Written below the separator is an actual comment I made in response to a posted article by Ted Rall on the Unz Review. You can see it here. Everything above the separator is introduction.

Rall attempts to make the case that the $40 billion appropriated by Congress to “support” Ukraine against Russia could be better spent domestically. He lists numerous items which could be paid for if only we spent that money at home instead of sending it abroad. However, nowhere does he question why Congress (or anyone else for that matter) should be able to simply grab that money and spend it. It is simply assumed that our Dear Leaders have the right and authority to do so.

I push back on that mentality and assert that no one, absolutely no one, individual or collective, can legitimately take what lawfully belongs to someone else and use it for their own purposes. This is a real problem in our modern world, but it is not unique to the present. Instead, it has been the M.O. for all of human history and it has always resulted in catastrophe for those who practice it.

I fully expect to receive blowback and negative responses. I do not care. When they arrive, I will respond to them in the best way I know how. In this, I am in full agreement with Gary Barnett’s declaration.

If my comments here seem disagreeable, or offend in any way, just remember, I don’t give a damn. I do not mean this disrespectfully, it is just that your thoughts are yours, and mine are mine. I have no time to waste worrying about what other’s think about me, what I believe, what I know, or what I write. If I were to spend my days wringing my hands over such nonsense, my entire life would consist only of worry over things of which I have no power to change; not that I would anyway. It is not that I do not have curiosity, compassion, or even agreement with some of the thoughts and ideas of others you see, it is simply that it makes no difference what you or I think about each other’s opinions, only that we are honest with ourselves.

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$40 billion wish list! Make sure you get your own request in soon while there is still money left because the Gravy Train has almost run its course.

Considering that the only true function of government (if there is one) is to protect its citizenry from aggression, either foreign or domestic, there is nothing on that list which can be considered a legitimate expenditure. As nice as it sounds to promote the idea that our cats should be fed or that college students should be subsidized by the government, this is nothing more than the socialistic mindset that all of us should be forced to pay so that someone else can benefit from our own hard work. Whether we want to or not is irrelevant. Open your wallet, boy, so we can stick our hand into it. Oh, and by the way, we know exactly how much you should pay and who will benefit!

All of this, every bit of it, is predicated on one thing–that someone has the right to take what lawfully belongs to someone else and use it as they see fit. This can be boiled down to one word–theft. Most people participate in the system of Grand Theft willingly because they believe, deep down, that they really do have a right to the property of others and that it is only correct and proper that government redistributes that property so that “justice” is practiced. As long as I get what I deserve, who cares about the suffering of others who might be harmed by it?

Everyone wants their own piece of the pie and is actively engaged in making sure they get it by any means, fair or foul, regardless of who has to pay. Unfortunately, everyone has to pay and the bill keeps getting larger, resulting in ever louder screams for more government intervention to “right” the perceived wrong, which does nothing at all to improve the situation but only makes it worse. It is a constant downward spiral which eventually will end in disaster for the entire world in a very real way, and a new system will arise out of the rubble.

If there is anything or anyone left to come out of it.