Jon Stewart is a Collaborator

Jon Stewart has been lionized as the “the most trusted man in America.” You’ve probably heard it before: While “professional” journalists are a bunch of partisan hacks and lapdogs for government and corporations, the “comedian” Jon Stewart is the real muckraker: the man who courageously speaks truth to power; calls out politicians and journalists for their incompetence and dishonesty; and reports more “real” news than mainstream media that are obsessed with celebrity scandals and puff pieces. There is an element of truth to this characterization, but make no mistake: Jon Stewart is a collaborator—meaning that he “collaborates” with a tyrannical government.

First, the element of truth: John Stewart does ask tough questions. The Daily Show brilliantly uses video montages to show politicians constantly and flatly contradicting themselves. Stewart asks his guests fundamental questions about government policy that real journalists would never touch. Alan Greenspan famously stumbled and bumbled after Stewart asked him why the Federal Reserve is necessary in a country that supposedly values a free market.

Jon Stewart gets it—“it” being the reality that politicians are a bunch of lying, self-serving frauds who will say anything to get elected; that Washington is run by special interests; and that most political discourse in this country is superficial and pointless. Stewart’s finest moment was when he bitch-slapped Chris Matthews for saying that people should emulate politicians in their everyday lives in order to get ahead. Moreover, unlike his partisan audience, Stewarts gets the fact that both parties basically suck. I remember one show in 2004 when Stewart chided his audience for not laughing at one of John Kerry’s gaffes. Stewart said, “Oh? When it’s your guy it’s not so funny, is it?”

Jon Stewart gets what politicians are all about, but he still collaborates with them by inviting them on his show, shaking their hands, chatting with them amicably, giving them a platform for their lies and propaganda, and applauding as they exit his stage. You might say that Stewart is “just doing his job.” But notice that his collaboration his personal as well as professional. Despite being a fierce critic of the Iraq War, Jon Stewart is a close personal friend of John McCain, a man who voted for the Iraq War and promised to expand it if he were elected president. McCain has the blood of a million Iraqis on his hands! After sparring with McCain over Iraq in 2007, he still shook McCain’s blood-soaked hand and promised him “shits and giggles” the next time he came on the show.

Wars and other government atrocities don’t just “happen.” Individuals make decisions that cause them to happen. As Charley Reese wrote, “One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices—545 human beings out of the 300 million—are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.”

The first step toward holding politicians accountable is to stop respecting them! As Hans-Hermann Hoppe says, “…instead of admiring them or seeking their association, politicians (and the more so the higher their rank) should be treated with contempt and as the butt of all jokes, as emperors without clothes.” That’s the problem with Jon Stewart: He gives every politician the “emperor” treatment. By doing so, he perpetuates the myth that any government is legitimate as long as it has democratic elections. No matter how corrupt or criminal our government might be, all politicians deserve basic respect because “we” elected them.

It’s because of people like Jon Stewart that politicians and their cronies sleep soundly at night. They know that even their harshest critics still have to be nice to them. Freedom isn’t won by being “nice.” The American colonists did it by gleefully tarring and feathering tax collectors, vandalizing symbols of Royal authority, burning effigies of King George, rioting against British troops, ransacking the homes of loyalist politicians, and finally by declaring their independence and killing anyone who tried to stop them.

Jon Stewart is also a coward. Even though millions of fans see him as “the most trusted man in America,” he refuses to take that responsibility seriously. He says repeatedly that neither his show nor his channel purports to be anything other than satire and comedy. Again, you might say that Stewart is “just doing his job” as a comedian, but there is a darker side to Stewart, a despair that is particular to progressive intellectuals.

All progressives see government as the engine of social and economic progress. They believe that government can end poverty, care for the elderly, provide health care, educate children, cure cancer, create jobs, and control the weather. They believe government can do all of these things as long as it is run by smart, caring people. Faced with a government that never lives up to expectations, partisan progressives typically attribute government failures to those stupid, mean Republicans. But the smarter, more honest progressives—like Stewart—recognize that the problem goes deeper. Stewart says, “The absurdity of what you imagine to be the dark heart of conspiracy theorists’ wet dreams far too frequently turns out to be true.” He describes Daily Show meetings as “a gathering of curmudgeons expressing frustration and upset, and the rest of the day is spent trying to mask or repress that through whatever creative devices we can find.”

Another example of progressive despair is David Simon, whose HBO series The Wire portrayed Baltimore city government as hopelessly corrupt, self-serving, and dysfunctional. Mark Bowden described Simon as “The Angriest Man in Television,” driven by a deep sense of cynicism and a “knowledge of his own futility.” While Stewart takes refuge from his despair in “fake news” and humor, Simon takes refuge in drama and rage.

Kierkegaard once said that resignation is the highest virtue. But resignation to what? These people, who see the darkness and absurdity that exists in the highest realms of power, and do nothing but “express frustration,” shrug, and use it as creative fuel, adopt a fatal quietism that is ushering in the end of liberty. Why don’t progressives snap out of their despair and join the Resistance? I know why. Because it would mean that they would have to abandon their ideology. It comes down to pride. Leo Tolstoy said it best:

I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their life.

The “conclusion” shared by all progressives is that government is good and capitalism is bad. (Although David Simon is a fierce critic of the drug war, he attributes most of Baltimore’s problems to “capitalism.”) A strong central government is the non-negotiable cornerstone of the progressive worldview. That is why even “anti-Establishment” progressives like Jon Stewart can comfortably befriend power-hungry politicians like John McCain. They would rather collaborate with tyranny than admit the falsity of their State-centric ideology. In today’s world we value skepticism and cynicism above all. To take the idea of resistance seriously is to cease to be taken seriously. It is this cynicism we call “enlightenment.” And if there is one thing Jon Stewart would not be able to handle, it would the awful earnestness that comes with accepting responsibility: to be earnest is to place yourself in a position where you are more likely to become the laughed at instead of the laugher.

Jon Stewart is smart, insightful, and entertaining. But he is still a collaborator. He is an ally of the State and an enemy of freedom. As the Revolution approaches, we must never forget who is with us and who is against us.

Sic Semper Tyrannis.

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Worst. Election. Ever

This has been, without a doubt, the worst election ever. I'm just glad it's about to be over so that everyone can finally shut up about it. Literally billions of dollars, speeches, blogs, videos, articles, and conversations have been wasted on a spectacle with zero substance or purpose.

I can summarize the entire election with two sentences:

McCain is a "maverick" who has experience.

Obama is a nice guy who wants "change."

That's it. That's all there is. Since most people don't have well-formed political views, they will vote based on the simplest of perceptions. They have no idea what government does, what government should do, or how it should be done. They can't really be blamed for their ignorance, because presidential races are entirely superficial: Reporters focus on the latest gaffes and poll numbers, and there are no fundamental differences between the candidates themselves. It's all perception, soundbytes, vague promises of change, reform, "fixing Washington," etc. It's bullshit.
The common man recognizes the worthlessness of modern elections. That's why most people don't bother voting or following politics. The pseudo-intellectuals are a different matter. Although they claim to be "informed" voters, they are just as clueless as everyone else. They like to think their interest in politics is driven by civic duty--as if the future of humanity rests on who wins today's election--but the truth is that political junkies are just a bunch of dorks. They like politics in the same way that other people like fixing cars or collecting stamps.

The day after the 2004 election, I attended the "Wednesday meeting" of conservative activists in Washington, DC, sponsored by Grover Norquist. It was the weirdest shit I've ever seen. It was a cultish circle jerk. People were laughing and smiling; there was a palpable sense of euphoria in the air. You could cut the gayness with a knife. Nevermind that most of these people would consider the Bush presidency a failure from a conservative perspective. He's still our guy. And our guy beat their guy. We won! Our lives have meaning!

Tomorrow morning, liberal dorks throughout the country will exude the same sense of euphoria if Obama wins--as if all their wildest dreams will finally come true. Here's a message to all you pseudo-intellectuals on both sides of the political spectrum:

The leaders of both parties are a bunch of lying, thieving killers who would enslave us all if they could. They don't deserve to be cheered or congratulated. They deserve an ass-kicking. And so do you.

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Reflections on the Anti-Establishment Left

The abuses of the Bush Administration—and the capitulation of Democrats—has given rise to anti-Establishment liberals like Glenn Greenwald, Jon Stewart, Mike Gravel, Ralph Nader, Lou Dobbs, Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, Phil Donahue, and the folks at Counterpunch and Orion Magazine. Here’s my question: Will these people reconcile with the Establishment after Democrats gain power?

Anti-Establishment sentiment has never been more justified. Both parties support everything that constitutes the status quo: Empire, the Federal Reserve, the income tax, wealth redistribution, crony capitalism, managed trade, the police state, surveillance, the war on drugs, public education, open immigration, the two-party duopoly, incumbency protection, federal supremacy over the states, presidential dictatorship, “national greatness,” globalism, the religion of democracy, and—most importantly—opposition to all forms of radicalism that could threaten Establishment power (civil disobedience, jury nullification, secession, and self-defense against government thugs). Partisan politics is a divide-and-conquer strategy—a sham that distracts voters while the Establishment loots and controls them. The false dichotomy between Democrats and Republicans is perpetuated by useful idiots who make money by inflaming partisan passions.

Anti-Establishment conservatism had a brief heyday in the early 90s. A popular bumper sticker read, “I love my country, but I fear my government.” Waco and Ruby Ridge became rallying cries about a slide toward tyranny. The NRA was calling the ATF “Jack-booted thugs.” It all culminated in the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress—a massive and unprecedented public repudiation of Big Government. Even Bill Clinton declared the end of big government.

Conservatives abandoned radicalism for three reasons: 1) They were intimidated into silence following the Oklahoma City bombing; 2) They lowered their guard after the election of a Republican president. (National Review stupidly proclaimed, “The adults are back in charge!”) 2) They believed it was treasonous to oppose the President during a time of war.

Conservatives learned the hard way. Under Republican rule, government has become more expensive, corrupt, intrusive, and dysfunctional than ever. The abuses of the Clinton Administration pale in comparison to the lies and thug tactics used to promote Republican boondoggles like No Child Left Behind, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and the transformation of the Middle East.

Will liberals make the same mistake? Some signs point to “yes.” Just as conservatives focused too much on the “wackiness” of Bill Clinton, liberals focus too much on the “stupidity” of George Bush. With Democrats set to dominate the entire government, the temptation to embrace Establishment power will be hard to resist. Just as conservatives rationalized federal power grabs in the name of defeating terrorism, liberals will rationalize them in the name of universal health care.

The problem with Washington is not parties or personalities. The problem is that power corrupts. Any government this powerful will inevitably be hijacked by special interests. The people can’t control the government if it’s too big and complicated for the average voter to understand, and there is no democratic mechanism that will force the government to serve the people. The federal government is a morally and financially bankrupt institution controlled by greedy special interests and power-hungry sociopaths. The worst rise to the top. One President’s abuses are a floor for the next President’s abuses. Parties don’t matter! Washington won’t be “cleaned up” if enough people write their congressman or join a fucking Facebook group. DC is overrun with hundreds of thousands of politicians, lobbyists, lawyers, judges, bureaucrats, and enforcement agents who will feed on the host population until it dies. The federal government is like the Terminator:

Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

Even libertarians need to abandon the notion of “restoring” the Constitution. We can’t storm the Establishment though the chokepoints controlled by the Establishment itself. The colonists first tried to petition Parliament based on their rights as Englishmen. When it became obvious the Brits weren’t listening, the colonists told them to get the fuck out. It’s time Americans said the same thing to all the parasites in Washington, DC.

Overall, I am optimistic about the prospects for radicalism on the Left and Right. First of all, the Internet has made it more difficult for a few useful idiots to mislead an entire movement. On the Right, there is growing sentiment that Iraq was a mistake, that the terrorist threat is overblown, that the neocon plan for world domination is not “conservative,” and that the modern conservative movement has failed. (Of course, a rebirth of conservative radicalism could be aborted by another terrorist attack—possibly orchestrated by the Establishment itself.) On the Left, I am encouraged by articles like this, which calls for progressives to abandon the “presidentialism” of MoveOn.org in favor of true local democracy. Finally, some anti-Establishment liberals are flat-out studs! Glenn Greenwald has too much integrity to sell out.

The wildcard in these scenarios is the economic crisis. If the Establishment collapses, they will probably make a last stand by imposing some variant of totalitarianism. All Americans should stand ready to resist a coup d’état with all due prejudice.

Just in case anyone cares what I think, here is my advice to anti-Establishment types:

Liberals: Don’t make the same mistake conservatives did! Don’t lower your guard. Don’t be seduced by power. Obama will not bring about a “new politics,” a “new social contract,” or a “new New Deal.” Four years from now, politicians will be making the same bullshit promises about schools, health care, inner cities, and everything else that is near and dear to your hearts. Nothing will change.

Conservatives: Don’t make the same mistake twice! Republicans won’t be “good conservatives” the next time around.

Libertarians: Grow some balls. Talk some smack. I enjoyed the Ron Paul Revolution as much as the next libertarian, but there will never be a Congress full of Ron Pauls. Take your pocket Constitution and throw it in the garbage. The experiment is over. The government doesn’t respect the Constitution, why should you? All governments have an inherent tendency to break through the institutional restraints imposed on them. When that happens, the people have the right and duty to resist.

Anti-Establishment types must officially abandon conventional politics and the futile strategies of compromise, incrementalism, and voting for the lesser of two evils. The people are sovereign. This means not only electing our leaders but also determining the structure of government itself. Democracy in its current form has no future. The future of radicalism is decentralization—a world of smaller political units where people can “vote with their feet” and migrate to those jurisdictions that best fit their tastes and preferences. Whether you’re a liberal, conservative, libertarian, or just some dude who hates politicians, you should be openly resisting the Feds and restricting political activity to the state and local level.

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Martial Law Update

Even CNN douchebag Glenn Beck is considering the possibility of hyperinflation, martial law, and global governance.

Be ready to kick some ass.

"All I need in this life of sin
Is me and my girlfriend." - Tupac

(His girlfriend was his gun. Tupac was awesome.)

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I Don't Like South Park

There, I said it. I am finally committing this act of pop culture blasphemy. I’m not trying to be contrarian. I want to like popular shows. I’m a big follower in many ways. If everyone else jumped off a cliff, I’d be yelling “Geronimo!” faster than you can say, “I’m Rick James, bitch.”

I like Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Baseketball was classic. I just can't watch South Park longer than 15 minutes because it’s too slow and repetitive. Consider the latest episode about Indiana Jones being raped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. I counted six scenes where a character denied the “incident,” then acknowledged it, then demanded payback. The premise is so outrageous it’s funny. But c’mon, six scenes of the exact same thing? Also, both South Park and Family Guy emphasize shock value at the expense of wit. Cartman’s zinger, “I’d rather be Chinese than a nation of unethical dick-shooters,” was the only line that stood out.

The Simpsons is rapid fire. About every fourth line is witty. Even a crappy scene will quickly transition to something else. You get the feeling that writers leave out a dozen lines/scenes per episode. With South Park, they think up one funny premise and try to stretch it out for 30 minutes.

Someone please explain to me what is so freakin’ great about South Park. This is a plea for help! I hate feeling left out. Like Patrick Bateman says in American Psycho, “Because I want to fit in.”

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It Can Happen Here

Administration cronies threatened martial law if Congress refused to pass the fascist Wall Street bailout. Think it can't happen? Martial law can be declared at the President's whim for practically any reason. Even now, America is a surveillance state, law enforcement is being federalized and militarized, and the military is policing the American people. Up to 8 million Americans are listed as subversives who can be detained under the slightest pretenses during a national emergency. (I would be insulted if my name were not included in this database already).

Historically, communism and fascism were embraced during economic crises. During the Great Depression, the Business Plot was a conspiracy by wealthy businessmen to establish a fascist dictatorship in the United States. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler publicly revealed in 1934 that he had been recruited to lead the military coup—a claim later supported by a congressional investigation...

"It can't happen here," you might say. "Our government would never do something like that."

They already have! In addition well-known atrocities like Waco and the Kent State shootings, the U.S. government has long treated citizens like lab rats. Between 1910 and 2000, more than 20,000 secret tests were carried out against the American people. Many “subjects” died or lived to endure excruciating health problems. In the infamous Tuskegee Experiment, 399 poor black men were denied treatments for syphilis so that government scientists could study how the disease spreads and kills. The Pentagon has carried out secret radiation tests on thousands of non-consenting patients, including institutionalized children and pregnant wives of GI’s. Military personnel were used as guinea pigs in hundreds of atomic and hydrogen bomb tests. In 1968, the Pentagon tested a deadly bioweapon in the New York subway system. Prisons inmates are forced to participate in medical experiments. At least two-thirds of foster children take a cocktail of psychosopic drugs. From 1951–1961, the U.S. Army paid Israel’s health ministry to conduct radiation testing on sephardic children.

Of course, nobody can predict where the crisis will lead. As Michael S. Rozeff writes, "There are too many variables and too many scenarios, and there is no theory that comprehends the totality of reality." I'm just saying that a slide from soft tyranny to hard tyranny is a real possibility.

One thing is for certain: It won't happen without a fight. There are too many Americans who cling to archaic notions like peace and liberty, including radicals on both the Right (gun nuts, constitutionalists, Texans, Ron Paul supporters), and the Left (the ACLU and antiwar activists).

If it becomes necessary to kick it old school, which side will you take?

"People should not fear their government. Their government should fear the people." -V for Vendetta

Hat tip to Alex Jones, LRC, and a bunch of other people.

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Red People Like Nice Stuff

One of the more hilarious insights of Stuff That White People Like is that progressives and socialists tend to be very snobby consumers (organic food, hipster clothes, hybrid cars, alternative medicines). Without the stunning variety of "niche" products that only capitalism can provide, how would they get their sense of cultural superiority over the tasteless masses—or even their will to live?

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