Disqus - Latest Comments for Malcolm_Kirkpatrick

Re: DAVID FRUM GETTING AN EARLY JUMP ON NEXT YEAR: https://twitter.com/baseballcrank/status/199881526

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:59:54 -0000

Congress should mandate in-person voting, paper ballots only, and photo ID for all Federal elective offices. Let D-politicians in D-controlled jurisdictions explain why their constituents vote D in local elections and R in Federal electiona.

Re: DAVID FRUM GETTING AN EARLY JUMP ON NEXT YEAR: https://twitter.com/baseballcrank/status/199881526

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:50:13 -0000

BallotPedia 2024 Presidential election, by ID requirements
No ID required. State (winner).
Ca. (H), Hi. (H), Il. (H), Ma. (H), Md. (H), Me. (H,. Mn. (H), NJ (H), NM (H), Nv. (T), NY (H), Or. (H), Pa. (T), Vt. (H), Wa. (H). Harris: 13 out of 15.
Photo ID required.
Al. (T), Ar. (T), Fl. (T), Ga. (T), Id. (T), In. (T), Ks. (T), Ky. (T), La. (T), Mi. (T), Mo. (T), Ms. (T), Mt. (T), Nb. (T), NC (T), NH (H), Oh. (T), Ok. (T), RI (H), SC (T), SD (T), Tn. (T), Tx. (T), Wi. (T), Wy. (T). Trump: 23 out of 25.
Subtract "no ID required" California (total vote and voter peer candidate) from the US total, and Trump won a majority of the popular vote.

Other States: ID requested or other ID (e.g., utility bill, rent receipt) permitted.

Re: K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers.. It's not for everyone, but at this point

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 11:00:08 -0000

Teaching is fun if you like your subject, you like kids, and the kids want to be there.

Re: K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers.. It's not for everyone, but at this point

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:54:37 -0000

There's not much enthusiasm for anti-racism curricula in Hawaii, either, despite the attempts by the UH College of Ed. and various Victim Studies departments to push it.

Re: WHY NOT BY EMAIL? OR WHY NOT SIMPLY ASSUME THE VOTES? Swalwell Wants Californians Voting by Phone

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:43:41 -0000

Singapore requires in person voting. Overseas travelers vote at facilities that the embassy designates.

Re: K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers.. It's not for everyone, but at this point

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:41:16 -0000

Thirty years ago, the sociologist David Riesman recommended that the pre-college curriculum not include Social Studies because, he predicted, many teachers would use the venue to indoctrinate students.

Re: K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers.. It's not for everyone, but at this point

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:35:52 -0000

Let it rot. Subsidize escape options* at some fraction 2/3 < a/b < 9/10 of the district's previous 5 year average per pupil revenue. Let the NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel's facilities (which facilities _Washington Post_ Education writers and many other speakers of American English call "public schools") promote the latest Feminist/Marxist/LGBTQ fad from Colleges of Education. Enjoy the show as the cartel pulls a Bud Lite and kill their brand.

* Escape options include charter schools, tuition vouchers, education tax credits, education savings accounts, GED at any age and subsidized private sector employment to age 18, GED at any age and subsidized post-secondary tuition to age 18, subsidized homeschooling, and Parent Performance Contracting.

Re: WHY NOT BY EMAIL? OR WHY NOT SIMPLY ASSUME THE VOTES? Swalwell Wants Californians Voting by Phone

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 04:45:11 -0000

US Constitution, Article 1
Section 4
"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators."

Why not mandate (for all Federal offices):
1. in-person voting only (overseas troops vote at brigade HQ. Tourists vote at Embassy facilities. A mobile facility like the library bookmobile visits hospitals, eldercare facilities, and housebound voters).
2. Government-issued photo ID required.
3. Optically-scanned paper ballots only.
4. New voter registration closes at least eight weeks before election day (or, election week).

Let local officials explain why their cities vote R in secure national elections and D in insecure local elections.

Re: MEANWHILE STUDENTS CAN'T READ, DO MATH OR UNDERSTAND HISTORY: Teachers' Union Faces Serious Criti

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 11:49:05 -0000

Let it rot. Just subsidize escape options* and let the NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel pull a Bud Lite and kill their brand.

*Escape options include tuition vouchers, charter schools, GED at any age and subsidized private-sector employment, GED at any age and subsidized post-secondary tuition, education savings accounts, education tax credits, subsidized homeschooling, and Parent Performance Contracting.

Re: IT'S SATIRE -- OR IS IT? Exclusive: We Tracked Down the Demon Who Attacked Tucker Carlson in His Be

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 11:17:13 -0000

You don't need ideological purity to win a political contest, but you need a sense of direction to win anything worthwhile.

Re: IT'S SATIRE -- OR IS IT? Exclusive: We Tracked Down the Demon Who Attacked Tucker Carlson in His Be

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 11:03:39 -0000

Ed Sanders, Shards of God: A Novel of the Yippies
How the Yippies got President Lyndon Johnson to abandon the 1968 Democratic primary contest:
"In the name of life may we once summon Haldas the lilith to bear tooth upon the donker of Lyndon Baines Johnson as he sleeps ..."
Johnson wakes to find the demon chewing his johnson, which she threatens to sever from his body unless he drops out.
"I shall not seek (oh god, she's killing me) and I will not accept (oh lord, the pain) the nomination of my party (oh, oh, oh) for the office of President of the United States."

Re: #JOURNALISM: "Bad edit." You mean "deliberate lie." https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:46:19 -0000

BBC made a mistake, like Gavrilo Princip made a mistake in Sarajevo in 1914-June-28. Like Bernie Madoff made a mistake when he defrauded investors. Like Vladimir Putin made a mistake when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
A mistake is knocking an open beer off the table when you reach for the popcorn.

Re: HMM: Learning lasts when teachers are 'brave enough to be boring.' "Brett Benson used to be a fun te

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 16:30:22 -0000

The sociologist David Riesman recommended that the pre-college curriculum not include Social Studies because, he suggested, many teachers would use the venue to indoctrinate their students.
Universal subsidized school choice (including homeschooling) would also reduce the threat of State-worshipful indoctrination.
Or give to students the option to take an exit exam (the SAT, GCSE, or GRE will do) at any age and subsidize private sector employment to age 18 from the $19,700 per pupil-year that taxpayers currently pour down the K-12 rat hole.
Conventional school is a huge waste of children's time and taxpayers' money.

Re: OLD AND BUSTED: The 1970s Hollywood trope of bitter PTSD-inflicted American soldiers broken by years

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 16:45:15 -0000

"Where is the woman who can live off the rack?"
On stage.

Re: THE ENEMY WITHIN: Colleges are teaching Gen Z to love socialism.

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:49:02 -0000

It's truly frustrating to hear Republicans wail about Dems beating them like an armed home invader when the Republicans have easy access to a decisive weapon. Just pick it up and pull the trigger, idiots!
Or do you secretly want America to lose?
The President exercises legitimate control over five post-secondary institutions, the service academies.
1. Free enrollment to an online academy.
2. Define courses by their syllabi.
3. Credit by exam for all courses.
Credit by exam would bust the $900 billion post-secondary credential racket.

Re: IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE DOUBLE VALUES, THEY'D HAVE NO VALUES AT ALL: IDs for Thee, but Not for Me.

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 04:19:25 -0000

I suspect you'd find substantial support for a background check requirement for firearm purchases among the population who oppose photo ID to vote. Many 2A enthusiasts suspect that any Federal agency will use a background check system to compile a registry of applicants for firearm purchase.
There's a way to address this concern.
1. Require that all firearm transfers involve adult non-felon citizens and/or adult non-felon legal residents.
2. Mandate that the FBI maintain a searchable database of every citizen applicant for a passport, driver's license, or other government ID, and every criminal conviction and court finding of mental incompetence.
There's considerable overlap between firearm ownership eligibility and voter eligibility. A firearm transfer between strangers would require that the current owner check the database against ID. No new paperwork is generated. A ballot transfer would require that the poll worker check ID against a list of registered voters.
Do we have a deal?

Re: WATCH: John Brennan Loses It When Confronted by Former Tulsi DNI Advisor About Laptop Letter and the

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 05:09:23 -0000

The CIA and Russian intelligence services do disinformation well. They lie with impressive confidence. False assertions-as-to-fact look true. So "looks like Russian disinformation" must mean "looks plausible".

Re: REMINDER: https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/1983692839306588626

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 04:58:48 -0000

The Constitution gives to Congress and, by extension, the Executive branch, no role in the charity industry. That's not the legal/institutional environment that we currently inhabit. There are too many "r"s in "revolution". Cold turkey has a high up-front cost. How do we taper off?

Re: REMINDER: https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/1983692839306588626

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 09:46:05 -0000

Not "not guilty by reason of insanity" but "guilty by reason of insanity".
The psychiatrist Thomas Szasz would only testify as an expert witness--for-- the defense in civil cases and for the prosecution in criminal cases.
Tigers cannot help being tigers, but we don't let them roam the streets. Rabid dogs cannot help being rabid dogs, but we put them down, anyway.
Tigers in human form walk among us, and schizophrenic chimpanzees on meth. Maybe we cannot cure them, but do we have to make more of them?

Re: CHANGE (IT BACK): U.S. Ed Dept will fund 'unifying, uplifting' civics, history lessons. "Civics i

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:43:49 -0000

System insiders (e.g., Social Studies teachers) will redefine whatever curriculum freedom-lovers prescribe. Only school choice (to include subsidized homeschooling and subsidized private sector apprenticeship training) will break the NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel's grip. It's not a Federal responsibility.

Re: CHANGE (IT BACK): U.S. Ed Dept will fund 'unifying, uplifting' civics, history lessons. "Civics i

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:33:27 -0000

Governments across this planet have made more promises than they can keep. The Socialist faithful imagine that everything of value comes from government. The High Priests of the Socialist faith will ride the collapse all the way to the ground and skip away from the wreckage, indifferent to the cries that come from under the rubble.

Re: CHANGE (IT BACK): U.S. Ed Dept will fund 'unifying, uplifting' civics, history lessons. "Civics i

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:26:20 -0000

The Constitution gives to Congress (and, by extension, the Executive branch) no role in the Education industry. The President exercises legitimate control over two pre-college school systems (the BIE schools and the DOD schools) and over five post-secondary systems (the service academies). The President also has the power to define employment criteria for the Federal bureaucracy. Let State-level politicians take the fight from there. Credit by exam would bust the $1.5 trillion per year K-PhD credential racket.

Re: COME SEE THE VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE LEFTISM: Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Planned to Murder As Many

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:07:43 -0000

Throwing the abortion issue back to the States worked well for Democrats in State-level elections. What's the problem?

Re: FOR THE LEFT VIOLENCE IS BAKED IN: Death is the Solution to all Problems.

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 05:32:17 -0000

Violence defines the left if "left" refers to a preference of government over markets. For every locality A, the term "the government of A" names the largest dealer in interpersonal violence in that locality (definition, after Weber). In The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell speculated that the socialist impulse originates in a hypertrophied sense of order, what today we would call OCD, like the people who rearrange the socks in the underwear drawer ten times a day. Elsewhere (e.g., "Raffles and Mrs. Blandish", "Inside the Whale"), Orwell suggested that a predilection for authoritarian politics originates in vicarious sadism.
Mises (_Socialism_) suggested that the socialist impulse originates in a primitive revenge fantasy.
Socialism is an addictive, infantile, self-congratulatory power fantasy: "What a wonderful world it would be if I ran it!"

Re: THE EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT NEEDS TO BE RAZED AND THE GROUND SALTED: DemocRat Depravity.

Malcolm_Kirkpatrick — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 09:20:55 -0000

Do nothing except ...
Subsidize escape options (e.g., tuition vouchers, charter schools, GED at any age and apprenticeship training to age 18, homeschooling, Parent Performance Contracting). Let the NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel's facilities pull a Bud Lite and kill their brand.