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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Slaying the Dragon of Identity Politics

 


Friends, today was a very good day for the Supreme Court and the Constitution.  Today the high court struck down "affirmative action" and disallowed race preferences in college admissions.  Unclear to me is whether this will invalidate race preferences in other domains, but it's certainly a good start.  Way back in 1978 the Supreme Court, brimming with good intentions, left open the door to race-conscious admissions, and we've been dealing with the fallout ever since.  The big takeaway today, though, unfortunately, is how far we have to go to make this a truly colorblind country.  The Left is, as everyone knows, obsessed with race, gender, and sexuality.  They are determined to drive this country apart, into special interest groups and "protected classes", and to hand out favors to these groups based on totally subjective considerations of "equity".  You can call it "divide and conquer" or "social justice" or whatever you like, but it's the heart and soul of the progressive movement nowadays, and it ain't going away because the Supreme Court says so.  In fact, colleges and universities have long since developed contingency plans to deal with a SCOTUS ruling like this one.  Downplaying the importance of objective tests, like the SAT and ACT, is a big part of the strategy.  In many states, they've already shifted gears to supposedly race-neutral admissions policies that still, in effect, promote the interests of one race over another.  At the University of Texas, for example, they let in the top 10% of every high school class . Never mind that you might come from the worst high school in recorded history -- you're in!  The object of this approach was, of course, to promote "diversity" at the cost of academic rigor and personal merit.  And it's working.  Expect American higher ed to reach deep down into its bag of tricks to ensure that this Supreme Court ruling has little or no effect on the demographics of the students who attend our colleges and universities, nor on the background of the faculty, staff, and administrators, all of whom, I predict, will continue to grow less and less white by the day, by the month, and by the year, as leftists insist they should and must.  For one thing, institutions of higher ed are beholden to accrediting bodies, all of which are captive to the DEI agenda.  Any college or university that actually practiced colorblind admissions or hiring frankly would be in big trouble, with the accreditors, with the federal Department of Education, and with the media and the donor class.  Ergo, don't expect too much to change in this country until we defeat the culture of wokeness and identity politics.  And good luck with that!


https://www.breitbart.com/pre-viral/2023/06/29/supreme-court-racial-preferences-unconstitutional-college/

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Curtains for "The Big Guy"?

 


Friends, I don't like to get ahead of myself, but it sure looks as though some pretty damaging evidence is starting to emerge that, at the very least, Hunter Biden sought to monetize his father's political influence by claiming that Dad was in on the grift.  Since Hunter and dearest Papa spend a lot of time together, it's getting harder and harder to believe that Joe Biden was oblivious to all this, especially since we've got direct evidence to the contrary.  Now, the mainstream media has ignored and/or dismissed all this up to now, and there's no particular reason why they would ever change course (the news is what they make of it), but where things could get interesting is if some of Biden's fellow Dems start to smell blood in the water and go in for the kill.  Don't think they won't do it either, if they believe their interests are best served by giving Sleepy Joe the heave-ho, and if they think they can get away with it.


This is one of several scintillating topics that Brian and I discuss on this week's Newsmaker Show.  We also cover the extraordinary events in Russia recently and what they portend for U.S. foreign policy and world peace, the media vendetta against RFK, Jr., and the monumental SCOTUS decision allowing state supreme courts to interfere in election redistricting.


When we get to "This Day in History", Brian and I cover the Stonewall Riots and how far the LGBTQ community has come in winning not just acceptance for itself, but cultural domination.  We also talk about Charles de Gaulle and the "Free French", the vindication of "Vietnamization" in 1972, and the sober and prophetic warnings of John Maynard Keynes in 1919.


Holy moly!  Can you imagine covering that much material in just 20 minutes?  Beggars belief, does it not???


https://wlea.net/newsmaker-june-28-2023-dr-nick-waddy/

 

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And here are some of the latest Hunter Biden revelations:

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/28/hunter-biden-asks-for-10m-from-ccp-linked-associate-bidens-do-what-chairman-wants/ 


https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/28/ny-times-independently-confirms-doj-blocked-harsher-charges-against-hunter-biden/

 

https://nypost.com/2023/06/26/prosecutor-told-six-he-could-not-charge-hunter-biden-outside-del/ 

Monday, June 26, 2023

A Pyrrhic Victory on Abortion?


 

Friends, conservatives, including President Trump, are for the most part immensely pleased with the fact that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and returned power over abortion policy to the states.  For those who are pro-life, and for those who are pro-Constitution, you can see why.  The sad truth, however, is that this "win" comes at a grievous cost, and has not led to the blossoming of a "culture of life" as many might have wished.  Read all about it in my latest article:

 

The GOP's Abortion Dilemma


President Trump gets a lot of credit on the right for creating the conditions that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That's totally fair. One suspects that any Republican president would have nominated more or less the same SCOTUS justices, but it's Trump who got the job done.

Now, to put all this in context, some states have, in the wake of the Dobbs decision, substantially impeded public access to abortion. Others have expanded it. In addition, although Republicans scored a political “win” by returning power over abortion policy to the states, Democrats used Roe's demise as a way to rally their base and exceed expectations in the 2022 midterm elections. Thus, the abortion ledger, if you will, post-Roe, may be more in balance politically than many people realize.

But what's the bottom line in terms of abortion itself? Has the number of abortions performed in America actually declined since the Dobbs decision, and, if so, by how much?

That data has recently become available, and it comes to us courtesy of the “Society of Family Planning”, which, since it is essentially a pro-abortion organization, has little incentive to minimize the impact of Dobbs. And yet the Society's extensive analysis shows that the incidence of abortion in America since Roe's demise is down by only 3%. 3%!!! That's a lot of hullabaloo for what many would consider a fairly marginal change in the abortion landscape. And keep in mind that, during Trump's presidency, the number of abortions actually increased by 8%. Ergo, the abortion baseline is actually higher today than it was when Trump, the slayer of Roe, took office. In short, reports of the death of “abortion rights” are greatly exaggerated!

None of this, needless to say, prevents the Left from claiming that the Supreme Court has abolished “women's rights” and reinstituted a form of fascist patriarchy. Just as, the more people of color vote in America, the more the Left claims that “Jim Crow 2.0” is blossoming, we can assume that the truth about abortion will similarly have little or no impact on progressives' ramblings, or, indeed, on the political ramifications of the issue. He who controls the media narrative controls everything.

Republicans have an additional problem on their hands.

Democrats are increasingly coalescing around a common view of abortion that posits the fetus as a contemptible parasite, and embraces the termination of as many fetuses as possible as the most morally, socially, and environmentally sound approach. They therefore have gone far beyond the quaint logic of Roe itself, which only fully protected a woman's “right to choose” in the first trimester, by advocating instead that abortion should be allowed (and encouraged!) up to the moment of birth. This perspective is profoundly disturbing and dangerous, but it has the virtue of being intellectually and politically coherent.

The GOP and conservatives, by contrast, have long disagreed on whether abortion should be permissible in cases of rape, incest, and serious health risks to the mother. Now they are also wringing their hands and wondering whether to "outlaw" (ineffectually, as it turns out) abortion at six weeks, or fifteen, or some other magic number. Very few of them are trying to outlaw abortion altogether. This is highly problematic, because it makes it appear as though Republicans are “pro-life” only when it is feasible, convenient, or popular. If, on the other hand, every fetus is endowed with “personhood” and is worthy of preservation, then why do Republicans and conservatives shrink from the logical conclusion: that all abortions constitute murder?

The answer, unfortunately, has been staring rank-and-file Republicans and conservatives, and ardent pro-lifers, in the face for several decades: most GOP politicians talk about abortion only when it is politically advantageous to them, and they are unlikely to support any anti-abortion measure that would effectively suppress the practice (like punishing women who pursue an abortion). Driving women seeking abortions out of one state and into another, or online to obtain medication abortions via virtual clinics, does not, at the end of the day, reduce the incidence of abortion – but it is not at all clear that Republican politicians care, as long as they have placated their pro-life constituents.

Post-Roe, therefore, Republicans and conservatives are increasingly confronting two depressing realities: one, the number of abortions performed, and thus the number of human lives snuffed out, is essentially unchanged; and, two, the abortion issue has become a winner for Democrats and an albatross for the GOP.

That sounds an awful lot like the worst of all possible worlds.


Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480/106.9.

 

And here it is at Townhall:

 

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2023/06/27/the-gops-abortion-dilemma-n2625009 

 

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In other news, you might wonder how leftist puppet masters invent the news -- by which I mean, how do they create stories (that advance leftist interests) out of nothing, and how do they convince the media to pick them up?  This article sheds light on this fascinating process:


https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/left-wing-funding-network-behind-propublica-targeting-conservative-supreme-court-justices

 

Finally, some good news -- if you're a godless Marxist.  Church attendance has been waning for years, and since the pandemic it's fallen even further, with young people leading the way.  Some of it, of course, may be the result of the coerced closure of many churches during the pandemic, but mostly it's the result of a long-term social and cultural transformation that reflects the domination of our popular culture by "secular humanists".

 

https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2023/06/26/poll-u-s-church-attendance-below-pre-pandemic-level/ 

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Be Careful What You Wish For

 


Friends, neoconservative "experts" and deep state mouthpieces, Russophobes all, are taking great pleasure in the recent instability in Russia, which they say highlights the country's "weakness" and presages further advances and advantages for the plucky Ukrainians.  We'll see about that last part.  So far the Ukrainian offensive has been rather sluggish.  The bigger point I wish to make, however, is that instability in Russia is almost certainly not something that we in the West should celebrate, because it is inherently dangerous -- for Putin, yes, but also for the Russian and Ukrainian people, for the region, and for the entire world, including us.  What if those Wagner mercenaries had made it to Moscow, and there was carnage in the streets, or a deep division in the Kremlin or the Russian military establishment about how to respond?  What if the neocons got their wish and Putin himself was killed and/or overthrown?  Who would take over, and, in the period of transition, what forces would control Russia's powerful nuclear arsenal?  What guarantees do we have that the hypothetical new leadership in Russia would be any more pacific or rational than Putin himself?  Lest we forget, the most plausible scenario for the use of nuclear weapons, either in Ukraine or in a general nuclear war with the West, is one in which the leadership of Russia becomes uncertain, unstable, paranoid, or desperate.  That is exactly the scenario into which we are actively pushing Russia -- on the assumption that our Ukrainian proxies will be the beneficiaries, and we fat and happy Westerners have nothing much to worry about, because no one would ever dare to attack us.  Well, no one sensible would, but once Russian blood gets boiling, or once effective command and control over Russia's nuclear arsenal disintegrates, all bets are off.  The West's collective political and military leadership has been playing with fire in Ukraine since 2014, and they seem incapable of pursuing any strategy there except constant escalation.  Can they be deflected from this seemingly suicidal path before it's too late?  That's the question of the hour.  The answer in my view is: probably not, unless the people of the West wake up, realize how badly mismanaged the Russia-Ukraine situation has been, and take action to demand a shift in our policy.  There's no time to waste!


https://www.breitbart.com/news/live-updates-aftermath-of-russian-mercenary-chiefs-armed-rebellion/

 

Here's a terrific article about how unreal many of the Left's leading concerns are these days.  It could have talked more about how the Left imagines that "democracy" is collapsing because of Trumpian "fascism", but the fact remains that it is a wonderfully thorough exposé of the Left's delusions.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-american-lefts-fantastic-beasts-progressives-abortion-voting-book-ban-842c0d65?mod=opinion_lead_pos5

 

For once, I actually agree with what Facebook is doing!  Canada's leftist parliament has approved a law that essentially forces social media companies to subsidize the mainstream media in return for linking to its content.  Facebook's response?  They're going to stop hosting news content altogether -- in Canada.  That won't be terribly good for Facebook's business model, one suspects, but it will be even worse for the legacy media, which will no longer be able to count on social media to spread its lies.  Hooray!

 

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/06/25/zucks-way-or-else-facebook-to-block-news-stories-in-canada-over-big-media-bailout-bill/ 

 

Finally, for those of you concerned about abortion and the lives of the unborn, President Trump gets a lot of credit on the right for creating the conditions that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  That's totally fair.  One suspects that any Republican president would have nominated more or less the same SCOTUS justices, but it's Trump who got the job done.  Now, to put all this in context, some states have, in the wake of the Dobbs decision, substantially impeded public access to abortion.  Others have expanded it.  What's the bottom line, in terms of the number of abortions performed?  That data has recently become available, and at most it appears that the incidence of abortion in America is down by about 3%.  3%!!!  And the Left is claiming that "women's rights" have been utterly demolished and we've reinstated medieval/fascist patriarchy.  Well, the truth is that the abortion and the cultural and the legal landscapes in America really haven't changed all that much.  I guess that's good news if you enjoy getting abortions in your spare time.  If, however, you value the lives of the unborn, the truth is that almost as many fetuses are being killed now as before.  What's more, Republicans are wringing their hands and wondering about whether to "outlaw" (ineffectually, as it turns out) abortion at six weeks, or fifteen, or some other magic number.  Very few of them are trying to outlaw abortion altogether, which, if you really believe that the fetus is a living human being, seems like the only humane approach, no?


https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/24/stefanik-credits-trump-for-ending-roe-thank-goodness-for-his-strong-nominations-to-scotus/

Friday, June 23, 2023

"I Am Sitting Here With My Father"

 


Friends, the latest revelations about Hunter Biden connect his schemes to use the family name to squeeze money out of companies and individuals the world over to his father in the most direct and damning way to date.  A WhatsApp message indicates that Hunter claimed that his father was intimately involved in his business dealings with a shadowy Chinese figure, and, if money was not immediately turned over to the Bidens, this Chinese gentleman would face the wrath of the Biden clan.  Under these circumstances, can the mainstream media continue to ignore Biden family corruption?  The obvious answer is: yes, it most certainly can!  It will, too, unless the Democrats and the deep state reach the conclusion that the Bidens have become more of a liability than an asset.  What baffles me is that more Dems and leftists haven't already reached this conclusion...  I mean, leaving aside all the sleaze, just read the polls, Dumb-ocrats!  Joe Biden isn't the answer to all your problems.  In fact, he's the biggest problem you've got.


https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/in-hunter-biden-case-a-whatsapp-smoking-gun

 

In other news, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are sparring over Florida's COVID policies, with Trump saying that they were a disaster (not surprisingly), and DeSantis claiming that Florida did its best to keep its people free while Trump knuckled under to Fauci.  I must say, DeSantis's account bears a much stronger resemblance to the truth.  Trump minimized the seriousness of COVID and encouraged people to go about their business, yes, but he did nothing in practice to block the countless measures that were implemented especially in deep blue states and local jurisdictions that imposed COVID fascism.  DeSantis, on the other hand, blocked Florida's bluest counties and cities from dictating COVID mandates and lockdowns to their residents.  Now, whether Trump had much power over COVID policy is debatable, but he certainly signed innumerable bills that spent federal dollars like crazy on a hyped-up pandemic, and he left in place officials like Fauci who sneered at those who felt that personal liberties were more important than questionable virus mitigation strategies.  In any case, as we all know, Trump sees every situation through the prism of his own self-interest and deeply-felt grudges.  DeSantis, as long as he was loyal to Trump, was lavished with praise.  DeSantis, now that he is running against Trump, can do nothing right, and was and is a complete disaster as governor.  Well, which is it, DJT?


https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-calls-donald-trump-full-it-fiery-broadside-1808515

 

Finally, in a ruling which could be very significant if this country ever has a Republican president again, the Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutionality of a law that punishes those who encourage and abet illegal immigration.  That could describe a whole lot of Democrats and leftists, needless to say, including many prominent politicians.  Let's hope someday we are in a position to make these apologists for illegal immigration feel the DOJ's wrath!

 

https://www.newsmax.com/us/supreme-court-immigration-citizenship/2023/06/23/id/1124681/ 

Thursday, June 22, 2023

What a Schiff-head!

 


Friends, the Republican House of Representatives has (narrowly) approved a censure of Adam Schiff for his deceptive remarks over several years about Trump-Russia collusion.  Well, that's nice, but what's notable about this story is how utterly unapologetic Schiff and the Democrats are.  In fact, probably the only thing this censure will do is make Schiff a stronger candidate for the U.S. Senate (he's running to replace Diane Feinstein).  So...does this move mean lying, seditious Trump-haters are finally being held accountable?  Far from it!

 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/adam-schiff-censured-house-false-allegations-trump-russia-collusion 

 

Could Republican/conservative/Christian opposition to transgender ideology ultimately serve as a pretext for the seizure of their children by the state?  The answer, of course, is yes!  Parents take note.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/22/mom-says-state-murdered-her-child-as-california-mulls-bill-forcing-parents-to-affirm-trans-kids/ 


One of the most consequential developments in the wake of COVID has been the vast expansion in school choice programs, and we're only beginning to realize the potential inherent in this sea change.  My hope is that, by and by, the public school system will be phased out and American parents will choose for themselves how and where to educate their children.


https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/06/22/suddenly_school_choice_its_rapid_post-pandemic_expansion_sets_up_a_big_passfail_test_for_education_941979.html

 

The number of GOP candidates for president in 2024 keeps growing and growing!  Do these guys (and gals) know something the pollsters don't?  They seem to think that Trump is vulnerable.  Is he?  Hmm.

 

https://apnews.com/article/will-hurd-2024-republican-presidential-primary-710f6f0d4bb6cc1f5046e20ed17ef602 


Finally, check out this intentionally misleading article about immigration from the Associated Press.  The headline here is that immigration is boosting the numbers of white people in the U.S.  Well, that's only true if you count Hispanic whites as "white", which no leftist does.  What's more, the main effect of immigration, as everyone knows, is to lower the percentage of the overall population that is white, both in absolute terms and in practical terms.  The Associated Press, naturally, wants you not to notice all this, and it certainly would hold you in utter contempt if you cared.  Well, that's not entirely true.  If you're one of tens of millions of leftists who celebrate the "great replacement" of whites (even as they deny it's real), that would be just fine.


https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/immigration-census-race/2023/06/22/id/1124474/

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Hunting for Justice

 


Friends, today's plea deal between Hunter Biden and the DOJ may or may not be a miscarriage of justice (in and of itself), but it's pretty much a best case scenario for Team Biden: it will let Hunter off with a slap on the wrist, it will allow the Dems to say, "See, we hold our own accountable too!", and, most importantly, if what this article says is true, it will shut down any and all official federal investigations into Biden family corruption.  That sounds like a win-win-win to me!  Funny how things always work out for the best...when your last name is Biden.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/hunter-biden-agrees-to-terms-for-guilty-plea-in-federal-tax-investigation/ar-AA1cNyGJ

 

Here's an interesting take on the Russia-Ukraine War.  If this account is accurate, then the West goaded Ukraine into continuing the fight at a critical juncture, just as we goaded it into provoking Russia in the first place.  We wanted this war, make no mistake, and we want it to persist for as long as possible.  Regardless of the outcome, in a sense we've achieved our main objective: we've exposed Russia as a paper tiger militarily.  Russian prestige may never recover.

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/20/heres-the-truth-about-ukraines-failing-counteroffensive-and-the-peace-that-could-have-been/ 


RFK, Jr.'s presidential campaign will be fascinating to watch.  The big social media platforms will all have some difficult decisions to make about whether they censor him (and Donald Trump), because you know that many voices on the Left will insist that it's in the public interest for them to do so.  Social media will thus be something of a Catch-22 for both men: it's the main way that they can get their message out, given that the mainstream media won't give them the time of day, but it's also a medium that can and will shut them down and shut them out, when they really step on establishment toes.


https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/rfk-jr-2024-free-speech

 

Finally, this poll about the "moral acceptability" of homosexuality is fairly meaningless, by and large, since it's making a mountain out of the molehill of a minor fluctuation (mostly within the margin of error), but it's interesting in one respect: it reveals that non-whites are less tolerant of the LGBT community than are whites.  Now, that would have to mean that non-whites are, relatively speaking, homophobic, right?  Wrong!  Non-whites can't have any negative characteristics, or "flaws", if you will.  That's inconceivable.  So, let's just change the subject, shall we?

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/20/poll-fewer-republican-democrat-voters-view-same-sex-relations-as-morally-acceptable/ 

Monday, June 19, 2023

Let's Not Make a Federal Case Out of It

 


Friends, how petty is the Left's maniacal hatred of Donald Trump?  Pretty darn petty!  Witness the fact that one of the sketch artists who was present for Trump's most recent arraignment in Miami has been excoriated for...making Trump look good.  As everyone knows, Trump is a monster, and monsters should appear monstrous, right?  Soon lefties will begin to demand that photographers who capture Trump's image use special filters to make him look crazed, bloodthirsty, and/or demonic.  And isn't that the purpose of photography and all the arts, at the end of the day -- to advance the cause of neo-Marxism?  I'd say so.


https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/trump-sketch-artist-criticism/2023/06/19/id/1124046/

 

In more serious news, the first polls are in regarding Trump's indictment, and it seems that the American public isn't buying the MSM spin as much as I would have expected.  Is there a large market for these Trump prosecutions?  Oh, no doubt.  There are also huge numbers of Americans who consider them unjust, at worst, or opportunistic and self-serving (on behalf of Trump's enemies), at best.  What does this mean?  It means that there is at least a chance that the DOJ's decision to go after Trump will backfire, and he will actually be strenghtened politically because more people see him as a martyr than as a menace to public order.  We need to remember, however, that the legal vendetta against Trump will unfold over years, not mere days or weeks.  Whatever the American people are thinking now about the case may not be what they think and feel a year from now.  That is to say, there will be an arc to public perceptions of Trump's legal troubles.  People will become either more or less sympathetic to Trump over time, and I'm certainly in no position to predict which it will be.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/17/harvard-poll-most-voters-say-trump-indictment-election-interference-believe-hell-be-acquitted/ 

Friday, June 16, 2023

What Seems Trans-itory May Not Be

 


Friends, I've been pretty busy globetrotting and what not, but I found time yesterday to crank out an article that's surely destined to change your perspective on life, the universe, and everything.  It's a reaction piece to an experience I had in Ireland, related to the growing popularity of "alternative lifestyles".  It's a hot topic these days.  See what you make of my point of view:


https://www.wnd.com/2023/06/irish-pride/

 

In other news, the campaign of legal harassment against Donald Trump is gathering strength, and I see no sign that the charges will stop accumulating anytime soon.  The Dems' are all-in for a lawfare strategy in 2024, folks.  Can we beat them at their own game?  I'm not at all sure that we can.  We seem hellbent on nominating Trump, and that strikes me as a very risky approach.  He's a flawed and vulnerable candidate in the best of circumstances, and being in the dock is unlikely to enhance his charms.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/06/15/e-jean-carroll-second-defamation-trial-donald-trump-gop-primary-january-2024/ 

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

A Golden Handshake From Afar?

 


Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show was the customary tour de force, despite the fact that I dialed it in from 3,000 miles away!  Brian and I discussed Trump's (latest) arraignment and not guilty plea and the political fallout it may cause.  We also covered the growing Biden bribery scandal (and whether it will come to anything), my ongoing travels in Europe and what I've learned so far from them, the growing field of Republican presidential candidates, and more!  

 

When we get to This Day in History, Brian and I cover the birth of the Stars and Stripes, the fall of France in 1940 and the extent of French resistance to the German occupation, and the relative strength of anti-war sentiment at various stages of the Vietnam War.


It's a show not to be missed!  And, if you do miss it, you might want to start questioning your priorities in life...


https://wlea.net/newsmaker-june-14-2023-dr-nick-waddy/

 

***

 

In other news, the "big picture" often gets lost in the deluge of infotainment we receive these days, but here's an article you won't want to miss.  "Inequality" is growing in the U.S. and in the West, as many have pointed out, but it's declining globally, and in many ways that's a good thing.

 

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/great-convergence-equality-branko-milanovic 


The question of the hour, believe it or not, may not be whether Trump will end up in the slammer.  It may be, instead, whether real, hard evidence exists to prove that Joe Biden accepted a bribe from a rich Ukrainian.  If the answer is yes, then the 2024 race could get upended before it starts!


https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/14/fbi-stonewalls-ted-cruz-on-alleged-biden-bribery-audio-recordings/

Monday, June 12, 2023

A Reckoning for the Donald?

 


Friends, there's been big news in the last several days, and it's confronted you with a real dilemma: in the absence of a blog post by me, how are you to know what to think about fast-breaking developments?  Do you love Trump or hate him, now that he faces 37 different federal charges?  You need guidance!  The good news is that I'm here for you, once again.  For instance, I recently gave Sputnik News my two cents about the latest Trump indictments:


https://sputnikglobe.com/20230609/biden-weaponizes-justice-system-against-political-rival-trump-1111034128.html?fbclid=IwAR2uSUYEE1tcry38dQEbkkmLPQ506HOGhvf_FJlaE1uIupuEAOBJ6LBl5hk

 

In addition, I would add the fact that, as to the substance of the charges, I naturally am in no position to judge.  Trump will claim that, as president, he could declassify whatever he liked and take it wherever he liked.  The DOJ will claim otherwise.  Whether Trump cooperated with the FBI, or obstructed justice, is another matter.  In any case, I'm not sure why Trump retained these documents -- they seem to have done him no particular good -- or why he didn't simply give them back.  Was it all a setup?  It's possible.  Was Trump assuming the FBI would never dare to raid his offices, or that the DOJ would never dare to charge him?  If so, that seems dangerously naive.  Personally, I felt reasonably certain that, as soon as DJT left office, his days as a free man were numbered.  The Left and the establishment were bound to pursue him to the ends of the earth, and do everything in their power to destroy him, mainly for spite, but also as an example to anyone who might choose to follow in his footsteps (like you or me).  And it sure looks to me like they'll win, in the end.  I expect more charges, both federal and state, in the months ahead, and these prosecutions, in themselves, will render a Trump presidential candidacy seriously problematic.  What's more, I expect Trump will be convicted.  Does that mean that the charges are fair, or that anyone can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he's guilty?  No, it means that various prosecutors want to nail him to the wall, and juries drawn from virulently anti-Trump areas are not likely to see things any differently.  So, in short, I think Trump is in big, big trouble -- which leaves all the rest of on the right and in the GOP and belonging to the "real America" at something of a loose end.  We have some very hard decisions to make in the months ahead.

 

Meanwhile, in other news, a lot of people are getting hot under the collar about the Biden White House's decision to give the transgender pride flag pride of place, as it were, over the American flag.  

 

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/06/11/biden-centers-trangenderism-flag-white-house/ 

 

I can see why this might rankle dinosaurs like myself who can still count the number of valid genders out there on one hand, but there's another way to look at it. There's a new version of the transgender pride flag that the Biden Administration didn't display, which I saw a lot in Ireland:



This one is "intersex-inclusive", which basically means that it celebrates the contributions of hermaphrodites to society.  Now, I think we can all agree that hermaphrodites are truly great people, doing superb work to keep Western Civilization humming (or self-destructing, as the case may be).  So why isn't the Biden Administration tipping its hat to hermaphrodites?  Does Joe Biden hate hermaphrodites?  Does he regard them as inferior?  I would imagine quite a few hermaphrodites were triggered by this blatant display of hermaphro-hate, and really who could blame them?  So, in conclusion, the real lesson of the recent trans-flag-at-the-White-House controversy is that Joe Biden and the Democrats are fascist thugs who want to practice genocide against hermaphrodites, and I for one deplore their cruelty and their wickedness!

Friday, June 9, 2023

Pardon the Interruption

 








Howdy, all! My apologies for the dearth of blog posts lately. WiFi is hard to come by at the moment, but I promise that standard pontifications will resume shortly. In the meantime, enjoy some images of majestic Ireland!

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Go West, Young Man?

 


Friends, in yet another sign that American politics is descending into farce, leftist professor Cornel West has announced that he is running for president in 2024.  Progressives have adored West, historically, for his anti-racist (i.e. racist) rants, but now, needless to say, most will turn on him and eat him alive, for daring to compete with our collective savior, Joe Biden.  The bottom line, however, is that, however many votes West earns, he will almost certainly be subtracting them from Biden-Harris, and thus I say: RUN, CORNEL, RUN!!!


https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/05/cornel-west-president-00100206

 

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/06/06/conway-cornel-wests-third-party-candidacy-could-decide-the-2024-election/ 


In other news, once again a prominent Democrat, in this case California Governor Gavin Newsom, is threatening Ron DeSantis with prosecution for supporting the dispatch of undocumented immigrants from Texas to a blue state.  Apparently, whenever red states send migrants to blue states, it's automatically "fraud" and "kidnapping".  Whenever Joe Biden sends migrants to blue states, on the other hand, it's hunky-dory.  One is tempted to guffaw at these antics, but the truth is that the truth really doesn't matter.  If you can get a prosecutor and a jury to play along, anything can happen...


https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-05/newsom-desantis-migrant-flights-kidnapping-charges

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Googly Eyes for the Truth

 


Friends, Google, one of those Big Tech companies that we love to hate, has decided it will no longer remove YouTube videos that claim that the 2020 election was rigged and/or seriously compromised by fraud.  Gee whiz, Google -- what changed?  Google says, "In the current environment, we find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm."  Ya think???  That's been true for eons.  Funny that it just occurred to those Google-heads now...  Nevertheless, any win for free speech is worth celebrating, so I say: hooray!


https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/02/youtube-will-stop-removing-false-claims-about-2020-election-fraud.html

 

In other news, censorship continues to thrive in our public schools, and it isn't just conservatives pushing for LGBT propaganda to be curbed.  It's also lefties demanding that "vulgar" content like the Bible be removed from school library collections.  Sometimes this debate over kids' reading materials surely does descend into madness, but the fact remains that every school has to make choices about what material is appropriate for children of various ages, and many of those choices are not easy.  They must, perforce, be guided by a set of values, and that puts paid to the idea that a public school education, or any education, can ever be "value-free".  The Left should stop hyperventilating about the removal of some books from red state classrooms, therefore, because these efforts are underway all across the country, and it's red and blue and purple parents at the root of them.  Personally, I would tend to err on the side of permissiveness, at least when it comes to books -- after all, few kids are likely ever to pick one up!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363 

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Let the Good Times Roll!

 


Friends, it looks like Kevin McCarthy's compromise deal with President Biden over the debt ceiling is moving forward and will soon be the law of the land.  I approve.  While our chronic overspending will continue, at least we've imposed a smidgen of fiscal discipline and proven that the GOP is a force to be reckoned with in D.C., despite its tenuous hold on the House of Representatives.  Hey, it could be worse!


https://www.wsj.com/articles/debt-ceiling-deal-faces-vote-in-house-310d6d5e?mod=hp_lead_pos1

 

Elon Musk, conservative icon, is in Red China, receiving hearty plaudits from the Chicoms.  Kinda makes you wonder whose side he's on, doesn't it?  That's easy: Musk is on Musk's side!

 

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/06/01/brother-ma-china-fetes-pioneer-elon-musk-with-16-course-dinner-for-promoting-trust-in-communists/ 


Finally, here's a stinging analysis of Fox News's sagging ratings.  I must say, Fox deserves to take a hit for the contempt it recently showed to its viewers.  Whether any other network is in a position to take Fox's place -- well, that's another story.


https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2023/06/01/nolte-may-ratings-collapse-fox-loses-third-of-viewers-without-tucker-carlson/

 

BONUS: here's an image of glorious Kylemore Castle in Galway County, Ireland.  Very handsome!