But what about "the warmth of collectivism"? The Government Should Not Own the Means of Production in America

  The American Spectator  

"Every single country that has nationalized major industries — every single one — ended up poorer for it."

International Liberty

"European soccer fans marveled at American prosperity. This should be a reminder to avoid European mistakes.

"In an act never contemplated by the Constitution, the Trump administration has used taxpayer dollars to purchase an equity stake in Intel. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has been in talks in the White House over the government “buying” a stake in the company. Days later, OpenAI quietly filed for an IPO. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has introduced a bill to seize 50 percent of every major AI developer.

"When the federal government “buys” shares of AI developers, or any other company, stagnation follows. Who could compete with a company backed by Uncle Sam — when the government writes the rules, might have you sued by the Department of Justice, or investigated by the IRS? This would guarantee corruption. Imagine how this power will be used when the folks who “run” Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco are back in power.

"Government-run companies never turn a profit. The Postal Service can’t do it. Nor Amtrak. The maker of the East German Trabant did — but only after it became a private company in reunited Germany.

"Even when companies are not nationalized outright — even when the government just “buys shares” — it undermines the profit motive. Why make your product better when you can just raise taxes? Why bother improving your business strategy when Uncle Sam can save you? And if Uncle Sam chooses to bail out something it owns, taxpayers will pay higher taxes to cover the bad judgment of the politicians who made the original error.

"Every single country that has nationalized major industries — every single one — ended up poorer for it. There is no exception. Peron’s Argentina is just now beginning to get back on its feet.

"Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua became destitute after socialist takeovers. China and Russia had devastating famines when they collectivized agriculture and heavy industry." . . . 

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Remembering the California dream; Two decades of relentless Democrat governance have turned the once “golden state” into dross.

Mike Phelps    

"I should have made the change years earlier, but the California that lived in my mind had a hold on me. Governor Newsom’s arbitrary dictums and hypocrisy during his Wuhan Flu shutdown saga were the last straw."

"I spent the first half of my life on the East Coast, putting up with long, dark winters and imagining life in sunny California. Hollywood convinced me, with entertainment like “CHiPs” and “L.A. Story,” that the Golden State was a place I wanted to live. Venice Beach, the Santa Monica Pier, and the Hollywood sign all fed into what California was.

"My dreams encompassed San Francisco as probably the most beautiful city in America, before its embarrassing slide included a famous poop app warning walkers where not to step. Yosemite National Park is still one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Of course, no place is perfect, and I knew California had its share of issues, including traffic congestion, earthquakes, and smog.

"I moved to California in 1996 with romantic visions of sun-soaked palm trees and endless possibilities. I didn’t know California had already begun its tragic fall from grace.

"The romantic view I’d nurtured mostly survived contact when I moved to Southern California in 1996. Los Angeles had a Republican mayor at the time, which might be hard to believe given the recent mayoral primary fiasco. For more than a decade, I participated in the illusion that California was unbreakable.

"For those willing to look, fractures caused by illegal immigration, identity politics, and a radical “green” agenda that stifled infrastructure development and economic opportunities were starting to show. Power plants, reservoirs, and aqueducts were no longer proposed. Instead, California opted for what became a $14.6 billion railway boondoggle that still hasn’t resulted in a usable rail system.

"California’s siren song was a magnet for generations of pioneers, dreamers, and entrepreneurs alike. Hundreds of miles of scenic coastline, abundant natural resources matched only by abundant natural beauty, and a dynamic economy made it seem too fortunate to fail.

"Gems like Huntington Beach reinforced this belief." . . . More...

The laughable leftist rankings of 'livable' states

   "Americans don’t listen to CNBC and the rest. They know what’s happening around them. They recognize real reality and vote with their feet. And U-Haul prospers."  

The View’s Sunny Hostin hates ‘privilege’—except for her own

"Her efforts to prevent her allegedly law-breaking son from being arrested are laughable when you know her history."

 Andrea Widburg - American Thinker  

"But her approach—which basically boiled down to a politely expressed version of “do you know who I am and do you know who my son is?”—is still a stinking bit of leftist hypocrisy when you consider Hostin’s long history of identifying and attacking any type of so-called “privilege,” especially those attached to wealth and prestige."

"No one hates “privilege” more than Sunny Hostin. The slightly black co-host of The View, who earns $2 million annually and lives with her orthopedic surgeon husband in a 12,000-square-foot New York City apartment, repeatedly castigates those—usually white—who exercise their “privilege.” However, when it came to throwing her weight around with the cops to protect her son from allegedly illegal conduct, the whole idea of “privilege” vanished from Hostin’s mind.

"Hostin, a former federal prosecutor with a pretty face, landed herself a gig on The View, a show that is aggressively woke. In that context, Hostin often complains about privilege—all kinds of privilege that imply that talent and hard work are meaningless. Here are some notable examples:

"In April 2019, when he was running for the Democrat nomination, Pete Buttigieg made obeisance to the race and sex hustlers by reflecting on his “white privilege or male privilege.” Hostin was thrilled that Buttigieg had this empathetic insight into his privilege.

"In May 2024, while the shrews...er, hostesses were discussing Caitlin Clark, Hostin stated, “I do think that there is a thing called pretty privilege. There is a thing called White privilege. There is a thing called tall privilege, and we have to acknowledge that.

"Most tellingly, though, for purposes of this essay, in September 2019, when actress Felicity Huffman was trying to get a more lenient sentence for her role in a college admissions scandal, Hostin was outraged that someone prominent, wealthy, and generally in a better (presumably whiter) situation than other people, would dare ask for leniency: “She had wealth, privilege and a platform, and she didn’t use it appropriately.”. . .

UK Daily mail:  Excruciating moment The View host Sunny Hostin tries to get her smirking son off the hook with cops    . . . "'We know you’re not a criminal or anything like that but our hands are tied with cameras everywhere.'

"Following the citation, Gabriel Hostin was ordered to return to court in New Rochelle, New York on July 31. 

"According to the New York Post, his former federal prosecutor mom is representing him.

Sunny Hostin also penned a letter to Westchester Assistant District Attorney Amanda Greene, the prosecutor in the case, where she asked for the case to be dismissed." . . .