--is here: https://objectivism.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/RandAyn-The-Comprachicos.pdf
When I graduated from high school in 1967 and started college, I had 3 month summer jobs with the California State government as I worked through college. Even as an 18 year old, the very first thing I noticed was how those in positions of authority had astonishingly little talent for anything, very little intellectual curiosity or prowess, and they didn't work very hard. But what was clearly obvious was their desire to have power over others and work their way up the promotion chain, which governments seem very much set up for. If you know the right people and toady to them enough, you'll rise to a high level, ability or competence be damned. In general, I began to view the government as a workplace where no-talents could settle in without having much asked of them, never having to demonstrate much of any specific knowledge, never worrying about being fired for performance failures, laziness or even pure incompetence, and they knew they would continue to get raises merely for staying put year after year. I could barely tolerate the environment for the 3 months each summer!
"If you know the right people and toady to them enough, you'll rise to a high level, ability or competence be damned."
Exactly. Exhibit A: The current VP of the United States.
I never worked in government, but as a teenager I noticed that in my private sector jobs it didn't take much to be considered above ordinary. I once got employee of the month for doing exactly what was in my job description.
They weren’t liberals (classic) in the first place.
Most of these so-called "liberals" are and have always been Marxists, determined to destroy the rule of law that underpins civilization with lies, indoctrination, and terror. They are a cancer which must be excised.
You are so correct.
It's called good old fashion horsesense, which is EARNED through the process of separating hay from horseshit.
That takes effort...which is exactly the problem with all these so-called intelligent people.
That's what happens when you offshore critical thinking to the state/media complex.
Individual agency has been sacrificed, and by default the state has been coronated as the "unmoved-mover". The exact opposite of what The Founders intended; that the state should ALWAYS require external agency.
That intelligence is called 'intellectual intuition'. It's an intuitive knowledge of principles which directly accesses truth and has nothing to do with education.
This is very clear. Yes
The decision to evade reality isn't a matter of intelligence but of integrity. Plenty of smart people choose evasion. Plenty of people with average IQs choose integrity.
It's what the Australians derisively call the "bogans" (uncultured underclass) who have integrity and balls, that's the type of person the people in power are really afraid of. People who are willing not to behave, and willing to act.
People who aren't impressed by the parasite class's bullshit.
Yes, and don't care about their codes of social status and signalling.
high intelligence doesn't necessarily mean the ability to maintain a free, independent brain. i live near UCLA and all my neighbors are fancy profs and they would all say the same thing in the exact same language. these people can often be deep thinkers in their sphere of mastery but quite naive and lost outside of it.
their brains have been blasted by propaganda, they never encounter a contrary opinion (and the few people who do offer one are quickly ostracised), and it seems that Satan Trump provides the social glue for the liberal tribe that a god provides for other tribes.
100%…. I just was listening to Jonathon Haidt doing a talk and he asked the audience- “How does it feel to be wrong?”… and they replied with a bunch of standard responses… And he said, “No, that’s what it feels like when you realize you’re wrong. You and I are wrong about so many things right now… and the only way to figure that out is by talking to people who think differently than you do.” What great wisdom.
Haidt is great. His advice is very simple yet most of us seem to fight so hard against it. I will keep it in mind!
True, but in my experience these Profs aren't anywhere near as intelligent as they believe. Just niche idiots, mostly their sophistication is in getting ahead at their institutions.
When I went into higher education at the university level, I naively thought I would be entering a world of independent thinkers and vibrant debate and argument about all kinds of things. I soon found out how very wrong I was. The group think I saw even in the 1970s was astonishing to me.
we forget sometimes how social our brains are, how they're not independent reasoning machines but organs meant to help mortal mammals survive and flourish, which means our tribal place and status have to be tended to, as our tribe often has life-and-death power over us. but this is why we developed a liberal class over the centuries, people charged w defending the space where brains can roam free and think and speak unencumbered--and it's these people who've let us down, who have allowed illiberalism to flourish and the rot of groupthink to set in, due to some combo of career, cowardice and conformity.
Precisely thus.
it is easy. The left has taken over the democrat party. they just caved and let them have it. This Anti liberal party accuses others of the precise things they are doing.
the democrat party no longer exists
This is because these high IQ people, as well as medium and low IQ people, are partisan first and rational second. Their dogmatic belief/ "personal Overton window" does not allow for questioning these central assumptions. Therefore cognitive dissonance kicks in, or it is all filtered out.
As a sort of counter-example to my paragraph above: In the UK, a "prominent" economist, Danny Blanchflower, recently admitted to indulging in self delusion/ wishful thinking, in that he assumed New Labour would not do what they said they would do if they gained power. The corollary here is that he expected them to be standing on a platform based on lies, and he was apparently OK with that.
Yeah. But the problem is these high IQ people think they are always right and always noble bc of their educations or IQ… and they run all our institutions… I worked with them at a US renowned institution….at first I thought maybe something was wrong with me… but I then figured it out with time… they play the politics of middle school/ high school kids … they don’t actually think for themselves
{...there’s a different kind of intelligence...} BINGO !!!👍👍
It's the "gut feeling" which NEVER lies to you; just listen to it because once a single nerve-impulse goes from brain to gut, there's SIX of them in the opposite direction ...
"If you don’t agree with these people… you are fascist, authoritarian; going to destroy democracy…"
This is true. However, it is a good thing to come to terms with. It's not as if democracy, as it's called, abrogates the need for authority, it just makes it even more unaccountable than a king. A king is unaccountable by virtue of his authority. A liberal democracy is unaccountable by virtue of obfuscation and deception.
So true. I know some people who are highly intelligent in certain specific areas, yet they appear to lack all common sense. High IQ doesn't confer common sense about everyday matters, I've learned.
It's never "crazy", it's always DELIBERATE. It is indeed maddening, though.
Marxist tactics are the same everywhere, and must be fought against tooth and nail, and their censorship, doxxing, lawfare, and rule by terror and intimidation returned in kind.
💯 or we need to save democracy
The English speaking world (Five Eyes) has the two party system deeply embedded which is how they maintain financial stability (via globohomo).
Europe doesn't share the same system which is why AfD can exist to begin with.
No rejoicing in the UK.
20% Starmer is also going after the left that challenges state narratives. Journalist Richard Medhurst and activist Sarah Wilkinson. One might disagree with their views but neither has committed a violent act. Same as with many anti mass migration folks arrested for social media posts. And rumours persist that Starmer played a role in the detention of Julian Assange. Starmer is a perfect petty authoritarian for the establishment.
I think that the East German experience of living under communism would make them highly familiar with the concept of democracy, and more likely to spot where it’s missing
this is indeed what we need to watch. I read that several families coming from the former East block have left the US because they see what is going on. I also read quite a few mixed families (one parent from East block country) preferred to leave even though the other parent was not fluent in the language. Recently Russia made immigration albeit on temporary basis, easier. Some parts of Russia, specially the southern provinces, are quite appealing. Of course, the language... I think my head is too old to learn it anymore!
The East German's experience with the Stasi police state was also excellent training for life under Scholz, Baerbock, Faeser et al. The real Fascists in power in Germany who are always seeking to harrass, vilify and imprison any legitimate opposition to their ruinous rule.
Absofreakinglutely.
Actually it made them familiar with totaliarianism, which they recogize in the current regime, and they know they have to oppose it now or get swallowed up.
Them still voting for leftist parties like "Die Linke" and former GDR state party communist Sahra Wagenknecht's new party show that a big part still hasn't learned the lesson, even in the East
You would think!
Imagine being labeled a “far right extremist” if you think that being born a man makes you a man and being born a woman makes you a woman, despite what they “think” or what outrageous surgeries they get. That marriage is between ONE man and ONE woman. And that unfettered immigration from third world s***holes isn’t good for the country. How radically extremist of us. Here’s hoping this is the proverbial snowflake that kicks off the avalanche…
Shit, I'm a "far right extremist" and I *don't* think "marriage is between one man and one woman". That's how far the Overton Window has shifted in the broadcasted sentiment. I seriously wonder how many people they could possibly have left over there *outside* the "far right" at this point! 🤣
> I *don't* think "marriage is between one man and one woman
Heavens no, gotta leave room for polygamy! ;-)
For men who aren't happy being henpecked by just one high-maintenance wife.
We lived for a while in South Sudan (back when it was just part of Sudan.) A few of the shops were owned by Arabs from the north instead of locals.
A (single) female expat colleague of ours frequented one of the shops near her, and another of the regulars was always hitting on her. One day she said to the shopkeeper in frustration: "Ahmed! This guy keeps pestering me--how come *you* never ask me to marry you???"
"Oh", he replied, "two wives, Khartoum. Two wives, Maridi. [in other words, he's at his Islamic limit.] **VERY** expensive!"
Thanks, me too.
Good point. They are boxing themsleves in, to use eugyppius' metaphore.
Me too lol
"Gee, I wonder why a majority of the electorate voted against me."
This was the question the US Democratic Party asked itself after the 2016 Trump election, and they never did manage to (officially) figure it out. There is none so blind as he who will not see.
There was about 15 seconds of introspection in the early morning hours of November 9th, 2016, but it was quickly replaced with "Trump is Hitler", "MAGA is racist" and "Russia, Russia, Russia."
Because anything is better than admitting you might have been wrong.
They're still under the impression that they "won" the popular vote. Even when some heavily Democrat precincts had 100%+ turnout!
This year, as far as the USA is concerned, my watchwords have been "good news is bad news" (and I consider myself an optimist, but realism must take precedence). Specifically, when Trump and his nasty band of patriotic Americans surge in popularity despite nonsense lawfare, bogus convictions, pending incarceration, failed assassinations, etc., this looks like very good news. However, all it really does is lead to further desperation and escalation from an already-panicked establishment. We are already seeing a massive ramp-up in censorship and initimidation. One wonders to what lengths they will go to protect themselves and their cartel (More lockdowns? Cancelled elections? Martial law?).
Is there a risk that the similar resilience of the dreaded AfD nasties could lead to a scorched-earth approach by the German elite?
Our would-be lords and masters perceive themselves (correctly), as being under attack from the forces of evil. (That would be you and I!)
WE, the "ultra far right", the normal citizens of the western democracies, have the unmitigated gall to vote for political parties that do not agree with whatever flavour of world domination they are pushing this week.
Which they appear to find intolerable.
And therein lies a very real threat!
How far will they go?
Well UK Prime Minister K Starmer (barrister) shows the future. Thinking of disagreeing with anything the State does? Lock them up!
Honestly, I almost hope they do something as blatant as a cancelled election. It would be a clear sign to a lot of people that it's time to "dig them up", as the saying goes.
The silver lining could be that they go so far that the NPCs start to notice. I have seen glimmerings of this following the disastrous debate and ensuing Joy™ of Kamala Harris.
The political cartels in both countries are ‘losing it’ and after watching what they have already tried to hold onto power at ALL costs, I dread what they will try next.
I think the only way through, is through - come what may. I don't pretend that this process won't come without cost and suffering. But it is too far into the game and we can't vote our way out and we can't go "back to normal." Gird your loins.
"according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is proven to be right-wing extremist"
This has always seemed so Orwellian. Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a government organization, declares the political opposition to be illegitimate and illegal.
Of course it's Orwellian -- the people staffing this office are the ones against whom protection is needed.
The problem is convincing the public that this is so.
Yeah, I am hoping that Eugyppius will explain at some point what that phrase actually means (if anything) from a legal perspective. Like, even if it's true that the AfD is definitively "right wing", is that actually illegal?
it mainly means that the the constitutional protectors – who are really just domestic intelligence agents – can infiltrate the party with informants, tap their phones, and employ other spy techniques against them, in service of 'defending democracy.' it does not mean, however, that their opinions are illegal. the constitutional protectors are charged primarily with policing *legal* opinions, that is how crazy our system is.
It's truly amazing just how fragile Fuggalo really is...
Anyway, thanks for the explanation. :)
I am in South Africa and my son in Germany (now a German citizen) and I must say that even we are careful with we discuss over Telegram, it is really bad. Also my family in law (my son is married to a German) were Mennonites that came from Russia and they see all the signs.
I think in Germany it is. A hangover from nazism.
And the same agency is also tasked with internal security and intelligence. Bizarre
Their heads are exploding in Canada also. One of the government sponsored “news” media outlets (CTV) ran a headline. Germany elects first far right party since the Nazi’s. 🤡
Wasn't that many years ago that today's 'far-right' were Liberals in Canada. I haven't changed my views but the terminology has shifted a lot.
Trudeau has bought and paid for all of our now ‘State’ media. Which is why he is going after and trying to censor social media. Good luck with that, loser.
They are running with that line in the States, too.
This was quite glorious to see. Hope it leads to big momentum or Ze Germans are fecked. Merkel must have soiled herself.
And fainted (if you recall her "dehydration" episodes).
"The vast majority of them are not neo-Nazis, but – and this is no less shocking – they don’t care about voting for the far right."
Has not occurred to her that they care *more* about voting *against* the current administration?
"Has not occurred to her that they care *more* about voting *against* the current administration?"
NO! And that seems to be true of ALL of the commucrats all over the world. It has not occurred to totalitarians in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, or the UK, that votes for their opposition are NOT necessarily votes for that party, but are votes AGAINST totalitarianism.
I'm sure it's occurred to them, but they're stubbornly in denial.
Wonderful news , hopefully in Canada also
It's showing signs of possibility in BC of all places.
Really?
"here is the distribution of seats in the state parliament..."
So many lovely blueberries.
Hahaha, eat that, Edeka!
Lolol
😂🤣😂
At some point, the narrative pushers might realize they're doing more harm than good in trying to make these people out to be crazy far-right whackos.
Unfortunately, I think what the narrative pushers can't do will hasten the use of lawfare.
"...has demanded that SPD leaders stop appearing in talk shows, because every time they do, the voters get even more tired of them."
Was he being unintentionally funny, or is it the eugyppius paraphrasing?
At any rate, maybe all politicians should embrace that advice.
Direct quote from Lange: "For a start, it would help a lot if certain people stopped participating in talk shows. Because it's unbearable." Lange is referring specifically to SPD head Saskia Esken, who can't say anything in public without making an ass of herself, and shortly before the elections said, in response to a question about the lessons of the Solingen attack, said "there is not very much to learn" from it. This caused a minor controversy and in a post-election interview yesterday Esken walked back her remarks and acknowledged they were a problem.
Ah. This seems to be the advice Kamala Harris is following, by mostly staying aloof so as not to make an ass of herself.
Pity. She should definitely do a lot more live, unscripted interviews. 😈
She should do any at all. The one interview so far was highly produced. I would really like to see the raw footage.
"Highly produced"?
Remember how "Let's Go Branden" took off? Let's all start calling Harris' CNN outing a "mocumentary".
A campaign ad and mockumentary rolled into one.
and turn the camera to see the large print cards with talking points
and maybe she could talk without her emotional-support animal sitting next to her. She is somehow less coherent and articulate than Biden.
I'm not surprised Harris won't do interviews. I'm surprised that so many Americans are willing to accept that and let her get away with it. And as Democrats, they will vote for her despite having no idea what she thinks about much of anything. She's not Trump, and that's the main thing to them.
Remember the JOY!😥
Beat me to it.
And still succeeds in doing so
Had to look up a picture. Not surprisingly, she is as you'd imagine her (but I liked her more butchy haircut better :)).
Can we conclude that those elections were fair? That is something these days.
Same establishment hysteria wherever they are challenged. It’s a sign of weakness and I share your optimism!
Can but hope your long term analysis is correct but fear the CDU etc will find another way to deny democracy to the AFD's supporters such as outlawing the AFD and forcing a restart.
i think a ban is pretty unlikely at this point. what would stall the decay, is if CDU forget the Brandmauer and enter coalitions with the AfD, especially at the state level. i think we might be one election cycle away from this.
Sorry, is Brandmauer the cordon sanitaire?
yes, is same.
Thanks!
My foreign language skills are limited to high school French ;)
Brandmauer is 'firewall', such as building regulations demand for houses ...
Thanks. I did look it up but did not realize in this case "firewall" was literal.
Oops, eugy says it IS the cordon sanitaire. So "firewall" in this case is metaphorical.
Let's hope you are right, something has to give!
Germany is but a few years behind Sweden where the AFD-like Sweden Democrats went through all the same travails and now share power at the national level.
And how has that worked out?
The actual policy changes have not been dramatically different, but that's because SD is in a coalition government with the Swedish CDU. Changes are happening.
What's more important is if SD continues to maintain and push its positions or just becomes another party that listens to consultants and its "moderate" wing. The Danish People's party did the latter and has pretty much disappeared.
Changes will happen in Sweden only to the extent that the Establishment deems necessary to put the people back to sleep.
Coalition with the CDU would be death to AfD. It would mean diluting its message and taking ownership of the CDU's corruption. CDU politicians would stymie any attempt to make meaningful change, and AfD's resulting ineffectiveness would discredit it.
Coalition with the far left parties would be preferable.
Thanks.
Has not at all. SD was against NATO until they voted for a NATO membership and even the surrender treaty of DCA https://www.government.se/legal-documents/2023/12/agreement-on-defense-cooperation-dca-between-the-government-of-the-kingdom-of-sweden-and-the-government-of-the-united-states-of-america/
Expect exactly the same from the AfD.
🙁
Ahem. I think what you mean to say is "CDU will find another way to PROTECT democracy," Rob. /sarc
Seriously, I could see the German Deep State attempting to outlaw AfD and threatening any of those who register with the party or cast votes for it.