Apparently the Prime Clown in Canada is stepping down. Apparently the Orange Man beat the democrat machine. Are "we" winning? No.

I've had the illness of following politics for most of my life. I have never been less invested but I continue to see people missing the point. Several years ago there was an effort in California to remove Gavin Newsom from office. They call it a recall in the state.

When I hear people talk about Biden, or Newsom, or whoever you would think that all we need to do is vote the bum out and we are on the right path. That's way off. Trump's election isn't the goal but rather a sign of a minor shift in the culture and influence.

A mistake I see over and over again is focusing on the personalities. The puppets. The men. As if they are the problem. The problems are so much deeper. It's the culture, the programming, and the puppet masters. The problems are upstream of politicians. Remove one and another will replace them.

I don't so much care that Trump is less bad that Biden. Its that people make the mistake of focusing on the flag being blown by the wind than the wind itself. The politician is simply a result of many other more important factors.

Politicians work under an incentive structure that rewards promising things they cannot deliver. Even things that are not possible. Their only accountability is the voters and donors. The donors get what they want and the voters usually are to uninformed or dumb to realize what is going on. When they do realize it the other team is so demonized they either stick with their team or just don't vote.

The longer I look at democracy and the modern state the more absurd it appears to me. It's not that the men are bad or the government in power is bad. It's the whole incentive structure. There are almost no negative consequences pushing against this nonsense.

I have heard it said that the default view of political figures should be that of the tobacco executives. Today I think it should be the view of the medical insurance CEOs. The default view. There are exceptions but they are rare and work in spite of the system.

The solution is freedom and voluntary interaction. Removing the monopoly state. Remove the monopoly on violence. It would not be a utopia but IMO the incentives would be better.

The culture we create and the choices we make each day are making an impact. Remember that the flag doesn't control the wind. The wind controls the flag.