The Culture War

Mark Noonan12 Comments

Apparently in the new Odyssey movie, Odysseus suffers from a form of PTSD over his participation in the sack of Troy. Thus one of the problems of crafting a historical epic – complete misunderstanding of how the people at the time viewed the matter.

They did have rules of war! Don’t think for a moment that they didn’t. And those persons and powers who egregiously violated those rules would be hated, perhaps even fought to destruction because of it. There was even a rule about sacking cities – in that if a city surrendered on terms then the conquering power had to live up to them…the terms usually being that the people are spared death or slavery and rather than looting, the wealth of the city is carefully tallied up and transferred to the conqueror, leaving enough for the conquered city to survive (it would, after all, now become part of the conqueror’s realm). But a city taken by assault? Different story: the defender’s lives are forfeit and they’re fortunate to merely be reduced to slavery. Bottom line, Odysseus would not have felt bad about sacking Troy; in the moral code he lived in, there was no problem with what the Greeks did. But if we translated him to 1570 to observe the Siege of Famagusta he would have been outraged that Mustafa Pasha, after accepting the surrender on terms, then went on to murder the defeated Venetian commander, Marco Antonio Bragadin as well as every other Christian he could lay his hands on. This was a rather stupid move by Mustafa as it fired up the Venetians (as well as the overall Christian West) so that a little more than a year later, at Lepanto, the Christians were…well…not very nice to the defeated Muslims. So, rules. Just not our rules. More importantly, just not our rather silly rules.

I’ve talked about this before and in war, very bad things happen. Decent people try to limit the bad as much as possible – and bring any war to as rapid a conclusion as possible – but, mainly: bad. You are, after all, trying to kill people in order to compel them to obey your orders. This is not a nice thing to do and it can’t be done except by being, to some degree, rather nasty. But in the modern West, we’re supposed to believe there’s a method of warfare where everything is done nicely. Can’t happen. As Jackie Fisher put it, attempts to humanize war are akin to humanizing hell. But because we’ve been sold this concept, we can’t imagine an Odysseus not feeling guilty about the sack of Troy…which, to be sure, would entail lots of murder, rape and looting…with the survivors sold off as slaves. But that was the code they all lived by – and the Trojans could have accepted surrender terms. They felt they didn’t have to. Bet wrong!

And that gets me to this: this new movie, like all of popular culture, is an attempt to propagandize us into a certain mode of thinking. Like all those Cold War movies which cast the United States as the bad guys…the unreasonable partners in the global dance. Which cast patriotic Americans as idiots who simply didn’t understand things. On and on like that – it didn’t take with all of us, but it did take with enough…so now we’ve got American citizens calling essentially for the abolition of our Constitution and the rejection of our Declaration of Independence. That is, wishing to replace America with something quite different…something they view as other than the inherent evil which is the United States of America.

None of this is done with a sledge hammer, nor is it done overnight. It is a slow, steady drip, drip, drip of propaganda until the ground is ready for the seed of treason. We’re being told – mostly by allegedly Right voices – that we should ignore the DEI casting decisions in The Odyssey. They are all small roles. Only on screen for a few minutes. Ignore that! Look at the beautiful film! This is why we were losing for so long. We kept just gliding over the subversive aspects…after all, they didn’t work on us! Or, at least, not as much as they worked on others. But by making things like The Manchurian Candidate and Cool Hand Luke part of our shared culture, we were simply internalizing enemy propaganda. In The Manchurian Candidate, the true enemy is anti-Communism. Don’t fight the Communists! Fight the Americans who want to fight Communism – the True Irredeemable Bad Guys are displayed with a pathetic caricature of Joe McCarthy…name never mentioned but everyone knew and he’s just this drunken idiot puppet of malign forces. In Cool Hand Luke the true enemy isn’t a shiftless vandal, but prison guards trying to keep good order among a prison population made of of men with a proven disregard for truth and the property of others. We’re supposed to feel sympathy for Luke – he didn’t really do anything that bad, right? Just a little bit of vandalism. Let him go! I submit Detroit as the result of that attitude turned into policy.

In The Odyssey, the drip, drip, drip is mostly that West doesn’t matter – never did anything. As I’ve said before, it doesn’t really matter what the skin color of the actors are – but it must be placed in a proper context. You can have an all-black Odyssey…but you’d have to set it in Bronze Age Africa. To just slip a black lady into the role of Helen of Troy is to insult the work and those who love it. It isn’t a matter of disliking black, it is a matter of loving the integrity of the story. And, of course, it never goes the other way. If a person in a story is female, black, Asian, gay, Muslim or what have you then the actor portraying that character better match up. We are told we must honor the wonderful achievements of everyone except for the white or the male or the Christian. One thing that did make me laugh was in the reboot of the Star Trek movies starting in 2009, the character of Mr Sulu is gay. He wasn’t in the original series, nor in the first batch of movies. Why is he gay now? Because the actor who played him in the original series is gay. That this didn’t come out until years after the first series went off the air is irrelevant. That there are scenes in the original series indicating Mr Sulu is heterosexual also doesn’t matter. The actor is gay, so Mr Sulu is now gay for all time to come. Just try to make him straight in some later movie or TV show and you’ll get howls of anger. We get erased, they get strictly honored in all things…and get to take over our roles at will…we’re not even supposed to laugh when they cast a black woman as Richard III.

The main take away here is to not give them an inch, because we know they’re going for the mile. Don’t participate in their absurdity. In this, it can be just waiting until The Odyssey shows up on streaming. Personally, I won’t watch it at all – the source used for the movie is a feminist re-write of the original, the DEI casting decisions are absurd and the scenes I’ve seen from it don’t impress me at all. Nolan is a pretty good movie maker but I think he got way off course on this one. Don’t concede the point. Don’t be like, “well, I didn’t mind the casting”. Mind it. Say it. Call it the idiotic twaddle that it is, even if you otherwise like the film. Point and laugh at it – don’t get yourself invested in it. That is, don’t feel like your intellect requires you to say you like something you don’t. Don’t be one of those people who simply want to sit at the cool kid’s table and so will say something nice about nonsense.

And, of course (and once again) we on the right simply must start building a replacement entertainment industry…one that will subvert the Left rather than the Right. We do have talent! We just don’t have institutions willing to pass us bundles of cash for garbage, like the Left does.

Trump Wants to SAVE America

Mark Noonan10 Comments

Trump’s speech: nothing we didn’t already, in a sense, know – but now he’s apparently declassifying the underlying data.

The bottom line is that nobody in the overall global Ruling Class wanted Trump in the White House – and once he got in, they wanted him out, permanently. The concept that Russia would try to sway an election in favor of Trump when Hillary was already owned lock, stock and barrel by the Kremlin was always absurd. So, too, Biden: who has been owned for ages. If any nefarious actor out there was interfering with US elections, it was against Trump…and against the large MAGA movement. The last thing the Ruling Class wants is a strong, confident America looking after itself. They want – need – us to be a flabby giant, easily manipulated by a controlled press. Keep in mind that none of the nations of the world have the true legitimacy of an American government when our elections are honest. Only American government has the laws saying “Congress shall make no law”. Only America has an armed population. Only America is of, by and for the people. Everywhere else is to one degree or another built from the ground floor to be a protection racket for the Ruling Class. Sure, some nations keep this to a dull roar – and Argentina and El Salvador are ripping those shackles to pieces – but only America has true freedom. Bottom line: we must be destroyed because if we aren’t destroyed then our very existence challenges the Ruling Class…and what is happening in Argentina and El Salvador shows that nobody actually has to put up with the Ruling Class.

The major networks refused to carry the President’s speech – likely on orders from China, which is suspect Number One in all of this. From what I can tell, Covid was just part of the overall operation to get Trump out in 2020. We really should pull their licenses – Trump is right that they are using an asset – the public airwaves owned by we, the people – worth untold billions for free. No problem – as long as they are committed to being fair and telling the truth. If they bust that deal, then they shouldn’t be able to use the public airwaves. I don’t want it to be this way. I’d prefer a thousand times over that it not be such…but this is the way they want it. So be it.

We must secure our elections. We must thoroughly investigate what happened in 2020. We must send a lot of Americans to jail – and sanction a lot of foreigners for their part in it. The survival of America as a Republic is utterly dependent upon the people feeling the elections are honest. This is the very definition of a national security issue – far more than any other issue can be, because if we’re not a Republic, then there’s no point to our existence as a people.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan13 Comments

RIP, Lindsey Graham. I don’t think anyone can say they ever agreed with him 100% but he’d be the first person to let that slide. It was politics. You might have to kick a man in the shins one day and shake his hand the next. Intelligent and mature people realize this and roll with it. Graham was one of the mature and intelligent people.

Naturally, the Left is filled with utterly vile comments about him. This is because Leftists are, by and large, garbage. Key to understanding the current hatred is that Graham was a stout supporter of Israel…and the Left has made it an article of faith that a genocide occurred in Gaza…this despite an increase in Gaza’s population since the start of the war. Facts don’t matter – the Islamists made the claim, the Communists adhered to it…and now everyone Left of center is supposed to fall in line. Almost all of them do…but that means that everyone who supports Israel is now Worse Than Hitler.

Side note: Graham entered politics in 1992 and his wealth is estimated as a max of 2 million. This could be a couple houses (he had to divide his time between DC and SC, of course) and some savings. Nancy Pelosi is worth 269 million.

Looks like there is no faction in Iran that can commit to a peace – so, we’re back to bombing them. If this keeps up until after the mid-terms, then Iran better watch out. Once there is absolutely no political concern, if Iran doesn’t make a deal then Trump will just wreck the whole country. We hit a bit if infrastructure lately but for the most part we’ve left it alone – essentially telling the Iranians they can have a peace and the ability to rapidly recover…or they can keep it up and we’ll knock their economy back 50 years. Personally, I think we should take Kharg Island, and keep it. Serious: annex it. US territory. All Iranian oil exports now go through US territory. They only get to sell as much as we allow, for the price we set, to the customers we approve.

Been thinking on this more and more – it is, once again, time to get into the real world. We’re told story after story of Trump aid cuts causing this or that bad thing in the Third World. Well, why are they still Third World? It’s been 60 or more years. That is plenty of time for any people to build their economy. Hey, the claim is the West is rich because it stole the wealth of the Third World. Ok. Take them at their word: but this means the Third World has wealth, and we’re no longer stealing it. So, why are they poor? Any baleful legacies of settler-colonialism are gone in twenty years, tops. Anyone who still a failure on the twenty-first anniversary of independence is just a failure…and as we’re rapidly learning on domestic welfare spending, the worst thing you can do is subsidize failure.

So, if we are to provide aid to these Third World nations, it should come only via a colonial governor. And, remember, they don’t have to accept the aid, or the governor. But if they want aid, then governor. We can’t trust them to use the aid properly – this is proven by the fact they’re still poor. This can only be because they’re stupid or venal…or both. The other side of this is that if you offend us – that is, make us spend blood and treasure dealing with you – then we’re taking our pound of flesh. We’re confiscating wealth and annexing territory. You don’t have to pay us an indemnity and surrender land to us! It is all a matter of choice – and if you choose to be quiet and respectful towards us, no worries. Cause us trouble and you won’t like the outcome.

Bottom line: it is time the world adjusts to the fact that we are, indeed, the most powerful nation on Earth.

Nick Shirley has continued to expose fraud – mostly by just going and looking at it. Very much out in the open. Latest is a scam where someone starts an “adult day care” and the place gets lavish federal subsidies…part of which is kicked back to the geezers who sign up. I am more and more leaning towards 2 out of every 3 federal dollars is stolen. Its just been a free for all of theft. We could be out of debt and taxed a third less than we are now and still provide gold-plated benefits for those who actually need them. Makes you understand why Napoleon would shoot a contractor from time to time…just to keep the stealing to a dull roar.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan13 Comments

The Democrat establishment wants Platner out. And, lo, how the mighty have fallen. When Franken became a liability they found some relatively minor dirt on him and he was gone fast…whats coming out on Platner is quite bad and so far the man isn’t budging. A DNC to MSM hitjob just ain’t what it used to be.

What’s the dirt? Well, the rumored dirt the GOP has on him is supposedly hideous…I won’t repeat what I’ve heard (and, of course, the rumors can be wrong, but they come to be via people who’s integrity I respect) but it would be very bad for Platner and the Democrats if such stories were to drop in October. So, different dirt was called up – this time an accusation that Platner broke into a lady’s home and sexually assaulted her (this being less objectionable than what the GOP has on him!). As is typical with these sorts of thing, no apparent eye witnesses nor any contemporary police report. But, believe all women, right? Well, not the Republican woman who came out with similar accusations ages ago…you don’t believe them! But when a properly Democrat lady comes out, it is five alarm fire time. The reality is that Collins is surging, Platner is flat-lining and at least some of the dirt the GOP has is credible and, so, he’s become a liability…Democrats got their Uber-Dirts order filled and that was supposed to do the trick by July 13th (the deadline for replacing Platner with someone else).

Will it? I hope it doesn’t. Not that I like Platner: even if the accusations are false he’s a complete creep, anti-American, anti-Israel dripping sack of…well, you know. But the Democrats dug this grave all by themselves. They were warned in advance – including by some voices on the Left – that Platner was not the guy. But he hates Trump and Israel so all the upper class, liberal white women flocked to him. Now, they got him. I want them stuck with him. I want them sick at heart from now to November trying to decide if they vote for the Nazi rapist or the Republican.

Mitch McConnell seems…not totally alive. Which is not surprising given his age and overall health…but the Senate GOP is locking arms and pretending he’s fine. Fearful, I guess, that we’d get a GOP Senator who didn’t hate Trump if McConnell were forced to resign. While our prayers are for recovery (or a holy death) for Mitch, his condition is emblematic of the old GOP…rigid, dying, but still clinging to power. The sooner he’s out of office, the better.

The Odyssey flick is getting a huge number of puff pieces in the MSM…which tends to confirm its going to be lousy.

[The Iliad] might well be the last word as well as the first word spoken by man about his mortal lot, as seen by merely mortal vision. If the world becomes pagan and perishes, the last man left alive would do well to quote the Iliad and die.

— GK Chesterton

He goes on:

The Iliad is only great because all life is a battle, The Odyssey because all life is a journey, The Book of Job because all life is a riddle.

The reviews are telling us it is a fresh and subversive look…with, I guess, their not understanding that to subvert is to destroy. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of ways to play out the story. Illiad, Odyssey and Job can be mined 10,000 times and you wouldn’t exhaust the source material (and I do wonder why we don’t get more books and movies on Job? I put a bit of into Book X…but it is so central to a true understanding of our position in the Universe). But they are their stories. You can’t alter them without wrecking them. The reason you can mine them endlessly is because all three – as Chesterton noted – deal with some major aspect of the human condition. What are we do to? Where do we go? Why are we here? The problem with modern literature, movies, etc is that they shy away from these questions…they deal with our animal appetites. That we don’t want bad. We do want good. But nothing about what is bad, or good, or why we should prefer one to the other. Some ancient, Bronze Age authors (one we assume Divinely inspired) wrote it out for us in three books. It is all there. All your questions are answered. Often with another question, but that is of the nature of things…because just where were you when the foundations of the world were laid?

It isn’t that they cast a black woman as Helen of Troy (absurd – stupid – as that is), it is that they don’t understand the story…they’ve probably created a technical marvel which will be forgotten in a decade…while Homer will be read to the end of human existence.

The Migration Crisis

Mark Noonan5 Comments

Those who have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made. Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries of origin; a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion; fear that fuels prejudice and contempt; the belief that such problems do not concern us; the criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others; the slow and difficult transition from mere emergency management to the development of comprehensive and shared policies. – Pope Leo XIV

This is different in emphasis from the late Pope Francis – while both Popes (and, indeed, all Popes) have supported free migration of people in search of a better life, Francis emphasized heavily the right to migrate. While not stepping back from that very long-held Catholic position, Leo is pointing out that there are problems in the countries of origin which must be addressed. This is important and nobody so far has so much as glanced that way. We sort of pretend these people are just magically appearing at the borders of the West without trying to understand why…and if we don’t ask why, we really can’t begin to address the problems mass migration are creating. We can’t get from mere emergency management until we develop comprehensive and shared policies on it. The crucial thing, though, is the “comprehensive and shared” aspect of it.

As in so much over the past ten years, it is Donald Trump who sort of leads the way here – even if it wasn’t entirely planned on his part (spoiler: I think it might be, but he hasn’t explicitly said so). In taking out the corrupt and anti-human regime in Venezuela, Trump struck a huge blow against the origin of the problem: that is, governments so bad that their people feel they have to flee…doubled by the criminals (often working in tandem with the anti-human governments) who traffic the victims of injustice into the United States and the larger West. Venezuela is no long a problem on this score. The march of rightwing governments in Latin America is also reducing the need to flee and cracking down on the criminals who traffic (and we note that with USAID money no longer flowing, all of a sudden the Left can’t win elections down south). And, of course, strictly controlling our border and deporting those who arrived illegally is simply doing our part domestically. It all works together like a jigsaw puzzle and unless all of it is put together, none of it really works.

If you think we can just deport and build a wall, you’re wrong. The next Democrat President can just tear down that wall and stop deporting. The only way to address the migration issue is comprehensively, as Pope Leo observed. The whole chain of events needs to be addressed. If it is comprehensively addressed, then the next Democrat President can tear down all the walls they/them like…if there’s no mass of people to be moved, it won’t matter.

But we are still not looking at the matter comprehensively. There are nations out there which are complete basket cases – most notably in Africa. It has been 65+ years since most of Africa became independent and, so far, there is not a lot of success to point to in sub-Saharan Africa. Gabon does ok, but actual GDP is still less than 10k per capita. True, this is vastly wealthy compared to most and any observer must note there is a strong correlation between the number of Christians and the condition of the country – the more, the better (Gabon is 80% Christian). But even in some of the Christian areas failure is pretty total. How total? Well, in 1965 when Singapore became independent, the per capita GDP was about $560.00. Now it is more than 90 grand. Per capita. Over a 60 year period. Nigeria has gone from $93 in 1960 to $1,200 today…and Nigeria floats on oil, Singapore has no natural resources at all except that excellent harbor Sir Stamford Raffles located in 1818. Nigeria is about 46% Christian – majority is Muslim. But even absent the Muslim attacks, the country is also wracked with tribal animosities which often supersede religion. Nigeria has about 250 distinct ethnic groups, none make up more than 30% of the population and all of them seem to hate each other to one degree or another. They fight constantly over the power to loot the oil money which flows into the country – estimates are that as much as 20% of Nigeria’s oil is stolen by Nigerians between oil well and tanker.

You can’t have a functioning country like that. It just isn’t possible. And it shows in the millions of Nigerians who have fled – nobody really knows how many. Definitely in the millions. As I’ve noted many times before, I’ve met Nigerians here in the USA. Deeply Catholic ladies and gentlemen! But as we can see, a small sample doesn’t necessarily describe the broad mass. There are great people in Nigeria. There are also absolutely lousy people – you know, the sort who steal oil so they can pile up cash for themselves while 99% of the people live hand to mouth. We don’t address the migration crisis comprehensively until we address this.

Now let’s remember why there is a country called Nigeria. It wasn’t because Nigerians founded it. There actually isn’t a people called “Nigerian”. The name was applied by the British Colonial Office to the area simply so they could have an easy name to describe the area – which was being moved into by the British in order to suppress the slave trade. Think about that: the Royal Navy had been off the coast since 1807 capturing slave ships. The Americas has all banned the trade even if they retained slaves domestically…but so persistent was the slave trade that even with the threat of hanging from a Royal Navy yardarm, the people of Nigeria continued the traffic. The only way to get it to stop was to go ashore and force it to stop. And so it was done. By the late 19th century the whole area was under British rule and slavery was stamped out (after series of wars because even with the British Army coming ashore, they still wouldn’t stop selling their fellow Africans). Peace and order was imposed. Things improved. Roads were built. Harbors constructed. Schools opened. New cash crops were introduced. Sure, the Nigerians had to put up with British colonial officials – never a completely fun thing. But it got better. Development commenced. A barely iron-age society started to become part of the larger world. And then two world wars happened and the Brits just couldn’t afford it (they never made a profit off Nigeria) and so the place was cut lose…handed over to a group of Nigerians who were partially educated and who then proceeded to fight over the spoils…said fight continuing to this day in various forms.

Are we supposed to wait another 65 years to see if they sort it out? With how many millions more Nigerians to flee to the West? I don’t think it is sustainable. And while I am of the view of letting them sort it out – or not, as they case may be – I realize that if I really just go hands-off, then I’ve got Kamala Harris’ spiritual progeny just waiting to get Executive power here in the USA so they can import not the good Nigerians, but the very worst…just the sort of people who fight over tribal issues and who view government office as a license to steal. I think we’re going to have to directly address the issue – and keep a hand in.

I think we’re going to have to Venezuela some of these nations – and in some of the very worst cases, impose a government on them. Sure, such a government can include locals…but in the places where corruption is a way of life, only Americans or other outsiders may have control of the money and police. If we don’t, then they’ll just keep stealing from each other. I don’t want an American Empire…but I also can’t in either practical or moral terms just let things slide. I do have a moral obligation to my foreign brothers and sisters…and even if they are too pig headed to understand, we might have to force them into the right path. And not just for their good, but for ours. Bottom line, we can’t persist with how it was before Trump…but we also just can’t build a wall and call it a day. We’re really going to have to think about what we want as an end state…and then steel ourselves to making it happen.

America, 250

Mark Noonan14 Comments

It was just a few words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

There is more to the document, of course, but that is it – that is America, distilled. Nothing written by the hand of Mankind is more important. It is the peak of humanity and we can either sustain it or retreat from it – we cannot improve it.

To state that we’re all equal and endowed by rights – including the right to alter or abolish our form of government – is the true revolution in human affairs. There is nothing like it before, and nothing after. Every other attempt at crafting a society puts a “but” in there. Some mechanism whereby it is not held to be true that all people are created equal and that, when push comes to shove, their rights are not an endowment, but a revocable gift. It is those words which set the standard. A standard the entire world falls short of. Even such reliable American friends as Japan and Israel don’t quite match up.

The Founders left us this precious gift – and the enemies of America, since 1776, have been at war with it. Back then it was monarchs, now it is communists. They cannot allow us to stand – because our existence is a direct challenge to them. For all their justifications of tyranny fall flat when we merely point to those words and say, “why not?”. Why aren’t your people endowed with rights? Why can’t they alter or abolish their government? What are you afraid of?

The people, of course. They always fear the people. And the more they claim the mantle of tribune of the people, the more dark fear eats their hearts. Because the people, if really asked, would just opt for those few words. My rights are mine: God (or Nature, if you like) gave them to me by simple fact of being human. I, along with my fellow human beings, will decide our form of government – we will not have it imposed upon us. Neither by claims of tradition nor revolutionary necessity. We can actually see this in the World Cup events here in the United States: people from all around the globe, of every possible creed, are just having a good time – singing and dancing with each other in sheer joy. Why? Because here, in the USA, they are freed from their tribal leaders who keep them down…nobody is telling them to hate, and so they are loving. They might go back home next week and immediately fall prey to the liars who poison their minds…but in this brief moment, in the one truly free country on Earth, their humanity shines forth…and they are, even if only for a moment, just like us.

We dare not lose this precious gift. It is under attack, at home and abroad. Indeed, we look with sorrow on the number of Americans who minds are so poisoned that they are refusing to join us in celebration of our 250th anniversary. I believe we will save this last, best hope. I do believe that what is good cannot perish; and those few words, written 250 years ago, make us good. Not that we don’t ever sin, but that as long as we hold those words to be the self-evident truths they are, then we cannot totally fail, and we will recall ourselves to the promise of America.

Happy Fourth of July! A Glorious Fourth! A nation 250 years in the making, the marvel of the world! May God bless us and keep us!

Open Thread

Mark Noonan9 Comments

The funniest thing, ever, would be the USA winning the World Cup. But, be that as it may: we’re close to 250!

We here on the MAGA side are enjoying ourselves immensely. We’re not dooming. We’re no worried. We’re not apologizing. We’re just having some fun! It is summer time! It is our 250th anniversary! We’re riding a tide of victory in war and peace.

Democrats? They’re going full communist. This is the natural progression of things – inevitable, really, since McGovern got the Democrat nomination in 1972. Gotta keep in mind that McGovern was the darling of those whom Mayor Daley smashed heads in 1968. They let the radicals in…and the radicals just keep taking more and more space. Democrats should have kept smashing heads. But, too late now. They’ll go into November – and very likely into 2028 as well – making ritualistic statements about freeing Palestine and asserting their support for They/Them.

Officially the Democrats are still set to win. We’ll see. The only thing they have going for them is historic precedent – in terms of money and broad based appeal, the GOP has it going on.

Oh, and Tim Walz pardoned a guy who raped a child just so ICE would have a harder time deporting him. This is the sort of thing the GOP will emphasize going into November…likely starting with ads during the World Series.

Some Court Rulings

Mark Noonan16 Comments

The Supreme Court reaffirmed Sullivan today – keep in mind that Sullivan was a rather tortuous ruling which had really only one purpose in mind: allowing Martin Luther King’s people to lie with impunity about Southern rednecks. The genesis of Sullivan (a government official in Alabama) was that King’s people had placed an ad in the New York Times to bring attention to King’s cause. All well and good: but they had fabricated several of their assertions in an attempt to paint King in the best light and Alabama authorities in the worst. Sullivan, the official most directly concerned sued and won – including up to the Alabama Supreme Court because there was zero doubt that there were false statements in the ad which had defamed Sullivan (and, by extension, the entirety of Alabama government). What the Supreme Court did is take valid First Amendment protections (we can say what we want) and turn them on their head by saying “you can lie about an official unless that official can meet nearly impossible standards of proof of malice”.

Nothing in what Sullivan – the person – did in any way inhibited even the most robust free speech. All he was going after was redress for lies. Not mistakes. Not misinterpretations. Not opinions disagreed with. Lies. Bald faced falsehoods which had no basis in fact. Additionally, totally unnecessary lies…that is, the case for King was strong enough based upon the unvarnished truth. King’s people could have retracted, apologized and then got on with it. But that would have been a win for…you know…those people. The Rednecks. Dirty people without proper credentials. What’s a bit of lying compared to the proper, Progressive outcome?

The Court might not have intended all the knock-on effects…but they have been devastating. The whole culture of lies we have in America today stems from the ruling, which made it nearly impossible to punish lies broadcast over any type of media. It didn’t provide protection for free speech – it just protected lies. It completely negated the reason for the First Amendment…to ensure vigorous debate about policy. Now its just a competition to see who can lie the most brazenly and crudely enforce their lies in the public square.

The Supreme Court also ruled today that it is Election Week, not Election Day – essentially giving States the ability to drag out that vote count as long as they like (ie, until the Democrat wins). Now, there is some basis for the ruling – elections, even to federal office, are under the control of the States. But, on the other hand, the Constitution does say it all has to be done on the same day. Not the same week (or longer). The correct ruling would have been all ballots received before close of polls on Election Day are valid – but while we have a 6-3 Court majority on most issues, it is 5-4 against on any issue which would seriously impede the Democrats. That is, if a Ruling would harm Democrat power in any significant way, we’ll find two of the supposedly Conservative Justices knifing us. That way they can go to parties in northern Virginia and point out that they screwed over those dirty Rednecks. Again.

Ultimately, judicial review is going to be set aside – it is something that the Executive has given to the Judiciary as a matter of courtesy. There is no warrant for it in the Constitution. Can’t stop the judges from issuing their rulings…but whether or not they’ll be obeyed is entirely discretionary. I’d prefer we keep the old way of doing it…but I cannot agree that 5 unelected judges get to make such clearly political decisions for us.

On the good news front, the Court ruled that Trump can fire FTC commissioners at will. This is important as it gets rid of what is called Humphrey’s Executor – a 1935 Court decision which held that Congress may via statute limit the President’s ability to fire Executive branch employees. This new ruling – Trump v. Slaughter – restores proper Executive authority. By extension, it might well get rid of all restrictions on firing Executive branch employees. This means that the civil service protections which have saddled us with liberal bureaucrats to undermine GOP Presidents might be gone. We’ll see how that plays out.

UPDATE: The Court ruled absurdly on the citizenship case…figuring that a person can cross the border illegally today and give birth to a citizen tomorrow. No sane reading of the 14th can sustain this…but the three liberals were joined by Roberts and Barrett who want sooooo badly to let their liberal friends know they’re really cool kids and can they please sit at the table?

Trump does retain tools on this – first off, of course, continuing to deport. Also, cracking down on those who employ or otherwise assist illegals to stay in country. Revoke visas for women of child bearing years. Lots of things…but, now, the Court has made it so that we’ll have to amend the Constitution. Know how I want it written?

Whereas only a complete idiot would think the 14th Amendment secures citizenship to the children of illegals born in the United States, this Amendment states you have to be born to two American citizens within the territory of the United States to be a natural born citizen.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan25 Comments

Hey guys! I was in Del Mar the past few days. As I’ve noted before, I have been going to that beach for more than half a century but it was this trip where I finally got tagged by the stingrays endemic to the area. Fortunately, it was a juvenile, I stepped on the poor guy and he only managed a glancing blow at me…so, rather than “cry like a girl” agonizing pain, it was just a bit of swelling and a burning/tingling sensation for about 48 hours. But it has been a few days, huh?

The Supreme Court ruled that the “temporary” in “temporary protected status” is, indeed, “temporary”. Shocking, huh? Who coulda guessed? Turns out that just as a Democrat can hand-wave in millions, a Republican can then hand-wave them out. The trouble here is that it took years of litigation to simply get a ruling observing that the law is just like that – and on and on again with provision after provision of our immigration laws. On the books – in some cases – for decades; ruled on previously by the Courts; clearly assigning to the Executive plenary power to determine which foreigners are to be allowed in, to remain and to be kicked out. There is no court case to even bring in the matter of immigration enforcement…it isn’t a matter of equal protection of the laws. It isn’t a punishment to be sent home…it is just being sent home. We aren’t denying anyone life, liberty or property. The presence of any foreigner in the USA is entirely discretionary. But Democrats find judges who simply ignore the law…and that is what needs to be squashed. And if Roberts won’t squash it via judicial order (essentially telling the district courts to butt out, such matters are only for the Supreme Court), then we’ll have to squash it by law – as per the Constitution which assigns to Congress the methods whereby access to the federal courts is granted.

We still don’t have our ruling on the birthright citizenship case and the prognostication is that Roberts will write it. I don’t expect him to do other than try to split the baby – issuing a ruling which doesn’t totally accept birthright citizenship but also doesn’t totally reject it. Ultimately, this is a matter for the Legislature to address and we’re gonna need a much more MAGA Congress to get anything close to what the framers of the 14th intended. The good news is that the people are going to be on our side in this – none but a lunatic commie would think that just because you were pushed out in US territory you are as Yankee as Sam Adams.

Speaking of commies, in very low (and I really mean very low) turnout primary elections in New York, Mamdani’s commies managed to knock out several incumbent House Democrats. These people loath us, of course, but they ain’t exactly in love with the current Democrat leadership. These are the people who really believe the USA was founded so white people could be racists. Who believe that there should be no border…and no law enforcement (except against white people, of course). They are completely lunatic in their views…and Trump plus the RNC are going to make them the face of the Democrat Party. Officially, the Dem leadership is pleased as punch…”we’re a big tent” and all that. But the Democrats are already starved for funds and these commies aren’t going to make big money feel like donating.

Keep in mind, also, that these commies lost blacks. Lost Latinos. Lost working class voters. They got in via their overwhelming support from upper class whites…especially females. One of the little Maoists is already on the seventh year of her PhD program…and is a trust fund baby. Complains about cruel landlords…while her own father is a landlord. In other words, just typical commies…half-educated, half-baked children of extreme privilege. The only senior communist leader who was working class was Kruschev…not coincidentally, he was also the only one who retained a shred of human decency. Don’t get me wrong, he’d order a man shot at the drop of a hat…but he remembered what it was like to work, and he dined with his servants. Other than him, the rest of them are all junior league Lenins and Maos…just itching to punish everyone for the sin of not giving them all power and money for the asking.

The deal with Iran continues to be worked as oil prices drop and Trump puts pressure on gasoline distributors to speed up price drops. Yes, Trump knows market economics…but it is good politics and, lets face it, always infuriating when gas prices rocket up but only drift down. Still not sure we can find the right batch of lunatics in Tehran to make a full deal with, but the bottom line is that Iran has been reduced to impotence…nobody really cares what they say or do. And if they get sticky, we’ll just blow up some more of their stuff.

Trump kicked off America 250…and, guys, being American is going to be just our thing this year. Democrats have decided that they can’t say a good word about America because if they do so, it might help Trump. Wave that flag – everyone who sees you do it will know you’re MAGA.

Usha Vance caught some flack for her maternity dress…so she revealed she got the $50 dress for less than $9. There is no better way to make her relatable to American women. My wife loves deals like that. I’ll bet 90% of all women do. Sure, those with blue hair or upcoming prostate exams won’t be wowed by it…but they weren’t going to vote for us anyway. Whatever betide, if my books ever become big I just hope Usha forgives the fact that in Book X, the main bad guy is a witch…named Usha.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan19 Comments

Starmer is going to resign his office. Doesn’t really matter as his replacement will be a carbon-copy. There isn’t a dime’s worth a difference between anyone in Labour. Heck, between anyone on the global Left. They’re all liars. They’re all cruel, greedy and stupid. Starmer and his Party – in conjunction with the Tories – allowed the rape gangs to flourish in the UK and are still trying to sweep it under the rug…but what do you expect from people who think that abortion and “assisted suicide” are good? Who think that hordes of foreigners are great? Who believe that if they just impoverish their own people it will cure “global warming”? And, of course, as they push these anti-human policies they’re all stealing as much as they can.

Labour does look like its heading for a trouncing but an election doesn’t have to be called until 2029. And with Labour holding an absolute majority of around eighty seats, there is little chance anyone can force an early election. In other words, lots of time to set things up – mostly by imposing censorship to ensure nobody hears how bad it is and, of course, grant yet larger numbers of migrants citizenship so they can vote in another Labour government with 34% of the vote. The Tories are completely craven. Reform is showing itself unwilling to actually tackle the immigration issue…and Restore Britain will be lucky to get 5% of the vote…which is indicative of how many actual patriots still reside in the UK. Just the sad and pathetic ending of a great nation…the Ruling Class, starting with the next King, will convert to Islam and that will be the end of it (and you just watch the feminists say the burka is feminist as it saves women from the perils of the Male Gaze).

The Left is so lunatic here in the USA that they are actively vandalizing the reflecting pool in DC – tearing up the material and dumping algae into the water. These are people who will kill us all in an instant if they had the power.

Still lot of back and forth on the Iran thing. Its a process, guys! Patience. Trump will bomb if he has to – and even bomb quite a lot if necessary. The Iranians have nothing but bluster – and an army of social media bots. They can’t close the strait – it takes a Navy and Air Force to do that. They haven’t got one. Some are saying Trump doesn’t realize the sort of people he’s dealing with – the reality is the Iranians still don’t know who they’re dealing with. Trump isn’t just another American President who will roll over just to get something signed. It is either do as you’re told, or lose out. Meanwhile, the oil flows, gas prices drop and the whole world starts to adjust to getting oil through any channel but the strait of Hormuz.

People are going to serious extremes to paint it all bad. I mean seriously quoting known liars because they’re saying the Orange Man is Bad. It is like we’re going to have to draw pictures explaining that the side which can bomb at will is the winner. But, not really: they know we’ve won. They just hate Trump – and need to somehow prove to everyone that they hate Trump.

RNC came into June with $125 million on hand. Democrats? Negative $3.5 million. And the GOP number does not include the gigantic amount Trump and his various PACs have. There is no way the polls are right given then – they aren’t wrong; they’re lies. Not even within ten points of reality.