Stupid Leftists — whether they are being stupid on micro or macro levels — are the gifts that never stop giving for my illustrated edition posts.
“Heil Hitler! Heil Trump!” — one story reveals the American divide
When I read that a man screamed “Heil Hitler” and “Heil Trump,” I knew he was a Proggie, but a Proggie I know still insists the man was a Trump supporter.
Yesterday, the media was filled with stories about an outburst at a Baltimore theater. The Baltimore Sun first reported on the event — and please note that it immediately identifies the man as a Trump hater (emphasis mine):
A man shouting “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump” during a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Baltimore smelled of alcohol and told police he was motivated by his hatred of President Donald Trump.
Anthony M. Derlunas, 58, told an officer he “had been drinking heavily throughout the night” before the outburst at the Hippodrome Theatre on Wednesday night, according to a police report.
But before details of the police report became public in the early evening, the incident rattled many already anxious about a recent spike in anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Maryland and nationwide.
Audience member Rich Scherr said the outburst, which happened during intermission, sparked fears of a shooting like the one in a Pittsburgh synagogue last month that killed 11 people.
The man, later identified as Derlunas, had been seated in the balcony and began shouting “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump.”
What’s so fascinating about the story is that I knew instantly, without having to read the bolded language, that the man hated Trump. There were several clues. First, Neo-Nazis tend not to buy tickets costing upwards of $70 for an event at an upscale downtown historic venue. If you pay attention to the facts outside of the media narrative, you know that Neo-Nazis tend to be very angry bottom-feeding people who hang with other angry bottom-feeding people endlessly revisiting their real and imagined injuries (these two videos — one and two — are my favorite looks at the white supremacy issue). That any genuine Neo-Nazi would bother to spend the money to see Broadway’s version of a shetl just to raise a ruckus is a near zero likelihood.
The other thing that tipped me off is that the only people in America who liken Trump to Hitler are . . . Progressives. While it may be true that America’s microscopically small, sector of pathetic, low-life white supremacists throw their lot in with Trump, they do so, not because they worship him as another Hitler, but because their former home in the Democrat Party has gone away.
The Democrat Party that once was home to America’s white supremacists is still pathologically race-obsessed, but it’s switched from the old model (whites on top, everyone else on the bottom) top a new model (whites on the bottom, everyone else on the top). You could say it’s gone from being a “white lives matter” party to being a “black lives matter” party.
Evicted from their former ideological home, those foul excrescences who label themselves “white supremacists” figured out that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and latched on to the GOP. Again, they don’t worship Trump; they just have nowhere else to go.
All of this was instantly obvious to me without the necessity of the man’s confession that he hates Donald Trump. [Read more…]
Were people with Trump Derangement Syndrome always this foolish?
When I see people in the grips of Trump Derangement Syndrome, I wonder if their brain function vanished before or after the syndrome set in.
I’m being completely serious with the question I posed in my post title — Were people with Trump Derangement Syndrome always intellectually deficient? Was it just that we didn’t really notice it before or has Trump Derangement Syndrome actually affected their intellectual capacity at a profound biological level?
I ask because I found myself in conversation today with a very nice woman a little older than I. She was making noises about the frustrations of dealing with inefficient government bureaucracies and the sheep-like tendency of the British. Based upon those comments, I thought, “I wonder why I haven’t seen her in conservative circles here. They’re certainly small enough for us to have met before.”
However, when the woman went on to describe her career in academia, I decided I’d been too quick to assume that she might be a conservative because academia and conservativism don’t go well together.
As it is, I no longer refer to college grads as “educated.” I simply call them “credentialed.” They are very seldom educated, if that term refers to someone with a significant breadth and depth of knowledge, a familiarity with the Western canon that shaped our modern world, and the ability to analyze information in a rigorous, logical way.
College grads from the last 30 years are, instead, indoctrinated into all of the usual Leftist shibboleths: Race obsessions, an abiding commitment to increasingly discredited anthropogenic climate change theories, and magical thinking about biological sex. (My current shtick, when I hear people insisting that surgery and hormones will “change” a person’s sex is to say that’s like treating anorexia with diet pills and liposuction. Conservatives laugh; Progressives are offended.) [Read more…]
Just Because Music : Vance Joy’s Winds of Change
Bookworm Beat 11/12/18 — the post-election counting edition and open thread
It’s not losing seats that bothers me, it’s the fact that post-election counts and recounts invariably favor Democrats, which is banana republic stuff.
Post-election recounts and miscounts and discounts and God alone knows what else. I’m not actually going to blog too much about post-election recounts, despite using them as part of my post title today. The topic is just too depressing. You can kid yourself as much as you want about living in a constitutionally guided democratic republic, but if 27 of the last post-election counts and recounts miraculously favored the Democrats, if Democrats are openly registering illegal aliens, if Democrats coincidentally win in regions with more voters than residents, if the dead are walking and voting, and if many “voters” were alive during the Spanish-American War, you don’t have a constitutionally guided democratic republic; you simply have a banana republic with nice cars and XBoxes.
Look at Arizona: Either there’s voter fraud going on there or Arizona citizens willingly elected a woman who loathes them. Blech! Having said that, Ron Coleman points out that it might not have been a Democrat win so much as a shameless and unnecessary Republican loss:
Consider this before embracing conspiracy. https://t.co/vLrvCHIkiV
— Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) November 13, 2018
Consider the effect of John McCain on the Arizona GOP… and on the makeup of the electorate in that state as a whole.
Bastard got the last laugh after all. https://t.co/8vCoXQuyqE
— Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) November 13, 2018
Can American Jews be more stupid? When I grew up, my parents were so proud of Jewish brains. Einstein? Jewish. Hedy Lamar? Not only a Jewish brain, but gorgeous. A disproportionate number of Nobel Prize winners in the sciences? Jewish. Kissinger? Even if you didn’t like him, he was one smart Jew. Israel? A whole nation that’s smart and Jewish.
I attended an academic high school and, while Asian students were quickly becoming dominant in the school, we still had enough smart Jews for a joke: “If Chinese New Year and Yom Kippur fell on the same day, they’d have to close the school.”
This year, though, as in years past, Jews voted disproportionately for Democrats — 75% is what I heard. If you ask these Jews about their unswerving loyalty to the Democrat party, they’d give two reasons. First, Republicans are evil and Democrats are the party of kindness, empathy, and the lack of all nasty -isms (racism, sexism, etc.). That last, of course, would lead to the second, core Jewish vote issue: Jews insist that Republicans are the party of antisemitism and Democrats are not.
To believe that, Jews have to be stupid. Really, really stupid.
The Republicans are the pro-Israel party. The Republican president’s most beloved child is Jewish, as are her children, and she’s married to one of his chief campaign advisors. One of his closet friends is Jewish and is now ambassador to Israel. Israelis who aren’t marinated in Leftism view him as one of the most pro-Israel politicians ever. Heck, Trump finally acted on past presidents’ promises and moved the American embassy to Jerusalem. [Read more…]
Bookworm Beat 11/11/18 — Veteran’s Day illustrated edition and open thread
As we give thanks this Veteran’s Day for our vets both past and present, please remember too that we on the home front must preserve what they fought for.
[Read more…]
An evening with Mark Steyn, Victor Davis Hanson, and Steven Hayward
I’m still vibrating from the excitement of an evening hearing Mark Steyn, Victor Davis Hanson, and Steve Hayward, something I try to share in this post.
Thanks to a kind friend, last night I once again had the inestimable pleasure of attending PRI’s annual gala. This year, Mark Steyn was the keynote speaker, Victor Davis Hanson received the Sir Antony Fisher Freedom Award, and Steven Hayward was the master of ceremonies. Honestly, for someone who is a political junkie and a total fan girl when it comes to good writing and effortless erudition, it doesn’t get better than that.
I hadn’t planned on taking notes because I always flatter myself that I’ll remember what was said. By the time that Hayward had made several hysterical jokes about San Francisco politics and Hanson had made a brief, but powerful, acceptance speech when he received the Sir Antony Fisher Freedom Award, I realized that, if I wanted to share anything with you, I’d better start writing things down. This belated realization is why I can only dredge up a few of the funny, pertinent things Hayward and Hanson said, but can give you fairly complete rundown of Steyn’s speech.
Naturally, because I’d convinced myself my memory was enough, I hadn’t brought any paper to the gala. I therefore ended up scribbling my notes on the little folded name cards PRI put by each place setting at the table.
Even notes, though, are inadequate to conveying the evening’s intellectual content. I can only liken what the three men said to a continuous cascade of verbal diamonds, with me trying to reach in and grab the most pertinent or funny. Given the number and velocity of those falling diamonds, I know that I missed more diamonds than I captured. I hope, though, that the following gives you some idea about being in the same room as three of the best political writers and thinkers working today.
Steven Hayward opened the evening by talking about the political insanity that characterizes San Francisco. Those were some fast falling diamonds, and I wasn’t yet taking notes, so I only caught two to share with you. The first was that “San Francisco is well on its way to making itself a work free drug place.” If you’re like me, and just about everyone else in the audience, it took you a beat before you realized that, not only was Hayward describing accurately San Francisco’s political trajectory, he was having fun with the mantra that employees are in a “drug free work place.”
The second Hayward joke that I caught was his statement that, when he’s in San Francisco, he feels like “bringing a Smith & Wesson to a Smith & Hawken’s city.” What I found especially funny about that joke is that the foo-foo, high falutin’ Smith & Hawkens, which once sent out catalogs that were the gardening equivalent of a J. Peterman Company catalog, now markets itself through Target. I’ll get back to you when I figure out whether that’s a “how the mighty have fallen” thing or a “wow, talk about profitable broad-based marketing” thing.
Victor Davis Hanson was up next, but he spoke with such brevity that by the time I got my brain in gear to grab those verbal diamonds, he’d already finished speaking. VDH mostly wanted to remind us about the importance of Sir Anthony Fisher’s institutions, which are all over the world acting as advocacy centers for free markets and free thinking. He did say, however, that California is becoming a dangerously bifurcated state economically and politically, a point that cropped up again throughout the evening. [Read more…]
Martha McSally is looking for money to fight post-election shenanigans
Just because election fraud is a time-honored Democrat Party tradition doesn’t mean Martha McSally is going down without a fight — and you can help.
Regarding Arizona, I find it hard to believe that a state under siege by illegal aliens, including drug runners and murderers, would vote for a candidate representing the Open Borders party. I also find it hard to believe that Arizonans would vote for a candidate who thinks they’re disgusting (although I’m sure that the drive-by media did everything it could to keep that information from voters).
Most of all, I find it hard to believe that, whenever there’s a tight race, in the race’s aftermath, ballots magically appear, all completely coincidentally favoring the Democrat candidate. I therefore would like to pass on to you Martha McSally’s plea for financial help in her fight against possible election fraud:
Supporters, the other night was a long one – but this race is still too close to call.
This is what we’re dealing with: Sinema and the Democrats have prepared millions of dollars to sue me in court to bend the rules and exploit loopholes in her favor.
The Democrat Machine will do whatever it takes to change the results of this election.
Our general election campaign took everything we had, and with our coffers seriously drained, I need your help to secure the resources to maintain the integrity of the election and secure our victory.
We need to be prepared to take this fight all the way. WE CANNOT LOSE!
I need your immediate help. Please donate whatever you can afford right now.
In service,
Martha McSally
Paid for by McSally for Senate, Inc.
And here’s a bonus video, because the Democrats’ conduct in Florida and Arizona reminds me of the events leading up to the Battle of Athens:
Bookworm Beat 11/8/18 — post-election edition with some bonus Jim Acosta
They do say Republicans know how to meme, and this post-election edition, with some bonus Jim Acosta and Jeff Sessions stuff thrown in, proves it’s true.
[Read more…]
Now In The Center Ring, Trump’s Tax Returns
Expect the opening salvo of proggie House overreach to come over making Trump’s tax returns public. They can’t do it, but it will be fun to watch them try.
The progs are obsessed with revealing Trump’s tax returns. It is a fishing expedition reminiscent of a quote by Stalin’s Chief of the Secret Police, Lavrentiy Beria: “Show me the man(‘s tax return); I’ll find you the crime.”
As a proggie at Politico wrote not long ago:
For the past two years, the search for Donald Trump’s unseen tax returns has been something of a quest for the Holy Grail, an elusive trophy that could unlock the mysteries of our political universe. Lacking real proof as to what the president’s tax documents might show, the imagination swells with possibility: Russia ties? Massive personal debts? A wealth substantially lower than his self-reported $10 billion fortune? Something nefarious?
Well the proggies now have the promised land in sight. Reads an article in the Daily Wire:
A few thoughts about the Democrat-majority House
Trying to convince myself that, while a Democrat-majority House will be very, very bad, Trump will not abandon the American people and may still win 2020.
In no particular order, here are my thoughts on the morning after an election that saw Republicans gain strength in the Senate, while losing their majority in the House:
1. We kept the Senate, which matters when it comes to the judiciary (phew!) and Trump’s ability to get his people appointed.
2. Trump can continue to dismantled the regulatory state, which is huge.
3. Trump still has a free hand with foreign policy and I like his approach to foreign policy.
4. The Democrats will use their hold on the House to escalate their open border policy, but I think (hope) Trump as the executive still has the stronger hand on this. I also hope (think) that the American people will not appreciate an open border, especially minorities who are always on the front line when it comes to illegal immigrants taking jobs and introducing new crime into a region.
5. What’s going to come out of the House in the upcoming years will be, literally, insane. Sarah Hoyt is very worried that Trump, who is committed to deal-making, will cave or, to use a Bill Clintonesque term from 1994, “triangulate”:
Trump is by nature a deal maker. After the first two government shut downs, he’ll meet them halfway. This will wreck our economy and yep his presidency with it. As they did with Bush in 2006, they now have a chance to wreck the economy and have it blamed on the sitting president.
Hoyt’s legitimately worried about a lot of other things. If you want the pessimist’s view of the next two years, be sure to read what she has to say.
Even Don Surber, the man who has been my compass for optimism for the past three years, is not happy. He bats aside attempts at optimism from his readers and from Glenn Reynolds, who’s hoping for a Reagan-era “coming together.” With a Democrat-majority House — or rather, with this 21st Century style Democrat-majority House — that’s not going to happen says Surber:
He just doesn’t get it. These Democrats don’t care. Infrastructure?
These Democrats let people poop in the streets of Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco. These Democrats let the homeless line pup tents along the boulevards of Maxine Waters’s Los Angeles. These Democrats let gangbangers turn Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago into a shooting gallery.
All they care about is power. Lord Acton said power corrupts. Imagine now what happens when you give power to the already corrupted.
Midterms 2018: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly — & The Silver Lining
The 2018 midterms are in the history books. Republicans will pick up somewhere between +2 and +4 Senate Seats while Democrats are expected to pick up approx. 33 seats in the House. To put this into perspective, “since 1862, the president’s party has lost an average of 32 House seats during the midterms.” Obama’s first midterm resulted in a Democrat loss of 6 Senate seats and 63 House seats. So this is bad, but it could have been worse.
Place Your Bets
In about 24 hours from now, the first polls will close in the midterm elections. About four to five hours after that, we will know whether there was the predicted blue wave, a barely noticeable whitecap, or a surprise red wave. Time for you to prognosticate.
There is an old joke: In heaven, the government is British, the French are the cooks, the Germans are the mechanics, and the Italians are the police. In hell, the British are the cooks, the French run the government, the Italians are the mechanics and the Germans are the police. I’ll put an American spin on that. Hell is where Crazy Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House, Low IQ Maxine Waters runs the Financial Services Committee, and Adam Schiff for Brains runs the Intelligence Committee. Unfortunately for our country, that is a real possibility, not a punch line.
All other things being equal, the history of midterm elections is that whichever party holds the Presidency will lose seats. As it stands today:
Senate:
Current: Republicans hold a 4 seat majority, 52 to 48.
To Change the Majority: Dem’s will need a net pick up of 3 seats.
Elections this cycle: There are 26 Democratic seats and 9 Republican seats up for election in 2018. The map is horrid for Democrats as 10 of the Dems up for reelection are in states won by Trump in 2016.
House:
Current: Republicans hold 235 seats to 193 for Democrats. 218 seats are need for a majority.
To Change the Majority: Democrats will need a net pick up of 25 seats.
Elections the cycle: Every two years, all 435 voting seats are up for election.
Bookworm Beat 11/5/2018 — the illustrated edition and open thread
This awesome illustrated edition is filled with wit and wisdom about elections, #Blexit and #WalkAway, immigration issues, the Second Amendment and more.
Today is Guy Fawkes Day, when the English celebrate the survival of a really terrible king who never bathed and the brutal torture and execution of a crazed religious fanatic. Who doesn’t love a holiday like that?
And what better way to celebrate than with a huge bolus of posters covering everything from the upcoming election, to #WalkAway and #Blexit, to immigration, to Trump, to the usual Leftist insanity. I know you’ll enjoy these:
Reading the 14th Amendment on jurisdiction and birthright citizenship
Everything about the language and history of the 14th Amendment reveals that it was never intended to grant birthright citizenship to illegal aliens.
Trump set off a furor when he said he would use an executive order to end birthright citizenship. With that, the Left suddenly rediscovered the Constitution, because they said Section 1 of the 14th Amendment mandates birthright citizenship.
Here’s what Section 1 of the 14th Amendment says:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Congress drafted ratified the 14th Amendment in 1868 in response to laws in Southern states that discriminated against blacks and ensured their disenfranchisement. For that reason, its language explicitly rebuts the language and theories found in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, because decision gave legal merit to those anti-black statutes.
For those pulling a blank when they hear the phrase “Dred Scott decision,” it was in that case that Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney explained at great length that, because slaves were not considered fully human anywhere in the world both when the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence or when they ratified the Constitution, the Founders could not have intended imported slaves or their descendants to be “men,” “citizens,” or “people of the United States,” as any of those words or phrases were contemplated in either document.
After the war, a Republican Congress tried addressing the Dred Scott decision through legislation in the form of an 1866 Civil Rights Act (which was really a partial civil rights act), but the Dred Scott decision always hung like a grim specter over effectuating the act’s intended purpose of ensuring that blacks received equal treatment under the law and the full benefit of civil rights and due processes set out in the Constitution.
So it was that, by 1868, rather than trying to explain that the Taney Court’s constitutional analysis was in error, Congress simply ratified the Constitution to wipe out completely the Taney court’s analysis. Henceforth, under the Constitution “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
In the context of giving citizenship and civil rights protection to formerly enslaved people, whether they were enslaved in states or territories, the above-quoted language is perfectly clear and its intent and effect cannot be challenged. Congress was thinking about former slaves, not immigration, whether legal or illegal, when it ratified drafted the 14th Amendment. Indeed, it could not have been thinking about immigration, because, before 1882, the wide open, primarily agrarian, income-tax free, and welfare free United States had no immigration laws. [Read more…]