The original, altruistic intentions and noble-sounding slogans of [Socialists] are irrelevant. Once they are no longer constrained by law, it’s just a matter of time—and usually a very brief time—before they become tyrants. Initially their tyrannical actions will be directed at their political opposition, and then at anyone who criticizes or even questions them.
At the end of Arthur Koester’s 1940 novel Darkness at Noon, the protagonist Rubashov is so worn down with the interrogations that he accepts his fate with the following rationalization and resignation.
"And so every leap of technical progress brings with it a relative intellectual regression of the masses, a decline in their political maturity. At times it may take decades or even generations before the collective consciousness gradually catches up to the changed order and regains the capacity to govern itself that it had formerly possessed at a lower stage of civilization."
John Leake
Well, it's not "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius."
It's $400,000 Bentley automobiles. A lot of them. Of all the dealerships in Europe, the one in Kiev is in third place for sheer volume.
Take note of this tragic truth:
"Foreign aid is a mechanism by which poor people in rich countries are taxed to support the lifestyles of rich people in poor countries. The aid primarily serves three Ms—: munitions, monuments, and Mercedes for leaders and cronies."
--- Peter Thomas Bauer, a Hungarian-born British development economist:
Donald Trump this morning announced that “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST” have taken place between the U.S. and Iran over the past two days.
As a result, the president has “INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD.”