A great overview

 of the blatant hypocrisy and injustice.   And, it’s important to remember why these leftist thugs are seeking power. Not, “to win their country back” or to “establish justice.”  The left seeks power so they can have the full authority to command every aspect of our lives.  

Merry — Belated— Christmas, and a happy New Year!

Tucker Carlson…

 …on truth, beauty, and order.

It’s amazing that this guy can touch on profound philosophical points in a common, accessible, and often funny way, with no notes or teleprompter.  In this segment of a speech he recently made at Turning Points USA he shows his inner Jordan Peterson. 

A genuine spokesperson for sane and responsible thought. 

Appraisals of the…

rare and sane. 

Triumph of the Stupid

 ‘Went to a restaurant tonight. As is typical, there were plexiglass dividers at each table, apparently so the patrons — most of who came in the same car and live in the same house — could be protected from the Corona fad.  No doubt the same people who lament the creation of atmospheric CO2 are big supporters of plexiglass production for restaurants and other public venues all over the world.  I wonder how much CO2 has been added to the atmosphere in the production and transport of crap like this along with virtually useless masks?

‘Can always count on group behavior to be nonsensical and ultimately detrimental. 

The Sky is Falling

What if they threw a Climate Change fear… “and nobody came.”  The hype over “climate change” is …Fake News.

When You’re Sick of BS

 Sometimes it’s nice to hear from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about

Kanye West is obviously totally insane

Absolute Evil…

Sponsored by a Democrat near you.

We’re Gonna…

 …lose our democracy.

Two Minutes of Peace and Beauty

 The horrors of Western civilization.

 A great and occasionally funny update on the week’s insanity.

The Emerging Totalitarian Technocracy

In a free relatively open system of government, elections are held and special interests vie for ascendancy. If the system of voting is relatively simple and strait-forward, a party gains power by convincing — or conning — a majority of the voters to favor them. As the rules change and become more complex and nebulous, a party can add degrees of fraud to wrest power through less legitimate means.  Even in those circumstances, political interests battle it out while the voters go about their personal lives hoping their side wins in the next round.

The tell-tale sign that a system is on the road to a loss of freedoms is when a faction seeks to actively delegitimize and eliminate opposing views.  This is the terrible circumstance we in America — and many other countries — now find ourselves in.  The public knows this.  Leaving the stage of mere election fraud we have entered the slippery slope where the powers of state work in coordination with powerful corporatist entities (particularly in communications media) to reduce debate to non- debate. 

So far, Republicans, representing the more conservative side of the political spectrum, have not called to banish their opponents. Trump never sought to use the powers of government to criminalize the very existence of the left side of the spectrum.  The case today is far different and should be of concern to all.

No one seriously thinks that the current president is fully in charge of his faculties and decisions. Whoever is running the show is clearly committed to imposing an extreme leftist ideology upon the country.  Not to “progress” but to radically alter the country’s system of government — to eliminate the constitutional order, the country’s traditions, and economic vitality.  The end goals are clearly to put central political authority firmly in control over the daily lives of citizens and ultimately to facilitate allegiance to a global order that will surveil, judge, restrict, and punish all who are not on board with their “revolution.” 

America’s Democrat party, under the heavy hand of leftist bureaucrats, an inept president, and a radically politicized “Justice” department has been actively seeking to criminalize any political position they see as threatening their mission.

So it is that Republicans in general and “MAGA” Republicans in particular are described as terrorists, extremists, and “threats to democracy.”  The Garland “Justice” department has become something akin to the police apparatus of the former Soviet Union or Eastern block communist dictatorships.  Under the contemporary Democrat party, one can be at serious risk of being arrested by early morning SWAT raids and imprisoned with no charges for over a year, all for the “crime” of voicing support for “America First” or the virtually outlawed desire to “make America great again.”  Trespassing in a government building is now an “insurrection” even though it had been done numerous times before by their team, with no repercussions. If Antifa or Black Lives Matter had been the culprits, several paintings and sculptures would have been damaged and attempts to burn the building down would have been made. There are people currently imprisoned who never even entered the Capitol building.

The former president (and future opposition to the Democrats) has had his home raided, his taxes scrutinized (with no evidence of any crime), and he and his family and associates have been perpetually persecuted. Why?  He wants to,”Make America great again.” Specifically, to lower taxes, deregulate the economy and allow the country a position of energy independence and economic vitality.  Along with these sober stances are the typical Republican positions of a strong effective military and respect for the individual over conjured Marxist collective abstractions.

To any honest observer, several recent elections have been opened to widespread manipulation and fraud. Even if that were not the case, the system has become so muddled in bizarre schemes (unsolicited mail-in voting, ballot “harvesting,” drop boxes, etc.) that a large portion of the electorate has little faith in honest election outcomes. Hardly a recipe for democratic governance. 

In spite of nonsensical projections and hoaxes, the flag-bearers of radical leftist thought are not the victims they perpetually claim to be. They hold the levers of power virtually everywhere.  It’s the common citizen who would dare wear a MAGA hat that need fear the shock troops of Antifa or some other crazed person or group.

On several occasions, the current president has made it clear that his party and administration will literally not permit Trump to run (not allow voters to decide).  In essence, the Democrats will now decide who is permitted to run against them.  Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney may be approved but anyone to the right of them is now to be branded a “domestic terrorist.”

This is the current domestic slide into tyranny. What truly makes it different from prior attempts at eliminating freedom is the technology at the disposal of authoritarian minions.  It is no longer a “conspiracy theory”  to note the “transformations” the world would be subjected to by the likes of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, Yuval Harari, Justin Trudeau, Emanuel Macron, et al.  Already, in several countries, the ground is being laid for mass-surveillance, vaccine “passports,” social credit scores, and digital currency that can be controlled by an international authority. 

The totalitarian mindset is as old as tribes and cave-dwellers. In modern times, even the most ruthless control-freak was constrained by societal standards that demanded competition in the realm of ideas. If you wanted to enslave a population you had to at least concoct a phony justification.  Now, you just arrest your enemy, call his or her followers domestic threats, and prepare to monitor every citizen’s behavior and beliefs.

There have been massive protests across the globe against schemes like vaccine passports, phony election outcomes, and degrees of Covid lockdowns. Establishment media has been a willing facilitator of looming tyranny (how many legacy media outlets have shown the thousands of citizens in Brazil who knew their election was stolen?). 

We can take some satisfaction in knowing that not everyone is going to go peacefully into the night while tyrants and technocrats plan world-enslavement.  Let’s hope that the former outnumbers the latter. 

Died Suddenly

This documentary is certainly controversial.  

Big Tech, “fact-checkers,” the government, and big pharma describe such documentaries and the questions they raise as “conspiracy theories” and…maybe they are. But, the reality is that the noted mouthpieces of establishment authority have not exactly been forthcoming with answers to legitimate questions. In the end we choose who to believe. For me, the state and its affiliates have seldom been convincing regarding….anything.

Passports to Hell

Sound appraisal warrants concern.

Well,….

 This is interesting….

Remember….

 Leftists are totally okay with this shit.

Extreme Far-right Fascists…(supposedly)

at it again…. 

Funny that establishment media will make a fuss over a couple hundred disgruntled leftists but crowds like those currently protesting in Brazil keep being swept under the radar.

The pronoun police…

 If I have to use your pronouns, you have to use my chosen adjectives — bizarre and amazing. Non-compliance is an “act of violence.” 

Love him or hate him…

Those who are thoroughly deranged by Trump are clinically insane.   It’s now being stated by some that Russia was responsible for getting Trump back on Twitter — what flaming idiots.

Can’t people just hate his policies, state their case, and let others agree or disagree?

 Concise refutation of nonsense.

 The difference between MAGA and garden variety politicos. 

 Democracy dies under

Democrats

Eyes Wide Blindfolded

As current events would tell us; voters in much of the U.S. are okay with chaos.  They don’t mind increases in crime and actually support letting violent criminals out of detention without bail. They want their young children to be taught to hate America, to despise white skin and to think that slavery never existed outside of the US.  We should now believe that voters wish to honor niche sexual behavior as a standard to be celebrated among elementary school children. Public school teachers should now override the wishes of parents and, as representatives of the state, should foster secrecy from families in serious life-altering decisions. Apparently voters are okay with commands to wear masks, to keep their kids home from school, to obey commands for compulsory experimental “vaccines”under threat of losing one’s livelihood . The vote tallies apparently indicate that Americans don’t much like the country’s constitution and freedom of speech. 

We’re supposed to believe that voters are at least okay with these things when presented with an alternative horror of lower taxes, less regulation and a secure border.  There is of course the abortion issue and there are indeed people who value that above all the items noted.

So what has changed in the culture and an election process that has come to favor in-your-face socialism?  We can, of course, expect obvious “blue” areas like those in California and New York to favor Democrats no matter how much damage is done under them. We can’t overlook the fact that many youthful voters have been raised in a cultural milieu and “education” system that fosters obedience to the omnipotent state. To “resist” now means to obey. 

No matter what transpires in the extended election “season,”the most significant conclusions one can come to are fairly clear. The Republicans did not do as well as expected — to put it mildly.  There’s an entire spectrum of appraisals being made from the fact that they squeezed by with some positive outcomes to perceptions among some that they were utterly defeated.

Truly objective observers aren’t completely pessimistic.  A lot of the Republican losses were “toss ups” to begin with.  It would have been quite amazing if a Republican became Governor of New York in spite of excess taxation, crime, and regulation.  A percentage of a population will always favor socialism no matter how obvious it’s failures.

There are a host of reasons now being expressed as to what had happened.  Characters like Mitch — the turtle — McConnell were certainly no help. 

It would probably be a mistake for Republicans to see their circumstance as utter defeat. Democrats would be equally mistaken if they view events as mass approval for their policies.

Any sane observer has got to acknowledge questionable circumstances in some important elections.  Elections with (very) early voting, late voting, mass mail-in voting, drop boxes, “harvesters,” unaccounted for ballots, no signature matching, etc. is not just open to manipulation, it’s the obvious purpose — I mean, how hard is it to have simple paper ballots submitted and counted on Election Day along with proof of identity?  Really. Was Florida’s quick and efficient election all that bad? ‘Interesting that the most convoluted processes tend to give Democomms a win while the most verifiable and honest elections skew toward Republican wins.  It’s no wonder that Democrats are so opposed to strict and honest procedures.  Confusion and scams are the only way they can win.  The most classic of Democrat schemes can be seen in Arizona, where the person overseeing the election was the Democrat actually running (for governor) - a dull uninspiring woman who refused to debate and has a mere trickle of a social media following — kind of like something we saw two years ago. 

Establishment “Republicans” (eg. Mitch McConnell) are equally at fault for some losses.  They were so consumed by their opposition to populism and associations with Donald Trump that they literally subverted successes in their own party.  

Now what? As this is being written, there’s actually a chance that Nancy Pelosi could keep her gavel.  That would be a defeat and would be devastating to the country and its future. It would guarantee continued insane inflation-producing spending on leftist wish lists. It would guarantee the over-burdened southern border would remain wide open and for crime rates to continue their ascent. 

If the Republicans take the house, Biden’s bullshit spending and green schemes will be dead in the water, as will his brigade of new IRS storm-troopers.  My favorite….let the investigations begin!  Not out of spite and revenge but out of a legitimate desire to reveal to the public just how corrupt the leftist mega-state has become.  Definitely fire Christopher Wray, Mayorkas, and several other arrogant and uncooperative autocrats/bureaucrats. The entire justice department needs to be gutted and reestablished as an institution that honors justice.

I had noted in a recent post my disgust with Donald Trump attacking Ron DeSantis.  It really is a stupid “strategy,” at least at this point in time.  Actually, it would be a great idea for Trump to run with DeSantis as a running mate but that’s not likely to happen.

For now, the black pill Americans have taken will further support the cabal of internationalist institutions that seek to implement a socialist technocracy and surveillance state on a global scale. That’s no longer a “conspiracy theory.”  The cabal is quite open regarding their end game and it’s quite clear that many of the world’s “leaders” are fully on board with a sci-if dystopia method of governance. 

If freedom and prosperity lose in the battle before us, currently we have at least bought some more time to stock up on food, defenses, and ways to resist the recurring tyranny that dominates so much of human history. 

*******************

Some great insight by Mark Levin.

The ultimate — accurate — cynic.

 If you don’t mind a barrage of swearing, this guy is priceless. 

 Absolutely amazing!

The emboldened prepare to seal their deal. Buckle up, and when the time comes, respond accordingly.

Same old same old….

 Another election where — in numerous instances — the Republican is ahead but, AFTER election Day, batches of “mail-in ballots” and ballots from “drop boxes” put the Democrat over the finish line. If one calls for strict standards of fairness and simplicity in the way elections are run….”that’s racist!”

The Democrats are blatantly brazen in their disregard for democratic norms.  They might as well just use their woke Department of Defense to seize power outright (the way they have used allied media and communication channels). 

The response to this nonsense must be fervent and unyielding…or, say goodbye to a free society.

Trump is now clearly on a slow path to political suicide

 Attacking Desantis immediately after a landslide victory — and a year of incredible successes — is just plain stupid.  

Where Democrats win….

 Don’t Question Elections!

 It’s beyond “interesting” that, when numerous election anomalies occur, the Democrats don’t seem to mind it….now, why would that be?

 

 An excellent synopsis of the perpetual violence directed at conservatives (while leftists project their over-the-top projection at anyone to the right of Mao Zedong).

Perennial nonsense 

 An excellent appraisal of some of the more fervent delusions in the “green energy” racket.

YouTube thinks this requires a context link. That’s how pathetic this scam has become. The pink-haired drones of Silicon Valley think their censorious opinion overrides the legitimate appraisals and questions of respectable medical personnel. 

“Politics is Downstream from Culture”…(Andrew Breitbart)

 Sickening… The backlash will be warranted.

The acquisition of unbridled power will always result in someone being harmed.

Could it be that governments, social media, and “fact checkers” may be mistaken?

Some reasonable skepticism may be in order.  

a repost from long ago:

 

The Typical Chain Of Events In Statist Thinking And Policy

Identify a problem
↓
Attempt to impose a solution to the problem
↓
Recognize that the problem largely results from diverse natural attributes in human nature
↓
Lable the offending attributes, "greed, selfishness, and non-cooperation"
↓
Attempt to change human nature itself through laws, regulations and "reeducation"
↓
Punish people who continue to exhibit human nature

“Pro-choice” and Reasonable Preferences

 At the risk of being considered an “extreme right wing fascist” I, like many, have some preferences in what policies are promoted by politicians and government. 

 I prefer policies that honestly enforce the country’s borders and current immigration law passed by congress.  

I prefer sound appraisal of criminal activity, justly punished and preferably thwarted. 

I prefer a president who makes clear his or her support for our country’s citizens as his or her first priority. 

I prefer a dynamic economy that leaves commerce free to innovate and flourish.  

I prefer that our Justice department not be used to harass and punish opposition values whether held by active political voices or common citizens and parents.  

Most of all, I prefer that our constitution be honored and that the voting process not be corrupted by phony attempts to eliminate identification to vote and that voting procedures not be clogged with complexities and variations that open it to chaos.

I prefer that communism remain on the dust-heap of history and not find new invigoration in my homeland. 

Democrats now offer nothing beyond coercion, destitution, and dystopian demise.  Their actions have been deliberate with planned outcomes.  Anyone who has attended college or even the public school system should have a fairly clear idea of what the authoritarian collectivist’s goals are.  Anyone who cooperates with or promotes these values, no matter how effectively they are dressed in morality and idealism, is either stupid or actively complicit in evil.

The “Conspiacy Theory” that…

 …Keeps on giving.

“Higher Learning”…

Must mean they’re stoned. 

Just what we need…more commie authority in our own country

 The kind of nonsense that can occur when our own government is notably pro-CCP.

Will probably be back in a couple of weeks….😊🎶🎶🎶🎶

Another stupid fad in Cultural Leftism…

The other side.

 This covers the issue perfectly.

Dreams and Visions vs. Practical Reality

Imagination and feeling "moves mountains"...

Practical reasoning and common sense applies itself to those things that can really be done (and appreciates the mountains where they are).

When we are without imagination and feeling we are without art, music, and dreams...

When we are without practical reasoning and common sense the real world drowns in false notions and withers upon its own foolishness.

When practical reasoning and common sense pretends to act from the heart, we get shitty art, and soulless artifacts.

When imagination and feeling pretends to act for practical purpose we get chaos, sloth, and the rise of tyranny.

Feeling inspires imagination and practical reasoning inspires common sense.

Some are for some things and some for another. The real world would cease to function without either.

...Now, pay you bills, save your money, assist those in need, and listen to a good piece of music...preferably at an art museum and, by all means, don't pretend that half of reality is invalid because you've locked yourself into illusions and self deprivation.

The Babylon Bee is Funny…

 The left Isn’t.

The Great 21st Century Pole Shift

More and more we are reading establishment media pieces in publications like The Atlantic telling us of looming authoritarianism if Trump were to win an election again.  The arguments border on the comical.  For one thing, Trump already was president for four years, and in spite of constant leftist rambling about “authoritarianism,” there was nothing beyond what other presidents have done that can be remotely defined as “authoritarian.”  He certainly didn’t send an armed FBI to ravage his opposition. The problem with Trump, for some, was that he’s simply conservative on major policy issues. It’s absolutely absurd that we’ve come to bow before the Jacobin alter so much that something as common sense as protecting our border has been defined as a debatable issue. Now it’s not even that. No one is permitted to even suggest that our border should be secure without being labled an extreme right wing “fascist.”  A cabal of tech titans that now dominate public communication have decided that half of the political spectrum is literally no longer allowed to exist.

Amazingly, “conservative” and “liberal” are still recognizable perspectives.  One can talk with a person for a few minutes on issues of the day and recognize where they stand in the conservative/liberal dichotomy.  But…something strange has happened. While the divide decades ago bares similarity to the divide today, on many major policy issues there has literally been a pole shift.

Prior to the last couple of decades, the left clearly stood for “free speech.”  “Liberals” were, in many ways, libertarian in outlook. They were extremely skeptical, if not openly hostile to government authority.  They were certainly no champion of the FBI or CIA and it’s unlikely they would have blindly followed a command from on high to take an experimental vaccine. They were anti-war, anti-authority, and pro-“do your own thing.” Conservatives took a more paternalistic approach to public policy, in some cases guiding their worldview by traditional religious values — a trait that still exists among many in the Republican Party. 

As noted before, the poles in this dichotomy are still recognizable.  A conservative from the past, like one today, is inclined to be opposed to abortion and to hold patriotic views.  They have no problem saying, “America First.” Until recently, most would have held respect for the FBI and CIA.

In schools of psychology, there’s an awareness of the concept of “projection.”  One passionately polarizes to something or someone because they themselves are aware — on some level — of the issue in themselves.  This isn’t a rock-solid law of human behavior but does offer some insight into human activity.

The left, lurching ever more extreme in their stance has come to actually adopt the stereotypical behavior of generic conservatism — an inflexibility and respect for authority, obedience, and order. It is now the left that actively seeks to block open communication, to side with a powerful central political authority and honor corrupt police-power federal institutions (they still apparently hate the local cop). 

Most conservatives today, while still recognizably conservative, actively resist the encroaching authority of the “speech police” on campuses and elsewhere.  While conservatism wishes to adhere to the constitutional freedoms that have been the bedrock of free society, the left now looks with derision upon virtually all established traditions and constitutional standards.

I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that “conservatives are becoming liberal and liberals are becoming conservative” but there is clearly a dynamic in play that should be noted when seeking to understand the turmoil of our time.

 Both sides of the political spectrum are valid templates for appraising social/political life.  Some principles work better at some times and under some conditions but regardless, there’s an instinctual tendency to ally one’s self based on personal temperament — some people are “naturally” conservative and others “naturally” liberal.  Psychologist Jordan Peterson notes this when he attributes the traits of “openness” vs. “conscientiousness.”  While the proverbial pendulum continues to move back and fourth, it’s obvious that the sway is more extreme in our time.  Many on the left wish to actively uproot our culture, history, and way of governance. They recognize that to do so they will need to eliminate opposition, and when they hold the levers of power, to use that power to punish their perceived enemies.  Political philosopher, Hannah Arendt accurately noted that it is common knowledge that the “most radical revolutionary becomes a conservative the day after the revolution.”  They are currently in the middle of their “revolution” and are already exhibiting the extreme positions one may feel comfortable in imposing when they feel they’ve won.  Communist countries are not noted for their openness to diverse music genres and sexual lifestyles. In that regard, they have a lot in common with radical Islam which — again generically — can be called “conservative.” Being a conservative Muslim or communist of course does not mean one favors the freedoms of a constitutional republic and capitalist economic system (an attribute of an American conservative). In this sense one must acknowledge a pronounced difference between generic conservatism and the label as it is used to describe 19th century classical liberalism — self government with limited representational authority. 

The Right’s extremism in America is one of passionate resistance. We do not wish to be dragged into another “utopia” after having seen where that story has led in the past.  We like the order and stability of our traditions.  The left is a catalyst for social entropy and their initial desire to literally ferment chaos is only a precursor to the establishment of a very rigid tyranny (a hint of which can be seen on many college campuses). 

While so many “liberals” today note their fears regarding “climate change,” they should look with equal apprehension at the political “pole shift” now occurring that will surely cause the storms of social upheaval we’ve seen before that bring suffering on a mass scale.  What is presently occurring in contemporary political alignment likely won’t be fully understood until long after a wake of destruction is left to future decades. At that point, the labels we choose to describe political allegiance will have become irrelevant. 

When Common Sense Meets Eloquence

This guy rocks.

The Leftist Worldview

‘Same old pathetic nonsense

The Pursuit of Happiness

The pursuit of happiness for a conservative is a self-directed endeavor — one seeks and works for happiness for one’s self, one’s family, friends, and immediate community. 

While a leftist may also pursue happiness, their motivation and goals differ considerably. For them, happiness is gained by compelling others to comply with their values and standards. In many cases such compliance needn’t even be among people one knows. In the left’s world of abstraction, “society” will gain happiness by following the dictates of their perceived betters.  For conservatives, the pursuit of happiness is something one does. For an authoritarian collectivist, it is to do what one is told to do.

Consistent

 sober appraisal of the continuing bogus attacks on Trump.

Funny…

and pathetic… 

Imagine if Only One Political Philosophy Gained Absolute Unopposed authority over America

Imagine if it was a mere few decades ago. A time when the political pendulum swung between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. Within both parties, a few extremists existed but basically had little pull over the party’s popularity  or policy positions.  Imagine that, if any extreme position was attempted, the natural order of a critical media and public outcry stopped it in its tracks thus moderating the country’s path and maintaining the basic attributes of a free constitutional republic. 

Such a world is easy to imagine because it was the world that actually existed, again, not very long ago.

Imagine back then that you were told that a few decades in the future one political party would actively seek to eliminate its opposition and implement truly extreme alterations in the very fabric of America’s system of government. Imagine that a free press has become a radically partisan  mouthpiece to the ruling party’s objectives and openly sought to muzzle any views that strayed from state authority.

Imagine that a massive apparatus of state was actively allied with a party and began purging worldviews that strayed from the dogma of one political ideology, that even the military was being culled of diverse voices, philosophies, and even conventional religious belief. 

Imagine SWAT teams sent the homes of opposing political staff members to prosecute for bogus process “crimes.”

Image that traditional standards of stability were openly being mocked and assaulted by powerful interests allied with government. That family, religion, and values like responsibility, patriotism and hard work were being seen as “racist” and akin to Nazism and fascism. 

Imagine that the American government used its authority to implement the values and goals of powerful and wealthy international institutions that openly expressed a goal of world government closely modeled on the systems of Soviet Russia and Maoist China — with the added scheme of high tech surveillance and an open desire to “reduce the world’s population.” Imagine being told that the age of abundance was over and your family would have to succumb to a dark era of mere subsistence, and government policy was being directed to that end. 

…When an individual is on the border of insanity and self destructiveness, the boundaries between imagination and reality become blurred.  When the things one could once only imagine become your tangible reality, you are leaving a world of tangible observation and common sense.  Some may think we have entered a dream. More astute observation knows we have entered a nightmare.  When twenty to thirty percent of the population can dictate the fate of the majority, the majority better wake up. 

 

 “Like Night and Day”…

The role of government personnel, from the President on down, is to serve the public…not issue commands.

Crimson coup…in its second and final year of operation.

In spite of this contrived BS, “MAGA Republicans” still support a secure border, safe cities, a prosperous free-market economy, low taxation and minimal regulation, open and free speech, our constitutional freedoms and, oh yeah 

(“voter suppression”) voter ID to insure fair elections….unlike the last one.

Once again, Democrats, the party of pathological projection.

The side that’s trying to facilitate the exposure and exchange of information is probably more factually reliable than the side that’s trying to withhold and restrict the exposure and exchange of information — it really is that simple.

A great interview

with a smart guy 

“Nothing to See Here”

 Good thing we have government approved censors of “disinformation” to keep wayward thoughts from becoming too widespread. 

 Yep…

The Two Valid Ways of Judging a Candidate

 

With all the perpetual talk of Trump’s “danger to our democracy” and “authoritarian tendencies” I had to speculate as to how such blatant distortions of reality can occur.

To be sure, Trump is uniquely a lightening rod for non-stop attack by those who favor the entrenched establishment and its numerous power structures.

Other “Trumps” have come before the current definitive model. In the early 60’s, Senator Barry Goldwater was the contemporary punching bag of media elitists and Washington insiders. Like now, their propaganda was effective in swaying many people to believe he was the modern embodiment of “fascism.”  Like now, he was a complete opposite of fascism. He believed in limited government as outlined by America’s constitution.  He believed in a free-market economy where businesses large and small could flourish.  He was decidedly pro-American and recognized the need to actively favor America’s system and culture over the police-state thugs who sought to subvert and destroy it.  Add to that, he was funny — like many conservatives.   How many funny leftists have you seen?  

A couple of decades later, another public figure sought the presidency — Ronald Reagan — with the same dishonest assaults upon him and his candidacy. This time, in spite of the leftist industrial complex’s best efforts, Reagan become president, implemented conservative policies at home and abroad, and became one of America’s greatest modern presidents.  Like today, he was accused of being “anti-gay” in spite of his many gay friends in Hollywood. He was accused of being racist, fascist, and …stupid (as if the talking heads at the alphabet networks of the time were “smart”). 

It occurred to me when considering the incredibly unfair and dishonest treatment directed at popular conservative personalities of the past several decades, that the criteria used to judge a candidate for public office boil down to two things — emotional perceptions and objective appraisal of policies. 

Some people absolutely despise Donald Trump. They want him dead. When asked why he elicits such hatred, the answer more often than not reflects a personal emotional appraisal. They hate his look, his personal style, and manner of communication.  These things of course have nothing to do with economic policy, international trade, or “fascism.”  

Among some of the smarter or at least more honest detractors of Trump (and conservative populism) is an appraisal that takes issue with his policies.  People who hate capitalism, free speech, and an “America First” ideal, despise trump every bit as much as the those who hate him for his hair and complexion (“orange man bad”).  

Of course, when one hates a politician’s policies, it’s easy to drag in issues of perceived moral character and style — “Trump should allow open borders…and he’s fat and cheated on his wives.”

If one’s criterion for judgement is moral character, that’s certainly fair game. One can reasonably claim that they despise people who use foul sexually-charged language and therefore despise a particular candidate on those grounds.

More objectively, one can honestly acknowledge that they support a government with increasing central authority and punitive powers and therefore hate the candidate who believes in a high degree of self-government and free expression 

What’s going on today, with considerable help from media and powerful partisan institutions, is not the honest perspectives of those acting on emotion or those objectively noting policies they abhor.  So it is that so many in the hate-Trump bandwagon ramble off a litany of accusations that have no grounding in reality.  Any honest appraisal of Trump’s actual policies would see him as rather similar to an average moderate Democrat from the pre-Obama years.  We are now regularly told by pundits that the Republican Party itself has dramatically changed and is now “extreme,” “radical,” and “fascist.”  Bumper-sticker slogans are easy to digest even if they are far off the mark.  Republicans today, like decades ago, are pro business/free market. They are for less centralization of political authority and for considerable deregulation from the tentacles of the administrative state.  Most importantly, they have always held a view of “America First.”  What has changed in the last couple of decades is that many Democrats now cringe at the thought of “America first.” They truly are globalists  with faith and fervor in support of numerous schemes by international power-players.  Like many world leaders today (Trudeau, Macron, …Biden), the lemmings of leftdom are fully on board with the idea of a “great reset” that will monitor every citizens behavior and belief and reign in the little people who stand in the way of “planned” society.

Any one of us can honestly acknowledge our biases that may favor appearance and style as valid points of appraisal but…

When one claims to be concerned about extremist and authoritarian policy, there should at least be objective grounds for making such a claim. More often than not, there are none.

So, judge a candidate. Judge with the criterion that guides your own values most.  But, don’t justify your disdain for candidate X on the grounds that he or she is a “fascist” …because they favor a tax cut and secure border. 

A Slow Coup…

 …with accelerating speed

The Concocted Crimes of “Orange Man” and Those Who Support Him

They can’t find actual examples of an epidemic of “White Supremacy.”  So, they concoct them.

They can’t find actual examples of a “hate crime” epidemic and “systemic racism.” So, they concoct it all (think Jussie Smollett).  

They can’t find real collusion of any kind between Donald Trump and Russia. So, they fabricate it.  

They can’t find any examples of tax fraud by Trump, so they subpoena his taxes in the hopes that maybe they can find something.  (Why are we not subpoenaing Nancy Pelosi’s tax returns?). 

They tell us that Trump is a racist homophobe and still can’t offer a single example where he has spoken with malice toward anyone based on their race or lifestyle. (Some of his greatest supporters are from the groups the lying media want you to believe he hates).

They tell us non-stop that Trump is an authoritarian “fascist”…for enforcing a secure border, deregulating the economy, and defending free speech.

In milder accusations, we are told that he posted “mean tweets” when in fact he had simply responded with wit and sarcasm to mean tweets directed at him. 

All this and the finger-pointers never get so much as a slap on the wrist after provable  crimes on their part had been completely revealed — masters of projection. 

Now, we are told that some major crime worthy of an FBI raid will finally remove the concept of “America First” from the left’s obsessions (they are decidedly NOT America first). 

None of these pathetic banana republic tactics have given the worthless Democrats the win they hoped to produce. Their continued loss is not due to error or a lack of all the facts. Their failure is solely due to the fact every one of their accusations have been lies. Dishonest concoctions woven solely for the purpose of harming an innocent man and his associates so that a corrupt totalitarian clique can seize power over a nation and hand it over to a global dystopian nightmare. 

The irony is that Trump, conservatives, and populists will not need to lie or concoct anything when investigations occur and justice finally prevails. If there is such a thing as karma, the shoe will soon be on the other foot and, this time, just accusations needn’t be concocted. 

The Plot Sickens

 It’s an abomination that people like Hannity and Don Lemon et al. are paid the big bucks when there are people like this guy offering genuine insight into the intrigues of the day.

Ceausescu all over again…

This guy has got to be kidding.  Is it a mere coincidence that Merrick Garland looks look a former Soviet Eastern Block authoritarian operative.

“Fair and equal justice” millions and millions of citizens aren’t buying it. When the shit really hits the fan, Garland will get a front row seat. Karma will prevail.

Succinct

 and insightful appraisal

 The definition of political insanity is destroying a free and prosperous country and expecting a positive result.

Love or hate conservative populism…

You should know why we are pissed. An Excellent summary. 

Creation and Carnage

The period surrounding World War One was One of the most turbulent and innovative in modern history. The arts underwent eruptions that paralleled the martial conflict itself. One could argue that creative sensitivities afforded premonitions of the tangible events of the period.

This is a brief (under thirty pages) but concise overview of one of history’s great transitions.

All for something that is useless, ineffective, and stupid…

The law of Unintended consequences. 

It’s certainly no coincidence that the people most hysterical about “climate change” — the environment — are the ones obsessed with draping people in masks and government edicts of waste and litter..

The “walls are continuing to [NOT] close in.”

 Always spot-on in His appraisals

The Assault on Beauty and Greatness

(An edited repost from an earlier time…but still VERY relevant).

A friend recently sent me a link to an article entitled, It’s Time for Classical Music to Die — seriously. The article was clogged with the usual stream of university Post Modern leftism. The jargon was so cliche' that I first wondered if it was a conservative who wrote the piece as a mocking joke, like a Monty Python movie (“We’re not the People’s Front of Judaea, we’re the Judaean People’s Front...”).

To the writer, somehow the beauty and greatness of classical music (with its origins in European civilization) was just another example of the “oppression” brought to the world by a geographical area occupied primarily by people with light skin, apparently not being aware of the multi-ethnic history of conquest and violence perpetrated by humans of all races. 

I remember once attending a concert where a Beethoven piano concerto was performed. The pianist came on to the stage and clearly shocked a few in the audience. He was a black guy with dreadlocks. I thought it was great. Why shouldn’t anyone with skill, from any background perform the great music of the world’s cultural heritage? (He performed the work flawlessly). Now, one might accuse him of “cultural appropriation” as if certain styles of music only “belong” to people of certain genetic characteristics. But even that stance is complicated by reality. No one sang the blues in Europe two-hundred years ago. Likewise there were no saxophones or pianos in Africa (deal with that conundrum, PC clown).

Like many conservatives I know, my background is distinctly blue collar. I wasn’t raised on culture and fine art. As much as I love music, I still can’t play an instrument. My exposure to and appreciation for classical music was an endeavor I took upon myself as a pre-teen.  I began by listening to simple movie soundtracks, specifically, the early James Bond films brilliantly scored by John Barry. Later, upon hearing simple pieces like the ”Grand Canyon Suite” I realized the similarity in quality to film scores and dove deeper into the classical repertoire. It takes patience to really understand great music. You can’t just play an hour long Bruckner symphony and expect to  “get” it anymore than a person accustomed to comic books can quickly appreciate the complexities of a great novel.  That’s not to say that comics are bad, and there is no reason to insist that novels are “better” but...they are. If one seeks to fathom subtleties of feeling and complexity of human creativity, you won’t find it in comic books, pop tunes, or political grievance dissertations. To some degree, greatness is debatable but honest humans instinctively know that a mountain vista is a superior thing to behold when compared to a plastic flamingo in a trailer park. One may call that appraisal “elitist.”  Okay, it’s elitist to recognize greatness. So, how do we describe those unwilling to recognize greatness? Do we praise them for wanting to “Let [Greatness] Die”?

The writer of this boiler plate Marxist screed strongly suggests that he is a “person of color.” We later find that his claim in the oppression olympics is that he’s half Lebanese.  How ironic. I’m half Lebanese! Does this now mean that I’m a bonafide “[dude]of color.” The other half of my lineage may be related to Elizabeth Warren so maybe I can cash in on some reservation’s casino receipts too!  

He also notes that he is gay which makes one wonder why he would favor the “death” of great works by Schubert, Copeland, or Bernstein.

The polemic begins with what the writer thinks is a profound analogy, a person in an abusive relationship who is apparently not able to see their predicament.  This is where the socialist in shining armor comes in to liberate the victim from their own lack of [class consciousness?]. We need a Jacobin to roll in and “liberate” us, like Soviet tanks in Hungary in 1956.  Thank god there are half Lebanese (persons of color) socialists who think they suffered under Jim Crow to save me from the abuse of beautiful and refined sublimity.  If I had only known, I would have restricted my musical tastes to Soviet Marching band music.

There was a point when, in the former Soviet Union, they actually tried to eliminate conductors since the implication was notably inegalitarian. They apparently didn’t have the sense to realize that their entire society was compelled to obey an inegalitarian state authority (at least an orchestra member is assumed to be free to chose his or her role).  

The great Russian composer, Shostakovich, was close to being sent to the gulag to god knows what end for the crime of writing music a bit to out of sync with the sentiments of “the people” (the state).   

Although the article in question is full of the usual jargon of the left regarding oppressors and oppressed, like most diatribes in contemporary left-land its overriding points revolve around racial grievance. 

As it turns out “Classical” music originated on the European subcontinent. The native people who live there are light skinned. Presto! Classical music is racist and “oppressive.” It’s so simple. Why didn’t we see it before?

Dennis Prager, conservative commentator and classical conductor in his own right,  once noted that one can find concert halls around the world with performers from around the world performing the great works of Beethoven and Brahms et. al. One typically does not find traditional Indonesian music performed with the same wide-spread enthusiasm. That’s not to say that the music from Indonesia is bad or not worth appreciating. It does recognize that there are levels of quality and greatness in all of human endeavor. When we think of greatness in the history of painting we often note a genre of art originating in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries — the Renaissance. We don’t make this appraisal because we’ve judged the skin color of those who embodied that era of art history. We do so because it truly is great art, born of a time and place. We now all can claim it as part of humankind’s heritage.  We don’t make the same claim of greatness to the art of Milwaukee, circa 1980. Not because we hold an oppressive prejudice against the inhabitants of Milwaukee. We instinctively recognize hierarchies of quality. Even in sub genres of music like “rock” few would claim that the catchy tune of the week (Justine Bieber?) is on the same level of greatness as the Beatles or Pink Floyd.  Incidentally, the Beatles and Pink Floyd are typically referred to as “classic” rock for a reason.

The unfortunate reality in all of this is that academia has mass-produced a generation of milquetoast thugs unable to discern greatness or be able to strive for excellence in their own lives. Those who restrict their view of the profound and beautiful for the sake of some dusty ideological dogma are clearly missing something. Where it becomes problematical is when they demand that we share in their bitter resentments.

It used to be that a liberal arts education endowed one with a rich overview of the best that civilization has passed down to us. It’s a good thing that curricula has become more inclusive and that great works by previously marginalized groups have joined the canon of what is great in human culture but...the stupid assault on a common sense perception of greatness serves no one. Would anyone really claim that a mud hut is a superior expression of human architectural skill when compared to a Gothic cathedral? Many today would, but these are the same people who would seize our property, destroy our economies, and impose obedience because Karl Marx and others told them that they were “building a better world.”

There’s a lot of stupid stuff going on in Jacobin circles these days but none of it changes the fact that some great art has been left as a legacy to all humanity. It’s not going to “die” because of the stale gripes of smug elitists in our time who are the real oppressors of all that is good humanity and who would  reject flowers and butterflies if it served the purposes of another bogus authoritarian “revolution.” 

It’s time for great music to continue living and some of its critics to get a life.