Turns out, we now have a Secretary of Defense who is concerned about our war fighting capability:
Defense Secretary James Mattis said the new Pentagon policy that will remove service members who have not been deployable for a year or more is about fairly sharing the burden within the forces.
The deploy-or-leave policy includes exceptions for pregnancy and wounded warriors. Robert Wilkie, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee last week that “on any given day, about 13 to 14 percent of the force is medically unable to deploy.”
The United States has a population of around 317 million. Our active duty armed forces are just under 1.3 million. This works out to 0.54% of our population being in the military. If we nearly doubled our active forces (which we probably should, given the challenges we face), then we’d be getting to 1% in the military…this ratio of military to population means we should very easily be able to select only the very best physical and mental recruits for our armed forces. There should be no one in there other than those injured in the line of duty who isn’t in peak condition. We have the population to allow us a force of superb soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines…and that is precisely what we should have.
Democrats may be Resisting themselves into a permanent minority:
Finally there’s Mr. Trump. Even with his recent bump in the polls, he remains divisive. But he’s not the only divisive politician who will figure in this election. The most recent Politico/Morning Consult poll suggests that Nancy Pelosi has pulled off a largely unheralded achievement: In the Age of Trump, she is arguably the most unpopular politician in America.
What does that mean for impeachment? Well, in 69 House districts surveyed by the Congressional Leadership Fund (a super PAC devoted to maintaining the GOP majority), Mrs. Pelosi is underwater in every one. She is also toxic among independents.
Take California’s 10th District, held by Republican Jeff Denham. Hillary Clinton carried this district in 2016, and Mr. Trump’s approval rating is at minus four. But again, Democrats are split among eight primary contenders. And the CLF survey showed that voters in Mr. Denham’s district prefer Paul Ryan as speaker to Mrs. Pelosi by 13 points.
I’ve been saying all along that I have grave doubts that dislike of Trump would translate into a desire to have Pelosi return to the Speaker’s chair. It could happen – but only if Pelosi and the Democrats came up with an agenda that speaks to the American people. Hating Trump and wanting impeachment wasn’t going to do it…choosing illegals over Americans and demanding gun control will be millstones around the Democrats’ necks come November. I don’t know how November will come out – but in my view, it is more likely that Republicans will make gains than Democrats will take back the House.
John Kasich is, in my view, laying the groundwork for a run for President as a Democrat:
If all the sudden you couldn’t buy an AR-15, what would you lose? Would you feel your second amendment rights would be eroded? These are the things that have to be looked at and action has to happen.
Next up will be a more “nuanced” position on abortion. Thing is, he’d actually be the strongest candidate Democrats could find to run against Trump…blue collar background; successful governor; from Ohio which could make that State back into a real battleground. He’d pull all the remaining NeverTrump over to the Democrats while at the same time having huge appeal in the suburbs of the Blue cities. But, the Democrat base will reject him – the whole old, white guy thing just won’t work. If he did get the Democrat nomination, the far left would run a Third Party candidate against him.
The Israeli solution to school shootings:
When terrorists attacked a school in Maalot in 1974, Israel did not declare every school a gun-free zone. It passed a law mandating armed security in schools, provided weapons training to teachers and today runs frequent active shooter drills. There have been only two school shootings since then, and both have ended with teachers killing the terrorists.
It is an approach that the Americans should take to end the constant slaughter of innocents.
San Francisco, the Progressive paradise:
As the Investigative Unit photographed nearly a dozen hypodermic needles scattered across one block, a group of preschool students happened to walk by on their way to an afternoon field trip to citiy hall.
“We see poop, we see pee, we see needles, and we see trash,” said teacher Adelita Orellana. “Sometimes they ask what is it, and that’s a conversation that’s a little difficult to have with a 2-year old, but we just let them know that those things are full of germs, that they are dangerous, and they should never be touched.”
In light of the dangerous conditions, part of Orellana’s responsibilities now include teaching young children how to avoid the contamination.
This is what the left wants to bring to the whole country. They simply don’t care about the lives of the people…all they care about is their social agenda of tearing down Western Civilization. If we have to live in a world where filth-borne disease becomes once again a regular occurrence, that is a price they are willing you should pay.
Blogs For Victory 
First of all, John Kasich will never be the Democratic candidate only because he is much too conservative for that party anymore, and that speaks volumes on how far left the Democrats have gone. Keith Ellison has a better chance.
Secondly, there could be another school shooting tomorrow, so what piece of legislation is going to stop that? I think immediate measures need to be made while a permanent solution is being debated. If I am POTUS I mandate all public schools to be locked down with one point of entry during school hours. I then ask all veterans across the country to volunteer their time temporarily to guard those points of entry during school hours and to help see that kids leave campus safely afterwards. These actions could be put in place tomorrow.
School boards should mandate having some protections built into all new schools and have older buildings retrofitted if possible. This is way beyond the scope of presidential authority.
As you say, there should be one entrance. Some schools issue bar-coded ID cards that have to be scanned to enter. Another idea I like is having a main entry door leading into a long hallway, with the door offset from the line of the hallway by 90 degrees so someone couldn’t stand outside the first door and fire into the subsequent hallway, which would be lined with lockers where students drop off coats, backpacks, anything not needed during the day, and then they would go through another door into the school itself. This way no one could hide a gun in heavy clothing like a winter coat, or in a backpack big enough for anything but school books. Smaller packs could go into the main school but only after being run through an airport-like scanner. I would have trained dogs go past the lockers in the first hallway while the students are in class, sniffing for guns or bombs. Every now and then I would have a dog and handler at the first door, just to make a prospective shooter realize there are random checks that would be hard to avoid. I would also have volunteer teachers armed, with no one knowing who they are.
But nothing can keep a seriously crazy and violent person from inflicting harm on others. Teachers and counselors would have to be a lot tougher when it comes to reporting students with problems, and schools should be able to make psychological testing mandatory for severe cases. Severe bullying should be dealt with severely. A friend commented, after Columbine, that if the shooters had just waited a couple of months, till they were out of school, they would have had a completely different attitude toward life, but in school you think that is all there is and life will always be like that. That would be a good thing to teach kids who are overwhelmed by the stresses of high school social lives. Teaching coping mechanisms would be a good idea, much better than offering “safe spaces” and teaching kids they will never be contradicted or challenged.
I think Dems would love to nominate Kasich, because of the perception that it would be flipping off the Right. He is such a whore he will move as far left as he has to, to finally get a shot at the White House, and Dems are so addicted to Identity Politics and so oblivious to actual ideology, that I think they would just look at him as being an insult to the Right, and at electing him as the ultimate insult, so he would have some support. As for helping carry Ohio, I don’t think he is all that popular there.
As for POTUS mandating shcool rules, that is such a violation of the 10th Amendment and such a Leftist act, I would hate to see it tried.
Yes it could easily be a federal over reach, but it could also be done constitutionally, and could be done quickly at a local level. If not and if something happens again soon, there will be some really difficult questions to answer. Most federal buildings are protected in this manner, so I would like to hear someone explain to me why we aren’t giving our kids the same level of protection particularly in light of what has happened recently.
Yet hear we are, listening to the same critics with the same whiny BS. Rinse and repeat.
I don’t see how “it” could be done “constitutionally” without a formal amendment to the Constitution, specifically amending the 10th Amendment. And opening that door would be catastrophic.
You say “Most federal buildings are protected in this manner, so I would like to hear someone explain to me why we aren’t giving our kids the same level of protection…” and the answer lies in your own quote. federal buildings. They are owned by the federal government, they are part of the federal government, and therefore they all under federal authority. Schools don’t. It is that simple.
You can (and probably should) take your argument to your local school boards, but unless you are advocating a Constitution that is a Living Document able to flex and bend to meet every new occurrence you shouldn’t argue that it should be set aside or ignored for a cause you find compelling. Every excuse given for violating the Constitution has been based on a belief in a cause that was found compelling. Just look at the arguments for gun control.
No, this is a local matter and it has to be addressed at the local level. The entire concept of the United States as a country is based on local government, with the federal government severely restricted as to size, scope and power and that has to be respected no matter how strongly we might feel about wanting to expand that power, just a little bit, just in this direction, just for this cause, because THIS cause is so important. That is the rationale given for every infringement on the Constitution, and it is a slippery slope that has led us to the mess the country is in today.
I am thinking Governors could do something …..
That would certainly come a lot closer to the intent of the Founders and the actual content of the Constitution. But I suggest that it is up to parents to go to their school boards, which exist solely to administer the schools, and make their demands there first. School boards are elected, and these people are there to serve their constituents.
What is finally getting some air time and attention is the core problem, which is parenting. Today I heard a radio host say that she had been contacted by three teachers since the Florida shooting who had been teaching for 20 years or more who told her that early in their careers they could call parents to tell them of a problem and the response would be “what can I do?” Now if they call a parent about a problem they will be cussed out by the parent. How will a school counselor be treated if she calls in parents, or more likely the single parent, to talk about a disturbing behavior pattern? Chances are it would be inviting abuse from the parent.
I watched part of the Matthew McConaughey speech to students, not because it wasn’t good enough to watch all the way through but because I just didn’t have time. But he started off by telling students life is not fair, so get over it. Life is hard, so quit whining and buckle down. Life has disappointments so get ready for them. The Left wants to take over parenting, but they don’t want to take over PARENTING. They want to keep children from ever growing up and taking responsibility for their lives—but parents let this happen, and the result is whiny clingy resentful snowflakes who ditch school to complain to the administrations that they HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
The Israeli wall works and the Israeli school security protocols work. Democrats, are you paying attention? No — didn’t think so. Wayne LaPierre had it right back in 2000 when he said, “No, really, Clinton is letting criminals kill people to get the public to support gun control. “I’ve come to believe he needs a certain level of violence in this country,” LaPierre told ABC News on the March 15, 2000 episode of Nightline. “He’s willing to accept a certain level of killing to further his political agenda. And the vice president, too. I mean, how else can you explain this dishonesty we get out of the administration?”
We’ve pretty well got that page of the Dem’s playbook memorized they’ve repeated it so many times.
“He’s willing to accept a certain level of killing to further his political agenda.” Change “he” to “they” and you have an entire political movement quite happy to sacrifice a few kids every now and then to advance the agenda of disarming the American public.
There is a callous disregard for human life here…and it is harsh to say it, but it applies to the Democrats. Someone made a joke the other day: “Senator Kamala Harris stops by anti-gun rally on her way to a pro-abortion rally”. It really says it all: death isn’t what they hate…just freedom and it simply grinds their gears that in the final analysis they can’t impose their leftist worldview on us because long before they can get us into the box cars, we’d start shooting back.
Reports are that Gen. Flynn’s guilty plea will be reversed by a judge citing new exculpatory evidence that was not present in the indictment.
Does this mean that Mueller and the FBI used unethical methods to target a US citizen? AGAIN?
Oh, NO !! Say it ain’t so !!
I’m more and more getting to the opinion that we’ve gone completely wrong in it. Not in the cops on the beat (though there are problems there), but in the detectives and the prosecutors. I’ve just seen too many stories of late of guys being let out after a decade or more in prison when it comes out that they were completely innocent. You’ve probably seen the stories, too…especially the one’s where DNA clears some one from murder or sexual assault…but I’m also seeing cases where evidence was manufactured to prove guilt and/or exculpatory evidence was suppressed by the DA’s office. I think that what we have created is a “Conviction Machine”…the people involved (Detectives and Prosecutors) get rewarded for bringing Convictions…and, being Conservative, we all know that what you reward is what you get. We need reforms to make the Justice system a Truth Machine…all that anyone is looking for is what really happened and if someone did something wrong, then that wrongdoer pays the price. In a real sense, the Prosecutor should be bringing to court everything that tends to convict and to clear the accused…and then let a jury decide which is which. What we’re seeing in the Mueller probe is precisely what is wrong – they don’t want to get at the truth, they want to find whomever they can convict of something, anything…and, of course, they are doing it because they simply don’t like Trump.
It goes deep. I have written about a case in which a judge simply inserted, into a ruling that had nothing to do with his comment, that a defendant in a civil case had been making threats against him and his court clerk. This amounted to being found guilty of a felony, and this is now part of a permanent court record. An effort to get this removed was futile. A case filed in federal court alleging violation of civil rights—-denial of due process—-was fought by an attorney for the judge based on the argument that the person in question had not been damaged by the finding of the judge. The case was thrown out by a federal judge on the basis of lack of documentation, though the lack of documentation WAS the case—-no charges filed, no accuser named, etc. , just a formal finding of guilt. The entire documentation was the statement in the official court record. A former FBI agent said that when a member of Congress reports a claim of violation of civil rights the FBI is mandated to investigate, but when a Senator made this report the FBI refused to look into it.
One might say this is minor. I say it is the canary in the coal mine. Here were three judges, including a federal judge, an attorney and the FBI all supporting and defending a finding of guilt for a felony crime with absolutely zero in the way of due process.
Just when I thought I had seen it all…….
Robert Stacy McCain has been on this subject for a while – and the tactic they’re using to bully everyone is the assertion that if we don’t allow it, the kids will commit suicide. I’m thinking, though, we might be able to get laws passed prohibiting gender re-assignment until 18…most parents, I think, will back that, even in the face of Progressive bullying on the issue.
the tactic they’re using to bully everyone is the assertion that if we don’t allow it, the kids will commit suicide.
Transgenders are over 3 thousand times more likely to attempt suicide. The suicide rate among the general population is 13 per 100,000 while 41% (41,000/100,000) of transgenders attempt suicide at least once in their lives.
I read a report by one doctor who had been contacted by parents whose young son insisted he was a girl. This doctor was a responsible doctor, so he looked into the source of the boy’s conviction. It turned out that the boy’s young sister had a serious illness and was getting a lot of parental attention, and when he felt comfortable with the doctor he explained that girls get more love from their parents. So he decided to be a girl.
Another “doctor” would have put the child on hormone therapy, had him pretending to be a girl, and in just a few years would have sexually mutilated him both physically by cutting off his genitals and chemically by feeding him hormones.
I have to wonder how many times a “transgender” person who claims to really be the opposite sex is simply asked “why?” There is feeling like a girl, and wishing to BE a girl, and this would be a really significant question to ask a young man.
Back to “teacher’s hat” time. In a Personal Liberty story on fake news, I stubbed my mental toe on these gems,
(1) “Sharyl Attkisson, the award-winning investigative journalist who didn’t cow down before the alter of political correctness…”
I don’t know the term “cow down” and in spite of a voracious reading habit don’t think I have ever encountered it. “bow down”? “cower”? ???? I’ve heard of “cowboy up” but “cow down”?
And then, of course, the egregious misspelling of “altar”. There is the word “alter” but it means to change or an alternative, such as “alter ego”. The “altar” of political correctness is where the PC crowd worships. (See prior rant on ignorance of homonyms. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you won’t be able to put it down.)
(2) After a reference to the “National Instant Criminal background Check System (NICS) the author goes on to refer to it as NCIS. Hey, I’m a Mark Harmon fan too, but I keep my letters straight.
The drip drip drip erosion of our language has become a torrent undermining its very foundation.
So here we are – day 8 of being lectured by liberals about their irrational hatred of guns, and yet nothing has actually been done to secure schools across this country. Nothing.
We are a society of absolute morons.
I am sensing, though, that the public debate is different this time. Some on the Left are at least listening to “common sense” solutions coming from the right, many of which involve securing our schools at least as well as we secure other venues like airports and government buildings. And many on the right are agreeing to background checks on gun show and Internet purchases. No need to even tell the lefties that they’re already a reality. Just let them think they are part of the solution. And I think most on both sides agree that law enforcement needs to do a much better job of identifying people who shouldn’t have firearms before they engage in a mass shooting.
You make a good point about the background checks at gun shows and for internet purchases. We have been telling the Lefties for years that they are already required, and they just ignore the facts and keep howling at the moon. So sure, let them think they have prevailed. “Yeah, we’ll agree to compromise and let you legislate background checks at guns shows and on internet purchases” and let their legislators (who are as clueless as they are) propose such legislation, only to then have it pointed out it’s been in place for years.
But…but…but…the LOOPHOLE! Sorry, the “loophole” was invented by Leftist propagandists to suck in people to make them look like fools. And it worked.
The closest thing I have found to a “loophole” in gun show sales is that a guy could theoretically show up at a gun show and set up shop in the parking lot, selling guns out of the trunk of his car, without background checks. At least till the cops or the show security ran him off. Of course, he could do the same thing at a Starbucks.
The closest thing I have found to a “loophole” in gun show sales is that a guy could theoretically show up at a gun show and set up shop in the parking lot
Actually that’s not it. There is a gun show loophole, but, in reality, it’s microscopic. It involves vendors who sell other products besides guns (first aid supplies, knives, camping gear, holsters, gear bags, etc.) who may have a gun or two from a private collection for sale in their booth. If they are not “in the business” of selling guns and are not registered FFL dealers, they do not have to go through the background check process. I’ve worked an Oath Keepers public relations table at a number of gun shows, and my observation has been that the vast majority of guns sold in this manner are collector pieces or target pistols and rifles. They account for around 5% of booths at gun shows, and a study of incarcerated felons a while back found that around 1% had purchased a gun through this loophole. To the best of my knowledge, no gun used in a mass shooting has ever been purchased from such a source. I’d give the “gun show loophole” argument 4 out of 5 Pinocchios.
I’m going the more firm on the right to keep and bear arms…people 18 and older should be able to buy whatever legal weapon they want (absurd to say “you can go get blown up by an IED in Iraq, but don’t you dare buy a Glock back home!”). I’m also thinking that the ban on automatic weapons needs to be revisited…my view is that our right to bear arms is inherent to us because we all have a right to defend ourselves. It is only when you get to crew-served weapons that you get to a point where you’re beyond the individual’s right to self defense, and to keep and bear arms.
I am pretty sure that no NRA member has ever been a perpetrator of a mass shooting, so why are liberals attacking a law abiding organization, and not focusing on some substantive prescriptions for protection?
Why did Democrats not reform immigration when they had control of government?
Kind of gives you an idea of their motives, right? Or at least it should.
Best comment I’ve seen yet about guns:
“I saw a movie once where only the police and the military had guns, it was called Schindler’s List“.
I hope those of us who support the 2nd amendment go into this debate with clear eyes as to the agenda of the opposition. They are not wanting to stop at “sensible gun laws” – nothing short of a full repeal of the 2nd amendment is their ultimate goal –
“I want to make this super obvious point,” Loesch said. “The government has proven that they cannot keep you safe. And yet, some people want all of us to disarm. You heard that town hall last night. They cheered the confiscation of firearms. And it was over 5,000 people.”
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/02/22/nras_loesch_i_wouldnt_have_been_able_to_exit_cnn_town_hall_if_i_didnt_have_a_security_detail.html
Almost everything the Left does and says reflects a disconnect with reality. One of the worst cases involves those who have compared Trump to Hitler and then in almost the same breath say we need to disarm the public. The irony is mind boggling.
It’s who they are … while they may appear ready to compromise, they aren’t. Case in point – did you hear how that one young “snot nosed” Florida high school kid opened his remarks to Rubio? Straight out of the anti gun Alinsky play book.
Had I been Rubio, I would have lit that kid up, and I don’t care what high school he came from. Here’s a FACT – the government and specifically the FBI are a hell of a lot more responsible for the Florida shooting then the NRA is.
The back story just gets worse and worse.
If the troops flee, it is usually because the high command is sh**. I’m understanding now that Broward County instituted a program to reduce arrests among minority students…not by clamping down on crime and thus providing fewer opportunities for the bad guys, but by simply not arresting minority students. It may well have been the shooters surname which spared him consequences for a long string of actions which should have prevented him from having the chance to become the shooter.
This Liberalism writ large – they don’t give a darn about human life…just checking off the SJW boxes on their way to a fat pension.
More often than not it’s Republicans that figure out a way to shoot themselves in the foot and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It appears this election cycle that may be reversed. I guess Democrats are human after all, even if they seldom act that way.
And then to top off the security guard’s cowardice, it turns out the school’s security cameras were on a 20 MINUTE DELAY. YCMTSU!!! I would not want to be a member of the sheriff’s Dept. or a school official or school board member when the lawsuits start coming.
Question for you Libs out there: how can you suspend a 6-year-old for pointing a “class two look-alike gun” (a finger gun) on the playground and not stop someone like Cruz before he kills 17 people? I’ll answer it for you. You really don’t want to stop something that feeds your agenda. You can all rot in hell.
I’ve read differing opinions on the guard who didn’t charge into the school, and one thing that has come out is that it is generally a rule in law enforcement that an officer does not go into an armed situation without backup. If that is one of the rules of his department, I might wish he had violated that rule, I might think he should have gone in no matter what, but I can’t condemn him or call him a coward if he was doing what he had been trained to do.
I think the 20 minute delay on the feed from the security cameras is a bigger issue, as it gave consistently wrong information to those watching.
Don’t forget the fear experienced by the “adults” faced with a chewed-up Pop Tart that had the vague outline of a pistol. That was certainly dealt with quickly and efficiently.
A failure on many levels
Peterson’s failure is just the latest instance of government employees failing to stop the shooter from carrying out his deadly rampage………….The sheriff’s office failed in other ways as well. “In November, a tipster called BSO to say Cruz ‘could be a school shooter in the making’ but deputies did not write up a report on that warning. It came just weeks after a relative called urging BSO to seize his weapons,”
I think officials expected everyone to obey the “gun free zone” law. Why don’t criminals obey laws?
Can you imagine the carnage if the Left is allowed to make the entire country a gun-free zone? To be honest, I think the vast majority on the Left abhor violence and carnage, but there’s no doubt that some in positions of power relish it as either a means to an end or a crisis that can be exploited for political gain. We really need to figure out a way to rid society of people like that.
Perspective:
North Carolina flu death totals increased by 27 deaths, hitting 200, according to state statistics released Thursday.
According to the progressive media, “assault” rifles are the greatest danger all Americans face. I beg to differ.
It seems as though the Florida shooting was a welcome distraction for the media to separate themselves from the imploding Russia collusion narrative
Just as I’m thinking, “what the hell is wrong with this Sheriff Israel in Broward County?” I hear a guy call in to Glenn Beck’s radio show. He says he lives in Parkland, FL, and graduated from Stonemen Douglas High School in 2004. He said Sheriff Israel is a politician, not a LEO, and is good friends with Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Suddenly the haze has been lifted. I think this horrific affair is about to get a whole lot uglier.
Ben Crystal expresses my feelings exactly.
That pretty much sums up the brain damage that is the left side of the political spectrum ….
And while they continue to blame the NRA, not one school has been secured, and the flu continues to kill more people. Should we not question the CDC’s motives?
I drove up to Denver yesterday and across the interstate was a sign saying that 60 people had been killed on Colorado roads so far this year. That is in just one state, which has no more bad drivers than any other state and far fewer than some. That’s more than one fatality per day. (Although, to give credit where credit is due, the Left IS trying to get rid of cars…)
I read a funny comment this morning: “The left is as distractable as a beagle chasing five squirrels.” I think they are realizing that this squirrel is more fun to chase than that elusive Russian Collaborator squirrel that is rapidly proving to be an urban myth, as no one has actually seen one.
He doesn’t need the armed protections afforded to the same rich and famous people who told him the rest of these lies..
That is funny, because this morning it occurred to me that if we are going to “compromise” on gun control, we should start with ruling that bodyguards of the rich and famous are not allowed to carry guns. Let’s see how that works out before extending it to the general population. They want to be seen as leaders—let them lead.
That’s a great idea. Let’s first take armed guards away from the banks and federal buildings and see what happens.
Ben Shapiro echoes my sentiments this morning:
“You want to know who the bigots are in America? It’s these folks in the mainstream media proclaiming their objectivity while they push their agenda. These are the people who suggest that you don’t give a damn about children murdered in mass shootings unless you agree with their gone confiscation scheme,” Shapiro continued.
After a reference to his viral 2013 gun debate with Piers Morgan, he observed that the media have “not learned one thing” since the Sandy Hook gun debate but instead “gotten worse” because they’re “lying about you, they are lying about me, they are intentionally dividing the country in order to promulgate a gun-control agenda.”
No, cluster, I am not talking about putting innocent people at risk by removing armed guards from public places.
I am talking only about telling those who yell the loudest about guns to lead the way by eliminating guns from their own protections.
Hollywood seems to be the loudest voice as celebrities rush to microphones to explain how they want to lead the fight against gun violence. Politicians are right up there with them.
Make THESE self-proclaimed leaders actually lead.
Leave protections in place for people who aren’t up there virtue-signaling or legislating against guns while enjoying the protections of armed guards.
The government wants to take guns away from citizens, I say let’s start with them first. Remove the security from government buildings, so federal bureaucrats have the same protections as our school kids. Makes sense to me.
So would you put Republican lawmakers at risk to make a point? And staff members? Sorry, but this makes no sense to me at all.
On the other hand, every time some Hollyweird virtue signaling nincompoop spouts off about gun control, that person should not be allowed to have armed protection. Ditto for politicians who do the same. Put your money where your mouths are, gun control freaks——or, rather, put your lives out there like you demand we do. Look at the photos of Obama being shadowed by armed guards, while he lectures on the evils of guns.
I would NEVER advocate removing armed guards from public places. But when Nancy, et al, go out in public, they should go with unarmed “guards”. Ditto for Cher, etc. The only way such a policy would make any sense at all would be to limit it to the people who advocate it.
The difference is that the hollywood star pays for their own security, whereas tax payers pay for federal government security and hell yes I would remove it. But here’s the beauty – you would never have to remove it because even the thought of having no security for pampered federal bureaucrats will result in something getting done.
We’re just coming at this from different directions. I was thinking of linking an act directly to a consequence—Suzy Starlet speaks out against guns so SHE can’t then have guns protect HER—-and you are talking about theoretically putting people who might even support the 2nd Amendment at risk just to make a point. I see a vast chasm between the two and a lack of internal logic as many taxpayers are quite happy to hire those gun-toting security people who are also protecting gun owners and A2 supporters.
I usually find a lot to like in Jonah Goldber’s writing. His book on fascism as a Leftist construct was brilliant. I am less impressed with his Trump Derangment Syndrome, though it seems to be weakening—but like a top that is slowing down it totters from reason to goofiness.
But when he is wrong, he is REALLY wrong. Case in point: he just wrote this
” As a candidate he publicly called on the Russians to (further) hack Hillary Clinton’s server and release the missing emails.”
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/donald-trump-russia-collusion-probably-did-not-happen/
No, NO, NO he did no such thing! If people purportedly representing conservatism and thoughtfulness are buying into these transparently bogus Leftist lies, no wonder an unthinking public is suckered in as well.
Trump, in talking about the lack of security in Hillary’s emails, said that copies of them were probably already sitting on Putin’s desk. And then he suggested that Putin release them so we could read them.
Goldberg is not a stupid man. But even a half-wit could understand that Trump was saying he believed the emails had already been hacked and that they were in the possession—-at the time he was speaking—-of Russia. You know why even a half-wit could understand this? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE SAID !
Arrgghhh
So if progressive democrats think we can get rid of guns, why can’t we get rid of illegal immigration?
You’re asking the wrong question. It should be, why can’t we get rid of Progressive Democrats?
That is the right question – in fact how about a one for one trade? One progressive democrat for one illegal immigrant. We would definitely get the better end of that deal.
I know your question was at least partly tongue in cheek, Spook, but there is a serious answer. We could get rid of many if not most Progressive Democrats if we could find a way to have a public voice to balance the incessant drumbeat of Progressive lies.
Look at my last post. Jonah Goldberg is a smart guy and a good writer who does good research. Sure, part of the stupidity of the comment I quoted is due to his anti-Trump Identity Politics bias, but the Complicit Agenda Media have been claiming that Trump asked (or even just encouraged) Russia to hack Hillary’s emails and this has never, that I know of, been directly addressed as a lie.
Unless and until we find a way to get into network news, which means having a Koch or an Anschutz or someone like that, or a consortium of billionaires, buy ABC or NBC or CBS we will always be at the mercy of the propaganda experts on the Left.
Even if the Right were to somehow fund an hour-long prime time feature, like 60 Minutes, featuring a realistic alternative to the crap put out by the other media, we would at least have a forum. I think a lot of people would watch a debunking show, if only to have topics for outrage and fury. The real problem would be finding advertisers willing to incur the wrath of the wrathful Left.
We were talking earlier about faking crime statistics by simply not reporting crimes. This tactic is not reserved for crime reporting when reporting of statistics makes some people look like they’re not doing their jobs. Given the choice of better educating kids so they can graduate, or simply making the stats look better by giving them diplomas, it seems like a pretty clear choice to some.
For years, D.C. public schools have been inflating their graduation rates by passing students who simply did not earn their diplomas. According to a recently released audit of DCPS, one-third of the class of 2017 — 937 students — graduated despite violating attendance and credit-recovery policies.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/dc-public-school-graduation-rate-scandal-problem-with-top-down-education-reform
Great article:
Disdain for ordinary folks is not just an ancillary trait of liberalism. It is fundamental to the its nature…..To succeed, liberalism must acquire and retain clients in need of change. It is not in the interest of the liberal to solve problems. What the liberal needs is continually to discover new problems and hold them up as in need of solution…………Our task as conservatives is to speak out against liberalism, with its inevitable tendency toward compulsion and violence. It is to offer an alternative that is truer and more generous. The alternative of liberty and freedom is not the construct of the human mind, but the natural condition of mankind wrought by our Creator.
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/leftists_versus_the_people.html#ixzz58223hakL
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This is good, but just another way of addressing the smugness of Liberalism. (By the way, to my mind, when one spells the word with a lower-case “l” he is talking about actual, true, classic liberalism, which is the antithesis of Liberalism even though the Left has hijacked the term to disguise the true nature of the ideology.)
Conservatives say that people are smart enough to make their own decisions and run their own lives, and just want an umbrella of federal government to tie the nation together into a single identity and provide basic protections. Liberals say most people aren’t smart enough to make their own decisions or run their own lives, that if they try they are likely to not do it the “right” way, and they need the superiority of the Liberal to take care of them and decide for them.
We are at a point in our political climate where that “inevitable tendency toward compulsion and violence” is out in the open, but we as conservatives are just milling around mumbling to each other about it instead of working on a way to get that message out, to connect the dots and create a coherent picture of the inevitable progression of Liberalism. Now, more than ever, I wish that Trump was a speaker equal to Reagan, because now IS the time to start taking this message to the country.
We see compulsion in nearly everything the Left is doing now. I love that word and wish I had thought of it—it is very powerful. We see violence in so much of what the Left does and in nearly everything it says.
On our side we need to take the word “liberal” away from them, as they don’t deserve it and in their hands it is a lie. And we need to point out the arc of Leftist ideology, everywhere it is tried, from its original appeals to resentment of the Haves and the promises to fix wrongs and make everything equal and wonderful all the way through the increasing imposition of more and more government authority to, as the article points out, the “inevitable tendency toward compulsion and violence” which is being played out daily in our streets, in our media and in our educational system.
“inevitable tendency toward compulsion and violence”
That’s how it has invariably played out in previous manifestations that resulted in millions of deaths. I could be completely off base here and simply underestimate the underlying hatred by Liberals for Conservatives and all we hold dear, but I don’t see a significant number of American Leftists who have either the courage or means to do to America what Stalin did to the Soviet Union. Sure they’ve brainwashed a generation or two of young people to believe in Socialism, or at least have a somewhat positive view of it while rejecting capitalism, but what they haven’t done is convince more than a handful of those same youth that it will eventually require them to lay down their lives in violent revolution. If you listened to the words of the survivors of the Parkland shooting at the listening session in the White House, those kids are genuinely terrified of guns. In fact, I’d go so far as to say THEY’VE been brainwashed into demanding that guns be banned, or certainly, as the one young man put it, “weapons of war” be banned. Gonna be pretty hard to convince HIM and young men and women like him to go out and kill a bunch of “Right Wingers” for the “greater good.” But, and this is to any Leftists who might be reading this, if you honestly feel that your vision for the future is the right one, and the only way it can be implemented is to eliminate those who disagree with you, then bring it on. I’ll even give you my address.
Spook, I agree with you when you say “… I don’t see a significant number of American Leftists who have either the courage or means to do to America what Stalin did to the Soviet Union.”
The cynical side of me adds, in an aside, the ominous word “…yet…”
First, we have to remember that the people of Russia didn’t necessarily know what Stalin was doing, much less approve of it. The only “news” they were given were what was permitted by the State, and the State reported that everything everywhere in Russia was pretty darned wonderful.
The American Left has been led in increments from the mild position that we should be generous with our federal funds to take care of the poor, while still being in two-parent nuclear families and going to church and avoiding profanity and thinking socialism is bad and objecting to pornography, to today’s American Leftist who is much more likely to be foul-mouthed, support pornography, believe in abortion at will without even asking for a reason, disdain religion and (more ominously) people of faith, openly support socialism, and so on. It has taken only three generations to get from the Democrats who elected JFK to the Democrats who march wearing genital costumes and snarl that Dick Cheney should have been allowed to die, and each generation has been more strident, less tolerant of differing opinions and more accepting of violent treatment of opposition.
We know that plays and movies graphically and enthusiastically celebrating the assassination of an American president would not have been tolerated three generations, even two generations, ago. Now we have people defending the presentation of the image of the bloody severed head of a president as “art” and “comedy”. Just look at the proliferation of comments of overt hatred of conservatives and statements that they don’t deserve to live, now that the Internet has provided forums for this kind of mental sewage to be expressed, but it has been encouraged by the Left and given tacit approval.
The process to move a civilization from decency to depravity is multi-layered, and the Left knows this. This is why their first movement is to destroy the three things that pose the greatest threats to their authority—-the intact family unit (with its loyalty to the family), religion (with its loyalty to God) and education (which teaches us about the mistakes and triumphs of the past as well as teaching us how to analyze and think for ourselves). Parallel to this is the undermining of the social structures—–crudity, profanity and sexual suggestiveness are approved and encouraged and supported. Kindness and tolerance are denigrated. The dismemberment of tiny helpless children and the selling of their body parts is strenuously defended and even promoted. Most ominously, violence (starting with verbal violence and escalating into public violence such as rioting) is not only accepted but promoted as natural and desirable.
We have been led onto a slippery slope and the angle of descent is increasing. I don’t think we are far from tolerance of a Stalinesque approach to political opponents as you might think, at least from the Left.
I don’t think we are far from tolerance of a Stalinesque approach to political opponents as you might think, at least from the Left.
Well, it goes without saying that I hope you’re wrong. But I and millions like me are prepared if you’re right. When I try to imagine, though, just how an overthrow of our government and our country by Leftists might play out, I’m having a hard time visualizing it. At best they might count as allies some in military and law enforcement leadership, but few rank and file, and support in most of flyover country would be virtually nonexistent. I’d be surprised if they could put together a civilian force of more than 25 – 50,000 young people who are not afraid of guns, fewer who are proficient with them. That’s about the equivalent of the national membership of Oath Keepers, not even counting 3%ers, various state militias, etc.. And, in case you’re not aware, the state militia movement is re-awakening, primarily because of the potential threat by the Left. The resistance to a Leftist takeover will number in the millions if not tens of millions — lots of highly trained former and retired military and law enforcement, a microscopic percentage of whom will side with the aggressors. It’s just not in the mindset of men and women who have fought to protect freedom to suddenly decide to switch sides and to snatch that freedom away.
One of the most significant dynamics of America, compared to other countries where Marxist revolutions have been successful, is that we have a history based on individual liberty. I believe the knowledge of what it’s like to live with the kind of freedom we experience and have experienced as a nation will be a powerful counter force to any attempt by the Left to “transform” it all. I do think you may be right in that many on the Left see a window in the very near future to affect their end game. I just don’t see it succeeding.
Spook, I think if murders of opponents could be kept at an emotional distance from many on the Left, they would be fine with it in the abstract. As an abstract theoretical I think a lot of Libs would find it OK. I don’t think we are very close to it being widely accepted if people know the facts. I worry that the space between finding it theoretically acceptable in the abstract and realistically acceptable in execution might not be as wide as I would like. Right now the general idea of conservatives not deserving to live is at odds with wanting to save lives by banning guns, and that is the kind of dichotomy of ideas that would have to be overcome.
I don’t fear citizens fighting citizens.
I just look at the Liberals I know. They tend to be surly and resentful, they tend to gravitate toward the validation of those characteristics by a manipulative Left, they choose to be gullible because that means never challenging their acceptance of the tenets that validate characteristics that used to be considered negative, they are willing sheeple—-but they are not violent. I see them as superficial.
They support abortion not because they truly think it is OK to butcher tiny helpless children but because the superficial tag of “choice” appeals to them and lets them take the easy way out. After all, isn’t “choice” just another word for “freedom” they think, so they vote for abortion “rights” because it allows them the illusion of being in favor of freedom without having to do the heavy lifting of thought, analysis and most of all of actually taking a stand on something.
They sneer at religion because religion demands commitment and discipline, and once again they prefer to glide along without the effort it takes to assume moral responsibility for their actions, or the character to accept the discipline of a religious dogma.
They are for “gun control” because on the surface, which is where they reside, it just seems to make sense. On that level, if guns kill people and we take away guns then people won’t kill people. And that is as far as their analysis goes.
When you look at what the American Left stands for, marches for and claims to support, none if it goes below the most superficial of ideas or concepts. These people float on the surface of ideas. They aren’t committed. When you examine what they claim to stand for, these causes all boil down to not committing to anything at all. It’s easier to preen about being “for choice” than it is to face the ugly, gory, vile reality of abortion. It’s easier to screech about “gun control” than it is to face the harsher and more demanding issues of the mental health of our young due to our disintegrating social and moral standards. It’s easier to assume the mantle of political activism by dressing up as genitals and marching for something that actually already has been accomplished than it is to actually delve into, understand and analyze the reality of our political landscape, and in particular the deeply disturbing and ugly reality of the movement they support by their ignorance.
I have no fear of the vast majority of those who enable the Left in this country, because I think for the most part they are weak, silly and superficial. I literally do not know a single Lib whose political ideology is deeper than just not liking people on the Right. I do fear the tyrants they might elect because of their gullibility and need to be validated by a movement to feel important and significant. They have chosen a movement that gives them participation trophies and they cling to the illusion that this means they matter.
If I were to have an image of an armed uprising in this country, on one side I would see the millions of armed Americans who have actual political philosophies as well as guns and the skill and will to use them. On the other side I see a mishmash of groups that I think would be hard, if not impossible, to form into a coherent and cohesive opposing force—black activists won’t take orders from white people, much less find common ground with them. A few Soros-paid riot instigators whose history is of starting trouble and then running off to let others take the brunt of tear gas and arrests don’t really scare me. Without a trained military force, I don’t see much more than some rioting and posturing. Sure, a lot of people would be killed. But I see at least 80% of those now identified as Liberals hiding in their closets sucking their thumbs and just wanting it to all go away.
As for the younger Libs, they are so emotional and so undisciplined and fragile I don’t see many of them able, much less willing, to take a side and fight for it.
Just my take on it. I think the Left poses a real danger in this country, but through political means more than violence, except on small scales such as the ritual riots and verbal expressions of wishing conservatives would die. Not that the political means wouldn’t migrate toward more and more tyranny, but it is no longer possible to control what people are told about what is happening. The efforts to do so (net neutrality) have failed. Technology means that tyrants can no longer operate secretly, slaughtering millions while feeding lies to the rest of the population.
I agree that violence in the abstract is more and more acceptable in our culture, as it becomes cruder and more tolerant of hostility as a normal reaction to opposing opinions, but reality has a way of shaking people up. Trained police officers who have seen gory death in murders and traffic accidents have deep emotional reactions when they have had to shoot people. It’s not easy to face bloody death. It may sound pretty cool to some Lib in his mother’s basement tweeting about wanting conservatives to die, but being faced with bloody dead bodies is a very different thing. There is a reason police and sheriff departments require professional counseling for officers who have shot people in the line of duty, and these are people whose jobs have required a commitment to do so if necessary. I took shooting lessons from a former cop who is a highly trained arms expert, who thought he was prepared for whatever came his way in his job, but when he described what it felt like to be shot at he said it was a completely different ball game.
I have a large herd of retired horses. Most are really old (like late 20s, early 30s) and some have health issues. They are my responsibility and I take it seriously, but I have gotten a lot of advice and opinions (unsolicited) from people who think this is stupid. To the comment “You should just get rid of them” I have come to respond with “Fine. I have a gun. Come on over, I’ll line them up and you can shoot them for me.” You know what? No one has ever taken me up on this.
The reality of doing something, being responsible for something, is a lot harder than the abstraction of “something should be done”.
Technology means that tyrants can no longer operate secretly, slaughtering millions while feeding lies to the rest of the population.
Excellent point. I think you and I are on the same page — as usual.
I don’t think we should become complacent about not fearing armed violence, but I think political power is a more immediate concern.
The thing is, the Left has come so close to overplaying its hand we have an opportunity to strike, and we seem to lack the focus or the intent or, more likely, the ability to do so. That phrase about Leftist ideology and its “inevitable tendency toward compulsion and violence” really struck me. It is so vivid, so succinct, and so easy to link to the events of the past few months it is an opportunity waiting to be used. And we don’t have a Reaganesque voice that can, and will, speak to the people and link the violence of the Charlottesville riots, the riots portrayed as protests for various black grievances, the increase in government authority and control in the Obama years, so many events that some of us see as an ominous pattern but most of us are barely aware of.
Half of Korea is free, and prosperous. Half is not. The difference is that half is under Leftist control, which has quickly led to compulsion and violence. Venezuela was free and prosperous and now its people are literally starving to death, reduced to beating livestock to death for something to eat. The difference between then and now is Leftist governance, which has led to compulsion and violence. Germany was divided for years, one half free and prosperous and the other half shooting people to death for trying to escape. The difference was that one half was under Leftist governance, which led to compulsions and violence. When East Germany and the wall fell, the entire nation became free and prosperous. It is now losing its identity, because the Left has imposed a government that is designed to destroy it and make it vulnerable to the bad old days of compulsion, because of violence. Sweden has been held up to gullible Leftists as the example of the success and superiority of socialism (though it is not a socialist country, just a capitalist welfare state) and we are seeing its national identity destroyed in less that one generation thanks to Leftist governance, as the violence escalates and will inevitably lead to compulsion. Here we see attacks on our own national identity as it is constantly linked by the Complicit Agenda Media to white supremacy.
These things scare me a lot more than a few Lefties with guns, who can be dealt with swiftly, efficiently and permanently.
These things scare me a lot more than a few Lefties with guns, who can be dealt with swiftly, efficiently and permanently.
If the Dems win back the House and Senate with ruling majorities like they had from 2009 to 2011 they would worry me too. And I guess that COULD happen, but seems less likely by the day. The best defense is a booming economy, rising wages and at least the perception of more individual liberty, all of which we’re seeing under Trump. And I can’t recall in my lifetime, certainly not in my adult lifetime, the Left in this country declaring who they are and what their intentions are more overtly than they are and have in the last decade. I think the number of Americans who are fooled by them is diminishing, not growing. Quite frankly, the situation in Venezuela is not exactly helping the cause of many of our Leftists who are on record praising Chavez just a few short years ago. It would help even more if the public got a daily dose of on-the-ground reporting from the MSM on disruptive events in the places you mention.
It would help even more if the public got a daily dose of on-the-ground reporting from the MSM on disruptive events in the places you mention.
And this is where the Right is failing, and failing miserably. There is money on the Right, but I don’t know where it is being spent, if it is being spent at all.
We have a national Republican Party that should be out there promoting real news about the Left and real news about the Right, and not concentrating on individual races in individual states. I think if the national party were to lay down a solid foundation of facts about the failures of the Left, ranging from domestic failures to international disasters, and start working to reshape the national consciousness about politics and events, the individual state parties could built on that for their candidates.
The networks are full of crap, of so-called “reality TV” so I think there is room for an alternate news hour or two, every week. Make it interesting, make it fun when that is appropriate. I might even call the show “THIS is reality TV”. There are a lot of topics I think a large audience would find interesting—-the move in higher education to protect the students from any conflicts or challenges and how this will affect their ability to get, perform at and keep jobs would probably get some people watching. A show on the collusion between the government and colleges to offer guarantees for student loans, encouraging schools to offer more and more useless classes at higher and higher prices—the symbiotic relationship between the government and colleges that is creating massive student debt while doing nothing to prepare our young people for productive lives. An hour on the harsh ugly reality of life in Venezuela. A show on the problem of the “homeless” being tied to the refusal to institutionalize the severely mentally ill, throwing them out onto the street where they are scared, victimized and vulnerable. A show about the paid agitators who show up all over the world to instigate riots and then scurry off to safety while the locals get tear-gassed and arrested—-I am sure that would open some eyes. Too few people realize that these so-called “protests” are organized by a central authority that scripts them and staffs them. Some upbeat shows on productive programs that educate our youth, help those whose homelessness is situational due to job loss, etc. There should be a mix—-I just read an article about some people who gave pasture horses a way to indicate whether or not they wanted their blankets put on or removed, and it was really interesting and lighthearted at the same time. Puppies and kitties and pretty girls every now and then.
Right now the hour-long shows are all about murders—this murder, that double murder, this cold-case murder, that society murder, blah blah blah—or more of the same old same old, or tired old “reality shows” that most are finally realizing are scripted and totally unreal. It might have been fun for a while to watch superficial people stabbing each other in the back, but I truly believe there is now room for something of real content. Sitcoms have often become so politicized they are distasteful—“blackish” is a perfect example, a fun show with fun people and a good basic premise turned into a black anger propaganda machine spewing racist cliches. Network TV is so desperate, it is recycling something old and bringing back Roseanne! (That might be interesting, if she, evidently rather conservative, brings in the same kinds of messages that got Tim Allen’s show cancelled.)
I can’t believe that the head of the national GOP can’t call on some of the nation’s billionaires to try to get support for something like this.
Great article, indeed. Hard to pick a favorite part, but these two sentences encapsulate the essence of the vast majority of Liberals:
And I would add, pride in their innate moral superiority
I just logged into my Lifelock account and in the area where they ask for feedback I sent this:
Has Lifelock ended its relationship with the NRA?
If so, I would like to know so I can find another identity protection company—one that does not submit to the howling of a mob
The comment on “compulsion” reminded me of this.
Every day a little more of the truth dribbles out. The Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting was the result of a failure of Leftist policies at every conceivable level, plus a good dose of cowardice on the part of those who are paid to protect us. Just a wild ass guess, but I’d bet that cowardice emanates from leadership or lack thereof.
When I first heard about the single deputy who didn’t go into the school I leaned toward hearing the full story. Both law enforcement and the military depend on people following orders, and if the orders were to wait for backup I could see how a deputy could be conflicted about what to do—-follow his training or follow his heart. Then I heard about additional deputies also not going in, and that struck me as odd—hiring four cowards in the same department? Or deputies following orders? The full story isn’t out yet. It’s just kind of hard to believe that four armed men, trained in law enforcement, in a sheriff’s office which is likely to encounter dangerous situations as a matter of course, were all paralyzed by fear at the same time, while watching police officers rush into the building. There just seems to be a piece missing—unless the sheriff’s office did a really bad job of screening applicants. I also got a bad feeling about how quickly the sheriff threw them under the bus.
From what I’ve heard and read, this Sheriff is not a good guy. I think the truth is so bad that it’s being allowed to come out in bits and pieces to mute the effect. I’m going to be extremely surprised if this whole mess doesn’t result in a number of massive wrongful death law suits, and, quite frankly, I hope the people who could have prevented this are sued for everything they’ve got. Kids’ lives don’t seem to matter as anything more than collateral damage in this culture war. Maybe losing a LOT of money will get their attention.
I just want the focus shifted away from guns to competence in the officials, and that means officials in the FBI and the local law enforcement as well as any school officials who didn’t do anything.
I have always loved the Winter Olympics, but this year just didn’t really care all that much. I watched some events, but while I didn’t hope Vonn would crash and burn I did hope she wouldn’t medal, because she was such a petty little bitch about Trump. She came out with some big Instagram “explanation” to try to make her pettiness seem thoughtful, but it was just bad taste. The All Chevrolet All The Time ads were tiresome–talk about saturation!—till finally a couple of other companies got in an ad or two. I think it’s great to hire good people without considering their sexual orientation, but NBC’s decision to hire people BECAUSE of their sexual orientation left a bad taste in my mouth. Tara did a good job of covering the skating but whosit, the weirdo, was just creepy. In one shot he just sat there carefully trying to keep that bulb thing from falling off his head while posing in his kimono—-it went beyond farce. (Yes, I know it is hair, but it looked like something died up there.)
I was happy to see Norway do so well, and the Netherlands. I was happy to see some Coloradans win gold, especially that 17-year-old, and Shaun White’s run was spectacular. I am still trying to figure out what about curling needs doping to compete. But all in all the efforts to politicize the event, with the slams on Pence, the swooning over the NoKo broad, the sniping by a couple of athletes who bragged that they wouldn’t go to the White House if they won, made it so negative I lost interest–though I do admit to liking the fact that for the most part they didn’t win.
The Left is kind of like King Midas, except everything they touch turns to crap.
And Pence was a class act.
I thought it was cool that Pepsi managed to sneak their logo into the middle of the Korean flag.
LOL
Nothing says School Safety more than stronger background checks and boycotting the NRA. Liberals always have the right answers /sarc
Is this racist?
In a speech, Cyril Ramaphosa outlined his ambition to redistribute the farms along racial lines to South African black people.
The government has no designs to compensate the subjugated farmers and will rush the expropriation through as soon as possible.
“The expropriation of land without compensation is envisaged as one of the measures that we will use to accelerate the redistribution of land to black South Africans,” Ramaphosa stated.
The former millionaire turned head-of-state assured his people the seizure won’t be conducted in a “smash and grab” manner, telling land owners they “must see this process as an opportunity.”
It is. Stupid, too. Same thing Zimbabwe did…and then the people settled on the seized farms, having no idea how to run them, watched them all fall apart…meanwhile, the dispossessed farmers, on their remaining land, made a huge success of it…so, of course, those farms were seized, as well. If I were a white South African, I’d be getting out…the thing is that the ANC promised the Moon and couldn’t possible deliver. The poverty of the mass of black South Africans was not the result of Apartheid…that played a role in denying opportunity, but the bottom line is that you don’t just walk in and have the skills needed to get rich in a modern, industrial economy and a huge number of black South Africans are less native to the area than the white South Africans are: they moved there under the Sun of the British Empire because there was still more opportunity and wealth to be had than outside the British Empire. But it takes many generations to build up the skills necessary…essentially, these people have had three or four, and a part of that was under Apartheid which did keep them from obtaining the necessary skills. But the ANC is stuck – it is either provide the Moon, or surrender power…and they won’t do that. So, they’ll do this dog and pony show of pretending that 90% are poor because 8% are white and take that wealth and piss it away…and then there won’t be any wealth for anyone.
Much the same thing happened with the Agrarian Reform in Peru when the Marxists drove the landowners and the businessmen out or killed them and turned the productive land and businesses over to the peasants. I met a family in Los Angeles which had had a family dairy for generations, and had to flee and get political asylum in the United States to save their lives. The people who took over the dairy had no idea how to run it, either starved or ate the dairy cows, and the business was destroyed in a couple of years. The big farms could support a lot of people because they were run by people who had been trained from birth to farm properly, and because of economy of scale the combined efforts of the various artisans and workers managed to create a living for many families. A single farmer with no experience just handed a couple of horses and a bunch of seed corn had no idea of what to do with these new “riches” and often had a big barbeque to eat the horses, ate the corn, and then starved. You are so right—“…it takes many generations to build up the skills necessary…”