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I thought I'd humor those who choose to read with some of my thoughts on this fine morning. As anyone who reads my posts is aware, I'm not big on political parties. I consider myself a conservative libertarian. I believe in free markets and free people. I believe in individualism and personal liberty. My personal belief is the current political parties have long ago left their purpose of serving the people, and exist now only to collect power and stay in power. They exist to protect themselves, and the power they have--and can--accumulate. These are their primary drivers. The future of our--and our kids/grandkids--way of life seems to have been turned into nothing more than a sporting event by the two major parties. They've minimized it to the point where we can literally gamble online about the future direction of our country. As a cynical view, I'd think they were doing it on purpose to simplify, divide, and distract. With that said, I thought I'd post some quotes from one of my personal, favorite thinkers. If you've never heard of her, I'd recommend a quick look at some of her thoughts. If you have heard of her--but it's been awhile--it may be a good time to refresh your memories on some of her thoughts. No matter which Party you choose, I'd hope that some of these quotes strike a nerve, help remind us all of what's made America great, why she was founded, and what can be accomplished when our freedoms are actually unleashed. I'll step off my soapbox, and hope the below quotes are meaningful to everyone in some way. If you feel it's worthwhile, please post thoughts and/or quotes that are personally meaningful to you as they relate to our current political atmosphere. It would be interesting to me to see where people stand--aside from the specific headlines discussed in other threads. I'm curious if we all aren't closer in our beliefs than what we may think, or further apart. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ All quotes are courtesy of Ayn Rand America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way. Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual). Socialism is the doctrine that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that his life and his work do not belong to him, but belong to society, that the only justification of his existence is his service to society, and that society may dispose of him in any way it pleases for the sake of whatever it deems to be its own tribal, collective good. Whoever claims the right to redistribute the wealth produced by others is claiming the right to treat human beings as chattel. It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master. Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others.

Picture of Reagan convincing everyone that $4 to $5 dollar a gallon fuel along with the collateral inflation it causes on goods is good for everyone. Smh True TWS ( Trump Worshipping Syndrome)

I'm right in the middle of middle class, and he only thing I feel is gas prices. I believe if he gets that down, everything else will follow.

W25 Spurger Vs. R28 Medina Medina 10 Spurger 7 Medina advances W22 Douglass Vs. W24 West Sabine Game 1: West Sabine 11 Douglass 1 Game 2: West Sabine 9 Douglass 3 West Sabine advances W22 Kirbyville (18-10-1) vs. East Bernard (19-8-3) Game 1: Kirbyville 5 East Bernard 3 Game 2: Friday, May 8 @ Barbers Hill HS, 7:00 Game 3: Saturday, May 9 @ Barbers Hill HS, 3:00 (if necessary) Bullard (22-9) vs. W19 Livingston (24-6) Game 1: Bullard 5 Livingston 0 Game 2: Friday, May 8 | 7:00 PM | @ Nacogdoches HS Game 3: Saturday, May 9 | 5:00 PM | @ Nacogdoches HS (if necessary) W18 Vidor (20-8-1) vs. R19 Huffman-Hargrave (21-8-1) Game 1: Huffman-Hargrave 4 Vidor 3 Game 2: Friday, May 8 | 7:00 PM | @ Deer Park HS Game 3: Saturday, May 9 | 1:00 PM | @ Deer Park HS (if necessary) W18 Silsbee (24-5-1) vs. R19 Hamshire-Fannett (11-20) Game 1: Hamshire-Fannett 7 Silsbee 6 Game 2: Friday, May 8 | 7:00 PM | @ Lamar University Game 3: Saturday, May 9 | 1:00 PM | @ Lamar University (if necessary)

Troy is always tough and LRA is better then given credit for.

It is possible.

I'm sure they knew the way they were doing it was illegal. But that's the Dem's way. Plus wasting 70 million dollars! Right out of the Dem's playbook! LOL!

You’re not wrong but I’ve always believed that the GOP is a just a Democrat Lite Party. 2 Political Parties that care about their own personal interest not the American people’s interest.

Anything to halt Spanberger and her communist regime. Lmao.

IMO, this is the greatest post ever made down here in this political forum. So much so that this thread probably should be pinned up top of the forum so it won't be pushed down the page. The best perspective ever posted down here which is so refreshing considering some of these other posts being made that I consider complete garbage. Thank you sir for this post. Very much appreciated.

TWS. Good one. lol

That looks like Trumps hand writing. Just saying. 😐

LRA 5 Troy 4 final LRA 8 Troy 3 final LRA sweeps #5 Troy to advance.

Good job. LP has to regroup. They had some uncharacteristic errors that hurt.

It could have been done a half dozen times already but Trump picks up his phone and blows the deal apart with some stupid posting. I think it’s important to note that our allies (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) told Trump in no uncertain terms to knock it off. They’re tired of his crap. It’s way worse for business than the Iranians ever were.

Hudson sweeps Hardin-Jefferson, 3-2 and 7-1. Hudson advances to 3rd round. Huffman takes Game 1 over Vidor, 4-0. Orangefield and Boling split the first two games. OF wins Gm 1 6-0. Boling wins Gm 2 3-2

Brenham takes game 1 on a wild pitch in extras PNG 2 Brenham 3 F/9

Lake Creek 4 La Porte 0 Game 1 Final

Looks like more tariffs (10% global tariffs) were struck down today. I assume an appeal is on the way.

BH wins a one game playoff 9-1 over Georgetown East View.

Wrong! We don’t make mistakes! 😏

The off ramp is we win they lose!

Nearly a full #Astros starting lineup...on the IL C Diaz SS Pena 3B Correa (out for season, torn tendon in ankle) RF Loperfido CF Meyers LF Trammell SP Brown Closer Hader Also on IL: Imai, Javier, Blanco, Wesneski, Walter, Pearson