The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Sen. Free Stuff (D-Awesome)

Posted on | November 23, 2015 | 45 Comments

 

His economic ideas are as obsolete as Eugene V. Debs, his foreign policy proposals can be summarized in two words — unilateral disarmament — and yet the socialist senator from Vermont inspires orgasmic enthusiasm from Generation Selfie:

It’s about the millennial generation and how they just love Bernie Sanders, the oldest white man in the 2016 presidential race. Old white men were like the devil until one of them started promising all sorts of free stuff, now he’s the man of choice for the entitled generation.
I guess this isn’t really a surprise, they’ve been indoctrinated in progressivism since at least kindergarten. The economy is sluggish and hasn’t fully recovered since 2008. They have mountains of student loan debt because nobody bothered to tell them that spending $200K on a degree in gender studies probably wasn’t a good investment. And don’t even get me started on the disaster known as Obamacare. You would think they would have had enough after 7 years of progressive leadership, but all of this new technology has brought us a generation of idiots whose political education comes from memes they see on social media. So why wouldn’t they fall in love with the cranky old fellow who promises to retire their debts?
Unfortunately . . . they haven’t thought the whole thing through. Like, who is going to pay for all of their free stuff.

Like, who cares? Not thinking things through and expecting others to pay the bill for whatever they want, young “progressives” are as irresponsible as any toddler throwing a tantrum. The Democrat Party panders to them, and the ungrateful brats respond by throwing even louder tantrums.





 

Comments

45 Responses to “Sen. Free Stuff (D-Awesome)”

  1. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 1:34 pm

    Heinlein was right. “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.”

    There’s an internet adage that has popped up in recent years. “If it’s free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product.”

    And finally there’s the old reliable. “Follow the money.”

    What Sanders offers is theft by the state and his fans are too stupid to realize that they will bear the costs.

  2. Matt_SE
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 1:42 pm

    Conservatives told Millennials that $200k for a Gender Studies degree wasn’t worth it, but the Millennials (being young and stupid) didn’t listen.
    It also didn’t help that Big Education was perfectly willing to lie to their faces.

    This is yet another example of government creating a problem, then trying to pose as the solution.

  3. Prime Director
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 2:22 pm

    I tire of this shit.

    They can’t deliver true socialism because they can’t do away with money and markets. So, what does that leave? A hampered market i.e. a mixed economy? We got that now. Anything else? Nothing new since the fall of the wall? What was the last big development in that academic cul de sac they call socialist economics?

    How far past the Pareto-Barone-Lange-Lerner-Taylor market socialism model have they progressed in the last 75 years?

  4. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 2:35 pm

    Will Ben and Jerry be giving us all free ice cream?

  5. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 2:41 pm

    *grins*

    Still stands.

    Most folks I know when they see a B&J wacky flavor, they want to know where you got it.

  6. RS
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 2:54 pm

    Those of us who are parents recall the inevitable confrontation with our children around ages three or four. The confrontation, seemingly trivial at the time, nonetheless had ramifications for the future. Loosely stated, the confrontation was initiated with the child stating, “I want . . . ” Perhaps the object of desire was a candy bar at the super market or a new shiny toy that s/he didn’t need. How the confrontation ended determined in large part who the children would develop. If the parents said, “No,” then the children would learn one thing. If the parents said, “Sure. Why not,” the children would learn something else. Add in the fact that most of the parents of these children lived in mansions they could not afford, bought new cars on a whim, and borrowed money to vacation in the swankiest locales, all of which their children observed.

    What we’re seeing in this millennial generation is a group of people who were never refused anything. Candy bars, participation trophies, endless accolades for mediocrity, unlimited student loans for four (or five or six) year vacations from reality and worthless attendance certificates. Is it any wonder they flock to anyone who promises them the endless bliss of a toddler?

  7. Adobe_Walls
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

    They will most certainly will not bear the costs. They may well pay the price but not the costs.

  8. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 3:03 pm

    Good point.

    I’d like to think they’ll have to eventually bear the costs, but I may be too optimistic.

  9. kilo6
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 3:25 pm

    In other Donk news, here’s my nomination for best use of Hitlery! in a bumper (or tailgate) sticker

    imgur.com/cyqgIUA.jpg

  10. Quartermaster
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 3:44 pm

    Not even the Soviet Union was able to deliver true socialism. Their attempts simply resulted in a form of fascism and failed economically.

  11. Quartermaster
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 3:45 pm

    Not to proles like you and me. Someone has to pay the freight for all their social goodness.

  12. Arthur hembree
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 3:54 pm

    Heilein is right about a lot of things

  13. CrustyB
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 4:17 pm

    I guess the left-wing is done pretending not to be Socialists now. I’m not even used to saying the word “Socialism” without the preface of “The theft and slavery of…”

  14. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 4:43 pm

    Yabbut he was a faaaaaaascist, man.

    I have no idea why but some dude said it once so it must be true.

  15. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 4:44 pm

    That’s because nobody can deliver “true” socialism. Like all Utopian schemes it is unworkable applied to humans.

  16. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 4:45 pm

    That he was. *grins*

  17. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 4:46 pm

    “Success has many fathers, but failure is…”

    Actually, so does failure, come to think of it. And they’re all Democrats.

  18. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 4:47 pm

    When I was buying my boat the subject of a name was tough. A friend suggested TANSTAAFL which I liked but discarded because I figured too many people would think it was Afrikaans and maybe egg the boat.

    On the other hand I live in the PNW, and there are some people up here who would recognize it as from Heinlein and egg the boat.

  19. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 5:21 pm

    Last year I had three young friends graduate high school. They all got copies of The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. I’ve two young friends graduating this spring and I’m doing the same thing.

    The one of my companions who hadn’t read the book yet snared one of the copies from my shelf, so I guess I’ll be ordering another. I wonder what she’ll think about plural marriage. And Mike is one of my favorite AI characters, so I’m looking forward to that talk too.

    Heinlein wrote a great little book (pre-internet and pre-PC) on how to when elections. I always thought a lot of the stuff still applied.

  20. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 5:23 pm

    Okay, I have to ask.

    Are they like, free range eggs?

  21. Adobe_Walls
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 5:49 pm

    Where would they get the money?

  22. Quartermaster
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 5:52 pm

    Starship Troopers, that’s why. A bunch of idiots think the society that was described in the book was fascist. Leftists think being required to take responsibility for your actions is fascist.

  23. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 5:53 pm

    They’d just print it, right? *grins*

    Sadly there’s some truth to that. The way the currency system is structured, the dollar is worth whatever the Fed says that it is. Considering that an ounce of gold that used to be worth $20 is now worth over a thousand bucks, we can see how well that is working. That’s just the tip of the probelms.

  24. Prime Director
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 6:07 pm

    You’re all a bunch of socialists!

  25. Arthur hembree
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 7:01 pm

    Did u know he served in the navy in ww2, with l.r Hubbard?

  26. NeoWayland
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:05 pm

    I knew that he served in the Navy, I didn’t know he served with Hubbard.

    As part of the background of The Probability Broach, Heinlein’s counterpart was an admiral of a sort. It’s an odd novel definitely tilted towards the libertarian side.

  27. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:20 pm

    My favorite fake B&J flavor is Anise Joplin. I wish I could remember the columnist who came up with it.

    On the other hand, my favorite real flavor is Cherry Garcia.

  28. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:24 pm

    Of course. Shade grown, fair trade, organic, cruelty free, non GMO as well. Though I have to say I live on the west side of Puget Sound, and there is so far no Whole Foods over here.

    There is a Trader Joe’s in Silverdale however. Right across from the Costco. So yay capitalism! Even people that hate it use and benefit from it.

  29. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:29 pm

    Well, duh. I remember once my old man saying I had to mow the lawn every week to get my allowance.

    It doesn’t get any more fascist than that, maaaaan. It was only then that I truly understood what it must have been like in Auschwitz.

    Plus, my dad was a Naval officer just like Heinlein, so QED man.

    (I have no idea what QED means except that I do know it means I just won the argument)

  30. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:30 pm

    Actually, if anybody would understand the oppression of fascist AmeriKKKa, it should be a cow talking about Ben and Jerry.

  31. Quartermaster
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:41 pm

    So, your father was Rudolph Hoess too, eh? Those Air Force doctors I think must have studied under Mengele. It was horrible. HORRIBLE, I’m tellin’ ya! He even made me clean up my room! It was a horrific life that I’m still recovering from in my early 60s, and I’m probably scarred for life.

    On the bright side (mebbe) we’re prolly half brothers. 🙂

  32. Adobe_Walls
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 8:55 pm

    Its only worth what the fed says it is as long as we and the rest of the world believe it. Its really only worth what OPEC says it is. When oil is no longer priced in dollars, the dollar is kaput.

  33. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 9:00 pm

    Funny you mention AF doctors. I was born in the MAAG dispensary in Taipei in 1956, and my mom’s MD was USAF (a GP because they were too small to have actual OB/GYN types there).

  34. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 9:04 pm

    Well, everything is a “fiat currency,” even gold. It was pegged at, I think $32/oz for decades only because the world’s governments declared it to be, plus they forbade private ownership of significant quantities and free trade.

    Which is in fact the whole point of the Bond novel Goldfinger. It’s the point of the film too, but the book spent some pages on the international legalities of gold to explain why it was such a big deal that Goldfinger was illegally obtaining it and smuggling it out of England. Now William Devane is urging you to buy it.

    Incidentally, if anybody is thinking about it, I advise against. By the time commercials are on TV telling you to invest in anything, it’s too late.

  35. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 9:06 pm

    So far there’s nothing better than dollars for international commerce though. The Euro? Ruble? Renminbi? Ha. Obama has done his damnedest to devalue the dollar but it’s still the universal currency. Maybe President Clinton or Sanders can finish the job.

    Incidentally, am I the only one who, when hearing of Bernie Sanders, thinks of Rick Moranis in Spaceballs?

  36. Steve Skubinna
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 9:09 pm

    Actually he worked as a Navy civilian during WWII, having left active duty on a medical discharge prior to the war. TB, I think.

  37. Adobe_Walls
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 9:29 pm

    There’s no longer a compelling reason for oil to be valued and traded in dollars as opposed to a half or dozen other currencies. As it stands now to complete an oil transaction (for most countries) dollars have to be exchanged. This means the buyer must have access to dollars.

  38. Quartermaster
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 9:50 pm

    The first two US stations I remember my father at were ADC stations (he got out of SAC as that was the pits) – Lake City AFB (radar site for McGhee Tyson, covering Oak National Labs), and Adair AFS, a SAGE site, had dispensaries and not hospitals. No specialists. Echterdingen Airfield, Stuttgart Germany didn’t even have a dispensary. They held sick call in a small office and if you needed more, you got sent to Patch Barracks or the Army hospital at Bad Constatt.

    There used to be a number of small stations that had small dispensaries, or just a walk in for sick call. My mother was taken to Fort Campbell to deliver my next younger brother, while she simply went to Oakridge Hospital for my youngest brother. I had to have my shots for Germany at the local health department not too far from Norris, Tennessee. I hated those as that was a few years before disposable needles and those old dull things hurt.

    You’re about 2 years younger than me.

  39. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 10:11 pm

    Ben and Jerry’s is okay ice cream, but is over rated and usually over priced. I do like some of their flavors (I will give them that and some excellent marketing).

  40. Is Your Kid a Weirdo? : The Other McCain
    November 24th, 2015 @ 3:20 am

    […] UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers! Can you guess the favorite presidential candidate of Generation Weirdo? […]

  41. feng zhang
    November 24th, 2015 @ 3:37 am
  42. NeoWayland
    November 24th, 2015 @ 8:02 am

    My favorite premium ice cream brand is Blue Bunny. Oddly enough, the only store in my neck of the woods to carry it consistently is Wal-Mart.

  43. NeoWayland
    November 24th, 2015 @ 8:03 am

    That’s a good one!

  44. NeoWayland
    November 24th, 2015 @ 8:07 am

    Perhaps the real answer is to avoid currencies. We have a working commodities market and a working futures market.

    It’s been obvious since Nixon that a national currency serves the politicos and self-annoited elites, not the everyday person.

  45. News of the Week (November 29th, 2015) | The Political Hat
    November 29th, 2015 @ 5:57 pm

    […] Sen. Free Stuff (D-Awesome) His economic ideas are as obsolete as Eugene V. Debs, his foreign policy proposals can be summarized in two words — unilateral disarmament — and yet the socialist senator from Vermont inspires orgasmic enthusiasm from Generation Selfie […]