I think you may underestimate the Boomers. My mother 68 and my mother in-law 77 are both ready to pull the trigger on Paul. (These are just two examples, there are more) Why? Blame it all on the current admin. These ladies are staunch conservatives, have seen enough history to know it is tragically repeating. They both have no confidence in a democratic vote. They want a change– they are fearful for our country!! Imagine that!!

I will say though, the pendullum is swinging and the future will favor us more, voluntary because they see the logic of libertarianism or involuntary because the country can no longer afford such programs.

By and large, I agree with you. The refugee issue is the one thing that could cause the Chinese to withdraw support.

In addition to that, though, the Chinese clearly have a desire to be taken seriously in world affairs (whether that is good for the world is another question), and their continued propping up of a murder like Kim doesn’t sit well in certain parts of the world. If they thought it necessary to sacrifice him, I bet they would.

Agreed, although there have been rumors over the years that the Chinese may step in and remove Kim themselves if things become too unstable too quickly.

So you’re saying that the regime of Kim Jong Il is perfectly fine by your strange definition of libertarianism.

I’m not talking about invading this country, just condemning its leaders for the murderers that they are.

Hopefully, it won’t be much longer before Beijing, the last regime in the world protecting the Kim dynasty withdraws its support and the whole thing falls like a deck of cards. And, oh yea, total economic isolation should work just fine.

A for effort, Doug! You’re a real Stakhanovite.

North Korea’s collective farming system, plus several years of drought conditions and poor irrigation techniques combined with a lack of arable land have pretty much destroyed their capacity for agricultural self-sufficiency. The only reason Kim Jong-il is able to stay in power right now is because he gives the lion’s share of the food resources to the military (and he has them doing a lot of work with the harvests as well). But eventually that’s not going to be enough to sustain even current production levels, and I’d surmise that as soon as the food for the military runs out, so will Kim Jong-il’s time.