Happy Thanksgiving, True Believers! No thoughts today, just a bit of Thanksgiving totty for your enjoyment. Regular posts resume tomorrow!
Category Archives: Deep Thoughts
Deep thoughts, omphaloskepsis, and other random musings.
Rule Five America Suffering Friday
I stumbled across this piece of election recap over at The American Spectator, an article by Scott McKay, who I’ve read and discussed before. I thought it worth a mention. Excerpts, with my comments, follow:
This should have been a massive wave election. Given the low job approval ratings of the sitting president in his first midterm election, and given the favorable generic congressional ballot numbers, this should have been a plus-five wave in the Senate and a plus-30 wave, or bigger, in the House. It also should have resounded down to statehouses, and yet the GOP turns out, apparently, not to have been able to beat abysmal Democrat gubernatorial candidates like Katie Hobbs, Kathy Hochul, and Gretchen Whitmer.
There are so many utterly horrid Democrats who will remain in office after this election that it should be offensive to average Americans. It’s tempting to fall into the trap of believing there must be wholesale corruption in American elections, but the problem with going there is that there must be proof before it’s actionable.
Until some is presented, we’ll have to deal with something very unpleasant. Namely, here’s the truth that we on the Right are going to have to accept: the American electorate in 2022 is awful.
And the axiom about the cycle that involves weak men and tough times is a real thing, and we are in the worst quadrant of that cycle.
I might point out that I’ve been saying that last bit for a few years now. The cycle referred to is this one:
- Hard times make tough people.
- Tough people make good times.
- Good times make weak people.
- Weak people make hard times.
And, yes, we’re on the last phase of that. It’s interesting, because we only have to go back to my parents’ generation to find the second; the children of the Great Depression, who lived through WW2 and turned the U.S. into a global powerhouse. Their children, the Boomers – my generation – frankly gave rise to the third phase. (I proudly exempt my own kids from that. They are all tough, productive and proficient.)
And here come those hard times:
But gas prices will skyrocket thanks to the Biden administration’s running out of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The true shortage of both crude oil and refined petroleum products will soon become unmistakable.
And it’s going to be a cold winter in America, and a rough time coming.
You only think it’s rough now. You have no idea how bad things can get. When the diesel fuel runs out and the trucks don’t move, and the shelves go empty, and the layoffs come, perhaps you’ll think of 2022 as the good times.
But will they vote accordingly? Color me skeptical.
The trouble is that the Republicans are also performing manifestly awfully, and if the voters were only willing to deliver a mild rebuke, at best, of the Democrats, they do appear willing to deliver one to the Republicans as well.
The voters took a look at the Republican Party and they don’t prefer Mitch McConnell to Chuck Schumer — or, if they do, not by a lot. They don’t prefer Kevin McCarthy to Nancy Pelosi — or, if they do, not by a lot.
And they didn’t see much of anything out of the GOP that they thought was worth voting for, even if they thought the Democrats were no better.
Of course. Again, as I’ve been saying for years, when one party is Thelma-and-Louiseing us off a fiscal cliff just a little slower than the other, what choice? The destination is the same either way. But Mr. McKay holds out for a bright spot:
Objectively, it’s clear that DeSantis is the future of the GOP. The talk about Lake as potentially overshadowing him can now be put to bed.
What we’ll have to discover is whether, rather than the future of the party, DeSantis must become its present. Because what he’s done in Florida in turning it definitively from purple to red in just four years is the single most impressive thing in Republican politics.
Frankly, it might be just about the only impressive thing in Republican politics now.
Republicans should study DeSantis and emulate him. He’s the standard. And as America turns bleak over the next two years, he might be the only inspiration the party has left.
Here’s where I’m skeptical. Sure, there are bad times coming, and yes, if there is any sanity left in the country, the Dems will be held to blame for it. But the rock upon which I founder in this assessment is the statement “…if there is any sanity left in the country.” I’m having a hard time convincing myself that the electorate in general are much smarter than sheep.
But I might be wrong. There’s an story about a young man buying a mule from an old man, who assured the buyer that the mule was “…the most biddable creature ever birthed. Just tell him what you want him to do and he’ll do it.” So the young man pays for the mule, takes hold of the headstall and says, “OK, come with me.” The mule doesn’t budge. “Come on,” the buyer says, pulling harder. “You’re coming with me.” The mule ignores him. Then the old man says, “Oh, wait.” He picks up a nearby two-by-four and shatters it across the mule’s skull. The mule looks up and starts to follow the buyer. The old man calls after them as they leave, “He’ll do anything you want, but first you have to get his attention.”
The coming few years may be enough to get the American people’s attention. And it may take that metaphorical two-by-four.
Rule Five Barn Burner Friday
Now for the fun one: I seem myself delivering this one at a shout.
Take a look at the signs waved by some of the protestors, rioters and arsonists plaguing our major cities today. Take a look at some of their positions – anti-capitalist, anti-business, anti-freedom.
Now take a look at the protestors themselves. Ask yourself how many of them actually do any productive work.
These people toil not, neither do they spin. They are, by and large, parasites on the productive members of society that they demonize at every turn. But there’s something they are missing, a key point that we, the productive, understand, that they do not. And I say this to those parasites:
You need us. We don’t need you.
To you folks out there in the audience today, I say this: We – you and I – not they, are the people who make this economy run. We grow the food these parasites eat. We make the clothing they wear. We make the cell phones and tablets they use to plan their riots. We write the code for the social networking sites on which they plan their riots. And I say this to those parasites:
You need us. We don’t need you.
You look down your noses at the people who feed you.
People like my father, who raised Black Angus cattle, corn, and soybeans for much of his life. The people who sell the seed and take the steers off to the packing plant. The people who make fertilizer, who build the farm machinery in factories like the huge John Deere plant in Waterloo, Iowa. You look down on the truckers who haul supplies to the farms and ranches and food to the distributors and stores.
And to that I say to you: You need us. We don’t need you.
You look down your noses at the people who transport you.
People like the thousands who work in the plants of Ford, GM, Chrysler, and the other various manufacturers all around the country. The people who refine the gasoline and Diesel fuel that move the vehicles, the people who fix your car when it breaks down, the driver of the wrecker who comes out to help you because you lack the skills to do something as elementary as changing a tire – a skill I learned at about ten years of age.
And to that I say to you: You need us. We don’t need you.
You look down your noses at the people who clothe you.
Thousands more grow cotton, raise sheep, to make the cloth. Workers all over the world make your “stylish” tattered blue jeans, maybe even some of those really expensive ones with fake ground-in dirt on them to make it look as though you’ve actually done a day’s work at some point in your lives. Thousands more package the clothing, deliver it to stores, where retail clerks deal endlessly with difficult customers at little pay to provide you with the clothes you wear while lecturing the rest of us.
And to that I say to you: You need us. We don’t need you.
You look down your noses at the people who keep you warm.
I’m talking about the thousands that work on the Alaskan oil fields, in the shale formations in the Dakotas, and on drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The people who build the pipelines, who move heavy equipment from site to site, who work in the refineries and who move heating oil and natural gas from those refineries to its final point of use – not to mention the scientists and engineers who design and build the equipment and discover new sources of valuable fuels. You not only look down on these people but demonize them for their contributions to some nebulously defined ‘climate change,’ even as the United States is leading the world in reducing carbon emissions not because of climate worries but because of cleaner fuels and vastly increased efficiencies, brought to you by those workers, scientists and engineers.
And to that I say to you: You need us. We don’t need you.
You look down your noses at the people who make it possible for you to communicate.
From Silicon Valley to your local cell phone store, an entire industry is devoted to our modern, highly connected lifestyle. People all around the world build the cellular phones you use and write the 
software that runs them. Thousands more maintain the phone towers, the internet hubs, the connections, the wires, fiberoptic cables and wireless networks that transmit the data. Their efforts make it possible to make your plans to riot and loot, to attack the very businesses, stores, and restaurants these productive people count on in their own productive lives.
And the irony of you decrying capitalism while using this technology, unprecedented in human history, that could only be the product of a free market, capitalist system, is beyond description.
And to that I say to you: You need us. We don’t need you.
I’m going to presume for a moment that the parasite-protestor class, those with the Gender Studies degrees and trust funds, is actually capable of active thought. To them, I say this: I want all of you parasites to think, long and hard, about the implications of that statement:
You need us.
We don’t need you.
Rule Five Campaign Speech Friday
I’ve put this up every recent election year, so here it is again. In fact, on these last two Fridays before the mid-terms, I’ll present this, my calm, reasoned speech first, then next Friday (Nov 4th) I’ll give you my shouted, gesticulating barn burner. This week’s topic: What kind of a campaign speech would I give if I, your humble servant, were running for President? It might go something like this:
Ladies and Gentlemen – friends – Americans – citizens.
I stand before you on this two hundred and thirty-first year of our Republic. I stand before you to announce my intention to seek the Presidency of our Republic. Most important of all, I stand before you to tell you why I intend to seek this thankless, stressful job, and what I intend to do with it.
I’d like to take this time to tell you the undying principles upon which I will base my policies, and upon which I will base legislation that I will propose to Congress:
First: Liberty.
Liberty means you are free to do as you please, so long as you cause no harm, physical or financial, to anyone else. As Thomas Jefferson said, “If it neither picks my pocket nor break my arm, it’s not my concern.” This is a coin with two sides: Nobody gets to tell you what to do, but neither do you get to tell anyone else what to do. Marry who you like. Work where and how you like. Start businesses and create new products and services as you like. It’s nobody else’s business – and it sure as hell isn’t the government’s business – until you hurt someone else. We currently live in a nation where you are required to obtain permission from a government bureaucrat to cut hair, to paint fingernails, to sell lemonade. I call bullshit. This must stop.
Second: Property.
That means the following: The fruits of your labors are yours. They do not belong to some government bureaucrat, nor to some shouting agitator, nor to some ivory tower academic. They are yours. Government, to be effective at the few things they are required – absolutely required – to do, must tax you for some small amount of the fruits of your labors, but that taxation must be strictly limited, strictly fair, simply defined, and some must be collected from every single citizen. Everybody contributes. Nobody skates. There are too many in the nation who have no skin in the game, and our elections have become auctions, with candidates falling over each other promising voters more of other peoples’ property. I call bullshit. This must stop.
Third: Accountability.
Government, at all levels, serves you. You do not serve the government. I stand here today not as someone seeking to be your master, but as someone applying for a job – and you will be my employers. I am applying for the job of CEO of the world’s largest Republic, and you, the citizens of the Republic, are the world’s largest Board of Directors. I answer to you, not the other way around. Every single government employee, from the President to the third assistant dogcatcher in Leaf Springs, Arkansas, answers to you. And so as one of my first acts in office I will personally visit every office, every facility, and every installation that falls under the control of the Executive Branch. I will personally speak with the Federal employees at those offices, facilities and installations. Any employee that cannot satisfactorily answer two questions: “What is your purpose? What are you doing right now?” will be fired on the spot. Any Executive Branch employee at any level who breaks the law, any law, will be fired and prosecuted. Government employees have, for too long, been held to different standards than the electorate. I call bullshit. This must stop.
Fourth: Efficiency.
The Federal government has become a bloated Colossus. Washington is littered with extra-constitutional agencies, the purpose of which is to regulate, to dictate, to interfere with the free citizenry. There is no constitutional justification for many of them, and many of them actually work at cross purposes. The result is that every single business enterprise in the nation has to have an army of accountants and attorneys to help them navigate the twisted pathways of regulation and taxation; that every citizen has to puzzle through pages upon pages of Federal guidance in so prosaic an action as filing their annual tax return. The Federal government has only a few, a very few, legitimate roles: To protect private property, to ensure liberty, to protect the citizens from foreign interference. That’s all. But not today; no, not today. The Federal government has indeed become a bloated Colossus, but I intend to cut it down to size. As one of my first acts in office I will call upon Congress to eliminate the Federal Departments of Commerce, of Energy, of Education, and any others that I deem to be extra-constitutional and that add no value to the proper roles of government. And believe you me, this is only the beginning. Our government is too big. I call bullshit. This must stop.
Let me be very clear on my intent. I intend to reduce the Federal government to a minimum. I’m not talking about trimming around the edges. I’m sure as hell not talking about “reductions in the rate of increase.” I’m talking about swinging a meat axe, and I am serious as hell about it. All the extra-constitutional agencies set up by previous administrations will be gone. Not reduced, not repurposed – gone. Education? Gone. Energy? Gone. Commerce? Gone. Health and Human Services? Gone. Labor? Gone. Housing and Urban Development? Gone. Environmental Protection? Gone. Homeland Security? Gone.
There are three cabinet-level agencies that the Federal government is justified in retaining: Defense, Treasury, and State. The rest can go. Veteran’s Affairs can be rolled into Defense. As for Federal law enforcement, we already have an agency for that: The U.S. Marshals. The borders? Roll the Border Patrol into the Marshals. One headquarters, several missions, but that’s doable.
I intend to take the Federal government back to the level it was in 1850. In that year, the Federal government’s expenditures were about 3% of GDP. Now we are 23 trillion in debt, and Federal spending is 20% of GDP. I call bullshit. This must stop.
That will be the genesis of my campaign slogan: THREE PERCENT!
So, if you value liberty and property, and want accountability and efficiency in your public servants, vote for me. If you want Free Shit, vote for someone else. That’s all.
In all honesty, even if I wanted an elected office, I’m effectively unelectable in any case (think the country would elect an atheist minarchist libertarian President? Not hardly!) But I’d love the opportunity to give this speech in a big enough venue to make media talking heads explode and proggie commentators start running around like their hair is on fire. 
Rule Five Trump VP Friday
Over at the New English Review recently, scribe Roger L. Simon explored the possibility of Tulsi Gabbard becoming President Trump’s 2024 running mate. As will surprise none of you, I have some thoughts, which begin with “not only no, but hell no!” Excerpt:
At the least, the choice of Gabbard would make a striking comparison on many levels to Kamala Harris, though it’s highly unlikely our current vice president will be anywhere near the 2024 Democratic presidential ballot.
That party tries to keep her out of sight as much as possible now, but even when they send her as far as the border of North and South Korea, she seems to have trouble remembering which is our ally. A second vice presidency isn’t in the cards.
Notwithstanding Harris, however, the case for Gabbard isn’t frivolous. Her video statement on formally leaving the Democratic Party is as eloquent and well-taken as any potential Republican vice presidential candidate I can think of:
“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party. It’s now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism, who actively worked to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, who demonize the police who protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans who believe in open borders, who weaponize the national security state to go after their political opponents, and above all, are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.”
Amen, sister!
Tulsi isn’t wrong in any of that quote; she accurately sums up what has become of the Democrat Party. It’s become a party that Harry Truman wouldn’t recognize. Indeed, Truman would be considered a far-right reactionary by today’s Democrats. But Mr. Simon, much as I like and respect him, only hints at one of the major problems with this idea:
I write this well aware that I may not agree with Tulsi on everything. (I don’t even agree with myself on everything.) I write it in a desire to move things forward in the worst of times.
I’m also well aware there are several other worthy potential Republican vice-presidential candidates, notably Gov. Ron DeSantis, who certainly deserves to be president someday. He would be a great one. He’s done a superb job in Florida and has continued to do so with Ian, miraculously restoring electricity to the state within days.
In 2024, assuming Trump runs again, he would be well-advised to make Ron DeSantis the heir apparent. In fact, I’d bet serious folding money that Governor DeSantis will one day occupy the Imperial Mansion, and when he does, he will likely be the most consequential President since Ronald Reagan. But even if the Governor declines, Trump should not pick Tulsi Gabbard.
Don’t get me wrong. I admire the principled stand Tulsi Gabbard has taken on leaving a political party that has gone insane. She is leaning into taking the red pill to some small extent; a recent video shows her shooting an AR-pattern carbine, among other weapons. From what I read, she is personable as well. Sensible people like her, even those who disagree with her on policy positions. Were I to have the chance to speak with her, I expect it would be a polite exchange of ideas without rancor. Like me, she’s a veteran with combat-zone tours under her belt.
But she shouldn’t be the VP candidate for a GOP President.
Her positions on gun control have been (hah) a moving target, but she is generally in favor of bans or at least restrictions on “assault weapons,” she is in favor or higher marginal tax rates, her economic stances in general are well to the left of center.
Ms. Gabbard’s leaving the ever-more-loony Democrats shouldn’t lead one to believe that she’s switching sides. I don’t think she is. I think she’s stayed the same, a reliable liberal as the term was defined in the Nineties and early Oughts. As she stated herself, the party left her, not the other way around. She’s not a conservative or a libertarian, and she likely isn’t and won’t be moving in that direction.
Should Donald Trump run again in 2024 – and I’m guessing he will – the last thing he should do is embrace a liberal to the Presidential bosom. And, to be fair, I doubt Tulsi would be interested in the gig in any case.
Animal’s Daily Thin Veneer News
Don’t forget to check out the conclusion of my latest fiction series over at Glibertarians!
Now then: National treasure Dr. Victor Davis Hanson recently had some things to say. Excerpt:
Civilization is fragile. It hinges on ensuring the stuff of life.
To be able to eat, to move about, to have shelter, to be free from state or tribal coercion, to be secure abroad and safe at home — only that allows cultures to be freed from the daily drudgery of mere survival.
Civilization alone permits humans to pursue sophisticated scientific research, the arts, and the finer aspects of culture.
So the great achievement of Western civilization — consensual government, individual freedom, rationalism in partnership with religious belief, free market economics, and constant self-critique and audit — was to liberate people from daily worry over state violence, random crime, famine, and an often-unforgiving nature.
But so often the resulting leisure and affluence instead deluded arrogant Western societies into thinking that modern man no longer needed to worry about the fruits of civilization he took to be his elemental birthright.
As a result, the once prosperous Greek city-state, Roman Empire, Renaissance republics, and European democracies of the 1930s imploded — as civilization went headlong in reverse.
We in the modern Western world are now facing just such a crisis.
Think food alone. Forget the rest; think for a moment about just eating.
Here in the United States, we are fortunate to have some of the world’s best agricultural land, and lots of it. Even here in Alaska there are a lot of very productive truck farms (potatoes, onions, carrots and so forth) and dairy farms, mostly around Palmer in the Matanuska valley.
But the land is just one link in the chain. To feed a population of 330 million people, we need modern chemical fertilizers, modern agricultural equipment, extensive and fast transportation chains. All of those things are reliant on one thing: Petrochemicals. And plenty of them.
Civilizational collapses always start somewhere. Much of the developed world is facing a demographic crisis; people in places like Japan, Germany, Russia and the UK just aren’t having babies. As scribe and commentator Mark Stein is fond of pointing out, the future belongs to those who show up for it, and much of the developed world has opted out.
But the food problem, should the various anti-drilling nutbars get their way, could dramatically accelerate the issue. A serious reduction in petrochemical production could put agriculture back to the level of say, 1900 – at which point we’d be able to sustain a 1900-level population. 67 million, not 330 million. Remember, there’s more to this issue than just fueling tractors and combines; petroleum is the source for fertilizers, various lubricants, components of repair parts, a million other things that cannot be easily replaced.
So, 67 million instead of 330 million. What happens to that excess population? Well, I’m pretty sure you can work that out.
Animal’s Daily Inflation/Recession News
Before we get into it, check out the first installment of a new fiction series over at Glibertarians!
Moving right along: Listen to investor/businessman Charlie Munger on the current economic situation. It may be one of the most thought-provoking things you’ll see this week. Maybe this month.
Take a look at that lead-in: “Most people will lose everything.” Personally most of our resources are in land and equipment, but both Mrs. Animal and I do have investment accounts, and what this video predicts is alarming:
Some of us (like me) are old enough to remember the recession of 1981-82. Paul Volcker hammered interest rates up high enough to drive down inflation, and it hurt; President Reagan took a lot of heat for the economy early in his first term, but by fall of 1984 things had turned around enough to give the Gipper a 49-state landslide re-election.
This time? Mr. Munger is afraid it will be worse this time. And I’m leaning towards being convinced he’s right.
Watch the video. Think it over. Discuss in comments. Personally, I’m keeping a good supply of precious metals (brass and lead) on hand. If nothing else, Mrs. Animal and I will be able to eat; there are plenty of moose and other game around hereabouts.
The major cities won’t be so lucky.
Animal’s Daily Relative Happiness News
Before we get into today’s topic, check out the latest in my current series over at Glibertarians.
Now then: It seems conservatives (and I would assert, libertarians) are happier than liberals. I’m not really surprised, as the reasons proposed are good reasons to be contented with life. Excerpt:
Social psychologist Jaime Napier, Program Head of Psychology at NYU-Abu Dhabi has conducted research suggesting that views about inequality play a role.
“One of the biggest correlates with happiness in our surveys was the belief of a meritocracy, which is the belief that anybody who works hard can make it,” she told PBS. “That was the biggest predictor of happiness. That was also one of the biggest predictors of political ideology. So, the conservatives were much higher on these meritocratic beliefs than liberals were.”
To paraphrase, conservatives are less concerned with equality of outcomes and more with equality of opportunity. While American liberals are depressed by inequalities in society, conservatives are okay with them provided that everyone has roughly the same opportunities to succeed. The latter is a more rosy and empowering view than the deterministic former.
Two other studies explored a more surprising contributor: neuroticism, typically defined as “a tendency toward anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and other negative feelings.” Surveyed conservatives consistently score lower in neuroticism than surveyed liberals.
In 2011, psychologists at the University of Florida and the University of Toronto conducted four studies, aiming to find whether conservatives are more “positively adjusted” than liberals.
They found that conservatives “expressed greater personal agency, more positive outlook, more transcendent moral beliefs, and a generalized belief in fairness” compared to liberals.
If I could sum that up, I’d do so by noting that the very character traits that make conservatives happier are those that go into an essentially individualist, as opposed to a collectivist, world view. Think on that for a moment; if a big part of your expectations in life consist of waiting for other people (generally in the form of government) to do things for you, you’re liable to be disappointed.
But if you accept personal responsibility for your own station in life, and understand that your own efforts will in time pay off, and if you set goals and work to achieve them, you’re probably a lot more likely to be content with your life.
Oh, marriage (on the statistical level) plays a role as well. We’re social animals and not really wired to go through life alone. Most studies show belief in religion is another indicator, and while I don’t share that belief and still manage to be pretty happy with my life, I can see how this would be the case for a lot of folks.
It sure seems, though, that lately the divide is growing. The Left in particular is not just unhappy – they are angry. Witness the 2020 destruction of billions of dollars of private property in street riots largely ignored or even tacitly supported by leftists in all levels of government. And very few on the left would dare to propose what seems obvious to conservatives and libertarians – that maybe, just maybe, if these people had achieved something in life, they wouldn’t be so pissed off.
Goodbye, Blue Monday
Thanks as always to The Other McCain, Pirate’s Cove and Bacon Time for the Rule Five links, and welcome to our 400th ‘Goodbye, Blue Monday’ post! Hat tip to Kurt Vonnegut Jr. for the theme:
This sketch – and yes, Kurt Vonnegut did draw it himself – is from his 1973 book Breakfast of Champions, which was sort of a fiftieth birthday present to himself – it’s roundly funny while still maintaining Vonnegut’s signature pessimism. There was a movie made from the book in 1999 with Bruce Willis, but don’t bother with that. It was pretty awful.
It’s been an interesting time, keeping these virtual pages going the last few years. The current iteration started in January 2014, after a WordPress crash corrupted a bunch of files and wiped out the original site, which I started in September of 2010. Before that I maintained a blog of sorts on LiveJournal, from 2004 to 2010. So I’ve been at this a while.
Why? Well, that’s a good question. You’ll notice that I don’t have any advertising on the site, nor do I solicit tips, not that there is anything wrong with so doing. I pay for the hosting and maintenance of the server myself. That way, as I see it, I am beholden to no one and can say whatever the hell I please. And that’s the why, True Believers; I write whatever the hell pleases me, and leave it to you readers to either agree with me or tell me I’m full of shit. I run this site for my own amusement and entertainment, although it delights me no end that each and every day between a thousand and two thousand unique readers drop by and peruse my latest ramblings. So, yes, I do it for you all, too. And, yeah, I have a little fun in the process.
So stick around! I’ve been at this for eighteen years, counting LiveJournal time, and I anticipate I’ll be able to keep it going for at least eighteen more. If there’s anything you’d like to see more or less of, let me know in the comments. I’ll read all suggestions, and if possible, I’ll accommodate requests. Criticism is always welcome, as long as it’s civil.
Thanks again – and watch for the upcoming 400th Saturday Gingermageddon in a few more weeks!
Rule Five Insurrection Friday
National Treasure Dr. Victor Davis Hanson, on the day before this last Independence Day, penned some notes on the state of the nation, the cries of “insurrection!” and just who the real insurrectionists are. Excerpts, with my comments, follow.
For 120 days in summer 2020, violent protesters destroyed some $2 billion in property and injured 1,500 police officers in riots that led to over 35 deaths.
Because blue-state mayors and governors saw BLM and Antifa instigators as useful street soldiers, most of those arrested were never tried in court. Street thugs paid no price for declaring themselves de facto owners of downtown areas of Seattle, which police themselves conceded were no-go zones. Why did public officials in blue states ignore the violence? They were certain that it enjoyed majority support among their leftwing constituencies.
Indeed, some leftist icons cheered on the violence. Well after the failed attempt to storm the White House grounds, in June 2020, the Democratic candidate for vice president Kamala Harris warned us that protestors were “not going to let up, and they should not.” What did Harris mean by “should not?”—when she knew numerous protests that summer had ended in terrible violence? Was she reckless in the manner Trump was said to be by encouraging a demonstration on January 6?
What did Harris mean by “…should not,” Dr. Hanson? That answer is obvious – they should not, in the view of the notorious Heels-Up Harris, because there was no reason for them to let up. She knew, as the rioters knew, that equal treatment under the law no longer exists in blue states and blue cities, and therefore there was no reason whatsoever that the thugs should not do as they please. Take, for example, the actual act of insurrection against civil authority that resulted in an armed mob taking over a portion of the city of Seattle. In a sane world, the President would have invoked the Insurrection Act, and that mob would have faced armed soldiers giving them the order “disperse or be fired upon” – and then following through.
Dr. Hanson continues:
The Left, in revolutionary fashion, has waged a sustained and unapologetic attack on constitutional norms and long-held institutions—whenever it senses they no longer prove conducive to its own radical agendas.
Barack Obama declared during a funeral oration for the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) that the filibuster was racist and must end—although as a senator Obama had used it and declared it essential.
The Electoral College? When the so-called “blue wall” fell, it transmogrified from valuable to a bankrupt fossil. In fact, the Left has wanted to create two new blue states (the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) to fast track four left-wing senators, and cram through a national voting law to make the states’ constitutional prerogative to require voter IDs illegal.
There is no border. For two years, Joe Biden, again in true revolutionary fashion, has simply abrogated federal immigration law by fiat. In less than two years, he has welcomed 3 million illegal aliens without audit—or COVID-19 tests or vaccinations—during a pandemic in which unvaccinated federal employees and military personnel faced dismissal. Biden had taken an oath of office to faithfully execute the laws of the United States, but then shortly thereafter destroyed immigration laws as we knew them. No prior president has simply rendered an entire corpus of law null and void.
Let’s be honest; dizzy old Groper Joe has very little idea what’s really going on. The abrogation of Imperial immigration law has been planned and carried out by unknowns behind the scenes, almost certainly the same people who print out cards for the befuddled POTUS to take to events instructing him in all-caps to SIT DOWN and EXIT TO THE LEFT.
Dr. Hanson concludes:
So yes, let us fear that democracy is dying in media darkness. Real insurrectionists are seeking to dismantle the Constitution, to end centuries-long customs and traditions, to justify the use of political violence, and to disobey all the laws they find inconvenient.
Read it all. Dr. Hanson is always worth the time. But while I think he is correct about actual insurrectionists seeking to dismantle our grand old Republic, what he does not mention is the possible point at which regular American will stand up and say, “you know what, that’s enough of that horseshit.” Our speech may be muzzled, our votes may be compromised, but there is one famous box left when the soap box and the ballot box have failed. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that – I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that – but we’ve already had leftist agitators threatening to lead mobs into the small towns and rural communities. So far it’s just been talk, but if it ever turns to more than that, things will get very interesting very quickly, and the big blue cities may get a lesson in how life is in their urban environs when the flow of food, fuel and energy is cut off.