SCOTUS, one of the most effective Checks on the Executive

On Monday, Mr. Trump announced his pick for SCOTUS to fill Justice Kennedy's seat, with Judge Brett Kavanaugh. At this point, assuming that Judge Kavanaugh gets seated (which he likely will), the Trump Presidency, despite some truly bad decisions on the part of the Executive, will be an overall win. Now, I'm still rather displeased with the president on several issues, and I'm not planning on voting for him, but most of his less exemplary decisions are entirely executive in nature, meaning that they only last as long as an executive wants them to. The judiciary on the other hand, can be shaped for a generation, and so far, his picks have been solid. Moreover, his one seated pick so far, Gorsuch, has already once ruled in ways that limit  the Trump administration. A good SCOTUS is a major limiter on executive shenanigans, and so far Trump has strengthened, rather than weakened, that limiter.
Just don't expect me to be happy when SCOTUS has to remind the executive branch that the Constitution, not the personal beliefs of the executive or of the bureaucrats involved, is the supreme law of the land.

Leopards and Spots

Assuming that the article isn't quoting out of context (an unfortunate probability) then Trump has just managed to state out loud exactly why I'm not a fan. Everything he's said on the campaign trail and now has indicated that he doesn't really have any hard and fast convictions of his own. He is a populist who doesn't really care about the constitution.
Him not being able to get his way, despite the fact that much of his plan of action is either beneficial, or at least not terrible, is a Good Thing. I know that some conservatives are frustrated by the inability to achieve much, but we have to remember a few things:

The Constitution is not working as it should, but it is still performing its job to some degree. The executive branch has vastly more power than it did during the early days of the Republic, and the fact that it can still find itself stymied, that there are any checks at all remaining on it, is a good thing. We should not have to rely upon the benevolence of a single man, no matter how that man is picked. In addition, Trump's values have proven.. flexible enough that I'm not terribly sorry to see his power limited. In fact, I'm fairly happy about it. I'm not happy that we have yet to repeal Obamacare. I am happy that a determined executive can't just do what he wants.

US in no condition to Lecture Communist Cuba on human rights?

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Oh wait... They're actually serious. Whatever the US's problems (and we have a few) the communist shithole of Cuba is not a state in any position to criticize us. Not to mention that most of their criticisms are complete bullshit:

"We have deep concerns by the respect and the guaranties of the human rights in that country, where there is a large number of cases of murder, brutality and police abuse, particularly against the African Americans; the right to live is violated as a result of deaths by firearms," the statement read.

It went on to list a litany of concerns: racial discrimination, salary inequality between genders, the marginalization of immigrants and refugees from Islamic and other countries, Trump's proposed wall on the southern border, his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord, the imprisonment of enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, the killing of US and foreign citizens in drone attacks, the preface for and conduct of the wars in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, and estimates that the Republican health care bill would cause 23 million people to lose medical insurance.

Yeah...

1. It's not unheard of for cops to be complete shitbags. However, it's also uncommon, and unless they get protected by their department and/or attorney general they'll face the consequences for it, and when they do get protection of that sort, it sets of a lot of bad press. It's also worth noting that the levels of corruption among US cops are quite a bit lower than most of the rest of the world. Casual bribery of cops is a part of life in most of the world, but not in the US.
2. Right to live violated as a result of deaths by firearms? I hate to break it, but taking away guns doesn't get rid of violence and murder. It often makes the violence worse.
3. Racial discrimination? There are race issues, but they generally get blown out of proportion.
4. Salary inequality is a nonissue. The causes of it are as follows; many women take significant time off to have children, delaying their careers, and resulting in lower average salaries. Amplifying the problem is that women tend to pick lower paying (in fact, often worthless) degrees. It has nothing to do with sexism.
5. Marginalization of refugees? Trump says some stupid shit. That doesn't mean that his rhetoric is entirely unjustified. The countries on his travel ban are all failed states without the ability to vet their passports, and with heavy terrorist influences in country. Illegal immigration is a major issue.
6. The Paris climate accord is a scam to steal money from poor and middle class people in rich countries, and give it to rich people in poor countries.
7. Killing US citizens with drones? Yeah that's an issue both legal and moral, if it's done on purpose. And if they're not acting as part of a terrorist group. Killing non-US citizens? If they're not terrorists, and it's done on purpose, again it's a moral issue (but not really a legal issue, since our government shouldn't have too much obligation to foreign nationals.
8. I'm not going to go all over the Iraq and Afghan wars right now. I don't really have the time to do it justice, and I want to go to bed sometime. Suffice to say, we had our reasons. And they were good, even if we messed up the execution.
9. Health care? Our system of healthcare works. In fact, the more government has gotten involved in it, the less well it's worked. Moreover, if you want to see what US government ran healthcare would look like, check out the VA. Yeah, all those people with socialized healthcare? They've basically got the VA, but for everyone. 

Cuba, if your country works so great, why were there ever balseros? Why was the "Wet feet, dry feet" policy such a big deal? Stop moralizing.

On Trump and Russia.

For the record (and as is fairly evident from reading past posts) I'm not a terribly big fan of Donald Trump. As far as I'm concerned, he was the third worst option last election cycle, running against the worst option.
Based off of his past views as expressed in his (mostly former at this point) associations and written words, he is one of three things:

1. Newly conservative, at a time when most people are quite settled in their ways, and having been a Democrat for the majority of his life
2. A liberal pretending to be a republican (based off of his actions since becoming president, this one is now the least likely scenario, unless he's playing a far deeper game than any US politician has played in decades).
3. A populist with no truly personal political views. I favor this theory, because he's changed political affiliations a total of seven times over the course of his life.

Whatever the case may be, the fact that he's turned out to not be Hillary Clinton with better taste in clothes is not a ringing endorsement.

With that in mind, I have a few things to say to liberals when it comes to Trump.

• This is your fault just as much as it is the conservatives. Trump won the primary, not despite the bad press, but because of it. When you turned Mitt Romney, perhaps the squishiest and most liberal Republican in the party, into the next thing to Hitler, and earlier, John McCain, who is probably the biggest swing vote in the Senate, into the reincarnation of Goebbels, you destroyed your credibility. So when Trump came along, and he actually was an asshole, no one believed you, and a significant portion of the electorate voted for him BECAUSE you said he was an asshole. Then you compounded the issue by running Hillary Clinton against him. You picked the one candidate capable of getting libertarians of any stripe to vote for Trump. You could have ran Jim Webb, who probably could have stolen a good chunk of conservatives from Trump. You could have ran Bernie Sanders, who despite being a batshit crazy socialist could've drawn a significant number of new voters, and basically all current leftist voters. Instead, you ran the absolute worst candidate you could've ran, one who alienated not just conservatives, but a good chunk of middle, and who failed to draw in any new voters to make up for the way she alienated the more conservative portion of the middle.
• Remember the birther controversy? A lot of your recent ideas about getting rid of Trump are just as foolish. The whole "Russia" debacle? Not doing you any favors. If you don't have the conclusive ability to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, you probably shouldn't be making a big deal out of it. Otherwise, just like the birthers, when you can't prove it, you look completely retarded and help out your opposition.
• Even should you manage to oust Trump, you'll get Mike Pence. You don't want Mike Pence. Hillary doesn't even get another shot until 2020, at which point in time you should probably pick another candidate. You're not getting any other democrat, because you'd need to impeach and remove from office 5 people before you got to someone who isn't a Republican. And, not only is he not a democrat, I doubt that you'd enjoy President "Mad Dog" Mattis. This assumes of course that you impeach people faster than replacements can be nominated, which is itself extremely unlikely.

That's it for now. Enjoy your free advice.

Well...

Trump hasn't been as bad as I feared he might be. I'd still rather have Ted Cruz or even Gary Johnson as president, but Trump has managed to meet the standard for "mediocre", not a standard I ever thought he'd reach. Of course, mediocre isn't exactly a desirable state of affairs, but he's at least managed to avoid being Hillary Clinton with a comb over. Of course some people would probably prefer him that way.

If somehow they choose to run Hillary Clinton again in 2020, I'll probably die of laughter. Clinton was perhaps the only possible presidential choice that he could have won against initially, and so long as he fulfills a few campaign promises and manages to refrain from putting anyone into death camps, he'll have a solid advantage against Hillary in 2020.

A Week and a Half

That's how long it is until election day. I already voted for Johnson. I fully expect several of my family members to give me grief about that choice, but when it comes down to it, even if my vote is the tiebreaker that gives Hillary the nomination, I'll  have no regrets.

Donald Trump is, at best, a populist with no real values of his own, changing to match the winds of popular opinion. At worst, he's a democrat in republican's clothing, seeking to undermine the opposition from within. Either way, he's a shitty choice for president, made semi-palatable only by the fact that the other major option is Hillary Clinton, and the possibility that he's actually changed his colors.

Honestly, If you don't want tyranny, don't vote for either of them. Hillary definitely WILL increase the oppressive scope and power of the federal government. Trump is a gamble, a bet that he's actually become semi-conservative and won't be Hillary with better taste in clothing, or a populist president who introduces us to "Tyranny of the Majority".

While I disagree heavily with some of Johnson's views, he's not a tinpot dictator waiting to happen, nor is he a populist demagogue who'll fuck us over with the "tyranny of the majority". He has a record and established values. They're not perfect, nor are they even optimal, but he's not someone I'm worried about. The other two? I don't gamble, nor am I willing to just give over my freedom.

National Seppuku

Yesterday our nation committed Seppuku. Rather than picking a candidate with a record of standing up to the establishment and of being at least somewhat pro-liberty - even if he has some serious issues - the Republicans have picked a lifelong crony capitalist, anti-gun, eminent domain abusing felonious democrat to oppose a lifelong corrupt, anti-gun, sexual predator enabling, felonious democrat (because Bernie doesn't stand a chance, and even if he did, he's a lifelong delusional batty socialist, and almost as bad as the other two).

Trumpeters, you are a bunch of freaking idiots. Trump's record is just as liberal as Hillary's, but with fewer dead people and leaked secrets, and more eminent domain abuse and fraud. You've given us an election where the best option is going to be whoever the Libertarians put forth (probably Gary Johnson). And all because you wanted to stick it to the establishment. Too bad that you just cut your nose off to spite your face. At best we're going to get four years of stupid. At worst, Hillary or Trump will start a civil war or revolution and we'll end up killing each other in the streets. Go home and dream of blood and fire. You deserve it.

Trump vs. Cruz

At this point in the game, there are only three Republican candidates who matter. Trump, Cruz, and Rubio.

Trump is a populist shitbag. Before he got involved with the Republican party, he was anti-gun, pro-abortion, actively engaging in corruption and bribery of politicians and abuse of eminent domain, and has overall proved to be an authoritarian jerkass. If you're planning on voting for Trump, stop trying to justify your protest vote. He's not going to make America Great Again. He's not going to restore our gun rights. He's not going to fix immigration. He is, at best, going to do nothing, because that's all that a president can do so long as Congress is against him - assuming that Congress has some balls anyway. At worst, he'll cause an authoritarian nightmare. You're voting for him because he's rude (not "un-PC", there's a difference) on TV and makes the establishment politicians who've screwed you over for years go pee pee in their panties. You're the spite vote.

Rubio is overall meh. He's got a record of crossing party lines that turns off a lot of the people who fall into the "Spite vote" group, but he's not a horrible candidate. And hopefully he's learned from his amnesty blunder. But he needs to drop out of the race. He controls enough delegates to affect the race, but not enough to win. If he dropped out, he'd be handing the race to Cruz for all intents and purposes.

Cruz isn't perfect, but he's good enough. He might be a bit more evangelical than some more libertarian leaning Republicans would prefer, but he's far preferable to Trump, with a record of 2nd Amendment support that is hard to beat, and a record of fighting the Democrats and the party establishment that repeatedly sells out to the Democrats. And unlike Gary Johnson (who is himself, not a perfect candidate), he actually stands a chance of winning should he become the Republican candidate.

Progressive Taxation, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, and Karl Marx

So, Trump and Carson are in disagreement over whether or not a progressive income tax counts as Socialism.

Karl Marx, one of the founders of Communist philosophy, wrote:

Of course, in the beginning, this cannot be effected except by means of despotic inroads on the rights of property, and on the conditions of bourgeois production; by means of measures, therefore, which appear economically insufficient and untenable, but which, in the course of the movement, outstrip themselves, necessitate further inroads upon the old social order, and are unavoidable as a means of entirely revolutionising the mode of production.

These measures will of course be different in different countries.

Nevertheless in the most advanced countries, the following will be pretty generally applicable.

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

These are the means by which Marx proposed to bring Communism to the poor deluded masses. Note number 2 - A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. 

If a progressive income tax is a requirement for Communism, then it's definitely tied closely to Socialism, which is, in effect, Communism Lite.

In other words, Carson was wrong, but only because he didn't go far enough.