patrick.net

One of the oldest weapons against politics is humor, and it is precisely this that politicians detest the most. They cannot understand themselves as targets of jokes because they see themselves as anointed and enlightened leaders, guiding the ignorant masses. They also despise humor because they cannot control it. Often, humor arises spontaneously, as seen recently with memes associated with Brazil’s finance minister, Fernando Haddad.

There has been an explosion of satires created with mobile apps and artificial intelligence tools, linking him to movies and TV series. One such meme was displayed on a billboard in Times Square, New York, portraying him as “the Tax Human,“ a parody of the hero “the Human Torch.“ These memes have proliferated due to recent tax increases. ...

As I mentioned, humor is an ancient tool against statist follies and tax hikes. In the comedy “The Wasps“ (422 B.C.), Aristophanes satirizes the Athenian judicial system and the heavy tax burdens that sustain inefficient bureaucracy. Roman poet Juvenal, in his “Satires” (A.D. 100-127), criticized government corruption, including the heavy taxes levied on citizens.

Before the Jewish revolt of A.D. 70, Jerusalem was governed by Roman procurator Gessius Florus. He is remembered for plundering entire cities and charging “tolls“ from thieves to let them freely practice their “profession.“ Taxes continuously increased. In A.D. 66, seeking prestige and money, he stole 17 talents of gold (a little more than half a ton) from the temple of Jerusalem. The Jews mocked him by begging in the streets of Jerusalem with baskets in hand, asking for money for the “poor procurator.“ Gessius Florus was furious with the mockery. ...

And, of course, we need more memes. As Hans-Hermann Hoppe aptly said, one of the greatest threats to the state is humor and laughter. The government wants us to respect it, to take it seriously. But the truth is that they know how dangerous it is when people start laughing at the government. So, always remember: Laugh and mock the government as much as you can.

Ahead of the election in November, Democrats in the House are attempting to have the FEC issue rules to enable censorship of images created specifically by the Grok, the AI developed by Elon Musk’s X.