“Sabine Durden, an angel mom, said Friday that President Trump saved her from committing suicide after an illegal immigrant killed her only son.
Durden said at an event for angel families that she is a legal immigrant and always sought to protect her son from harm.
“And I didn’t drag my son … through borders, over deserts, I didn’t place him in harm’s way. I protected my child from harm but I couldn’t do that on July 12, 2012,” she began.
Durden’s son, Dominic, was killed when an illegal immigrant took a wrong turn driving an unlicensed truck and struck him on his motorcycle. The illegal immigrant had a record of drunk driving.”
————————
Chas, I am not forgetting that the carpetbagger Joe Scarborough and his girlfriend Mika were big fans of Trump back in 2015-2016. Joe is as shallow as the Red River in July.
“Reports indicate a specific missile test site has been slated for destruction by the North Koreans.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has committed to the U.S. that North Korea will destroy the Ch’olsan County, North Pyongan province testing site, which sometimes is referred to as the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, CBS News reports. This agreement was made when President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore earlier this month, administration officials confirmed. This is the missile test engine site that Trump had mentioned after their meeting, though at the time he did not name it.
North Korea has used the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground to test liquid propellant engines for its long range ballistic missiles. Experts also say that this site is believed to be where the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which can target the U.S. mainland, was developed. This rocket engine test facility can be used for space launch and IBCM launching which are the delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons. Bob Carlin, a former North Korea intelligence adviser for the State Department North Korea, tells CBS News it is significant that the North is destroying this testing site because it is one of the largest in the country.
Trump’s team will be following-up with meetings with North Korean officials shortly.”
——————
“It appears that preparations have begun to return the remains of American soldiers back from North Korea.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that in coming days North Korea would hand over a “sizeable number” of remains to United Nations Command in South Korea, and they would then be transferred to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
…About 7,700 US military personnel remain unaccounted from the 1950-1953 Korean War, US military data show. According to the Pentagon, North Korean officials have indicated in the past that they have the remains of as many as 200 US troops. More than 36,500 US troops died in the conflict.
Finally, the two Koreas will hold a Red Cross meeting to discuss a set of humanitarian issues, including holding a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.”
The canceled congressional picnic food, including rib eye steaks, spinach, cole slaw, quinoa, black beans and pies, will be served at a lunch today to Walter Reed hospital patients, caregivers and employees at the Warrior and Family Center in Bethesda, a USO spokeswoman tells me. https://t.co/dxv6RgVA6e
” Lowcountry elected official Katie Arrington is in a local hospital after she and a friend were seriously injured in a deadly wreck in Charleston County late Friday night, authorities say.
Arrington, 47, has undergone surgery for treatment of her injuries, and is recovering in a local hospital, spokesman Michael Mule confirms.
Arrington, of Summerville, is a South Carolina State Representative and Republican nominee for Congress.
Arrington and her friend, Jacqueline Goff of Louisiana, were traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 17 around 9 p.m. Friday night, when another driver traveling in the wrong direction hit Goff and Arrington’s vehicle, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
Goff and Arrington suffered serious injuries requiring hospitalization, but the driver of the other wrong-way vehicle died at the scene, CCSO spokesman Capt. Roger Antonio says. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has not yet identified the deceased.”
Another traitor shows his true, disloyal colors. George Will officially joins the never-Trump traitors. How quickly he’s turned on his buddies Ryan and McConnell. He’s unconcerned with results and the gains R’s have made because every win for Trump and R voters is a loss for aging establishment open border hacks like himself. Warms my heart it does. 🙂
And note he wants Congressional R’s out of power. Which means they’d be replaced by Democrats, but George is OK with that. A scorched Earth policy is rarely good for anyone.
“Amid the carnage of Republican misrule in Washington, there is this glimmer of good news: The family-shredding policy along the southern border, the most telegenic recent example of misrule, clarified something. Occurring less than 140 days before elections that can reshape Congress, the policy has given independents and temperate Republicans — these are probably expanding and contracting cohorts, respectively — fresh if redundant evidence for the principle by which they should vote.
The principle: The congressional Republican caucuses must be substantially reduced. So substantially that their remnants, reduced to minorities, will be stripped of the Constitution’s Article I powers that they have been too invertebrate to use against the current wielder of Article II powers. They will then have leisure time to wonder why they worked so hard to achieve membership in a legislature whose unexercised muscles have atrophied because of people like them.”
—————————-
Sorry George, that illegal hill you wanna die on? Yeah, the voters disagree with you, Dems, and your NT cohorts on that, so good luck.
“Here, for a change, is a Friday bad-news dump for our country’s news media: Americans don’t believe you anymore. In fact, they’re pretty sure you knowingly publish inaccurate news, distort it and even make stuff up to suit your political bias and agenda.
And if you distribute the news on social media, they believe you even less.
These results from recent public surveys are not just bad news for the news business, struggling through a now-chronic financial crisis. They’re bad news for our form of democracy, which requires informed participation by voters relying on accurate news to cast their ballots. Misinformation can easily result in mistaken choices, or none at all.
Honestly, when consuming the news have you ever thought, even briefly, “What’s the point of objecting, they’re gonna publish what they want anyway?” Not on this site, of course, but elsewhere.
Now, come the Knight Foundation and Gallup Polls dissecting Americans’ thoughts about media. In general, Americans overall estimate that of the news they’re exposed to via radio, TV and print, nearly two-thirds of it is biased (62 percent).
They believe that nearly half the news they see is inaccurate (44 percent). And they’re sure that more than a third of the news moving through those media conduits is misinformation, that is, wrong or fake but distributed as if true.
They also believe that 64 percent of news carried by social media is inaccurate. And — maybe you’ve felt this way too — more than 80 percent of adult Americans report feeling angry or bothered by detecting such false reports. They believe that 65 percent of such news is misinformation and a whopping 80 percent is biased.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of media integrity. To be sure, bias is in the eye or ear of the aggrieved. “You’re biased!” “No, I’m not. You are!””
I like George Will, but I am also not forgetting that he backed Howard Baker early in the 1980 Republican primary season.
Will and conservative Tom Nichols are both encouraging conservatives to vote Democrat this November since so many Republicans have become Cultists who have joined in the attack on law enforcement.
I have been in several Twitter discussions on this with longtime conservatives. My argument has always been that we shouldn’t debase ourselves by supporting either dishonest, protectionist Trumpers or abortion and perversion-loving protectionist Democrats. This is basically like the Eastern Front in the fall of 1941. We just need to sit back and watch the leftists and the Cult pound on each other. If Twitter discussions are any guide, a fair number of highly educated conservatives will sit this election out.
AJ @10:30 Those numbers are indeed sad, but not really surprising. I suspect that there are many who felt like they were being misinformed or deliberately deceived for several decades. But this past election season made it very difficult to remain ignorant of that fact when so many publications and networks were pushing their own narrative, right up to the moment Rachel Maddow declared herself in hell.
“I understand this sentiment, but Democrats have their own problems – I’d encourage evangelicals to _sit out_ national elections at least take their toys and go home until Trump is out of politics or they can find a pro-life Democrat”
Ricky @ 11:32 So I guess we should not count on the votes from most of those graduates from the top 4 schools—and their lesser educated wannabes and hangers-on. That’s ok. I never begrudge anyone’s vote who is voting their conscience—whether they vote for Dems or Independents or just stay home and sulk. I’ve done all three at one time or another. The ones that get me more aggravated are those who blow with the media wind. I understand the impulse, but it’s something that should be resisted.
I haven’t read the George Will article yet, but a very liberal Hillary supporter friend of mine linked it on FB yesterday. He was impressed with Will’s intelligence. That would last about 10 seconds if any other Republican were in office. At least the animus toward Trump is uniting people who have nothing whatsoever else in common. Being a bit narcissistic [that part I think is true], Trump would probably say “See, I’m a great uniter!”. And in a way, he is, since his supporters are united for him, and his enemies are uniting against him. :–)
Debra, Don’t count on votes from those who graduated from the top 60 schools. In fact, don’t count on votes from anyone with a graduate degree. Don’t count on votes from those who understand macroeconomics or are committed to the rule of law.
I have argued that the mainstream media was biased to the left since I was fourteen years old. One of the interesting things about the past three years is that the press really hasn’t had much time to be biased against conservatism since they have been too busy honestly documenting Trump’s latest outrageous lie or calamity.
Now this is not a publication I ever (and I mean EVER) read, but Ricky’s link above got me curious, so I googled it. Headline from November 9, 2016:
“Sorry, Pollsters! Find Out How The National ENQUIRER Predicted President Trump”
Donald Trump has been elected President in a shocking upset — and only one magazine told the world all along how Americans REALLY were feeling about the 2016 election! The National ENQUIRER was the most prominent publication to endorse Trump for office, and then consistently reported on the groundswell of support that powered the billionaire to the Oval Office. As the world of professional pollsters spend today in humiliation, we look back at the figures that showed Trump was winning over America.
IF they actually did predict the Trump win, they would be the only publication to do so as far as I know. And that would be sadder than sad because if this is the rag mag I’m thinking of, they are pretty much the dictionary definition of ‘fake news’. Just sayin’….. :–)
Ricky @12:44 I don’t count on any of the people who say they are committed to the rule of law and really are NOT. Or anyone who place theories of macroeconomics over the viability of their own nation. Or anyone who envies the education of anyone in either of the two categories above. That would be you and most of your friends and next door neighbors. I believe we’ll pull it off without you. ;–)
For many, the decision to abstain from politics until Trump is gone is a very easy one. The harder decision will come when Trump is gone. If we had carefully read Murray’s books we should have known this, but highly educated conservatives and Trumpkins really have very little in common. If the Republican Party continues to be a Trumpkin Party after he is gone, I believe you may see the emergence of a new party that appeals primarily to the 45-50% who pay income taxes. It would likely be somewhat libertarian, cautious and stingy with military spending, pro-trade and pro-immigration, with an emphasis on bringing in high earning immigrants who can help existing taxpayers pay for costs of the Democrats and the Trumpers. Such a party could first become competitive in the urban/suburban bubbles that Murray has described.
Debra, Trump has added many of the uneducated along with a few rappers and pimps to the Republican Party. However, he has driven out millions of the highly educated, professional women, the young and others who do not get their news from The National Enquirer, Hannity, or Alex Jones. If you pull it off, I will tip my hat, send you the brisket and buy stock in rap music companies and tabloids. I don’t think any of the bordellos are yet publicly traded.
Sit out because of Trump? Or vote for a Democrat just so long as he or she is pro-life?
And it was fine voting for all those other guys over the years? This is called “unprincipled.”
Ricky, I think you give Trump too much credit; there have always been pimps in the Republican party—but you are right in that he has driven many of them out, especially the pretentiously educated with weak stomachs and poor national economic priorities.
If we win, we’ll try to be gracious and avoid gloating….not Trump, of course. From him you may expect all the preening and gloating that an upset victory can yield. And even if we lose you can probably also expect preening and gloating, along with expressions of eagerness to work with his ‘good friends’ the Democrats. I understand all of that, and still hope for the best deal the American people can get.
PS. I would not invest in rap music, tabloids, bordellos, casinos or private prisons—though the latter is up dramatically since Trump election. You might find a large town or small city newspaper and put your money and influence there. It would be more satisfying I think. ;–)
SolarP, Never before have Republicans in Congress joined with a dishonest President to attack law enforcement officers, prosecutors and our intelligence agencies to try to protect the President who may be a traitor/Manchurian candidate but is probably just a moron. That is the question we need Mueller to be allowed to answer. The Republicans (such as Howard Baker) behaved honorably during Watergate. The Democrats behaved badly during Clinton/Lewinsky. However, no Congressman (during the investigation of a President) has ever before acted as such an idiotic stooge as Devin Nunes. When Ryan allowed Nunes to remain as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee after all of his stunts, the Republicans lost those in their party who believe in the rule of law.
Debra, You remind me of the Southern Agrarians, some of whom were my friends. However, your idyllic time is the post-war period of American manufacturing instead of the Old South and your ideal man is a union laborer working on a Pontiac assembly line rather than a Southern farmer.
I don’t know about this Red Hen place in Lexington.
Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) June 23, 2018
If you are in Lexington to visit Robert E. Lee’s tomb and museum or Stonewall Jackson’s house and grave or let your child visit VMI or W&L, the place to eat is The Southern Inn.
If you cross the mountain to Charlottesville to tour the University of Virginia, dine at The Virginian.
If you travel north up the Shenandoah Valley to tour the battlefield or play golf at New Market, go to The Southern Kitchen.
Sure, Ricky. This guy did this; those guys didn’t do that stuff; he did those things, etc. Aside from some arbitrary standards, there’s nothing so much worse about Trump that should only *now* compel us to suddenly find voting principles as Christians.
Commitment to the rule of law is a standard. I do not consider it arbitrary. It is one of the primary things that distinguishes our government from that of North Korea, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe.
That’s an interesting link @ 2:27, Ricky. Is Richard Weaver an ancestor of yours?
My ideal man is not unionized, but factory labor and perhaps manual trade is all that was left to him after he’s been moved from the farms and mountains into urban areas. If you don’t keep that option open, there will be trouble simply because he’s not going away and survival makes demands that will be fulfilled one way or another. He’s still reproducing and is, frankly, entitled to a space to live and breath. All souls that God saw fit to encapsulate in flesh on this earth have a place here and a purpose for being. And the Christian ideal should demand that the work has some dignity attached to it because a man created in the image of God is performing it, regardless of what the activity actually is.
It is the erosion of those opportunities that is more to the point of our current situation. I have wondered if perhaps our uninhibited free trade policies were originally fueled by the friction between unions which demanded ever increasing portions of the profits and owners who resisted—either because the demands were unreasonable or for other reasons. By opening up production in other countries and closing down US production, these tug of wars between owners and unions were made moot. And unquestionably, the owners won. I have thought that this was in part a failure of government to intervene as a matter of law, and to arbitrate acceptable solutions. Other governments do not seem to find this a problem. In Germany, unions are not regarded in the same way as they are here, and even have representation on the company boards. They have managed to have relatively free trade without decimating their working population. So far a solution has eluded us. The question is, why?
I read the articles on Devin Nunes. He was cleared by the Ethics Committee. What should be done now—have the House investigate the Ethics Committee to see if they are complicit? Go for it. Never-Trumpers may despise Nunes because he supports Trump, but they can not authoritatively accuse him of anything worse than belonging to FFA as a high school student. But I was in FHA, so that dart falls wide of the mark. ;–)
John McCain committed us to bad law, out of spite. A whole bunch of Republicans have done the same. Ricky and an opinion piece link of his demonstrated that to us a couple weeks ago. George W’s incompetence, along with some strange grudge and with the enthusiastic advice of warmongers, committed this country to a war that’s still going on and has cost us an arm, a leg, and deaths of thousands of our countrymen, and hundreds of thousands of lives of innocents in the region. Some of us Christians tried to get a guy elected who belongs to an *actual* cult; whose beliefs would be considered delusional in any professional setting. The legality of a bunch of stuff each of those guys has done has been called into question by legitimate critics. Donald Trump’s silly, impetuous tweets aren’t what separate us from North Korea, nor is his spelling. We’ve been trending away from God for a while, and the trend isn’t worse now because of Donald Trump. We “get the leaders we deserve,” and this time is just continuation of that trend, silly comparisons to Belshazzar (or whoever) notwithstanding.
So the paper whose reporter whored herself out for criminal leaks is gonna lecture on what a bad guy Nunes is for forcing the paper’s crimes to be publicly acknowledged.
And yet they and Ricky think Nunes is the problem. 🙄
“Commitment to the rule of law is a standard. I do not consider it arbitrary. It is one of the primary things that distinguishes our government from that of North Korea, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe.”
And yet you come here everyday and stand up for men who aren’t following the law, in many cases are openly violating the law, and use a double standard in applying the law. All antithetical to your stated belief.
You say it matters, yet you seem to have little regard for it at all, and only for political purposes when it suits you..
Debra, I thought you might like the article. Had you lived through the Depression, I think you would have been a Southern Agrarian. I am not related to Richard Weaver, but I always enjoyed articles written by him and Mel Bradford. When I was young, I tended to romanticize the agrarian South even as you romanticize the post-war industrial period. However, eventually I concluded that we can’t go back. We need to seek fairness, justice and the rule of law in whatever economic period we reside. The move to industrialization was traumatic for many and we have romanticized and subsidized the “family farm” for decades. Such efforts never had the desired effect, and had a number of unforeseen bad effects.
The rule of law is not understood by most Americans. Perhaps Trump’s lack of respect for the rule of law may produce new interest in the principle even as his confession to sexual assaults produced a surge in the prosecution of and other punishments for sexual predators.
Trump does not understand the concept of the rule of law even as he never understood the concept of obstruction of justice as he was blurting out confessions to Lester Holt and the Russian ambassador.
It is useful to compare and contrast the behavior of Nunes with the behavior of Richard Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. Unlike Nunes, Burr conducted himself in a responsible manner, was never a stooge of any party and is still respected by most of his colleagues.
Ricky, the institutions of law have been increasingly compromised in the eyes of ordinary people over the last couple of decades—-longer really, if you include the over-reach of the Supreme Court. Confidence in institutions has been eroding even as law abiding citizens of good will have endeavored to prop them up. It’s increasingly harder to respect the integrity of vital institutions when Congress (and the courts) sanction some of the incredible foolishness produced by things such as civil forfeiture abuses, private prisons with guaranteed quotas, manipulated labor shortages, immigration chaos, and many other unsavory injustices. Trump is not a solution to these problems, but he has given voice to the anger produced by them
The current investigation is moving along according to the rule of law in spite of all the squealing that it is not. You are not the victims here; the law is not the victim. But if men of influence keep casting themselves as victims and crying wolf by attempting to delegitimize Trump or his supporters or the head of the House Intelligence Committee with ad hominem arguments, no one is going to believe you when the real wolf shows up at the door. So do the country a favor and let the investigative process play out for a reasonable time. Afterwards is time enough to analyze any imperfections in the procedure or outcome.
The real wolf showed up 3 years ago and took office 17 months ago. He is a moronic wolf, but he is a wolf. No President in history has shown less respect for the rule of law than Trump. No other President has attacked the FBI, the courts, individual judges, his own Attorney General, Associate Attorney General and FBI Director, all US intelligence agencies and individual federal employees while calling for the investigation, jailing and taxation of certain of his political enemies. True, he does this out of complete ignorance. He doesn’t understand our form of government. He ran his companies as a malicious autocrat and he tries to run the government in the same manner. Trump is the only one who delegitimizes himself. You know that is true. Remember our little “five days without idiocy” bet.
Similarly, Nunes delegitimized himself when he received “new secret info” from a White House aide, called a news conference to announce his discovery from an undisclosed source and then raced to the White House “where he had another press conference” after he had “briefed” the President. He has focused his efforts solely on attacking the federal agencies who are trying to determine the extent of Russian interference in the most recent election. He did this because he is Trump’s stooge. Trump has several idiotic stooges in Congress, but it is striking when the most ignorant and rabid stooge is the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
This is the tough one for me. I have to admit that I would prefer four more years of Trump’s dishonesty and idiocy over four years of her socialist nagging. If the Dems nominate Warren, I will probably degrade myself and vote for Trump.
Speaking of the rule of law…. People can disagree on how to go about solving it, but many people with experience do agree on that there is a serious problem of inequitable competition—if not on the labor side, then on the production side China has shown little respect for the rule of law, and admitting them to the WTO has not exactly helped. It’s just that nothing much has been done about it until now.
What can Democrat Chuck Schumer, Republican Marco Rubio and President Trump agree on? Almost nothing, but they agree China is robbing America blind and has to be stopped.
When the president slapped a punishing 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods starting July 6, his unlikely GOP ally, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, applauded the tariffs as a “theft tax.” Sen. Schumer backed them too, warning that allowing China’s massive stealing to continue will cause “long-term real damage to America.”
Within hours of Trump’s announcement, China retaliated with $50 billion in tariffs on US imports. Trump shot back, threatening tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods. Beijing accused Trump of “provoking the trade war.”
Provoking? China’s been fighting dirty against US business for years. China steals $225 billion to $600 billion worth of fashion designs, drug formulas and new technologies from US companies every year, according to the Commission on Theft of American Intellectual Property. Previous US presidents did nothing but negotiate.
That’s like watching a burglar strip your house and asking him “can we talk?” At last, an American president picked up a weapon — tariffs — to fight back.
Not a minute too soon. The stealing is getting worse. Politicians naively said admitting China to the World Trade Organization in 2001 would push it toward a free-market economy and respect for the rule of law. Wishful thinking.
From the start, China violated WTO rules, knocking off American products and selling them as the real deal. A staggering 88 percent of counterfeit goods seized are from China and Hong Kong, according to Homeland Security.
Steal it or extort it. American companies doing business in China are pressured to transfer proprietary technology to a local partner. China promised to stop that arm twisting, but broke its word…..
…Did I just hear Ricky say that he could possibly vote for Trump under certain circumstances??? Under ANY circumstances at all??? It’s Sunday morning, I’m going to church to see if those more theologically attuned to it have noticed a decrease in the temperature of the nether regions. I feel sure some cooling movement has occurred. :–)
In the sense that there are only really 2 candidates, from the major parties R+D, that have a chance to win, so for your vote to matter, it can really only go to one with a chance to win. There is no viable 3rd party option.
Or you can use it as a protest vote, which IMHO, is a wasted vote. If you want it to matter, you “have to” pick someone with a chance.
This is politics, not youth athletics where everyone wins and gets a participation trophy. Protest votes don’t fill seats in Congress, or the WH, and gets no say in how things are run and what gets passed into law. If you want that kinda say, you “have to” play with candidates that can win, which isn’t always someone you even like. Such is the game.
Here is something I have been wrestling with for a while. Younger people (under 60) have never seen an effective Republican or conservative President and therefore tend to have relatively low expectations and also tend to be pragmatic rather than idealistic. AJ’s post at 12:48 is a great example.
Most conservative Never Trumpers are over 60. Kevin Williamson is an exception. For us, the Republican Party and the Conservative movement has been a type of idol. We would not elevate either to the level of deity, but we have believed that each (though imperfect) was generally a force for good during our adult lifetimes.
And what does God do to idols?
1. He reveals them to be utterly worthless; and
2. He makes them utterly disgusting to those who believed in them.
To use an analogy from Exodus, God has turned our idols (conservatism and Republicanism) into Trump and has been forcing us to drink them. I think it has been a period of self examination for many of us.
My wife: It wouldn’t be so bad if Trump weren’t so dishonest and stupid.
Me: And that is what makes him so disgusting to us. We must admit that if the Republican Party and conservatism are capable of devotion to such a person, then they have had huge flaws for some time and are certainly not worthy of the respect we have given to them.
@ 1:53 That is very insightful, Ricky. And probably true. It gives one pause. God will be the only one, and when you are idealistic I have noticed the internal conflicts pop up from time to time.
Debra
To follow up on the thought, sometimes you can learn the wrong lessons from history when you don’t appreciate the extraordinary nature of certain events and expect them to be repeatable on a regular basis.
Two examples: 1. After World War II we were able to turn our worst enemies Germany and Japan, which had little history of democratic governance and had been economically and physically devastated, into wealthy, stable democracies and two of our most stable allies. This plan was not repeatable in Afghanistan or Iraq. There were several unique circumstances (the biggest one being the Russian threat) that made the plan work after World War II. God was no doubt at work in special ways to help rebuild a world devastated by WWII.
2. Reagan was able to lead a Congress with a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives to institute significant conservative reforms including cuts in domestic spending, rebuilding the military, cutting taxes evenly for all and then reforming the Tax Code in a revenue neutral manner while also winning the Cold War, slashing regulations, deregulating several industries and making tough changes to Social Security to keep it solvent for another 40 years. Again there were unique circumstances and Reagan had unique abilities. Some of us just thought that was what a good President did, and kept hoping for a repeat performance. Even though we lived through it and had tiny roles to play in it, we never really understood how special and unusual the political events of the Eighties were until now. I don’t know exactly what God was up to in the Eighties, but it may have had something to do with lifting billions out of poverty around the world.
Along that line, I went shopping for shirts today at one of our outlet malls. I quickly discovered that I didn’t want to pay for the “big name” shirts that were made in China and Vietnam and cost from $30-$70 a piece. I found Wrangler brand shirts made in Kenya and Lesotho for $10, but then found higher quality cotton shirts made in India and Bangladesh for $12. Modern trade is truly amazing. The selection and low cost of the food in our grocery stores would stun our ancestors.
When the crackdown comes, and eventually it must, remember, they brought it on themselves. But sadly I think some people are gonna be hurt first. Sooner or later, someone will defend themselves against the angry mobs.
“Protesters swarmed around Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s home Friday, besieging her family, chanting “no justice, no sleep,” and playing the cries of immigrant children on loudspeakers, The Washington Times reports.
Other DHS employees were warned that there have been credible threats made against both them and their children in a system-wide email that also went out this weekend from the department’s deputy secretary, which also included a list of emergency services and security protocols along with information on how to access the department’s security force.”
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“A group of protesters accosted Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi outside the screening of the new documentary about Mister Rogers at the Tampa Theatre on Friday night, questioning her about her recent actions on health care policy and her stance on immigration.
A video of the confrontation, taken by progressive activist Timothy Heberlein of Organize Florida, shows several people shouting down Bondi as she leaves the theater escorted by law enforcement after seeing Won’t You Be My Neighbor.”
Presidents in the modern era have to deal with great challenges.
.@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous “hair show” with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have “humanized” me-he is taking heat. He called & said “monster ratings.” Be a man Jimmy!
Wandering Views 
Illegal immigration is not a victim-less crime.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/22/angel-mom-trump-suicide/
“Sabine Durden, an angel mom, said Friday that President Trump saved her from committing suicide after an illegal immigrant killed her only son.
Durden said at an event for angel families that she is a legal immigrant and always sought to protect her son from harm.
“And I didn’t drag my son … through borders, over deserts, I didn’t place him in harm’s way. I protected my child from harm but I couldn’t do that on July 12, 2012,” she began.
Durden’s son, Dominic, was killed when an illegal immigrant took a wrong turn driving an unlicensed truck and struck him on his motorcycle. The illegal immigrant had a record of drunk driving.”
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LikeLike
• MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough: “If You Support Trump Then You’re Supporting Racism and You are Racist”
I don’t listen to anyone whose argument is an epithet.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Chas, I am not forgetting that the carpetbagger Joe Scarborough and his girlfriend Mika were big fans of Trump back in 2015-2016. Joe is as shallow as the Red River in July.
LikeLiked by 1 person
More baby steps toward peace.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/06/north-korea-update-some-more-positive-small-steps/#more-252955
“Reports indicate a specific missile test site has been slated for destruction by the North Koreans.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has committed to the U.S. that North Korea will destroy the Ch’olsan County, North Pyongan province testing site, which sometimes is referred to as the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, CBS News reports. This agreement was made when President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore earlier this month, administration officials confirmed. This is the missile test engine site that Trump had mentioned after their meeting, though at the time he did not name it.
North Korea has used the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground to test liquid propellant engines for its long range ballistic missiles. Experts also say that this site is believed to be where the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which can target the U.S. mainland, was developed. This rocket engine test facility can be used for space launch and IBCM launching which are the delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons. Bob Carlin, a former North Korea intelligence adviser for the State Department North Korea, tells CBS News it is significant that the North is destroying this testing site because it is one of the largest in the country.
Trump’s team will be following-up with meetings with North Korean officials shortly.”
——————
“It appears that preparations have begun to return the remains of American soldiers back from North Korea.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that in coming days North Korea would hand over a “sizeable number” of remains to United Nations Command in South Korea, and they would then be transferred to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
…About 7,700 US military personnel remain unaccounted from the 1950-1953 Korean War, US military data show. According to the Pentagon, North Korean officials have indicated in the past that they have the remains of as many as 200 US troops. More than 36,500 US troops died in the conflict.
Finally, the two Koreas will hold a Red Cross meeting to discuss a set of humanitarian issues, including holding a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.”
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Picnics are for winners. 🙂
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Hope she recovers, but the obvious question is will it impact the race?
http://abcnews4.com/news/local/katie-arrington-seriously-injured-in-deadly-wrong-way-wreck-in-charleston-county
” Lowcountry elected official Katie Arrington is in a local hospital after she and a friend were seriously injured in a deadly wreck in Charleston County late Friday night, authorities say.
Arrington, 47, has undergone surgery for treatment of her injuries, and is recovering in a local hospital, spokesman Michael Mule confirms.
Arrington, of Summerville, is a South Carolina State Representative and Republican nominee for Congress.
Arrington and her friend, Jacqueline Goff of Louisiana, were traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 17 around 9 p.m. Friday night, when another driver traveling in the wrong direction hit Goff and Arrington’s vehicle, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
Goff and Arrington suffered serious injuries requiring hospitalization, but the driver of the other wrong-way vehicle died at the scene, CCSO spokesman Capt. Roger Antonio says. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has not yet identified the deceased.”
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Another traitor shows his true, disloyal colors. George Will officially joins the never-Trump traitors. How quickly he’s turned on his buddies Ryan and McConnell. He’s unconcerned with results and the gains R’s have made because every win for Trump and R voters is a loss for aging establishment open border hacks like himself. Warms my heart it does. 🙂
And note he wants Congressional R’s out of power. Which means they’d be replaced by Democrats, but George is OK with that. A scorched Earth policy is rarely good for anyone.
Sell out much, do ya’ George?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/vote-against-the-gop-this-november/2018/06/22/a6378306-7575-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?utm_term=.9dd2d9e6ab36
“Amid the carnage of Republican misrule in Washington, there is this glimmer of good news: The family-shredding policy along the southern border, the most telegenic recent example of misrule, clarified something. Occurring less than 140 days before elections that can reshape Congress, the policy has given independents and temperate Republicans — these are probably expanding and contracting cohorts, respectively — fresh if redundant evidence for the principle by which they should vote.
The principle: The congressional Republican caucuses must be substantially reduced. So substantially that their remnants, reduced to minorities, will be stripped of the Constitution’s Article I powers that they have been too invertebrate to use against the current wielder of Article II powers. They will then have leisure time to wonder why they worked so hard to achieve membership in a legislature whose unexercised muscles have atrophied because of people like them.”
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Sorry George, that illegal hill you wanna die on? Yeah, the voters disagree with you, Dems, and your NT cohorts on that, so good luck.
http://thefederalist.com/2018/06/22/trumps-immigration-policies-are-actually-pretty-popular/
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This makes me sad and happy at the same time. Sad that it’s come to this, but happy that it’s finely being addressed and called what it is.
Let’s face it. We’re just not that into you anymore.
https://hotair.com/archives/2018/06/22/fake-news-media-bias/
“Here, for a change, is a Friday bad-news dump for our country’s news media: Americans don’t believe you anymore. In fact, they’re pretty sure you knowingly publish inaccurate news, distort it and even make stuff up to suit your political bias and agenda.
And if you distribute the news on social media, they believe you even less.
These results from recent public surveys are not just bad news for the news business, struggling through a now-chronic financial crisis. They’re bad news for our form of democracy, which requires informed participation by voters relying on accurate news to cast their ballots. Misinformation can easily result in mistaken choices, or none at all.
Honestly, when consuming the news have you ever thought, even briefly, “What’s the point of objecting, they’re gonna publish what they want anyway?” Not on this site, of course, but elsewhere.
Now, come the Knight Foundation and Gallup Polls dissecting Americans’ thoughts about media. In general, Americans overall estimate that of the news they’re exposed to via radio, TV and print, nearly two-thirds of it is biased (62 percent).
They believe that nearly half the news they see is inaccurate (44 percent). And they’re sure that more than a third of the news moving through those media conduits is misinformation, that is, wrong or fake but distributed as if true.
They also believe that 64 percent of news carried by social media is inaccurate. And — maybe you’ve felt this way too — more than 80 percent of adult Americans report feeling angry or bothered by detecting such false reports. They believe that 65 percent of such news is misinformation and a whopping 80 percent is biased.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of media integrity. To be sure, bias is in the eye or ear of the aggrieved. “You’re biased!” “No, I’m not. You are!””
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I like George Will, but I am also not forgetting that he backed Howard Baker early in the 1980 Republican primary season.
Will and conservative Tom Nichols are both encouraging conservatives to vote Democrat this November since so many Republicans have become Cultists who have joined in the attack on law enforcement.
I have been in several Twitter discussions on this with longtime conservatives. My argument has always been that we shouldn’t debase ourselves by supporting either dishonest, protectionist Trumpers or abortion and perversion-loving protectionist Democrats. This is basically like the Eastern Front in the fall of 1941. We just need to sit back and watch the leftists and the Cult pound on each other. If Twitter discussions are any guide, a fair number of highly educated conservatives will sit this election out.
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Like I was saying:
https://twitter.com/thomasskidd/status/1010302540171370496
You’re not going to find a pro-life Democrat.
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AJ @10:30 Those numbers are indeed sad, but not really surprising. I suspect that there are many who felt like they were being misinformed or deliberately deceived for several decades. But this past election season made it very difficult to remain ignorant of that fact when so many publications and networks were pushing their own narrative, right up to the moment Rachel Maddow declared herself in hell.
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“I understand this sentiment, but Democrats have their own problems – I’d encourage evangelicals to
_sit out_ national elections at leasttake their toys and go home until Trump is out of politics or they can find a pro-life Democrat”Fixed it for him.
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And of all the uninformed/misinformed people in America, what group wins the prize?
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Ricky @ 11:32 So I guess we should not count on the votes from most of those graduates from the top 4 schools—and their lesser educated wannabes and hangers-on. That’s ok. I never begrudge anyone’s vote who is voting their conscience—whether they vote for Dems or Independents or just stay home and sulk. I’ve done all three at one time or another. The ones that get me more aggravated are those who blow with the media wind. I understand the impulse, but it’s something that should be resisted.
I haven’t read the George Will article yet, but a very liberal Hillary supporter friend of mine linked it on FB yesterday. He was impressed with Will’s intelligence. That would last about 10 seconds if any other Republican were in office. At least the animus toward Trump is uniting people who have nothing whatsoever else in common. Being a bit narcissistic [that part I think is true], Trump would probably say “See, I’m a great uniter!”. And in a way, he is, since his supporters are united for him, and his enemies are uniting against him. :–)
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Debra, Don’t count on votes from those who graduated from the top 60 schools. In fact, don’t count on votes from anyone with a graduate degree. Don’t count on votes from those who understand macroeconomics or are committed to the rule of law.
I have argued that the mainstream media was biased to the left since I was fourteen years old. One of the interesting things about the past three years is that the press really hasn’t had much time to be biased against conservatism since they have been too busy honestly documenting Trump’s latest outrageous lie or calamity.
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Now this is not a publication I ever (and I mean EVER) read, but Ricky’s link above got me curious, so I googled it. Headline from November 9, 2016:
“Sorry, Pollsters! Find Out How The National ENQUIRER Predicted President Trump”
https://www.nationalenquirer.com/politics/presidential-election-2016-polls-national-enquirer-results/
IF they actually did predict the Trump win, they would be the only publication to do so as far as I know. And that would be sadder than sad because if this is the rag mag I’m thinking of, they are pretty much the dictionary definition of ‘fake news’. Just sayin’….. :–)
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Ricky @12:44 I don’t count on any of the people who say they are committed to the rule of law and really are NOT. Or anyone who place theories of macroeconomics over the viability of their own nation. Or anyone who envies the education of anyone in either of the two categories above. That would be you and most of your friends and next door neighbors. I believe we’ll pull it off without you. ;–)
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For many, the decision to abstain from politics until Trump is gone is a very easy one. The harder decision will come when Trump is gone. If we had carefully read Murray’s books we should have known this, but highly educated conservatives and Trumpkins really have very little in common. If the Republican Party continues to be a Trumpkin Party after he is gone, I believe you may see the emergence of a new party that appeals primarily to the 45-50% who pay income taxes. It would likely be somewhat libertarian, cautious and stingy with military spending, pro-trade and pro-immigration, with an emphasis on bringing in high earning immigrants who can help existing taxpayers pay for costs of the Democrats and the Trumpers. Such a party could first become competitive in the urban/suburban bubbles that Murray has described.
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Debra, Trump has added many of the uneducated along with a few rappers and pimps to the Republican Party. However, he has driven out millions of the highly educated, professional women, the young and others who do not get their news from The National Enquirer, Hannity, or Alex Jones. If you pull it off, I will tip my hat, send you the brisket and buy stock in rap music companies and tabloids. I don’t think any of the bordellos are yet publicly traded.
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Trump and the rule of law:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/pardons-obstruction-justice-and-rule-law-demagogic-presidency
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Professional prosecutors and the rule of law:
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/06/01/can-the-rule-of-law-survive-trump/
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Sit out because of Trump? Or vote for a Democrat just so long as he or she is pro-life?
And it was fine voting for all those other guys over the years? This is called “unprincipled.”
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Re: 9:44.
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Ricky, I think you give Trump too much credit; there have always been pimps in the Republican party—but you are right in that he has driven many of them out, especially the pretentiously educated with weak stomachs and poor national economic priorities.
If we win, we’ll try to be gracious and avoid gloating….not Trump, of course. From him you may expect all the preening and gloating that an upset victory can yield. And even if we lose you can probably also expect preening and gloating, along with expressions of eagerness to work with his ‘good friends’ the Democrats. I understand all of that, and still hope for the best deal the American people can get.
PS. I would not invest in rap music, tabloids, bordellos, casinos or private prisons—though the latter is up dramatically since Trump election. You might find a large town or small city newspaper and put your money and influence there. It would be more satisfying I think. ;–)
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SolarP, Never before have Republicans in Congress joined with a dishonest President to attack law enforcement officers, prosecutors and our intelligence agencies to try to protect the President who may be a traitor/Manchurian candidate but is probably just a moron. That is the question we need Mueller to be allowed to answer. The Republicans (such as Howard Baker) behaved honorably during Watergate. The Democrats behaved badly during Clinton/Lewinsky. However, no Congressman (during the investigation of a President) has ever before acted as such an idiotic stooge as Devin Nunes. When Ryan allowed Nunes to remain as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee after all of his stunts, the Republicans lost those in their party who believe in the rule of law.
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Debra, I appreciate the thought. However, if people read newspapers we wouldn’t be where we are.
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What exactly did Nunes do to violate the rule of law?
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Debra, You remind me of the Southern Agrarians, some of whom were my friends. However, your idyllic time is the post-war period of American manufacturing instead of the Old South and your ideal man is a union laborer working on a Pontiac assembly line rather than a Southern farmer.
https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/the-rebuke-of-history-the-southern-agrarians-and-american-conservative-thought
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http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/373540-did-devin-nunes-obstruct-justice-what-a-dangerous-question-to-ask
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https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/devin-nunes-controversy/551792/
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I don’t know about this Red Hen place in Lexington.
If you are in Lexington to visit Robert E. Lee’s tomb and museum or Stonewall Jackson’s house and grave or let your child visit VMI or W&L, the place to eat is The Southern Inn.
If you cross the mountain to Charlottesville to tour the University of Virginia, dine at The Virginian.
If you travel north up the Shenandoah Valley to tour the battlefield or play golf at New Market, go to The Southern Kitchen.
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Sure, Ricky. This guy did this; those guys didn’t do that stuff; he did those things, etc. Aside from some arbitrary standards, there’s nothing so much worse about Trump that should only *now* compel us to suddenly find voting principles as Christians.
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Commitment to the rule of law is a standard. I do not consider it arbitrary. It is one of the primary things that distinguishes our government from that of North Korea, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe.
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That’s an interesting link @ 2:27, Ricky. Is Richard Weaver an ancestor of yours?
My ideal man is not unionized, but factory labor and perhaps manual trade is all that was left to him after he’s been moved from the farms and mountains into urban areas. If you don’t keep that option open, there will be trouble simply because he’s not going away and survival makes demands that will be fulfilled one way or another. He’s still reproducing and is, frankly, entitled to a space to live and breath. All souls that God saw fit to encapsulate in flesh on this earth have a place here and a purpose for being. And the Christian ideal should demand that the work has some dignity attached to it because a man created in the image of God is performing it, regardless of what the activity actually is.
It is the erosion of those opportunities that is more to the point of our current situation. I have wondered if perhaps our uninhibited free trade policies were originally fueled by the friction between unions which demanded ever increasing portions of the profits and owners who resisted—either because the demands were unreasonable or for other reasons. By opening up production in other countries and closing down US production, these tug of wars between owners and unions were made moot. And unquestionably, the owners won. I have thought that this was in part a failure of government to intervene as a matter of law, and to arbitrate acceptable solutions. Other governments do not seem to find this a problem. In Germany, unions are not regarded in the same way as they are here, and even have representation on the company boards. They have managed to have relatively free trade without decimating their working population. So far a solution has eluded us. The question is, why?
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I read the articles on Devin Nunes. He was cleared by the Ethics Committee. What should be done now—have the House investigate the Ethics Committee to see if they are complicit? Go for it. Never-Trumpers may despise Nunes because he supports Trump, but they can not authoritatively accuse him of anything worse than belonging to FFA as a high school student. But I was in FHA, so that dart falls wide of the mark. ;–)
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John McCain committed us to bad law, out of spite. A whole bunch of Republicans have done the same. Ricky and an opinion piece link of his demonstrated that to us a couple weeks ago. George W’s incompetence, along with some strange grudge and with the enthusiastic advice of warmongers, committed this country to a war that’s still going on and has cost us an arm, a leg, and deaths of thousands of our countrymen, and hundreds of thousands of lives of innocents in the region. Some of us Christians tried to get a guy elected who belongs to an *actual* cult; whose beliefs would be considered delusional in any professional setting. The legality of a bunch of stuff each of those guys has done has been called into question by legitimate critics. Donald Trump’s silly, impetuous tweets aren’t what separate us from North Korea, nor is his spelling. We’ve been trending away from God for a while, and the trend isn’t worse now because of Donald Trump. We “get the leaders we deserve,” and this time is just continuation of that trend, silly comparisons to Belshazzar (or whoever) notwithstanding.
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So the paper whose reporter whored herself out for criminal leaks is gonna lecture on what a bad guy Nunes is for forcing the paper’s crimes to be publicly acknowledged.
And yet they and Ricky think Nunes is the problem. 🙄
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“Commitment to the rule of law is a standard. I do not consider it arbitrary. It is one of the primary things that distinguishes our government from that of North Korea, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe.”
And yet you come here everyday and stand up for men who aren’t following the law, in many cases are openly violating the law, and use a double standard in applying the law. All antithetical to your stated belief.
You say it matters, yet you seem to have little regard for it at all, and only for political purposes when it suits you..
Ironic, no?
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Debra, I thought you might like the article. Had you lived through the Depression, I think you would have been a Southern Agrarian. I am not related to Richard Weaver, but I always enjoyed articles written by him and Mel Bradford. When I was young, I tended to romanticize the agrarian South even as you romanticize the post-war industrial period. However, eventually I concluded that we can’t go back. We need to seek fairness, justice and the rule of law in whatever economic period we reside. The move to industrialization was traumatic for many and we have romanticized and subsidized the “family farm” for decades. Such efforts never had the desired effect, and had a number of unforeseen bad effects.
The rule of law is not understood by most Americans. Perhaps Trump’s lack of respect for the rule of law may produce new interest in the principle even as his confession to sexual assaults produced a surge in the prosecution of and other punishments for sexual predators.
Here is a short article on the subject:
http://democracyweb.org/rule-of-law-principles
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Then there was this:
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Krauthammer on Trump and the rule of law.
http://www.omaha.com/opinion/charles-krauthammer-trump-s-words-endanger-rule-of-law/article_1c314e28-82d6-595c-8494-bca6c345dea3.html
Trump does not understand the concept of the rule of law even as he never understood the concept of obstruction of justice as he was blurting out confessions to Lester Holt and the Russian ambassador.
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It is useful to compare and contrast the behavior of Nunes with the behavior of Richard Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. Unlike Nunes, Burr conducted himself in a responsible manner, was never a stooge of any party and is still respected by most of his colleagues.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/politics/russia-investigation-congress-richard-burr-devin-nunes/index.html
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Ricky, the institutions of law have been increasingly compromised in the eyes of ordinary people over the last couple of decades—-longer really, if you include the over-reach of the Supreme Court. Confidence in institutions has been eroding even as law abiding citizens of good will have endeavored to prop them up. It’s increasingly harder to respect the integrity of vital institutions when Congress (and the courts) sanction some of the incredible foolishness produced by things such as civil forfeiture abuses, private prisons with guaranteed quotas, manipulated labor shortages, immigration chaos, and many other unsavory injustices. Trump is not a solution to these problems, but he has given voice to the anger produced by them
The current investigation is moving along according to the rule of law in spite of all the squealing that it is not. You are not the victims here; the law is not the victim. But if men of influence keep casting themselves as victims and crying wolf by attempting to delegitimize Trump or his supporters or the head of the House Intelligence Committee with ad hominem arguments, no one is going to believe you when the real wolf shows up at the door. So do the country a favor and let the investigative process play out for a reasonable time. Afterwards is time enough to analyze any imperfections in the procedure or outcome.
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The real wolf showed up 3 years ago and took office 17 months ago. He is a moronic wolf, but he is a wolf. No President in history has shown less respect for the rule of law than Trump. No other President has attacked the FBI, the courts, individual judges, his own Attorney General, Associate Attorney General and FBI Director, all US intelligence agencies and individual federal employees while calling for the investigation, jailing and taxation of certain of his political enemies. True, he does this out of complete ignorance. He doesn’t understand our form of government. He ran his companies as a malicious autocrat and he tries to run the government in the same manner. Trump is the only one who delegitimizes himself. You know that is true. Remember our little “five days without idiocy” bet.
Similarly, Nunes delegitimized himself when he received “new secret info” from a White House aide, called a news conference to announce his discovery from an undisclosed source and then raced to the White House “where he had another press conference” after he had “briefed” the President. He has focused his efforts solely on attacking the federal agencies who are trying to determine the extent of Russian interference in the most recent election. He did this because he is Trump’s stooge. Trump has several idiotic stooges in Congress, but it is striking when the most ignorant and rabid stooge is the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
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This is an interesting article that discusses how otherwise intelligent people can be drawn into The Cult.
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Economic realities and unintended consequences that were predicted here years ago.
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This is the tough one for me. I have to admit that I would prefer four more years of Trump’s dishonesty and idiocy over four years of her socialist nagging. If the Dems nominate Warren, I will probably degrade myself and vote for Trump.
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Speaking of the rule of law…. People can disagree on how to go about solving it, but many people with experience do agree on that there is a serious problem of inequitable competition—if not on the labor side, then on the production side China has shown little respect for the rule of law, and admitting them to the WTO has not exactly helped. It’s just that nothing much has been done about it until now.
https://nypost.com/2018/06/20/china-not-trump-started-this-trade-war/amp/
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…Did I just hear Ricky say that he could possibly vote for Trump under certain circumstances??? Under ANY circumstances at all??? It’s Sunday morning, I’m going to church to see if those more theologically attuned to it have noticed a decrease in the temperature of the nether regions. I feel sure some cooling movement has occurred. :–)
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Nice to see Ricky admit there are worse options than Trump, which is exactly why I voted for him when Clinton was the only other choice.
I’ll do it again if I have to.
And by the looks of it, I’ll have to.
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AJ, why do you “have to”? In what sense?
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In the sense that there are only really 2 candidates, from the major parties R+D, that have a chance to win, so for your vote to matter, it can really only go to one with a chance to win. There is no viable 3rd party option.
Or you can use it as a protest vote, which IMHO, is a wasted vote. If you want it to matter, you “have to” pick someone with a chance.
This is politics, not youth athletics where everyone wins and gets a participation trophy. Protest votes don’t fill seats in Congress, or the WH, and gets no say in how things are run and what gets passed into law. If you want that kinda say, you “have to” play with candidates that can win, which isn’t always someone you even like. Such is the game.
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Here is something I have been wrestling with for a while. Younger people (under 60) have never seen an effective Republican or conservative President and therefore tend to have relatively low expectations and also tend to be pragmatic rather than idealistic. AJ’s post at 12:48 is a great example.
Most conservative Never Trumpers are over 60. Kevin Williamson is an exception. For us, the Republican Party and the Conservative movement has been a type of idol. We would not elevate either to the level of deity, but we have believed that each (though imperfect) was generally a force for good during our adult lifetimes.
And what does God do to idols?
1. He reveals them to be utterly worthless; and
2. He makes them utterly disgusting to those who believed in them.
To use an analogy from Exodus, God has turned our idols (conservatism and Republicanism) into Trump and has been forcing us to drink them. I think it has been a period of self examination for many of us.
My wife: It wouldn’t be so bad if Trump weren’t so dishonest and stupid.
Me: And that is what makes him so disgusting to us. We must admit that if the Republican Party and conservatism are capable of devotion to such a person, then they have had huge flaws for some time and are certainly not worthy of the respect we have given to them.
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@ 1:53 That is very insightful, Ricky. And probably true. It gives one pause. God will be the only one, and when you are idealistic I have noticed the internal conflicts pop up from time to time.
Debra
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To follow up on the thought, sometimes you can learn the wrong lessons from history when you don’t appreciate the extraordinary nature of certain events and expect them to be repeatable on a regular basis.
Two examples: 1. After World War II we were able to turn our worst enemies Germany and Japan, which had little history of democratic governance and had been economically and physically devastated, into wealthy, stable democracies and two of our most stable allies. This plan was not repeatable in Afghanistan or Iraq. There were several unique circumstances (the biggest one being the Russian threat) that made the plan work after World War II. God was no doubt at work in special ways to help rebuild a world devastated by WWII.
2. Reagan was able to lead a Congress with a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives to institute significant conservative reforms including cuts in domestic spending, rebuilding the military, cutting taxes evenly for all and then reforming the Tax Code in a revenue neutral manner while also winning the Cold War, slashing regulations, deregulating several industries and making tough changes to Social Security to keep it solvent for another 40 years. Again there were unique circumstances and Reagan had unique abilities. Some of us just thought that was what a good President did, and kept hoping for a repeat performance. Even though we lived through it and had tiny roles to play in it, we never really understood how special and unusual the political events of the Eighties were until now. I don’t know exactly what God was up to in the Eighties, but it may have had something to do with lifting billions out of poverty around the world.
Along that line, I went shopping for shirts today at one of our outlet malls. I quickly discovered that I didn’t want to pay for the “big name” shirts that were made in China and Vietnam and cost from $30-$70 a piece. I found Wrangler brand shirts made in Kenya and Lesotho for $10, but then found higher quality cotton shirts made in India and Bangladesh for $12. Modern trade is truly amazing. The selection and low cost of the food in our grocery stores would stun our ancestors.
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This illustrates the last point:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/02/389578089/your-grandparents-spent-more-of-their-money-on-food-than-you-do
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When the crackdown comes, and eventually it must, remember, they brought it on themselves. But sadly I think some people are gonna be hurt first. Sooner or later, someone will defend themselves against the angry mobs.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/32223/protesters-descend-dhs-secretary-kirstjen-nielsens-emily-zanotti
“Protesters swarmed around Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s home Friday, besieging her family, chanting “no justice, no sleep,” and playing the cries of immigrant children on loudspeakers, The Washington Times reports.
Other DHS employees were warned that there have been credible threats made against both them and their children in a system-wide email that also went out this weekend from the department’s deputy secretary, which also included a list of emergency services and security protocols along with information on how to access the department’s security force.”
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http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/06/23/pam-bondi-confronted-by-protesters-outside-screening-of-mr-rogers-movie/
“A group of protesters accosted Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi outside the screening of the new documentary about Mister Rogers at the Tampa Theatre on Friday night, questioning her about her recent actions on health care policy and her stance on immigration.
A video of the confrontation, taken by progressive activist Timothy Heberlein of Organize Florida, shows several people shouting down Bondi as she leaves the theater escorted by law enforcement after seeing Won’t You Be My Neighbor.”
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Presidents in the modern era have to deal with great challenges.
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