Hemiman Loc: Communist California

You mean like the whining you do constantly that kind of whining ?

whiz666

Boring, as usual no substance, just bull. Typical mindless republican.

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

To dispel any ideas about my CIA lunch with Powers, I was an IBM contractor cleared to support automation efforts in the "Company".

As for conspiracies, I believe the Deep State (DS) is one that threatens the body politic, and it is far more advanced and pervasive than I thought it would be, and hence far more difficult to counter. Not impossible, but just plain difficult.

I can agree with the stupidity of the Left, and of the far Right. I consider myself to be a Christian, a Conservative, a Patriot, a Believer in the Constitution, and to be reasonably well-informed, but by no means a walking encyclopedia on every subject of interest.

I do have a strong belief system and world view which I have about halfway documented (for my own use).

My career has been in systems engineering and project management for the military. I worked in NATO for thirteen years, and had consulting projects with the German MOD, Swiss MOD, a Turkish consortium led by Alcatel, a project for the Dutch Artillery, and a UK consortium led by BAE; the point being that I have had considerable experience within the European military (and civil) scene, as well as a contractor for the US military itself for over 29 years.

The disciplines I have been involved in include Intel, Command and Control, Fire Control, Comm, Logistics, Aircraft and Shipboard Electronics, and a major Space program--MOL (which was canceled by LBJ).

You could easily say that I have been a project worker bee for the military, and have had little front office experience or exposure to any high-level collusion where in all probability some of the DS conspirators could reside. Thus, I have little first-hand insight into the larger DS conspiracy world, and especially no participation, all of which is true.

What are the key differences between a middle of the road Conservative and a Libertarian? Any conflict resides in these differences, I believe.

eagleye13 Loc: Fl

I think you could have tea together; pass notes, and agree on most everything.

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

Eagle, you may be right, but I am not at the stage where I believe in any master plan or conspiracy that involves killing off the population, nor do I believe that our votes are useless, or we wouldn't have Trump in office, instead of Hillary, and thank God for that! So far, I see things as going in a good direction under Trump, even as he does irritate now and then. Can he clear the swamp? It is possible, I guess, but not without great difficulty.

eagleye13 Loc: Fl

"Can he clear the swamp? It is possible, I guess, but not without great difficulty."

We shall keep trying.
The good guys win in the end. It is written.

Ricktloml

You certainly have a well accomplished life. Congratulations.

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

Thank you. Rick. Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees. I guess setting down some of my trials here begins to show a bit of that forest.

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

One of my favorite Philosophers is Nozick. He states in: “Anarchy, State, and Utopia,” a libertarian response to Rawls which argues that only a “minimal state” devoted to the enforcement of contracts and protecting people against crimes like assault, robbery, fraud can be morally justified. Nozick suggests that “the fundamental question of political philosophy” is not how government should be organized but “whether there should be any state at all,” he is close to John Locke in that government is legitimate only to the degree that it promotes greater security for life, liberty, and property than would exist in a chaotic, pre-political “state of nature.” Nozick concludes, however, that the need for security justifies only a minimal, or “night-watchman,” state, since it cannot be demonstrated that citizens will attain any more security through extensive governmental intervention. (Nozick p.25-27)
One difference here from Conservatism is that we believe in a strong military and a strong police, both interior and border, and "Peace through strength".

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Truer words not spoken!!!

thinksense

I, personally, have not your faith in the VOTE.

Please allow me to ask you some questions about voting so I can understand why/if you have faith in the vote. (It will also give you a look at why I don’t have faith in this procedure.)

1...For example did you or do you personally know any politician running for office? Or do you only know of himor her from what the MSM, and other media told you about them?
2...Did you have anything to do with placing him or her in the run for the any office?
3...Did you personally ever have even the slightest say or influence regarding who would be allowed to run for any state or national office?
4...Are you absolutely sure that your vote was properly counted? If you are, what makes you so sure?
5...In all the Government congressional and administrative “changes” you have seen in your life, have you ever seen a real change for the better in the lives of Americans caused by the Government?
6...Have you not noticed a steady decline in the freedoms, health, wealth, happiness and satisfaction with what trends our country has followed, of our people?.

Finally, if you were trying to make up your mind what to do in a situation that directly affected your life, say that you were deciding whether you should buy a plot of land, or have a certain operation, would you be comfortable if the law required you to have 101 strangers vote as to what you should do, making it mandatory that you follow the decisions of that vote, would you find that procedure desirable and acceptable?

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

On voting: as a Conservative I tend to follow the Republican party line as it is the best bet to realize my objectives. It is virtually impossible for me to properly vet an individual candidate all by myself, especially when the noise from the opposition drowns out other voices. My faith in the voting process grows as the voter margin for my candidates grow; and it suffers when the margin is razor thin.

On government, it is again my Conservatism that bemoans the outsized bureaucracy, the Progressive and Liberal damage done; the real decrease in Freedom and Liberty that has transpired; the irrational attacks on Christianity and the Constitution, the Moral Relativity of Liberals and Progressives; the entire idea of Multiculturalism and Diversity; the Ruination of our schools and the Minds of our Children; the Tax and Spend predilection of Democrats; the downsizing of our Military; the Obstructionism of Democrats against fixing real problems in an effective way; the real push to marginalize the Family as the Main building block of our society; the use of Alinsky/Gramsci/Cloward-Piven trilogy to undermine our society and prepare the way for a Socialist or Marxist/Communistic takeover; the Penetration of Islam into the Nation with it growing threats of Sharia; I could go on for a long time. When a candidate seems to stand up strongly against these devastating ills, he gets my vote.

thinksense

Mann,
All the things you point out that you find bad, I have to agree with....However my questions were about the very concept of voting.

I contend that as long as people pretend to believe that voting in the way it is carried on in this country will ever really change anything, NOTHING will change. It will, as it has, just gradually keep getting worse.

Yes, it is nice to "believe" that the candidates are different from each other, and that it is possible to vote out the bums and get honest intelligent people to run the government. But I challenge anyone reading this to give me even one example where that has happened in the last 100 or more years. Anywhere in the world.

And because people don't want to go to active war with their government for various reasons (that I will let you imagine) they lie to themselves, telling themselves that the "next ellection" will see the bums voted out and honest people voted in.

That has never happened, nor will it ever.

Whether Republicrat or Demican they all are under complete control or they will never get to run. And if they get in and don't follow what they are told to do, they are errased in one way or another. Yes if the role they have been given is to pretend that they are honest, god fearing reformers they will get the kind of publicity, including pretending that the MSM is against them. In Russia and Nazi Germany and in other dictatorships, the government creates the very groups that "fight " the government. From the most vociferous "Revolutionary" to the "reform politician" who promises to "drain the swamp.

It is all FAKE.



Those of you, who refuse to see that are worse than blind, and part of the problem.

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

By your thinking we live in a rigged semi-democracy where the citizens need not vote because the outcome is foreordained. Platforms mean nothing; the rhetoric is ambivalent; and power is shared in some hidden process not under voter control; not a government of, for and by the people. That is the antithesis of Constitutional government. Further, we would be helpless to change how things work, and my liturgy of ills I stated before will remain. As it stands, all I do have is one little vote now and then to try to change things, and even if 75% of the electorate voted as I do, it would make no real difference.

I will remain true to my belief in our republic and I will vote for what I believe is right. You are welcome to your lack of faith; I choose to be with, by and for the people; and with the Constitution.

thinksense

Manning,

You still have managed to avoid discussing the very nature and sense of the vote.

You give me your feelings and faiths, but don’t explain why you have these feelings and faiths.

If you have no personal knowledge of the people allowed to run for office.

If you can not trust the news media to be honest in the things they tell you about the candidates.

If you have no way of assuring the honesty of the vote count, how can you believe that you can change the way things are by voting?

Why would you believe that voting would result in actual change? Have you ever seen that happen?

How could you enforce the Govt. to follow the vote?

How can you believe the things you state above? These faiths you claim, how do you justify them?

That is all I ask. Is that too hard to do?