Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show covers a lot of ground, as per usual, starting with the Boston Tea Party of 1773, cruising through the unraveling of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front in WWII, and arriving, right on schedule, at the present day, and the death throes of American democracy. What a long, strange trip it's been!
In terms of current events, Brian and I discuss the decline of American "hard power" globally juxtaposed against the incredible popularity of our popular culture abroad; the strange aberations that we're seeing in the polls, vis-a-vis the views of America's youth versus the rest of us; the tired analogies between Trump and Hitler; the electoral fortunes of RFK, Jr.; and the sad fate of Rudy Giuliani, the canary in the coal mine when it comes to progressive "lawfare".
When we get to This Day in History, we hash over Adolf Hitler's decision to take personal command of the German military in late 1941, and to insist that it hold its ground in the face of Soviet counterattacks; the "opening" of the Berlin Wall (to Western visitors) in 1963; and the legacy of the Boston Tea Party, in the light of the Left's strident condemnation of "insurrection".
Boy! What a diverse set of topics. Arguably, they've got just one thing in common: you NEED to hear what I have to say on each and every one of them!
https://wlea.net/newsmaker-december-20-2023-dr-nick-waddy/
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In other news, you may have heard that the Colorado Supreme Court decided, by a vote of 4 to 3, that DJT is an insurrectionist (bastard), and he therefore cannot appear on the presidential ballot in the Centennial State. Well! This is the first time that a state has struck Trump's name off the ballot, based on his (alleged) ineligibility under the the 14th Amendment. Needless to say, Trump has never been charged with, or convicted of, "insurrection", or indeed any crime related to the events of January 6th, but no matter: the Dems long ago concluded that Trump is automatically guilty of everything, so, that being so, the Colorado Supremes did what they had to do. One assumes that the Supreme Court of the United States will have something to say about this, and quickly, too, because otherwise the 2024 presidential election could turn into an even greater mess than it already is.
https://thespectator.com/topic/trump-off-the-ballot-colorado-court/
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-cases-thrust-supreme-court-194911468.html
https://twitter.com/ccadelago/status/1737538069505745356
Finally, my home state of New York is once again leading the way...to perdition. Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a bill initiating a process that may lead to slavery reparations. On what basis? Reparations for whom? How much will it cost? Your guess is as good as mine. My hope is that this dreadful bill is just virtue signaling, and that even this benighted state wouldn't be foolish enough to go down the reparations rabbit hole. We shall see. (Note, as well, the grossly condescending, biased nature of the CBS report, which does not even consider the immense complications in meting out "reparations". Why would it, though? Opposition to "racial justice" is simply unthinkable!)
Dr. Waddy frm Jack: Re: your Dec. 20 Newsmaker show broadcast: So now the antiamerican left has driven Rudolph Guiliani to file for bankruptcy! Mayor Guiliani! He's a revered great American for his redemption of NYC from the disgraceful degradation democrat dreamers had visited on that world class city. In doing so he earned the hatred of that solely destructive faction. His heroism, which earned hm the gracious nickname of America's Mayor, not withstanding, he riled the far left beyond endurance by authoritatively questioning the integrity of the 2020 election. He was, after all, a courageous and very
ReplyDeletesuccessful prosecutor of mob bosses and did know something about organized deceit.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: What the hell more proof does America need of the evil, yes evil, of the antiamerican left which has captured the once loyal Democrat party? What, PRAY, I ask you. I often refer to them as "incipient" totalitarians. Though they have not achieved their ever sought total power, they are already fully engaged in practicing totalitarian legal power on the model of the Nazis and Commies.Their "lawfare" onslaught on DJT, Mayor Guiliani and worthies such as General Flynn are reprises of the kangaroo courts and the threat they presented to all of the subjects of those criminal regimes. Who among us then is safe from such already massively and relentlessly demonstrated tyranny as it was in the catastrophic 20th century.?NONE of US! And if we don't reconcile ourselves to the actual existence of this onerous reality in our very country, we will have tragically and irrevocably allowed it to herald and enable a regime of consummate, incalculably vindictive and vicious, injustice to engulf and consume us! "Yeah, ok, come take our democracy and all we cherish; we don't have the backbone to defend it." ( Or do we!?)
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy frm Jack: Oh Israel is resolutely engaged in a" . . . . cide" but not the genocide of which some of our very best and brightest reflexively and ignorantly accuse it .They are doing"Hamascide" and aside from presumptuously and insolently defending their national life, they are doing the world a big favor, thank you. Here's hoping they achieve complete success.
ReplyDeleteFROM RAY
ReplyDeleteIf the Supreme Court of The United States does not rule in Trump's favor on the presidential ballot issue, what is to stop California from doing the same thing? If so, I can't see Trump winning the 2024 elections, period. Of course if that happens, the road is wide open for the current Governor of California to move full speed ahead on his White House goals.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: In 1973 I did a semester in the international section of a university in Singapore. We Americans housed together with students from Germany, France, Russia, Japan , Australia Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. In my experience, we Americans got along fine with all the other nationalities, including the Russians, with whom we conversed in the Chinese language we were all studying.All but one: the Aussies, whose culture was closest to ours. They were aggressively contemptuous of us. The impression I got is that, with that exception, we were the object of much friendly curiosity.Why, perhaps our country's having prevented the NVA from marching down the Malayan peninsula was also on their mind.
ReplyDeleten my
Yes, poor, poor Rudy. We can only hope that his appeal finds favor with other, less loony judges.
ReplyDeleteRay, I agree. Trump can't win an election that permits any state (or locality) to remove him from the ballot. Well, now that I've said that, I'll add some caveats: one, these states (and localities) would also have to throw out all write-in votes for Trump. They would have to deal with the possibility that slates of electors could be proposed not explicitly pledged to Trump, but implicitly on his side. And then there's the possibility that, if Trump can be struck off the ballot willy-nilly, so, perhaps, could Biden? All in all, it could be a massive you-know-what. I think SCOTUS has to intervene.
Jack, 1973 was a long, long time ago. Nonetheless, I suspect most people the world over probably still have a basically positive view of the American people, but not necessarily of the U.S. government, U.S. politics, or American popular culture. Those are distinctions that could matter down the road.
FROM RAY TO DR. WADDY
ReplyDeleteThanks for your answer. I don't trust the SCOTUS weenies at all! One thing for sure, 2024 sure as hell is not going to be a boring year. I don't know why, but Gavin Newsom and Nikki Haley keep floating across my mind. How damn silly can ya get, eh!?
Maybe the next dingbat to occupy The White House will have three titles: President for Life (Political). Chairperson of The People's Redemption Council (Religious), and Supreme Generalissimo (Military).
Have a fine Christmas and an Exciting New Year.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Before early '64 there was little of Brit popular culture seen in the US; you are certainly right on that. The only Brit singers you heard were Frank Ifield, Cliff Richard and Lonnie Donegan and they were little more than novelties to we colonials. "Public" TV didn't exist and thus a half educated haughty bureaucracy lacked the means to arrogate tax payer funding of Brit soap operas like "Upstairs, Downstairs". But suddenly everything British was "fab"! It was really alot of fun except for forced public funding of Brit. drama but not "Star Trek" (nor should any of it, Brit, American or Bulgarian been forced on us, the benighted and unwashed .)
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: The antiamerican left has long since rendered terms like racism and sexism meaningless (though they do retain some pejorative power) through overuse and misuse. Even so with accusations of being Hitler reincarnated. The incalculable depth of his subhumanity renders any comparison, save with Stalin, Pol Pot or Genghis Khan absurd and the accuser laughable, save for what purchase it may have with those equally shallow.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Though they were used in the worst of causes, German soldiers fought faithfully in WWII ( I do not in saying this include their death squads, of whom nothing complimentary should ever be expressed). How terribly misused they were and thus done to death by that insane monster, who actually thought himself capable of sound military judgement. Yeah, he got lucky with the Ardennes in 1940 but on that alone and his simultaneous challenge to Britain, Russia and the US was utter madness, backed by sheer terror of exciting his terrible wrath.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Of those who think marxism just peachy, 99. 9999% would be summarily disabused of this tragic presumption were they to experience life in a country like E. Germany. They would make haste to quit the place, bleating for rescue but would have to hazard the perils of a lethal barrier erected to keep a population imprisoned rather than to defend from danger without!. What catastrophically counterintuitive humbug Marx loosed on the world from, of all places, the British Library.
ReplyDeleteng
Merry New Year and Happy Christmas, Ray!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree: 2024 certainly won't be boring. Unless SCOTUS clamps down on this "ineligibility" boondoggle quickly, I predict that many localities and states will play games with this concept. I mean, if all I have to do is convene a committee, stack it with ideologues, and declare someone an "insurrectionist", I could exclude anyone I (dis)like from running for office. It's as easy as that! Of course, if it isn't up to local and state governments, but is up to judges instead, we're not necessarily any better off. All in all, it might be a good idea to let the voters decide. Quaint notion, isn't it?
Jack, it is curious how much British fare American public television offers, although I'm a fan of many British shows myself (usually old ones). I'm not entirely against public television, but its leftward bent lo these many decades is hard to swallow. And no Republican Congress or president has ever been able to get public television or NPR in line, have they? Doesn't give you much hope for academia...
I agree: the more lefties compare Trump to Hitler, the better. In some ways, the more they call us racist and sexist, the better, too. They have overused these terms of abuse to the point that they have little or no sting left.
Yes, you have to feel for the poor WWII German soldier, who fought honorably and skillfully (by and large), but in the service of a Fuhrer who, at the end of the day, held him in contempt. Hitler made some good calls, and he made some bad calls, tactically and strategically, but his main job was to build and maintain strong alliances for Germany, and to try to cut down on its number of enemies. He failed utterly, although, to be fair, making friends was never a German specialty.
Actually, East Germany was a fairly tidy (if dilapidated) iteration of Marxism, in which the standard of living probably represented the peak that communists ever achieved. The regime also did a fine job of making the lives of dissidents miserable, which I think is the main goal in life of most neo-Marxists nowadays, so perhaps they would have quite enjoyed the DDR?