I have witnessed family and friends who conversationally mirror my conservative views, but vote with a party in stark contrast to what they profess. And it all comes down to selling their souls for filthy lucre. The hypocrisy is outrageous, but they seem peacefully oblivious.

Additionally, I do not subscribe to equating the two major parties, but our country is nearly equally divided; in terms of popular voting. Were it not for The Founders insight into establishing a representative republic and electoral college, I fear where we would be.
The real problem lies in generations of the poorly informed succumbing to indoctrination from institutions (education and media) that conservatives blindly ignored for decades. Now the problem; swing states and districts where the candidates start to become indistinguishable; and thin margins potentially erased by voting irregularities.

Like those insightful posters before me, I do care about politics. And apathy regarding its pervasive future consequences is perilous to the greatest country in history.

Unfortunately, those victories we have had have only been partial, and, quite often, they have been very hard won; the slow, incremental work of generations, the building of a sometimes leaky dam holding back the potential flood.

Why, then, in God’s name, would the officials in some of our most supposedly “enlightened,” “advanced,” “civilized”—and formerly most beautiful cities—deliberately allow public health conditions in them to deteriorate so drastically, to slide back down the hard won slope into the Medieval conditions of the lack of cleanliness, the accumulation of vermin-harboring debris, the overcrowding, generally bad living conditions, poor nutrition, and pest-born illnesses that we have spent hundreds of years overcoming?

The answer lies in “politics,” and in the clash between imagined reality and actual reality.

These city’s Leftist politicians are deluded by their ideology— they live in a fantasy world—one in which their political solutions, their policies sound good, and seem oh, so virtuous to them.

Moreover, they apparently have no real understanding of actual “human nature,” which any policies that have any hope of being effective must be based on.

In “on the ground” reality the application of their ideological, their fantasy-based policies has been producing disastrous results that their fantasy world blinds them from anticipating, and, moreover, prevents them from seeing, and coming to grips with when they arrive.

Reality has so far failed to get them to see the real situation, and to change their policies accordingly.

Who will pay in the end?

It is very unlikely that it will be these policy makers.

It will be their cities, which will be increasingly shunned by visiting tourists, be crossed off the list by people seeking a place to call home, and by companies looking for a place to relocate.

It will be the very homeless people they claim to “care” so much about, and the citizens of these cities at large, who they have put in danger through their supposedly “enlightened” and “compassionate” policies.

The larger potential victim pool in these cities will be composed of innocent, law abiding citizens and taxpayers, who will have a greater and greater chance of getting sick, suffering, becoming gravely ill and, perhaps, some of them, of dying, because of the breakdown in public health these politician’s policies have let happen.

The science is clear. 😉

You want to kick the elderly off the voting rolls?

I grew up in a great Baby Boomer time, despite my folks being among the early divorce wave (before no fault – my 2y older sister and I were interviewed by court psychiatrists in a very nasty custody battle divorce). But my gov’t school was ok middle class. We could see Blazing Saddles, and even commercials featuring the Frito Bandito. (…I love Fritos corn chips, I’ll take them from you!)

Policies really do matter, but while it’s not clear what the best policies are, it is pretty clear what policies have been tried and have failed. Repeatedly. Yet useful idiot socialists keep getting hired as college professors, while pro-life folk are “secretly” discriminated against.

I do care, truly and deeply. Yet I fear part of it is running away from my own problems, and messy desk/ untidy room — clean up your room! cultivate your garden. Peterson; Voltaire – timeless wisdom that is boring when done, not inspiring. Was a strong Libertarian (twice a Lib CA candidate, for state Rep; then for Congress), tho while accepting some of the pro-choice abortion arguments, knowing the human fetus had different DNA, thus was another body. Voted for Ed Clark, & David Bergland, not Reagan; voted Ron Paul not Bush 41.

Went to Slovakia to help with Market Transformation! and found love. And also found that love and family are more important than privatization. Was at a wife’s friend’s wedding (today!), with lots of folk we have some slight or strong connection to.

It’s true that politicians from both parties will “lie” to you — but it’s also true that they vote differently and offer different bills. Policy matters.

“more people care these days, and that is one of the reasons political discussions have become so heated and people have gotten so angry at each other for their politics, angry in the personal sense,”

Politics is also for the middle class / rich folk. Of which there are more. When folk are desperate for a job, and keen to keep their good job, and good reputation, and take good care of themselves by being good members of the community, they don’t have as much time political arguing. Poor folk that vote often know and care little about the issues, except which one they believe will give better job/ economy; or more (free!) gov’t benefits.

The culture wars are for the middle and especially upper middle classes. And part of the culture war is to win the internal title of “moral superiority”. It used to be on Christian values. Now, for most college grads, it’s based on PC-Klan values.

It’s going to get more intense before it gets less intense, if ever.

The US needs to stop funding colleges with student loans, and tax-exempt status; and also stop with tax incentives for the movies being made.

There’s also a group of people who like to argue to “win arguments” — these are usually quite smart people. Ann Althouse is, at least at times, one of those types. As are many bloggers. I think I was like that, as so many Libertarians are.

He was clearly worried, agitated, and all but shouting a warning about what he foresees as the looming health catastrophe in LA, due to appalling lack of sanitation—sanitation conditions that he warns are approaching the Medieval—in LA’s spreading homeless encampments, and the clearly foreseeable public health catastrophe this lack of basic sanitation, and the buildup of garbage, human waste, and trash could bring about.

Last year it was a Deputy City Attorney, working in the LA City Hall, who apparently contracted flea-born Typus—which can be fatal—from the rats that had spread into City Hall (see the videos), most likely from the homeless encampments all around the area.

Now, in the past week, comes the news that a second victim, an LA cop, has also been diagnosed with Typus, and Dr. Drew fears that there will be a third.

Doctor Drew is worried about the possible appearance of another common and highly communicable disease of the Middle Ages that was widespread due to the poor sanitation that was very common in that era—Tuberculosis.

He is also worried about the possible appearance of another communicable disease that is spread by rats and the fleas they carry—Bubonic Plague.

To make things even worse, given these very bad sanitation conditions, Dr. Pinsky is also worried that there could also be the spread of highly contagious Measles in these encampments.

Does anyone think that, if these often deadly communicable diseases do, indeed, appear and spread, they will only be confined to these homeless tents and encampments, and not spread to infect the citizens of the city at large?

All in all, Dr. Pinsky sees a disaster coming.

Do those who have children have to support them, and at what level? Some bring children into the world and then abandon them. Would this apply to adopted children too? So the government would track your fecundity and your children’s fecundity to determine your franchise rights? You might want to think a bit more about this idea.

Do they get removed from the tax rolls too? What if they’ve had military service?