Two from Ron

Individualism Is the Answer

https://www.aier.org/article/individualism-is-the-answer/

Excerpt: Mass protests and mob violence further pressure Americans, almost as a self-defense mechanism, to identify themselves by group affiliation. There is psychological safety in numbers. This is a profoundly unAmerican way in which to view ourselves. It has and will lead to disaffection, violence, and maybe even a new civil war. It certainly is playing itself out in an intensely polarized group-versus-group politics. In the midst of all this, the rights of the individual are lost. The slogans and protests and violence all have the effect of pulling us to identify ourselves primarily by our membership in a particular group, not to identify each of us by our own unique, individual identity. George Floyd had his individual rights violated. Yet, the collective memes and protests are trying to make us forget our individual identities and accept blame or to seek comfort and protection solely on the basis of group identity. This can only lead to a war of all against all. We must assert and demand that our individual rights are protected, both by the state and from the state. But before we can do this, we must remember that what matters is our fundamental identity as individuals, not the characteristics we share with a group. One’s characteristics — including characteristics of race, gender, and socio-economic status — are characteristics possessed by each of us. But such characteristics are irrelevant for our character, which is ours alone, and is the result of our choices. [This author is saying exactly what I’ve–and others have–been saying for decades. If we care about each and every individual, taking care of groups is no longer necessary. Each of us is born, nurtured, raised, taught, and developed as an individual. Each of us makes our own way through the world and life, complete with our own unique, individual errors and triumphs. We live and die as individuals, not as groups. When we die, if there’s an after-life, we will be surely be judged one at a time as individuals, and we will not go to reward or punishment as part of any group but based on our own, individual conduct. The choices we make determine “who we are,” not some accident of birth. The smallest minority is the single individual, and that won’t–can’t–change. Ron P.]

President Trump Fires Manhattan U.S. Attorney

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/president-trump-fires-us-attorney-geoffrey-berman/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202020-06-21&utm_term=WIR-Smart

Excerpt:  Inevitably, President Trump fired Berman on Saturday afternoon, as announced by Barr. That should end the legal dispute over the job, though it may not. And the controversy has only just begun. It would seem strange to accuse the AG of interfering in the work of the Department he is sworn to run; yet, Democrats and the media darkly accuse Barr of impeding SDNY investigations that could negatively impact the president’s reelection bid. That claim seems overwrought, for reasons we’ll come to. [This is an interesting, in-depth look at the governing laws, customs, and personalities involved in this issue. It seems McCarthy has worked with several of them over the years. Worth reading. Ron P.]