Roe v. Wade Has Fallen

Well, after nearly half a century, it actually happened:  the landmark Roe v. Wade decision has officially fallen.  Today the US Supreme Court struck it down completely.  Forced-birther Republicans are thus now emboldened to further ban or restrict abortion at the state level, as several states have already done recently.  That is, women's hard-won reproductive rights are now in grave danger, and this goes WAY beyond abortion.  Undoubtedly, birth control and things like that will be next on the chopping block, and so on, and thus we are just a few steps away from Margaret Atwood's worst nightmare.  In fact, Clarence Thomas himself implied as much, actually saying the quiet part out loud.

Add to this the fact that the recent lockdown-induced "recession" (more like depression) has actually hit women harder than men and set back women's progress by decades by dumping even more unpaid work on them at home, and the future looks even worse still.

Democrats in Congress are still looking to pass a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, superseding the abortion bans in any state that attempts such bans.  But alas, success in that regard is far from guaranteed.

We at the TSAP are pro-choice, and hereby condemn this travesty in the strongest possible terms. 

Will Roe v. Wade Be Overturned?

A recent leak from the US Supreme Court, which currently has a conservative majority, reveals that the nearly half-century old precedent of Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned in the near future.  This, especially on the heels of one red state after another recently imposing more and more restrictions and bans on abortion, would be a disaster for women's reproductive rights, and slopes are FAR slipperier than they appear.  If a woman loses her reproductive rights, who knows what rights she can lose next?  This is one of the first of several steps towards Margaret Atwood's worst nightmare, at least in the red states.

This further drives home the point that we cannot afford to be complacent at all, even for major victories that were thought to be settled long ago.

If it does actually get overturned, women may want to go on a Lysistrata-style sex strike until either the SCOTUS reverses and restores Roe, and/or a federal law codifying Roe and/or a new constitutional amendment is passed guaranteeing reproductive rights to women.  Because otherwise, with the coming red wave (thanks in part to two years of the Democrats' self-sabotaging and illiberal Covid restrictions, and many years of silly performative wokeness), it really doesn't look very good at all.

UPDATE:  It should really go without saying, but we do NOT support, condone, or tolerate anyone vandalizing churches or places of worship of any kind, period.  That kind of behavior is grossly unethical, and also does nothing to address what governments are doing in regards to reproductive rights.  KNOCK IT OFF!

Also, here's another good piece exposing the rank hypocrisy of "pro-life" (anti-choice) zealots.

Here's A Novel Idea: Just Abolish It Already!

Now that a federal judge recently struck down as unconstitutional the longstanding requirement that only men, and not women, have to register for Selective Service (aka the draft), its legal status is in limbo until the Supreme Court sorts it out.  Some believe that the best solution is to expand it to include women, and that does indeed make sense from a gender equality perspective.  But here is an even better solution:  just abolish it already, period.

The United States has not had an active draft since it was officially abolished in 1973, at the end of the Vietnam War, and for good reason:  it no longer made any sense.  Following that, the requirement to register for Selective Service was subsequently ended in 1975, pushing the Selective Service System into "deep standby", which was essentially complete hibernation.  After all, it makes no sense to have registration if there is no active draft or chance for one in the near future, right?  Such hibernation lasted until 1980, when President Carter reactivated the registration requirement--but not the draft itself--in order to, in his own words, "send a signal to the Russians" since the Cold War looked like it was (briefly) heating up a bit once again.  Fair enough.

But here we are now in 2019, and the largely symbolic registration requirement still remains in effect, and for what, exactly?  It is basically an antiquated relic from a time when given the technology (or lack thereof) of the day, it may have been perhaps a bit more difficult to quickly reactivate a draft even if truly necessary.  But even in 1980, and with relatively puny enforcement, the registration system was back up and running within a matter of months despite being idle for five years.  And today if they really wanted to, even without registration, the government could literally find anyone they wanted to draft from all of the many other databases that already exist.  That method may have a bit more friction to it, of course, but a little bit of friction for something with that much gravitas is really not a bad thing.

And the odds of an active draft ever being reinstated in the foreseeable future are almost nil given today's technology and the increasingly professional nature of the US Armed Forces.  Even if we run very short of troops, we can simply pay them more and we will be thus able to meet our recruiting goals.  And if we still can't meet our goals, we should really question the wisdom of whatever war(s) we happen to be fighting at that time, and exactly whose interests are really being served.  To put it bluntly, a country that needs a draft to defend itself deserves to lose, and in a truly just war, conscription would be unnecessary since volunteers would surely be plentiful.

(Some would note exceptions, of course, but those very rare exceptions only prove the rule.)

Therefore, the TSAP believes that registration requirement be abolished at once and the Selective Service System be put back into the hibernation of "deep standby" just like it was in 1975-1980.  And if they like, they can also update the law currently on the books to include women in the event it is ever reactivated in the future.  But make no mistake, the TSAP has never, and will never, support a draft--unless of course you mean the "consensual conscription" idea that we have floated before in which all wars longer than 90 days are put up to a popular vote, and only "yes" voters (and perhaps followed by abstainers) would get drafted.  That's about as fair as it gets.  Otherwise, we unequivocally say, as they famously said back in the day:

"HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!"

and, as the late Major General Smedley Butler famously said,

"TO HELL WITH WAR!"

An Open Letter to Women in Politics (Re-post)

(This is a re-post, in honor of the fact that Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination for President in the 2016 election.  The TSAP originally was "feeling the Bern" but now (grudgingly) supports Hillary instead of Donald Chump.  And we believe that she will most likely win, Goddess willing.)

To any Women who are running for office, in office, or considering running for office in the near future:

You have probably noticed that the world is on fire, and has been for quite some time now.   We stand on the verge of World War III as we speak, and our overburdened planet is in grave danger.  We continue to flirt with the prospect of mass extinction (including humans, by the way) in the not-too-distant future, as we continue to cook the planet with reckless abandon.  We know what is causing all of these problems, and we already have the technology and wherewithal to solve them if we really wanted to, yet our current Big Wetiko "leaders" refuse to solve such problems because they are sycophantic lackeys to the parasitic elites, if not the very same elites themselves.  And these plutocrats are hopelesly addicted to "business as usual".

So how did we get here in the first place, exactly?  The answer lies in ancient history, about 7000 years ago or so, when men apparently got the bright idea to take over the (known) world piece by piece, by deposing you from power.  That's right, it was originally Women who were in charge for most of humanity's existence, and us fellas apparently thought we could do a better job as leaders than you ladies did.  Well, history shows us that we were wrong--dead wrong in fact.  Indeed, the best advice that us men can give to Women is "don't be like us", because we f**ked the world up royally. We paved paradise and put up a parking lot, we created a desert and called it "peace".  We have devoured and suffocated our own empire, and now we are all paying a heavy price for it.  That's right--WE did it.  And we're sorry about that--though we can clearly stuff our "sorrys" in a sack! 

And now it is time for you to reclaim your rightful position as the new leaders of the free world once again, starting with the USA and eventually spreading from there.  In fact, it is LONG overdue for you to do so.  We cannot apologize enough for handing you such a monumental clusterf**k of a world for you to fix, of course, but we fellas have plenty of faith that you will be able to do so. We know that Women, not men, are the real natural-born leaders, and you can clearly handle power a lot better without it going to your heads than us.  We know that your preferred paradigm of society, what Riane Eisler calls the "partnership" model, is far better than the "dominator" model that we have been practicing for the past 7000 years.  As the saying goes, never send a boy to do a man's job--send a Woman instead.  Truer words were never spoken, and we need you now more than ever before.

It's now 2016, and there are plenty of elections in which you can win this year.  The highest and tallest "glass ceiling" in the world--President of the United States--is just waiting to be smashed, as are plenty of other important political offices as well.  We wish all of you the very best of luck.  Now, go forth and make old Buckminster Fuller proud!  Vive la femme!

Sincerely,

Ajax the Great, Party Leader of the TSAP

How To Really Defeat ISIL For Good

The USA and coalition forces have been bombing Daesh/ISIL (which we prefer to call them so as not to inadvertently profane the name of the Goddess) for over a year now, 17 months to be exact.  And Russia has been bombing them for nearly three months now.   And yet they still seem to be spreading, even though they are clearly on the losing side in the long run.   After the first few weeks of bombing in August/September 2014, the fight basically became a stalemate which lasted until Russia started their airstrikes in Syria, tipping the balance against Daesh once more.

Now the hawks such as Donald Chump are, unsurprisingly, calling for an escalation of this war.   Clearly, we are already fighting fire with gasoline, and those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  In fact, it was our own meddling and warmongering that caused Daesh to become a problem in the first place!  But here is a better idea--let's NOT give Daesh the "holy war" they so desperately want.  In fact, Tom Englehardt (Tom Dispatch) and Peter van Buren have the best idea of all--quick withdrawal, after getting them where it really hurts by taking out their OIL.  Such targets--wellheads and oil trucks--are not at all hard to find, and are fairly easy to take out from the air.  And put diplomatic and economic pressure on Turkey and other so-called "allies" to stem the flow of Daesh oil as well.  Because oil is their primary source of funding, and removing that will cause them to quickly collapse of their own weight, and when they are seen as a failure then few would want to join them.  And once we take it out, then GTFO and let Daesh fall on their own sword.

The TSAP agrees with that idea, and we would also like to add to that.  Before withdrawing, we should give every *woman* over there an AK-47 and tell them to take over their country and mow down anyone who stands in their way. Let Allah sort it out. Problem solved. But of course, the mostly-male powers that be would not be too keen on that idea. After all, they wouldn't want women in THIS country getting any ideas, now would they?  (Of course, the TSAP believes that women should take over the world in order to save it, so that wouldn't really be a bad idea)

Honestly, it is certainly a better idea than arming questionable male "rebels" who end up turning traitor.  VIVE LA FEMME! 

Where We Stand Today

Since our founding in 2009, the True Spirit of America Party (TSAP) has come a long way.  Many of our positions on various issues have evolved since then, in some cases rather dramatically.

• Originally, we believed that capitalism could perhaps be redeemed and used for the greater good.  Currently, the TSAP is essentially anti-capitalist since we now realize that capitalism cannot be redeemed, and its addiction to growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell, which eventually kills its host.  We must leave room for Nature, lest Nature not leave room for us.
• Originally, the TSAP was staunchly pro-guns and in some ways to the right of the NRA.  But with the recent increase in mass shootings and what we have learned since then, we have since adopted a more nuanced and moderate position on the issue of gun control.
• Originally, the TSAP attempted to find common ground with the nascent Tea Party movement and the broader Patriot movement in 2009-2010.  Since around 2011 or so, we have since ended such attempts upon realizing that they are, by and large, just another reich-wing racist and neo-fascist movement.  We now prefer the Occupy movement instead, by far.
• Originally, our stance on immigration was relatively hard-line; it has since softened quite a bit.  We now believe in a more generous amnesty program, as not doing so would be far too cruel. And we also realize just how blinded by white privilege we once were.
• Originally, the TSAP was pro-nuclear power all the way;  as of 2015 we now currently take the more neutral stance that the Union of Concerned Scientists takes, neither for nor against it.
• Originally, the TSAP believed that with very few exceptions, every able-bodied adult should "work for a living".  We now feel that such an idea is archaic and outdated, and that Buckminster Fuller would be rolling in his grave.  There are more than enough resources in the world such that with today's technology we no longer NEED everyone to "work for a living" unless they really wanted to.  The real problem is that our abundance is being wasted and/or hoarded by the oligarchs, to the detriment of everyone else.
• Originally, the TSAP was "egalitarian" on the issue of gender for the most part.  We also assumed that our party (including our leader Ajax the Great) would eventually save the world, lol.  But more recently, we now believe that it ain't gonna be us fellas who will save the world.  Only women would really be able to do so, and to do so they must take over.  Yesterday.  The futurists are unanimous about this:  the future belongs to women.  Thus, as of 2014 our party has been an observer of the Matriarchy movement, and as of 2016 we have basically joined the movement fully.  At the same time, we will continue to support our cause of progressive libertarianism to the fullest, as we believe that the two are perfectly compatible.  We would like to thank the distinguished Guru Rasa von Werder and William Bond for helping us see the light in that regard, as well as several others such as Pat Ravasio and Riane Eisler who have inspired us along the way.

Thus, our rather dynamic third party is continuing to evolve.  As John Mellencamp and India Arie would say, "If you're not part of the future, get out of the way!"

UPDATE:  The TSAP party leader, Ajax the Great, has recently created a new blog about the Matriarchy movement, called "The Chalice and the Flame".   Please check it out.  Opinions expressed therein are those of Ajax the Great and not necessarily the TSAP as a whole.

State of the Planet Address 2016

On January 12, 2016, the President will give his annual State of the Union Address.  And every year since 2011, the TSAP has been giving our annual State of the Planet Address in mid-January.  Yes, we know it is a bit of a downer to say the least.  So sit down, take off your rose-colored glasses, and read on:

Our planet is in grave danger, and has been for quite some time now.  We face several serious long term problems:  climate change, deforestation/desertification, loss of biodiversity, overharvesting, energy crises, and of course pollution of many kinds.  Polar ice caps are melting.  Rainforests have been shrinking by 50 acres per minute.  Numerous species are going extinct every year.  Soil is eroding rapidly.  Food shortages have occurred in several countries in recent years.  Weather has been getting crazier each year thanks to climate change.  We have had numerous wildfires, floods followed by long periods of drought, and a "storm of the century" at least once a year for the past few years.   And it is only getting worse every year.

None of this is an accident of course.  These problems are man-made, and their solutions must also begin and end with humans.  We cannot afford to sit idly by any longer, lest we face hell and high water in the not-too-distant future.  Our unsustainable scorched-earth policy towards the planet has to end.  Yesterday.

While we do not invoke the precautionary principle for all issues, we unequivocally do for the issue of climate change and any other environmental issues of comparable magnitude.  In fact, for something as dire as climate change, as of 2015 we now support a strong "no regrets" approach.  With no apologies to hardcore libertarians or paleoconservatives, in fact. We are not fazed one bit by the naysayers' pseudoscience (*cough* Rush Limbaugh *cough*) as it does not really "debunk" the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming. The only serious debate is about how fast it will happen, and when the tipping point (or points) will occur. It is not a matter of if, but when. And the less precarious position is to assume it is a real and urgent problem. We need to reduce CO2 emissions to the point where the CO2 concentration is at or below 350 ppm, ASAP.  And it is currently at an unsustainably high level of 400+ ppm, and growing.

Solving the problem of climate change will also help to solve the other ecological crises we are facing, for they all ultimately have the same root causes, not least of which is our insatiable addiction to dirty energy.  However, there is a right way to solve it, and several wrong ways.  Technology is important, but it won't be decisive on its own (economics geeks may recall Jevons Paradox).  The real problem is the paradigm that our society has been following, and that system is based on wetiko, the parasite of the mind and cancer of the soul.  It often seems that the only difference between capitalism and cannibalism is the spelling.

The TSAP endorses the ideas embodied in Steve Stoft's new book Carbonomics, most notably a tax-and-dividend system that would tax carbon (i.e. fossil fuels) at the source, and give all Americans an equal share of the revenue generated from this tax.  (Note that our proposal to tax natural resources and pay out an Alaska-like citizen's dividend already includes this.)  Yes, prices for various things would undoubtedly rise due to this tax, all else being equal, but the dividend will allow Americans to pay for this increase. The average American would in fact break even, but those who (directly or indirectly) use less energy than average will effectively pay less tax, while the energy hogs will effectively be taxed more, as they should be. Thus it is certainly not a regressive tax, and may even be mildly progressive. This is both the simplest and most equitable way to reduce carbon emissions as well as other forms of pollution, not to mention waste of dwindling non-renewable resources. The real challenge is getting the feds to accept something that won't directly benefit them (in the short term).  Carbonomics also includes other good ideas, such as improving how fuel economy standards are done, and crafting a better verison of the Kyoto treaty.  

In addition to the ideas in Carbonomics, we also support several other measures to help us end our addiction to fossil fuels once and for all.  Our Great American Phase-Out plan would phase out all fossil fuels by 2030 at the latest, via alternative energy, efficiency, and conservation.  One good idea to further the development of alternative energy would be the use of feed-in tariffs for renewable power sources.

We support ending net deforestation completely, and putting carbon back in the ground through carbon sequestration. One method is known as biochar, a type of charcoal made from plants that remove carbon dioxide from the air, that is subsequently buried. This is also an ancient method of soil fertilization and conservation, originally called terra preta.  It also helps preserve biodiversity.  Another crucial method would be regenerative organic farming, which also turns the soil into an effective carbon sink as well.

We've said this before, and we'll say it again.  Our ultimate goal is 100% renewable energy by 2030, but we need to hedge our bets.  We can phase out fossil fuels, or we can phase out nuclear power, but we can't do both at the same time--and fossil fuels need to be phased out first, and quickly.  Nuclear is doing a pretty good job of phasing itself out as it is.  Our nation's irrational fear of all things "nuclear" needs to die NOW.  (And speaking of which, let's irradiate all ground meat as well--if only to scare people into eating less meat, lol)

But the biggest elephant in the room (make that the elephant in the Volkswagen) is overpopulation.  It does not make for pleasant dinner conversation, but it must be addressed or else all other causes become lost causes in the long run. We absolutely need to have fewer kids, or nature will reduce our population for us, and the latter will NOT be pleasant to say the least. The TSAP believes in voluntarily reducing the total fertility rate (TFR) to 1.5-1.9 children per woman to do so, along with reducing immigration dramatically, but let us be clear that we do NOT support draconian and/or coercive measures of population control (like China has used).  We believe that more liberty is the answer, not less.   In fact, the two most effective means of reducing the birthrate are poverty reduction and female empowerment.  Fortunately, America's TFR has recently dropped to below 1.9, though it remains to be seen if that is a secular trend or just a temporary blip due to the "recession" (i.e. depression).  But clearly we cannot keep growing and growing, that's for sure (in fact, we need to shrink). And our insatiable addiction to economic growth (despite being decoupled from well-being) is also every bit as harmful as overpopulation as well, if not more so.  Growth for the sake of growth, the ideology of the cancer cell,  is clearly one of the most asinine obsessions our nation (and world) has ever had.  We clearly need to transition to a steady-state economy, most likely following a period of what Naomi Klein calls "selective degrowth" as well.  And to do that, we need a radical paradigm shift to happen yesterday.  Put another way, we need to leave room for Nature, lest it not leave room for us.  We have been warned, decades ago in fact.  Unfortunately, such warnings have largely fallen of deaf ears until very recently.

Last but not least, the TSAP now believes that as long as men remain in charge, we are all merely rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.  Let's face it, it ain't gonna be us fellas who will save the world, as the past 7000 years or so have shown.  We paved paradise and put up a parking lot, we created a desert and called it peace.  We devoured and suffocated our own empire, and our proverbial 15 minutes of fame is almost up.  Only when women finally take over and reclaim their rightful position as the new leaders of the free world--and they will--will there be any real permanent solution.

Bottom line: we need to take the environment much more seriously than we do now.  We ignore it at our own peril.

Oh, by the way, wanna hear a joke?  Peak Oil.  Not saying it won't happen, of course--it will eventually peak and decline at some point--but climate change kinda trumps it.  While conventional oil most likely has already peaked, there is more than enough total oil (including unconventional) to deep-fry the Earth--and most of which needs to stay in the ground if we wish to avoid catastrophic climate change.  Fossil fuels are, after all, what Buckminster Fuller referred to as our planet's "energy savings account", which we need to wean ourselves off of and save just in case of a planetary emergency--and he first said this in 1941!

An Open Letter to Women in Politics

To any women who are running for office, in office, or considering running for office in the near future:

You have probably noticed that the world is on fire, and has been for quite some time now.   We stand on the verge of World War III as we speak, and our overburdened planet is in grave danger.  We continue to flirt with the prospect of mass extinction (including humans, by the way) in the not-too-distant future, as we continue to cook the planet with reckless abandon.  We know what is causing all of these problems, and we already have the technology and wherewithal to solve them if we really wanted to, yet our current Big Wetiko "leaders" refuse to solve such problems because they are sycophantic lackeys to the parasitic elites, if not the very same elites themselves.  And these plutocrats are hopelelesly addicted to "business as usual".

So how did we get here in the first place, exactly?  The answer lies in ancient history, about 7000 years ago or so, when men apparently got the bright idea to take over the (known) world piece by piece, by deposing you from power.  That's right, it was originally women who were in charge for most of humanity's existence, and us fellas apparently thought we could do a better job as leaders than you ladies did.  Well, history shows us that we were wrong--dead wrong in fact.  Indeed, the best advice that us men can give to women is "don't be like us", because we f**ked the world up royally. We paved paradise and put up a parking lot, we created a desert and called it "peace".  We have devoured and suffocated our own empire, and now we are all paying a heavy price for it.  That's right--WE did it.  And we're sorry about that--though we can clearly stuff our "sorrys" in a sack!

And now it is time for you to reclaim your rightful position as the new leaders of the free world once again, starting with the USA and eventually spreading from there.  In fact, it is long overdue for you to do so.  We cannot apologize enough for handing you such a monumental clusterf**k of a world for you to fix, of course, but we fellas have plenty of faith that you will be able to do so. We know that women, not men, are the real natural-born leaders, and you can clearly handle power a lot better without it going to your heads than us.  We know that your preferred paradigm of society, what Riane Eisler calls the "partnership" model, is far better than the "dominator" model that we have been practicing for the past 7000 years.  As the saying goes, never send a boy to do a man's job--send a woman instead.  Truer words were never spoken, and we need you now more than ever before.

It's 2014 now, and there are plenty of elections in which you can win this year, followed by even more important ones in 2016.  The highest and tallest "glass ceiling" in the world--President of the United States--is just waiting to be smashed, as are plenty of other important political offices as well.  We wish all of you the very best of luck.  Now, go forth and make old Buckminster Fuller proud!

Sincerely,

Ajax the Great, Party Leader of the TSAP

Reflections on the Isla Vista Killings

On May 23, a deeply disturbed young man committed yet another mass killing, resulting in the deaths of seven people (including himself) and injuring thirteen others.  The mass murderer, whose name we refuse to mention so as not to make him famous, stabbed and shot his victims as well as ran some of them over with his car before crashing and then shooting himself.   As the TSAP has done with previous mass killings, let us now reflect on this senseless act of horrific violence and analyze its likely causes.

The 22 year old man who did this has been dubbed the "Virgin Killer" because his motive for doing so was to get revenge against women because he apparently couldn't get laid.  Yes, you read that right, and he most likely never heard of Paging Dr. Nerdlove.  In fact, he wrote a nasty 141-page manifesto detailing his rage and his plans to act on such rage.  While it is easy to dismiss him as just another loony, aberrant, lone-wolf killer, the fact is that he was profoundly influenced by a highly misogynistic culture.  People like him are simply the tip of a very large iceberg of misogyny, as one can see at various "men's rights advocate" (MRA) and "pick-up artist" (PUA) websites (which we refuse to link to, but you can Google) as well as the mainstream media and political culture.  It is very telling indeed that he described his twisted machinations as a "War on Women", a phrase often associated with what many of today's Republican politicians have been doing in terms of rolling back women's reproductive rights (and by extension other rights as well).  He was also apparently very racist as well, and we know how racism and sexism often go together especially in the reich-wing world.  Need we say more?

Thus, while lots of people like to place the blame on guns or mental illness or even video games for this tragedy, it should be painfully obvious that the real root cause of it was patriarchy and the misogyny that inevitably goes with it.  And the reason why people like that as well as various politicians are lashing out so much right now is because patriarchy is currently in self-destruct mode and is on its way out.  Indeed, patriarchy is essentially wetiko writ large, so the sooner it ends, the better.  The futurists all seem to agree on one thing:  the future belongs to women.  And when they finally do take over, they will remember exactly how they were treated, so it really behooves us fellas to clean up our act sooner rather than later.  As John Mellencamp and India Arie would say, if you're not part of the future, get out of the way.