As human beings, we orient ourselves in the world through society. Our social networks are built from the bottom up, from our day-to-day interactions with other individuals and our exchanges of courtesies, knowledge, and goods with other people. We use the reactions of others to keep us sane and rational, and through the systemic process of negotiating our relationship with society, we tap into the wisdom and experience of our neighbors and our ancestors.

It is on this level that we work out the details of interpersonal protocol: knowing when someone prefers to be addressed by their full name or a nickname, or by an honorific title such as Doctor. Disregarding the other party’s expressed preference is a breach of etiquette, and may carry a penalty in the form of a verbal rebuke or simply a harsh look from the offended party. Except in the military (where correct use of rank titles is enforced by regulations and by military law), there is no legal consequence to such a social offense because it does not belong to the realm of the State.

And that’s as it should be. The social penalty for a violation of etiquette is incremental (that is, you can dial it up and down) and not categorical (a one-size-fits-all mandatory punishment). This is the social market.

But in today’s world, the elites and technocrats want to impose a top-down model. “Hate speech” laws and “preferred pronouns” give the State power to police and control personal interactions. This is central planning applied to the social market.

USA – ELECTION 2024: DESANTIS SUSPENDS PRIMARY CAMPAIGN, ENDORSES TRUMP
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2024/01/21/desantis-suspends-presidential-campaign-n4925704

‘”I am proud to have delivered on 100% of my promises and I will not stop now,” DeSantis continued. “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him. While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge.”‘

Most of the people I know personally in the Republian / conservative community – I am not speaking of politicians, pundits, or outrage-peddling social-media influencers – are not ant-DeSantis (or any of the other R candidates) because they’re pro-Trump, or vice versa. What I’ve actually found in real life is that ordinary people are perfectly capable of weighing the costs and benefits of a given decision – even in a highly charged political campaign – and making a choice one way or another.

Not long ago, I was discussing the primary campaign with a good friend, in particular Trump vs. DeSantis. We were both in agreement on all the substantive points of each candidate’s respective strengths and weaknesses, and at the end of the day my friend came down narrowly on the side of DeSantis while I came down narrowly in favor of Trump.

USA: SCOTUS ALLOWS BIDEN REGIME TO REMOVE TEXAS BORDER FENCE.
https://pjmedia.com/paula-bolyard/2024/01/22/shocker-supreme-court-sides-with-biden-admin-on-texas-border-case-n4925734
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/texas-installs-more-border-wire-after-supreme-court-order-allowing-its-removal-5572059

PJM: “Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett sided with the liberal wing of the court, which did not explain its decision.”

Epoch Times reports that the State of Texas has not yet made any moves to take down existing barbed wire, Additionally: “The barriers being put in place were already planned prior to the court’s decision, and those plans will go forward.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: “Although the Supreme Court has permitted the continued destruction of Texas’s border security measures, this appeal remains ongoing, and the Office of the Attorney General will argue the case in front of the Fifth Circuit on February 7.”

WORLD TODAY 2024-0121

AMERICAS / INTERNATIONAL: JAVIER MILEI AT WEF IN DAVOS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfcd0gWNIog
https://www.eurasiareview.com/18012024-speech-of-argentinas-president-javier-milei-at-davos-transcript/

Speaking at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Argentina’s President Javier Milei praised the benefits of the free market economy and condemned socialism, speaking from his own country’s experience and from a wealth of statistical data. He further argued that socialism is inherently unjust because it is inherently violent and coercive. Additionally, Milei argued in favor of a broader definition of socialism: “Today, states don’t need to directly control the means of production to control every aspect of the lives of individuals. With tools such as printing money, debt, subsidies, controlling the interest rate, price controls, and regulations to correct so-called market failures, they can control the lives and fates of millions of individuals.”

USA ELECTION QUESTIONS: GBI STRATEGIES WORKER INTERVIEW – GATEWAY PUNDIT.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/new-evidence-gbi-strategies-employee-who-turned-fraudulent/

Following up on a report from last August, Gateway Pundit fills in the blanks in a Michigan State Police report on irregularities in the 2020 election in Muskegon and elsewhere in that state. Thousands of questionable voter registration forms were dropped off at the Muskegon City Clerk’s office from an entity called GBI Strategies, by a woman named Brianna Hawkins. Here, Michigan AG investigator Stephen Morse can be seen interviewing Brianna (presumably Brianna Hawkins) about her role.