Jul 17 2024

Shame And Guilt

     Last Saturday’s disastrous performance by the Secret Service detachment assigned to President Trump has evoked huge amounts of commentary. Some opinioneers are claiming that the evidence can’t point to anything but a Secret Service tasked to permit Trump’s assassination. Others are of the opinion that it was merely a demonstration of the low estate to which this institution has fallen. And of course, virtually all are calling for investigations…but by whom?

     Secret Service Director Kimberley Cheatle has come in for a great deal of criticism – in my not particularly humble opinion, all of it deserved. Notably, Cheatle has not tendered her resignation, nor has her superior, Alejandro Mayorkas, demanded it. Concerning which, Ace has this to say:

     Kim Cheatle is refusing to resign — of course. Leftwing girlbosses have no shame, nor any sense of what excellence or merit is. Resigning in shame is for Republicans only.

     Which has triggered some thoughts about shame, guilt, and the tenuous connection between them.

***

     Let’s imagine that Cheatle is guilty of something objectively demonstrable in a court of law. (I’m not saying that she is; I’m proposing an exercise in emotional analysis.) Incompetence isn’t legally actionable, so it would have to be an actual criminal offense: perhaps malfeasance. When the guilty verdict is delivered, Cheatle’s reaction would tell us something significant about her standards:

  1. Were Cheatle to display contrition, it would express the understanding that what she’d done was not just legally but morally wrong. Contrition is the proper reaction to learning that one’s moral judgment was flawed, and that it brought about the act(s) for which the guilty verdict was rendered. It says that the guilty party has learned better. And of course, much of the time a display of contrition is entirely fake, just an attempt to get leniency.
  2. But were she to display an absence of contrition, there could be at least two interpretations:
    1. She is morally indifferent to the verdict. That is: she committed her offense for personal reasons and is unhappy only about having been caught.
    2. She regards the law under which she was convicted as morally irrelevant. That is: she believes she had a higher duty which supersedes the binding effect of that law.

     In case 1 above, contrition might be accompanied by shame: the sense of having been revealed as responsible for damage to others. But in neither case 2.1 nor 2.2 would shame factor in. One cannot be ashamed of something that’s outside or beneath one’s moral standards.

     Shame is a motivator. Guilt isn’t, at least not if unaccompanied by shame.

     We expect an individual who’s displayed shame to change his ways. Perhaps we expect something penitential from him. At the least, we expect him to promise not to do the shameful thing again. But reasoning backwards, we would infer that an individual caught in an unacceptable act who refuses to change anything at all in the aftermath doesn’t feel shame for his deed. Shame would have moved him to do something, after all. At the very least he would have promised not to repeat his offense.

     The past century has seen a diminution of the shame response among public officials. Now and then, one such might simulate it. But these days they seldom actually feel it.

     There could scarcely be a more savage indictment of the political class.

***

     Speaking in a wider context, the domain of shameful behavior has been chipped away until there’s hardly anything left in it. Time was, it was shameful to be observed intoxicated in public. Time was, it was shameful to be indecently exposed in public. Time was, it was shameful to be an irresponsible, spendthrift head of household who scamped his responsibility for the well-being of his dependents. When an individual was revealed as any of those things – and many others – he was expected to change his ways. Today?

     Andrew Breitbart has told us that politics is downstream from culture. The American culture has all but eliminated shame from our responses to moral indictment. The watchword is no longer that “God is watching.” Today it’s “Whatever floats your boat.”

     It may be that earlier Americans overused censoriousness to limit behavior of which they disapproved. But whatever the case, today there are practically no standards under which one may be shamed, and thus none under which one may be expected to feel and exhibit shame. Being found guilty of an offense against the criminal law won’t reliably do it, else why would recidivism rates be so high?

     With that, I suggest an intimately personal, entirely silent exercise to my Gentle Readers:

  • Get yourself a pad and pencil.
  • List all the actions, or categories action, that would make you feel shame.
  • Ask yourself, in complete candor: Have you ever done any of them?

     Then burn the list. You wouldn’t want to leave something like that lying around where others might find it, would you?

     Have a nice day.

Jul 16 2024

Time to Replace FL Man with…

…OH Man?

I just saw this on the news (we have been REALLY busy this week, and haven’t watched much in the news).

He had a HATCHET, at least one knife, and several weapons – at the Cleveland Hopkins airport!

Now, I’ve been in places with NICER people (heck, in much of the South, even the crazies are mostly NICE). But, Cleveland, OH, has always been my touchstone as the place where the average people – again, mostly – use decent common sense, and a good understanding of what the Right Thing to Do is.

Now, that doesn’t mean that they don’t do stupid, and even criminal, things, but – for the most part – Clevelanders know Right from Wrong, even when they choose to do Wrong.

Boy, you wouldn’t know it from the headlines lately!

This woman attacked a 3 year old boy in North Olmsted, OH (that’s a suburb that is generally considered to be a safe place to bring up kids).

I can’t embed the video here – this is the link of her appearance in court.

She smirked all during her appearance.

Bionca Ellis in court: Competency evaluation ordered for woman accused ...

When that kind of crazy oozes its way to OH, we have definitely begun hovering in the range of Peak Crazy.

Jul 16 2024

OK, it’s been a while

I think I can talk about the Trump assassination attempt now.

Number one – if the Secret Service actually was trying to get Trump killed, rather than just total and complete incompetency, exactly what would they have done differently?

Number two – we all know the diversity hire in charge of the Secret Service isn’t going to get fired. After all, she was DOCTOR Jill Biden’s pick, And she’s already said she’s not stepping down.

Number three – holy hell, the people they had guarding Trump were NOT the best and brightest. That one woman who couldn’t even holster her pistol? Folks, I understand that the adrenaline was running hot and heavy, but that’s why you PRACTICE. When I was in Utah one of my buddies would set up steel plates, and we would practice drawing, shooting, and re-holstering. That was just for us. We weren’t on a protective detail. And in any case, I wouldn’t be holstering my weapon until Trump was safe. But this woman tried and failed to holster her weapon multiple times. That right there highlights the fact that they’re not serious people.

And finally, this is the world we live in. Everyone here has been warning that the Left is a violent mob. Here’s more proof of that. When Trump wins in November, they’re going to start burning things down. Again. Even if the Democrat vote fraud machine works and Biden is re-installed as the Puppet in Chief, they’re going to burn things down.

Buy more ammo. No, more than that.

Jul 16 2024

And now for something completely non-political

Teoscar Hernandez, who played for the Mariners last year was let go in the off season and signed with the Dodgers. Apparently he struck out too much.

Tonight he just won the home-run derby at the All Star game.

This is about as Mariners as you can get. Would you like to guess how many position players the Mariners have in the All-Star Game? Zero. None. Our only All-Star is a pitcher. But the guy we sent off because we didn’t want him just won the home run derby. You think he might be kinda helpful this year?

The Mariners are not an actual baseball team. They are a decades long experiment to see how much pain and suffering you can inflict on a fanbase before they give up.

Jul 15 2024

Stop Using the Terms “Right” or “Far-Right”

Instead, use the more appropriate term: NON-Leftist.

Why is that so important?

WE need to define our own classification. We, in fact, do range from Near-Libertarian to Constitutionalist to Populist to Old-Fashioned GOP of the 1950s (which did cooperate with Big Business to an unhealthy extent).

Allowing them to use THEIR terms means that they can slant their characterization of us into:

  • Just Like Hitler
  • ALMOST Like Hitler
  • Just Like the KKK, and
  • Monsters, really – completely inhumane

We need to clearly distinguish ourselves, and define ourselves, by OUR terms.

That is the method the Extreme Left used to soften the image of the Radical Abortionists and Those Who Supported Them, into that Kind, Gentle Proponent of Choice.

Cuz’ who could be against CHOICE?

“If you don’t want an abortion, don’t have one”. That completely ignores the input of the OTHER parent.

“ALL Women should be able to make their own choice” – which led to their forcing parents to stay out of decisions by teens/sub-teens to have an abortion. That those choices were not truly the kid’s, in many cases, but coerced by others, has been ignored. That the same age kid is not able to CHOOSE to get a tattoo or piercing, acts that have less far-reaching consequences, is dismissed by these same zealots.

Other Choices they are for:

  • Having sex, even though they are legally under the age of consent
  • Using chemical substances that can have detrimental effects – vaccines, mind-altering drugs, ‘gender-affirming’ drugs
  • Deciding to ‘transition’ without informing their parents – and, in many states, permitting/encouraging that decision by deceiving their parents by the same schools the parents pay for through their taxes.

It may not be a huge step, but it’s an important one. Let’s use the term NON-Leftist, and correct all that use other terms. Promote this on Social Media, in conversations, and – come election time – consider putting up a sign:

VOTING FOR THE NON-LEFTIST PARTY

People will know who you are voting for, without your having to SAY who you are voting for. Here is a link to a Google document you can print out multiple copies of.

Jul 15 2024

Further Thoughts On The Assassination Attempt And Its Sequels

     It could not have been otherwise: the news coverage yesterday, whether “mainstream” or “alternative,” was all about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. So was the commentary, of course; how could commentators talk about anything else? And now, in the aftermath of this “hinge event,” there will be other consequences and developments that will occupy the print and pixels for a few days longer. Nothing else will be allowed to matter.

     And that is as it should be.

     It’s been said many times – I’ve certainly said it often enough – that the point of elections is to replace bullets with ballots. But what happens when the bullets fly anyway, even with a scheduled election nearing day by day? Is it possible to combine electoral campaigning with flying-lead warfare and still have anything like an orderly society? It doesn’t seem so to me.

     We’ve heard enough talk about how the nation is teetering. Again, some of it has been from me. Today it all seems like mere preliminary. The action has just arrived, and there’s nothing nice about it.

     Images and metaphors abound. “The masks have dropped.” “The gloves are off.” “Time to get down and dirty.” The Vegetable-in-Chief used a particularly striking one just before the shooting: “It’s time to put a bull’s-eye on Trump.” Before this, we could hope that it would remain no more than rhetoric; today, I’m no longer certain that it will… or should.

     Andrew Torba, who founded and operates Gab.com, has called feelingly for us in the Right to remain peaceful. Other voices have not been so temperate:

     Retreating from these people is NOT the answer. It’s what the general population of not yet insane people have been doing for seven decades in a row. Enough. Fuck retreating. Make THEM retreat, and get back into whatever closet or rock they crawled out of. Be in their face. Stop tolerating their nonsense.

     And of course, we have Leftist opinion-mongers claiming that it’s Trump’s fault that someone took a shot at him, and beyond them multiple reports of hysterics on the Left because the shooter missed his target.

     Good and responsible people are withdrawing from the public discourse. Who will remain engaged? The less good; the less responsible. The less restrained. What will follow? The followers of Charles Manson called it “Helter Skelter,” after the Beatles’ tune. George Alec Effinger called it “All the Last Wars At Once.” To quote Tucker Carlson in an underappreciated moment: graph it out, man.

     This will not end well.

     I think that will be all from me today. I feel a need to pray… and after that, to clean and oil the guns. Perhaps you should do likewise, though I’m no one’s idea of a lifestyle coach. Speaking of which, have you been to the range lately? I haven’t, and I have a new rifle to sight in.

     Have a nice day.

Jul 14 2024

The Insanity Is Not Yet Complete

     The following is from the New York Post:

     Local police encountered attempted-assassin Thomas Crooks just moments before he tried to kill former president Donald Trump — but failed to stop the gunman despite the clear threat, according to a report.
     After rallygoers spotted Crooks on the roof of a manufacturing plant just 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, police were notified and one officer climbed a ladder to investigate, law enforcement officials said on the condition of anonymity.
     There the officer encountered Crooks, who pointed his AR-style rifle at them.
     The officer then backed down the ladder, and Crooks immediately took aim and loosed eight shots at the former president – grazing him in the ear, killing one bystander in the rally crowd, and gravely wounding two others.

     If this is accurately reported, a local policeman had the ability to forestall the attack of President Trump – and did nothing. Did he communicate with anyone? With the Secret Service, perhaps? Or did he keep the encounter to himself?

     I’m having trouble believing this. Did I wake up in the “bearded Spock” universe?

Jul 14 2024

The Elevators Of The “Rhetorical Temperature”

     Conveniently collected for your edification:

     Spread it around, Gentle Readers.

Jul 14 2024

On Sacrifice And Self (UPDATED)

     Happy Bastille Day, to those Gentle Readers who celebrate such things. It wasn’t a genuinely great occasion, mind you, but it deserves recognition as the heralding event to the more significant French Revolution. Then again, that wasn’t exactly something to celebrate, either, was it?

     Gentle Readers with some knowledge of the philosophy of Ayn Rand are aware that she harshly condemned the whole concept of sacrifice. Rand’s attitude toward the kind of acts we typically call sacrifices was unbalanced in the extreme. She tended to see all such things as diminutions of the ego, and condemned them as such.

     Given the tenor of the age in which she wrote, Rand’s attitude is understandable. Her principal adversary was the Marxian gospel that subordinates the individual to the collective. She opposed that stridently, and with justice. However, her philosophical championing of the individual, with which I’m in accord, is inapplicable to the greater part of sacrificial behavior among free persons.

     Sacrificial (alternately, altruistic) behavior, when it’s not the consequence of a coercive influence, is actually an enlargement of self, even a celebration. In the absence of coercion, the actions of the giver proceed from his own motives. Assuming that his judgment is reasonably accurate, he is extending himself emotionally to embrace the well-being of another. Even when his judgment is inaccurate – e.g., when the person he seeks to help cannot, should not, or must not be helped – his motives are nevertheless good ones: the desire to use his own resources to increase happiness or reduce misery. Hopefully, he will learn from the mistakes he makes in this regard without losing his spirit of benevolence.

     The greatest act of sacrifice on record is, of course, that of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who accepted excruciating suffering and death to open the gates of eternal life and bliss in the nearness of God. He gave his mortal body and all the suffering it could experience for the salvation of the world: everyone who has ever lived and who ever will. No one can beat that. There’s no record of anyone having tried.

     Would anyone dare to argue that Christ somehow diminished himself by that sacrifice?

     Let’s take the point as having been established and turn to the consideration of a somewhat more recent event.

     Yesterday evening in Butler Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump held a campaign rally. It wasn’t his first such, of course. We can hope that it won’t be his last. What made it unusually notable was the attempt on his life. It missed its mark mainly because of his fortuitous turn of his head as the bullet intended to kill him flew past him. Had he not turned at that moment, the bullet would have found the center of his head, all but certainly ending his life.

     Those are the raw facts of that moment. However, there are other facts of great significance which must be added to our contemplation of the event:

  • Donald Trump is a billionaire who earned his fortune in the real-estate market.
  • He is 78 years old, and could justifiably rest on his laurels for the rest of his life.
  • He’s been the target of more vilification than any public figure since Lincoln.
  • He’s been attacked through the courts.
  • His political adversaries in Congress want to strip away his Secret Service protections.
  • His family, friends, and political allies have also been attacked in various ways.
  • After having been grazed by an assassin’s bullet, he stood and shouted to his admirers to “Fight!”

     A commentator whose name I’ve misplaced said that a man of his age and attainments should be touring golf courses, or on a yacht cruising the world in comfort and leisure. Yet Trump soldiers on, determined to win back the office that was stolen from him. For whose benefit are his exertions, his determination, his dedication, and his courage? His? Melania’s? Barron’s?

     No, Gentle Reader. They’re for us.

     It’s not the sacrifice of Christ. Neither will it – we hope – eventuate in his murder. But it’s a very big deal all the same. The biggest of our time.

     Quoth Sundance of The Last Refuge:

     Dear God, we come before You to seek Your protection. Strengthen President Donald John Trump with the power of Your righteous might. Dress him in Your armor so that he can stand firm against the schemes of the evil that seeks his downfall. We know his struggle, like ours, is not simply against flesh and blood; but against evil manifest, against the powers that corrupt man, against the world forces of those who succumb to darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness and malevolence.
     You are President Trump’s keeper, O Lord. You are the shade on his right hand. Protect him from all forms of evil and keep his soul safe. We beg Your might to guard his voice, his going out, his coming in and his steadfast determination to protect his flock.
     Lord God, we thank You for Your outcome today, and humbly ask for Your angels to continue standing guard in his path. We plead for Your perfect wing to continue forming the perfect shield. From this moment and forever until the end of our capacity, we pray for Your protection. In Jesus’ name.
     Amen.

     I could not have put it better.

     May God bless and keep us all.

     UPDATE: The image below is mere conjecture…but who really knows?

Jul 14 2024

The Assassination Attempt

     You know all about it by now. The coverage will be wall-to-wall for days. It will probably dominate at least the opening day of the GOP convention. Public figures are either outraged or pretending to be outraged wherever there are cameras to see it. And that will be the sum and substance of it all.

     I have yet to read one account of the event that doesn’t say that “the shooter’s motive was unclear.” Glory be to God! He wanted to kill Donald Trump. What other motive could there be for shooting at him?

     There’ll be a lot of posturing over this. What there won’t be is clarity about the state the country has descended into: an asymmetrical willingness to use violence to gain political ends. For the few who are willing to address that aspect of our time, there won’t be much clarity about how it came to be, for a single reason:

     The shooter was a registered Republican.

     At the time of his death, shooter Thomas Crooks was 20 years old. He probably understood as much about politics and public policy as Joe Biden understands about differential geometry. But the media will play up that Republican registration as “proof” that his assassination attempt on the most popular public figure in America “had nothing to do with the Democrats.” Remember that you read it here first – and while we’re on this rather morbid subject, what sort of investigation into events preceding the assassination attempt will there be? Contacts between Leftist operatives and Crooks? Transfers to his bank account? Threats against his family? Psychotropic drugs found in his blood? And when will the results be made public?

     Perhaps I’ll be back later. I’m not sure. I may have reached my limit.

Jul 13 2024

Media Duplicity

     Beware claims from major media spokesmen that “We didn’t know!” about Joe Biden’s dementia. Also beware claims that they didn’t know that he’s the most corrupt political figure since Caligula. They’re not in the business of reporting things that reflect badly on Democrats.

     Remember this exchange from the 2016 campaign, between Mike Cernovich and 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley, over Hillary Clinton’s health:

     Cernovich: She had a seizure and froze up walking into her motorcade that day.
     Pelley: Well, she had pneumonia. I mean—
     Cernovich: How do you know? Who told you that?
     Pelley: Well, the campaign told us that.
     Cernovich: Why would you trust the campaign?
     Pelley: The point is you didn’t talk to anybody who’d ever examined Hillary Clinton.
     Cernovich: I don’t take anything Hillary Clinton is gonna say at all as true. I’m not gonna take her on her word. The media says we’re not gonna take Donald Trump on his word. And that’s why we are in these different universes.

     The Washington Post took pains to pour gallons of sarcasm over Cernovich’s allegation. Yet there was substantial evidence that Clinton was suffering some kind of neurological disorder. The Post, like the rest of the major media, carefully declined to notice. Its masters didn’t like it that a commentator who rose to prominence over the Web dared to do so. It disturbed the tableau they wanted to draw.

     The media have been boughten allies of the Democrat Party for decades. If a Democrat says it, then by the media’s standards it’s gospel truth…even if they know it’s a lie.

     As my Co-Conspirator Ragin’ Dave said recently, with regard to Joe Biden’s dementia, “The media aren’t upset because they saw how far gone Joe is. They’re upset because you saw it.” They’ve known for a long time now.

Jul 13 2024

Cue Napoleon’s Maxim

     The mess called California has had several architects, but none more prominent nor proud than Gavin Newsom. Yet Democrats are pondering whether he should replace Joe Biden as their 2024 presidential nominee. Let’s not interrupt them as they do so.

     Twenty years ago, California had passed a law, the Defense of Marriage Act, that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Shocking, eh? I know; those were dark times. </sarcasm> Nevertheless, it was so. But Newsom, who was mayor of San Francisco at the time, decided that the law didn’t apply to him. He had an exchange with Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave over it on Larry King’s show:

     When Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, the Colorado Republican sponsoring a federal marriage amendment, bluntly confronted Newsom with his criminal behavior (“I’m going through the deliberative legislative process, Mr. Mayor. You’re defying the law.”), he pursed his lips and snorted: “I’m hardly defying the law.” Hardly? Fact: In 2000, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 22, the state’s Defense of Marriage Act. Despite Newsom’s issuance of 3,500 marriage licenses to homosexual couples, Prop. 22 remains the law today.

     Musgrave didn’t back down: “You’re making a mockery of the law.” Newsom wheedled in response: “I think you’re making a mockery of this country and our values of diversity, and bringing people together and uniting people.”

     Perhaps Newsom would be an appropriate replacement for Biden after all. Neither feels that the law should tie his hands. But then, Democrats are like that, aren’t they?

Jul 12 2024

Peripheral Indicators

     Sometimes, you can divine more about what’s coming by watching the edges of the news than by focusing relentlessly on the core. Here’s an edge to ponder: Fletcher Knebel’s 1969 political thriller Night of Camp David, which concerns a president who has descended into paranoid / megalomaniac delusions, is experiencing resurgent sales. Used copies are selling on eBay faster than they can be listed there. While they haven’t been confirmed, there are reports that Cabinet secretaries and prominent members of Congress are the ones who’ve been buying them. A photographer with a telephoto lens claims to have sighted Vice President Kamala Harris hurriedly stuffing a paperback into her purse, too quickly for him to snap the shot. Does that suggest anything to you, Gentle Reader? 🤔

Jul 12 2024

On the road again

I get back from a funeral, and now I am driving to a wedding. I should be back after the weekend.

I don’t know whether to apologize for being gone, or for returning.

Jul 12 2024

“You Know You’re Over The Target”

     …when the flak is heaviest. This has special application to the public statements of popular figures who dare to go against the Official Line. In our time, Official Lines are everywhere. One differs with them at one’s personal peril. No Official Line is more heavily defended than this one: “Women, You Can Have It All.”

     The most recent public dissenter from that dictum is, of course, Kansas City Chiefs star placekicker Harrison Butker.

     Butker’s graduation speech at Benedictine College last Pentecost has become an event of legend. He shocked the world with a few minutes’ remarks at a small Catholic college, by expressing traditional Catholic sentiments. So far from the Official Line were Butker’s statements that the Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, a (nominally) Catholic order of nuns that operates the college, condemned Butker’s speech as “divisive.” Kansas City’s own media, which one might expect to defend a superstar that plays for the home team, urged the Chiefs to fire Butker over his speech.

     And of course, once the Sturm und Drang gets started, it can be a long time before it stops. Feminist viragoes from every corner of the nation denounced Butker. Some of them have expressed sentiments so violent that it’s hard to believe they aren’t legally actionable. But apparently it’s okay to attack a man for being openly Catholic, expressing Catholic opinions, and exhorting the graduates of a Catholic college to live Catholic lives.

     The denunciations aren’t over yet:

     Serena Williams did not hide her feelings about controversial Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
     While she and her sister, Venus Williams, and “Abbott Elementary” actress Quinta Brunson were on stage at the 2024 ESPY Awards, Venus implored sports fans to enjoy women’s sports “like you would any other sports because they are sports.”
     Serena appeared to be laughing as her sister was reading off the teleprompter and then delivered a direct message at Butker, who was in the Dolby Theater audience for the awards show.
     “Except you, Harrison Butker, we don’t need you,” Serena said looking right into the camera and eliciting laughter and applause from the crowd.

     The Williams sisters have never epitomized courtesy or “class,” but the above is a new low. Well, perhaps we shouldn’t have expected any better from them.

     (For a turd to top off the landfill, Serena Williams also disparaged Caitlin Clark. That’s entirely consistent with her other graceless behavior. And they say Negroes can’t be racist!)

     Clearly, these defenders of the Official Line will receive plaudits for their “bravery” – from other adherents to the Line, of course. Butker? Who’ll defend him? Who’ll bother to step forward and say, boldly, that his prescriptions were good ones – that hewing to the feminist “you can have it all” gospel has made more women miserable than all the neglectful and tightfisted husbands who’ve ever lived? Not even the order of supposedly Catholic nuns whose graduation ceremony he graced.

     It’s all of a piece, of course. It’s a critical component in The Game Plan. And it will continue in this vein until reality defeats it in an incontrovertible way: by eliminating its proponents and their progeny from the public discourse by overwhelming revulsion at the misery their exhortations have encouraged. But we have a way to go yet. Good men, and women whose eyes have opened, must continue to speak up.

Jul 11 2024

An Inevitable Schism

     Doctrines, regardless of the subject matter, are usually inflexible. Sometimes that’s not a virtue.

     Today in the Wall Street Journal, there’s an article about the divergence on economic policy between two wings of the Republican Party:

     There are, of course, widely aired disagreements over abortion and the war in Ukraine. But a potentially more consequential division has opened over economics. On one side is a pro-business libertarian wing that backs low taxes, free trade and international openness. On the other is a growing contingent of conservatives skeptical of big business, ambivalent about tax cuts and vocally supportive of tariffs.
     While both wings back Trump, who straddles this divide, they have different priorities should Trump win this fall’s election and Republicans retake control of Congress. Which side prevails has huge implications for the economy and business.
     The new Republican thinking was evident this week at the annual meeting of “national conservatism,” one of many labels attached to the new movement (along with the “new right,” “populist right” and “conservative economics”). Speakers interspersed attacks on the “Marxist” and “radical” left with condemnation of the “corporatist right,” “free marketism” and “globalism.”

     One side is dogmatically free trade: i.e., its adherents oppose any degree of government intrusion upon commerce, including international trade, regardless of the rationale. That’s the long-standing libertarian position. But there are others in the GOP who are exceedingly distrustful of mega-corporations, especially those that operate internationally. They see such entities as too willing to enlist government regulators for their advantage.

     The tariffs that President Trump imposed to compensate for other countries’ subsidies and subventions to their domestic industries are a central issue between them. Doctrinaire libertarians will have nothing to do with such. The more conservative-minded see such tariffs as right and necessary. Both sides have good points to make.

     Tariffs, like any other kind of tax, tend to become permanent. Not only does the government get accustomed to the revenue; businesses favored by tariff laws become addicted to them as well. Thus, over time their defenders outmaneuver the larger mass of consumers who have less focused concerns.

     But the era of exploding international trade and mobility has tempted governments around the world to provide all manner of supports, including outright subsidies, to their “important” domestic industries. In effect, part of the purchase price for those industries’ goods is paid by their governments, with savings for the consumer. That disadvantages American companies in competition with them, especially when we consider other disparities such as the looser regulatory environments in many other countries. It’s a great part of why so many American producers relocated their shops to other lands.

     In theory the problem is soluble, by the use of “sunset laws,” international agreements, and tax and regulatory provisions that discourage going “offshore.” But theory is heavily counterbalanced in practice by the powerful incentives that make accepting favors from the State both habit-forming and hazardous.

     It doesn’t pay to be dogmatic about such things. Neither the absolute-free-trade libertarians nor the neomercantilist conservatives can claim to be absolutely right. The unavoidable questions pertinent to that old shibboleth, “national security,” muddy the water still further.

     There are arguments on both sides, as I’ve said. But these days, even among people who agree on nearly everything, polite, restrained argument that honors facts and human experience is a rare thing. It’s always possible to accuse your interlocutor of having a hidden agenda. How could he prove that he doesn’t have one?

     Fortunately, advocates of both attitudes support Donald Trump. They’ll argue against one another after he’s elected, but for now returning him to the White House must take priority. It will make the maneuverings within the early days of a second Trump Administration something to watch closely.

Jul 11 2024

Saying it out loud

Quoted from The Morning Briefing at PJ Media, so you don’t have to get yourself dirty by clicking on a Politico link.

“Elected officials, union leaders, and political consultants are panicking over polls showing a steady erosion of Biden’s support in a state he won by 23 points four years ago,” reports Politico. “They’re so worried they’ve been trying to convince the Biden team to pour resources into New York to shore up his campaign and boost Democrats running in a half-dozen swing districts that could determine control of the House.”

Elected officials, UNION LEADERS, and political consultants, you say?

When people ask me why I’m so anti-union, this is why I respond with more than a little vehemence. The unions of today are nothing more than foot soldiers and fundraisers for the DNC. The AFL-CIO is the mob, only they’re running a protection racket for Democrats. Oh, they still have their private jets and private golf clubs in Michigan and all the perks of robbing millions thousands of American workers of their hard earned cash so they can spend it on political allies. Does anyone else remember Dick Trumka endorsing Drooling Joe in 2020, and using the AFL-CIO to spend a lot of money getting Drooling Joe elected? I remember. And what happened on Day One of Drooling Joe’s instalment? He canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline, which wiped out 50,000 various jobs in the MidWest, most especially good paying union jobs.

Even Dick Trumka, who is now burning in hell for all of eternity as his reward for doing Satan’s work on earth, later admitted (before his death) that endorsing Drooling Joe was a mistake. Oopsie, too late.

Under the oh-so-steady hand of the unions here in America, manufacturing has declined to extinction levels. If WWIII happened today, we couldn’t build enough vehicles or weapons to supply what we need. And that happened not only on the union’s watch, but with the union’s endorsement. The money raised by the unions went to politicians who shipped our jobs overseas, and then let in millions of illegal aliens to take the jobs that were left in the States.

I’d rather be homeless and unemployed than take a job where the union takes my money, gives it to Democrats, then pisses on my back and tells me its raining. I refuse to pay any more for my own destruction, as the FedGov is quite capable of taking even more of my money and using it to turn the former USA into another third-world shithole.

I’m not even beginning to discuss the teacher’s unions, who seemingly exist to keep pedophile predator teachers from ever seeing the inside of a jail cell. They certainly don’t exist to improve the quality of education in this country.

Jul 10 2024

Sides

     ‘Hoom, hm, I have not troubled about the Great Wars,’ said Treebeard; ‘they mostly concern Elves and Men. That is the business of Wizards: Wizards are always troubled about the future. I do not like worrying about the future. I am not altogether on anybody’s side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me.’ – You know where.

     Treebeard was quite candid about his “alignment.” Even the Elves had let him down somewhat. Thus he and the Ents found themselves to be alone in their chief interest: protecting the forests of Middle Earth. No one who fails to share your chief interest in its full intensity is entirely “on your side.”

     So it has always been and will always be.

     Several other commentators have recently opined that the media are unhappy with the Biden Administration because it deceived them about the gravity of Biden’s condition, which the June 27 “debate” made undeniable. If media spokesmen were saying that, it would be self-protective bullshit. The demonstration is above.

     The media’s highest interest, which will never change, is preserving their audience. That, after all, is the source of both their revenues and their influence over the public. Without those things, the media will fail. And yes: the media are failing now – but not because the Bidens have deceived them these past three years. They’ve known perfectly well that Biden is afflicted with dementia. It’s their business to know such things, and you may rest assured that they’ve known it since the 2020 campaign.

     What has the media upset is that their partisan duplicity has been revealed. The “debate” made plain to the general public that Biden’s brain is deteriorating. Some of us knew it, but that portion of the public that still trusted the major media preferred to believe that he was okay, functioning adequately as the president. The media, after all, told them so repeatedly, in terms of blithe assurance.

     Toto pulled back the curtain on June 27. (No, not that Toto.) The subsequent media backing and filling is entirely self-protective. Hardly any of the talking heads and “journalists” they promote were under any illusions that Biden was mentally sound. They didn’t believe the BS coming from the White House; they merely chose to promulgate it. It was in their partisan interest.

     Partisan interests are trumped by survival interests. Abraham Maslow would tell you.

     It’s worth our time to watch and study the techniques with which media figures attempt to deflect or dismiss the certainty that they knew all along. They’re a good indicator of a deceitful individual or institution. Unfortunately, there are a lot of those in the United States in this Year of Our Lord 2024. Just don’t let them deceive you about whose side they’re on. It’s their own and no one else’s.

Jul 10 2024

Have You Finalized Your Vacation Plans?

     Because if not:

     Scientists have identified an exoplanet that may possess an Earth-like atmosphere and the potential to support life, and in space terms it’s really not that far away.

     But how are the accommodations and the nightlife?

     Located just 48 light-years from Earth, LHS 1140 b orbits within its red dwarf star’s habitable zone, meaning it receives enough radiation to allow for liquid water, according to data from the James Webb Space Telescope.

     Red dwarves don’t put out a lot of ultraviolet radiation, by the standards of our solar system. Not nearly enough to get a decent tan. Still…

     LHS 1140 b, first discovered in 2017, is more than six times the mass of Earth and has already piqued scientists’ interest due to its proximity to our solar system. The latest observations suggest that the exoplanet might support a thick atmosphere, making it one of the best candidates for further study.

     The possibility of an oxidizing atmosphere is genuinely exciting, as without one, life as we know it could not exist. But wait: there’s more!

     Researchers suggest that between ten to 20 percent of the planet’s mass may be composed of water, indicating the presence of a sub-surface ocean or a massive ice layer.
     “If that were the case, the exoplanet would sport a 2,485-mile-wide ocean on its surface, measuring a balmy 68 degrees Fahrenheit,” noted the researchers.

     Plenty of beachfront property! Investors, get your liquid funds ready before Sandals and Club Med get it all!

     Yes, I’m funnin’ you, of course. All that to the side, LHS 1140 b is a genuinely exciting possibility – and not because we hope to go there. The detection of exoplanets is far advanced, but no one has yet detected an exoplanet with a lot of water and an Earthlike atmosphere. This might be the first, which would inevitably lead to the question “Is there life there?” To this point, we have detected no life anywhere but Earth.

     I think it would be nice to have neighbors, even if some might disagree.

Jul 10 2024

Insanity Or Deliberate Political Malfeasance?

     You really have to wonder:

     After securing the majority of seats in Sunday’s election, the newly formed left-wing government in France has revealed plans to impose a ninety percent tax on its “wealthier” citizens.
     The left-wing coalition known as the New Popular Front (NPF) shocked French politics this past weekend when it defeated both Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble party and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
     Though the NPF secured the most seats (182), it was unable to secure a majority and will now soon face Macron.
     The leaders of the NPF convened on Monday to decide who would be the nominee for head of their proposed new administration.
     “We are preparing to govern, to apply the programmed which is ours,” said Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the France Unbowed party.
     According to this plan, the retirement age will be lowered from 64-years-old to 60-years-old, and an annual income tax rate of 90% will apply to those earning over €400,000. €400,000 equates to approximately $432,736 U.S. dollars, according to Google’s money converter tool.
     In addition, the NPF has pledged to spend a minimum of €150 billion over the next three years and has called for a minimum raise of 14%.

     If a Third World country were to institute such policies, I’d shrug: “Well, that’s why it’s a Third World country. Let ‘em wallow in their own sewage.” But France? Don’t they remember what happened to Britain when its politicians did likewise? It wasn’t that long ago, in historical terms. If not, shouldn’t they remember their own history – the Terror, for instance?

     Giving your high earners – who are usually your high producers — that powerful an incentive to emigrate can destroy a national economy. Add the obvious desire to spend the national government into bankruptcy, which would precipitate the kind of government borrowing and inflation that are destroying the economy of the United States. But my Gentle Readers already know all that, so why doesn’t the French Left?

     Well, perhaps they do. Perhaps that’s their objective. Now all we need is an explanation for why destroying the French economy would somehow benefit the NPF. They couldn’t possibly have an allegiance to something outside France, such that the destruction of France is an end deliberately sought, could they? Something like a transnational alliance of shadowy powers that seek to abolish nations, national allegiances, borders, and all trace of the values that allowed the West to rise to its current estate?

     Who could such powers be, I wonder?

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