Projection

As you know "projection" has many meanings. We will explore only one of them for the purpose of this post.

Projection includes,

"...a psychological defense mechanism whereby one "projects" one's own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, feelings—basically parts of oneself—onto someone else..."

I have written recently about the sexual harassment epidemic consuming left wing institutions. See "Good News" and "This and That #7."

As I mentioned we on the right have been accused, as a group, of misogyny and hypocrisy for a very long time. Right wing men in particular.

I have always assumed that the accusations were a manifestation of projection.

Since no one I know engaged in the often complained of behavior and most of those with much higher profiles than mine also had only very rarely been demonstrated to have manifested those behaviors (Newt Gingrich comes immediately to mind) I often thought projection might be at work. But, like our accusers, I had precious little evidence to support my theory.

Not anymore.

We now know that Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein were not outliers, they were main stream for lefty institutions.

CBS, NBC, NPR, Broadway,  and a thoroughly astonishing list of other cesspools are now being exposed as hotbeds (forgive me) of sexual predation.

And apparently everybody involved in those institutions knew. The most egregious example of the extent of that knowledge is the 2008 "secret" roast of Matt Lauer . Do not follow the link unless you are prepared to be offended.

The audience was filled with all the people who claimed ignorance once he was exposed.

So where did the Republican War on Women and Republican Misogyny come from?

Unfortunately it was projection. More unfortunately the women complaining loudly appear to have been cowards (a very common human condition) at best, and enablers at worst. These unfortunate people were living and working with misogynists and predators so they naturally assumed that all men behave this way. Surely these ugly impulses could not be confined to just their men.

Well ladies and all you feminist gentlemen of the left, it seems, for the most part, that they are. Enjoy what your constant efforts to be "progressive" have earned you. Destroy all the rules of civility as you have been doing for 40 years and people will behave badly.

Those of us who have been watching in horror as women turned themselves into Victoria Secret wannabes are not surprised at the world you have created.

Good News

Today marks one year since we awoke to the absolutely astonishingly good news that Hillary Clinton had lost the election. Thanks again President Trump.

There has been a lot to cheer about during this last year.

Consumer confidence is at heights not seen since 2000.

US stock markets are at all time highs.

The Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Scalia has been filled by another reliable conservative, Neal Gorsuch.

ISIS is in the process of being thoroughly destroyed.

We appear to be well on our way to defanging North Korea, one way or another.

There may be some tax reform on the way.

Liberal men, particularly those in, or connected to, Hollywood, have been exposed as the miscreants I have always assumed they were.

Liberal women, particularly those in or connected to Hollywood, have been exposed as the self-righteous dilettantes I have always assumed they were.

They never tired, male or female, of lecturing us about the evils of republican men while allowing a culture of  actual sexual assault to flourish as they remained silent lest their careers be adversely affected by speaking out. The primary by-product of that silence was to expose other young women and men to the predators.

There are other by-products coming from the exposure of the Hollywood cesspool.

Some mythical liberal narratives seem to  have disappeared.

Republican war on women. Anyone?

Campus rape culture. Anyone?

Donald Trump has a potty mouth and said some boorish things. Anyone?

Regarding Hollywood and its inhabitants I have an observation. How can anyone writing, producing or acting in the rot that Hollywood has been producing for years be assumed to have anything remotely resembling ordinary morals. Actors and actresses (why has that word disappeared) happily engage in on screen nudity and sex apparently thinking it very avant-garde to disrobe and perform sex acts for the public. It isn't. It is the simple substitution of exhibitionism for talent.

I realize there are a few high profile actors and actresses who do not engage in such on screen self-abasement but they are few.

Democrats won some elections for a change yesterday. They are celebrating. Allow them their moment of pleasure. They have endured a lot of pain in the last year.

Their paroxysm of glee will be short lived. Retaining the governorship of Virginia is no great accomplishment. It is what should have happened given that the republican candidate was an establishment rhino of long standing running in the Trump era.

They won the governorship of New Jersey proving, with finality, that Chris Christie's political career is, happily, over.

Be of good cheer my friends. All is well.

This and That #7

Harvey Weinstein et al...

It has apparently come as a surprise to those who aspire to be viewed as the most sophisticated among us, that wealthy, powerful men have been known to prey on the women who depend on their wealth and or power for their own livelihoods.

They can be forgiven for never having heard of Bill Clinton or Ted Kennedy I suppose, two wallflowers who never made a headline.

Kennedy should have been prosecuted. Clinton should have been prosecuted. Hopefully Weinstein will be prosecuted.

I do not begrudge Weinstein's victims their outrage. I do begrudge them their phony naivete while repairing to the fainting couch.

It takes a great deal of courage to bite the hand that feeds you. Very few of us are courageous, human nature being what it is, as the otherwise self aggrandizing denizens of Hollywood have clearly demonstrated.

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Massacres and Gun Control.

Another massacre, another appeal for "sensible steps" to ameliorate the problem of gun violence.

I have a "sensible step" to suggest. Let's create a government data base of everyone convicted of a felony and insist that the name of any putative gun buyer be run through that system before being permitted to possess one.

Oh, wait. We have one of those already. So how did the latest shooter get his weapons? Was it through the so-called gun show loop hole ? No it wasn't.

The real problem stems from one word in the sentence above beginning with "Let's". That word is government.

The latest shooter was a convicted felon who bought his weapons from a licensed fire arms dealer who received the all clear from the government. There is that word again.

The arm of the government that convicted the shooter of multiple felonies failed to post those convictions in the government data base.

I have another "sensible step" to suggest. Do not ever assume that the government will get anything right. Look after yourself and those you love. As the saying goes, when seconds count the police are only minutes away.

Last week another Muslim lunatic killed a bunch of people in New York City. He had been interviewed by the ICE in 2015. He was not interviewed because he had jaywalked. He was interviewed because of association with people who had overstayed their visas, a common terrorist profile. No action.

Remember the Boston Marathon bombers.?

"The brothers were Muslim; Tamerlan's aunt stated that he had recently become a devout Muslim.^[174][175] Tamerlan became more devout and religious after 2009,^[185][186] and a YouTube channel in his name linked to Salafist^[185] and Islamist^{[181][187][188]} videos. The FBI was informed by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2011 that he was a "follower of radical Islam."^[187] In response, the FBI interviewed Tamerlan and his family and searched databases, but they did not find any evidence of "terrorism activity, domestic or foreign."" No action.

Remember the San Bernardino killers??

"They said he had contacts with five people whom the F.B.I. had investigated for possible terrorist activities — including one associated with the Shabab, the Islamist militant movement in Somalia, and another associated with the Nusra Front, the wing of Al Qaeda in Syria. In all five cases, the investigations were closed and no charges were filed."

Are you seeing a pattern here? Sclerotic bureaucracy is the problem, not the solution.

Do not allow yourself to be brow beaten into agreement with the apparently endless legion of our fellow citizens who, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, believe that government should be the repository of all power.

Transgender Tragedy

I was minding my own business when suddenly confronted with some astonishing "facts".

Men could "become" women and vice versa.

Humans of the same gender could "marry".

Those men who became women and vice versa are now referred to as transgendered.

Here are some facts.

Men cannot become women and women cannot become men.

Men can pretend to be women and women can pretend to be men.

They cannot ever "become" the gender they aspire to in the same way that I cannot "become" Donald Trump. I could dye my hair and put on a hundred pounds and look a lot like Donald Trump but I can never, ever, be Donald Trump. Seems pretty simple to me, but then, as I wrote recently, to me, The David is just a giant statue. Perhaps I am nothing more sophisticated than a contrarian. I am not! (sorry, could not resist)

There are, unfortunately, some real world consequences to being forced to enable the gender fantasies of some unfortunate souls.

This is a tragedy. A boy is being allowed to "compete" with the girls. This is not competition. It is as thoroughly unfair as the legendary doping of female athletes during the Soviet era. Turn athletic women into testosterone fueled athletic women and your team will win a lot of medals.

I stopped paying attention to the Olympics years ago and was surprised to find that the Russians have continued the practice.

So, getting back to our tragedy, authentic girls are being forced to compete against a naturally doped boy.

No doubt you are aware that in most sports the sexes are segregated because boys are, generally, bigger, stronger and faster than women.

Now the unfortunate authentic women are forced to lose so that this arguably deranged and at the very least, incredibly selfish, or clever, boy can force us all to indulge his idiotic fantasy.

Will the athletic scholarship committees at the schools these young women apply to take into account their victimization? One can only hope so, but that hope is a dim one.

The "girl" had this to say after winning a state championship race,

 “It feels really good. I’m really happy to win both titles,” Yearwood of Cromwell High School told the Day after winning at the May 30 meet. “I kind of expected it. I’ve always gotten first, so I expected it to some extent. … I’m really proud of it.”

"I've always gotten first...", yes, of course, those with an unfair advantage usually do.

The girl who won last year had this to say,

 “It’s frustrating,” Hall of Stonington High School told the Courant. “But that’s just the way it is now.”

Unfortunately she appears to be resigned to being relegated to second place by a man.

Sound familiar? 

This and That Italian Edition

My wife and I just returned from our first trip to Italy.

It is a very beautiful country. We spent time in Rome, Florence, Venice, Messina, the Amalfi Coast and a couple of other small towns. We also spent one day in Sibenik, Croatia. It is just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. Very pretty place.

Seeing the Colosseum was a great treat for me. As with so many other buildings in Italy, it is an amazing example of engineering, particularly considering the time at which it was built.

I had not considered, before embarking on the trip, that most of the sites I would tour would be focused on the Catholic Religion. I know, you were just about convinced I was a smart guy! Anyway, never gave it much thought.

The tours we took were all very similar. Churches, Cathedrals, and Basilicae. Being an areligious person, these soon became quite boring although the buildings were all quite beautiful.

A few comments, in no particular order of importance.

When viewing the Colosseum I was reminded of  the "bread and circuses" style of governance. Keep the people fed and entertained and they will not complain too much. Seems like not much has changed in 2000 years as massive numbers of citizens of the welfare West are on the dole and kept cheaply entertained.

The Sistine Chapel was an odd experience for me. It is very beautiful, very elaborate. Every inch of all the walls and the ceiling is covered in art produced by many masters. It all looked very similar to what I had seen in the many other churches we had visited.

While Michelangelo's ceiling is clearly an enormous feat of human endurance and productivity, the artwork itself looked to me quite ordinary. The usual assortment of humans, angels and other religious objects. Really much ado about not so much, in my opinion. It was an Emperor's New Clothes moment for me. Then again, perhaps I am just a philistine, incapable of appreciating real art.

The David was a similarly odd experience. It is massive, 17 feet tall. Another demonstration of Michaelangelo's ability to take on and complete huge projects. It has less detail than any child's plastic super hero doll mass produced today. Well, except for his genitals. Nude men appear to have been an obsession of Michaelangleo's. According to one guide he is said to have stated that the male body is the most beautiful thing on earth. Not in my opinion.

In the Uffizi museum in Florence hangs the only individual picture authenticated as Michaelangelo's work. It is a strange painting. The background is full of naked men. One might draw conclusions, might one not?

The Vatican Museum contains an incredible array of art and religious artifacts. Much of the place, like many of the churches we visited, is gilded. There are elaborate gold and silver pieces everywhere. It occurred to me that much of the gold and silver these items were made of was stolen from the Americas. Much of the rest, not to mention the buildings themselves, were funded by the tithe. In other words, money extorted from working people to benefit the priestly class in exchange for promises of a heavenly hereafter. A disgrace, in my opinion. The Catholic Church is, in my opinion, a giant criminal enterprise.

I mentioned that we had visited Sibenik. Croatia is, apparently, a very Catholic country. Our guide was a lovely young lady of 32. She mentioned her age in passing. While in the most important church in the area she was asked where all the beautiful statuary had come from. Her answer was confirmation of my opinion of the Church. She said that some local nobles had donated some of the statuary but that most of it was paid for by the tithe. She rolled her eyes as she said it. An acknowledgment, in my view, of the basic unfairness of taxing working people for the churches' aggrandizement.

One last thing, in the nature of a tip on being a white tourist in Italy.

At many tourist sites there is a substantial army of very tall, handsome Nigerian men with beautiful smiles and arms full of trinkets.  They will approach you and say "I like your shoes". The approach is intended to disarm you and cynically prey on the inherent niceness (and perhaps racial guilt) of white people. I never saw any of them approach a person of color. Tell them to fuck off and turn away. It is, unfortunately, the only method I found to stop them trying to guilt me into giving them money.

NFL

I have been a football fan for a very long time.

Over the last ten years or so I have watched, dismayed, as the product has deteriorated and the NFL has become ever more greedy and unwatchable. Moving games to the NFL channel was a really bush league move.

Color commentators afflicted with verbal diarrhea and an addiction to superlatives so severe that almost any play or player turns into the greatest ever are extremely annoying.

After enduring this nonsense for far too long I have recently taken to watching the games on mute. Big improvement which has the laudable side effect of tuning out the commercials!

Then there are the head coaches most of whom appear to have become obscenity spewing pseudo generals who think they are commanding troops in an enterprise as noble as war.

Two or three years ago my local team, the Cardinals, were featured in some program that took an in depth look at the team. I turned it off after about thirty seconds of  head coach Bruce Ariens' obscenity laced rant about leading his troops into battle. Mr. Ariens, George Patton you are most assuredly not and most of your troops would be deemed unfit characters for military service.

Then there are the players. By and large a group of spoiled, tattooed thugs more interested in stupid demonstrations of personal prowess than the dignity of their teams or the game. Is there anything less compelling than watching some behemoth do his victory dance after sacking a QB in garbage time while losing the game?

Now these spoiled millionaires, mostly black ones, have decided that living in the country that has allowed them to become rich and famous is a racist nightmare.

Good luck to all of you. I will not be watching anymore games. The anti-American demonstrations by players and entire teams today are more than I can stand.

Well, except for watching the Cardinals. I love cheering on their humiliation, their owners having stolen billions here in the Valley of the Sun over the last 29 years.

I hope you will join me in finding something else to do on football season Sundays. These miscreants do not deserve our support in their present incarnation.

This and That # 6

There has been quite a spat going on in the academic legal community over the last month or so.

Two tenured law professors from two different schools, Pennsylvania and San Diego, co-authored an opinion piece explaining that a lot of our current social problems, kids without families, opioid abuse, and catastrophic urban violence, among others, might be less serious if the basic rules of personal responsibility prevalent in mid twentieth century America were still in place.

"That culture laid out the script we all were supposed to follow: Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard, and avoid idleness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime."

Pretty tame stuff. But then they crossed the rubicon.

"All cultures are not equal(italics are mine). Or at least they are not equal in preparing people to be productive in an advanced economy. The culture of the Plains Indians was designed for nomadic hunters, but is not suited to a First World, 21st-century environment. Nor are the single-parent, antisocial habits, prevalent among some working-class whites; the anti-“acting white” rap culture of inner-city blacks; the anti-assimilation ideas gaining ground among some Hispanic immigrants."

That all cultures are not equal is, for most of us, blindingly obvious. Do I really have to explain it? Again? No, I don't.

For any of you who may doubt this obvious statement of incontrovertible fact please look around you. Do you see all those millions and millions of legal and illegal immigrants? Do you have any idea why they might have chosen to leave the countries and cultures of their birth and flee to America, often at great personal peril? I know, I don't get it either. What could possibly explain why they wouldn't have chosen to stay in, in no particular order, Russia, China, The Philippines, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, India, Pakistan, etc?

Even as degraded as our culture has become, thanks to the never ending attempts by the left to denigrate anything and everything American, it is still the culture the whole non-western world is fleeing to.

The colleagues and students of the two rogue professors who offered such an heretical analysis of culture are aghast. Fire them, string them up. How dare they!

From Penn  Law students;

"While we do not challenge Professor Wax’s right to express her views, we question whether it is appropriate for her to continue to teach a required first-year course. The Penn Law administration has long been aware that her bigoted views inevitably seep into her words and actions in the classroom and in private conversations with students. We call on the administration to consider more deeply the toll that this takes on students, particularly students of color and members of the LGBTQIA community, and to consider whether it is in the best interests of the school and its students for Professor Wax to continue to teach a required first-year class. Exposure to a diversity of viewpoints is an essential and valuable part of any educational experience, but no student should have to be exposed to bigotry or abuse in the classroom (italics are mine)."

These idiots are attending a top tier law school and want to be lawyers?


From the dean of law at University of San Diego comes this;

"I want to thank the student groups, as well as the many individual students, faculty and other members of the USD law school community who have spoken or written to me to express their concerns about the article written by USD School of Law Professor Larry Alexander, along with University of Pennsylvania Professor Amy Wax, and their subsequent interviews about the article.

...We must recognize that, for many students, racial discrimination and cultural subordination (WHAT!) are not academic theories, they reflect the students’ personal experiences.

... The views expressed by Professor Alexander were his personal views. I personally do not agree with those views, nor do I believe that they are representative of the views of our law school community."

Luckily for them and us both professors are tenured. If they were not they would probably both have been fired. For being polite, truthful and honest. That is no longer permitted, unless you have protection.

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Speaking of LGBT let's explore a real dilemma. I am working on another post about the tragedy of transgenderism and via Instapundit I came across a story headlined,

"Why Can't My Famous Gender Nonconforming Friends Get Laid".  Interesting I thought, so I clicked through and read the piece. Profoundly stupid, extremely long and entirely unnecessary. Why unnecessary, you ask?

Because...

Now you know the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey famously intoned back when boys were boys and girls were girls.

Trump and DACA

You will all have noticed the goings on over the last few weeks regarding DACA, the program undertaken, unconstitutionally, by Barry O a few years back to protect young illegals from the sins of their parents. Most of us are sympathetic to them.

It was announced as a temporary measure as his imperial majesty became impatient with that pesky congress for not doing as it was told. It would disappear as soon as congress did its job, his majesty told us.

DJT announced that it would end in six months and congress had better get to work.

As you know Mr. Trump, and all of his supporters, have been denounced as racists because we disapprove of illegal immigration. So be it.

For reasons too embarrassing to recount Trump ended up negotiating with Pelosi and Schumer on a DACA replacement. Completely brilliant.

For the tiny price of giving some kind of official status to about 800,000 very compelling illegals (details unknown at this time) and working with Democrats to do so, he has immunized himself from the racist anti-immigrant charges the left saddled him and us with. Brilliant. The art of the deal indeed.

Thanks Again Mr. President

I thought President Trump's UN speech Tuesday was great. I hope you were able to watch it, hear it or read it. A breath of fresh air. Devoid of diplomatic double speak. Entirely.

A few of my favorite moments.

“The United States of America has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world, and the greatest defenders of sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all."

Indeed. Well, a bit humble in my opinion. Has there ever been a greater force for good in the history of the world? In a word, no. Will there ever be one? Look around the world. The answer is clearly no. We are it and hopefully DJT's election will have helped prevent our destruction and the extinguishing of the only real beacon of liberty in the world.

As I watch more and more of my fellow citizens seeming to embrace socialist notions I was very pleased that the President put the case clearly.

"The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented. (italics are mine)  (Applause.)  From the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela, wherever true socialism or communism has been adopted, it has delivered anguish and devastation and failure.  Those who preach the tenets of these discredited ideologies only contribute to the continued suffering of the people who live under these cruel systems."

On North Korea.

"The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.  Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.  The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary.  That’s what the United Nations is all about; that’s what the United Nations is for.  Let’s see how they do."

The no BS network* is a beautiful thing. Notice the last sentence. I was surprised but delighted he did not say "we".

On Iran,

"We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities while building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program.  (Applause.)  The Iran Deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.  Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it -- believe me."  The no BS network on display again!

 A very important phrase banished by Barry O and his cadre is back.

"We will stop radical Islamic terrorism (italics are mine) because we cannot allow it to tear up our nation, and indeed to tear up the entire world.

Last, but by no means least.

"As President of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always, and should always, put your countries first.  (Applause.)" 

Shortly after the speech concluded a headline appeared on Yahoo "News" noting that some diplomats were offended by the speech. Who were they? The ambassadors from Iran, North Korea, Syria (I didn't mention them but he did) and Venezuela. As though that was some unintended consequence. It was the whole point for goodness sake.

*Pop culture 1970's style reference to "Tunnelvision", the no bullshit network.

Apology

I had written yesterday that I would be attending the Trump event last night. I was looking forward to writing about it. Good intentions...

I know downtown Phoenix about as well as I know downtown Moscow.

When I reached the convention center area yesterday evening there were a number of closed roads. After a short while I gave up trying to find my way to a safe parking area and returned home.

My primary interest in attending was to try and help ensure that the venue had a good crowd. It was obvious by the throngs (not just erstwhile protesters) downtown that this would not be a problem.

It so happens that Phoenix airport is on the route I had to take downtown. As I was driving, at about 5PM, I began to wonder how long in advance of an event like this the President would arrive. The event was to begin at 7PM.

The highway I was on is roughly parallel to the airport's two glide paths. One to the left, the other to the right. As I looked to the right, at 5:13PM, there it was. Air Force One on the glide path, gear down, floating towards the runway. An inspiring sight. And the answer to my question.

Don't Believe A Word They Say

No doubt you have noticed the never ending torrent of outrage directed at President Trump. Don't believe a word of it.

The latest outrage is over his immediate post Charlottesville comments and the press conference that followed.

I will leave you to look at the transcripts if you feel the need. Otherwise, you can take my word for fact that he said nothing wrong or inappropriate.

The left, MSM and more than a few so-called Republicans are setting their hair on fire, again, because Trump did not say exactly what they wanted him to say.

While it is an outrage to them it is not to us ordinary people who have watched the "Antifa" movement riot over and over again in their never ending determination to make it impossible for ordinary Americans to speak our common sense minds. They deserve as much blame for the events in Charlottesville as the Nazi thugs. But for their abandonment of the American social contract that is the 1st Amendment there would have been no violence at all. None. The idiot Nazis would have marched and gone home just like they do after making some noise every 30 years or so.

The combined anti-Trump forces are deluging us in negative press in the hope that we will all be shamed into deserting the President. As they have made obvious, that is their sole agenda. Do not believe a word they say.

I will be attending the President's event in Phoenix tomorrow evening. Can't wait to show him that we appreciate his courage in the face of the most vicious onslaught any President I know of, with the possible exception of Lincoln, has had to endure.

In case an example of the anti-Trump forces knee jerk besmirching of Trump is necessary I will share my most recent favorite. In an interview with the NYTimes (I think) he referred to his big win in New Hampshire. Without bothering to give it a second thought they were bellowing their derision. "Trump didn't win New Hampshire", came the full throated roar. That would be correct if he was referring to the election. He was not. He was referring to his primary win which was crucial to his candidacy.

Don't let the bastards get you down!

This and That, July 4th Edition

Happy Independence Day to all.

Courtesy of Powerline's Scott Johnson, an excerpt from Calvin Coolidge's July 4, 1926 speech.

"If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary." Indeed.

If the above looks familiar you are either a long term reader of this blog or of  Powerline. Mr. Johnson has published the excerpt (a much longer one actually, you should enjoy it at the link above) every July 4th since 2004.

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I hope you have been enjoying the Donald Trump Show as much as I have. His latest Tweet storms have been fabulous. Thin skinned poseurs like Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski apparently cannot help themselves and respond to him like  Pavlov's dogs.

It is a joy to watch their hair catch fire as these two hypocrites try to take on a man much more clever than them.

For months, since he didn't allow them into a New Year's Eve party at his Palm Beach resort, they have been attacking him daily. Suggesting he suffers from a mental illness among other insightful revelations of his character . Having been friends of his for years, no doubt they know him well. Except for the curious change in their attitude after he wasn't nice to them, I might even believe some of what they have to say. Or not. Truly a joy to watch.

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Do you remember the controversy  President Trump created with his "Comey better hope there are no tapes of our conversations" Tweet? It was beautiful. All the right people reacted in all the right ways interpreting his comment to mean that he had taped the conversations and the Nixon comparisons took flight.

"With that tweet, Trump immediately deepened his own ­legal and political quagmire, evoking comparisons to President Richard M. Nixon and prompting congressional committees investigating his campaign’s alleged ties with Russia to demand the disclosure of any such recordings."

Look at what he actually said.

Do you remember his much earlier Tweet about Obama having wire tapped Trump Towers in New York?

It has been suggested, credibly I think, that when looked at together Trump was actually warning Comey that the intelligence community might have tapes of their conversations and he had best be careful about his then pending testimony to Congress. It worked. Comey confirmed in that testimony everything Trump had said. Trump didn't need to tape anything. The bluff was sufficient. Brilliant.

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From the annals of "You must be joking " comes this.

"The Denver City Council voted Monday to approve major sentencing reform (in other words, making penalties more lenient) on Class I and II offenses. The latter cover crimes like public defecation, panhandling and camping out on the sidewalk." (Emphasis added).

The "reasoning" behind this outrage?

"City leaders and immigrant rights advocates argued the changes will protect Denver’s immigrant community from facing unintended consequences.

“Many times it becomes a deportable (sic)offense if you’ve been convicted of even a minor ordinance violation that’s punishable by a year in jail,” Mark Silverstein said, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado."

Abject stupidity in the service of the progressive agenda to turn the USA brown.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Enjoy the 4th of July. Most of you have the great good fortune to live in the greatest country in human history. Too bad we have to share it with so many ingrates and fools.

Even so, it is well worth the price.







                                                                 

This and That # 5

As I mentioned in an earlier post I watched some of the NBA finals. Thanks to Obama, Black Lives Matter, people of color only spaces at universities, people of color only dormitories at universities, and toxic racialists who seem to be everywhere, I am now seeing things through the prism of skin color.

During game 1 a huge white Golden State player set a legal, non moving pick. It was perfect. Feet solidly beneath him well before the black offensive player arrived at the spot. Black guy bumps the white guy, black guy falls down. Foul on white guy, natch. Oh, black referee, I almost forgot.

There was a Nissan commercial dissing girls on Barbie bikes.  Girl on black Boys bike is the big thing while mom imitates a man in her black Nissan and leather jacket. Really?  Barbie girls look on disapprovingly. What happened to toxic masculinity? I swear I can't keep up.
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In the first "This and That" post  I mentioned that the inspiration for the format came from Steven Hayward's "Loose Ends" series. He has another series, The Week in Pictures. He publishes it every Saturday and many of the offerings are very, very funny. Here are a couple from today's post for your consideration.









Well, I know I said a couple but I couldn't resist this.





     
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I have mentioned before my search for "moderate" Muslims condemning the mayhem practiced in their name and that I have had very little success finding them. I did post a photo of Muslims demonstrating outside Trump Tower in New York. Unfortunately they were protesting us.

I got to thinking about the possibility that the reason "moderate" Muslims were not holding Not in My Name rallies after any of their coreligionists' atrocities is because such demonstrations are not part of their culture.

Turns out I was wrong. Again.

 

Wither that "vast majority" of Muslims who are "moderates"?
                                                                   
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For my legion of fans north of the border, this one is for you.

"Canada passed a law Thursday making it illegal to use the wrong gender pronouns. Critics say that Canadians who do not subscribe to progressive gender theory could be accused of hate crimes, jailed, fined, and made to take anti-bias training." (Emphasis added)

This appears to be a law that says if a girl identifies as a boy and you insist on acknowledging reality by referring to her as "her" after being informed (not sure how) that she prefers to be referred to as "he", you may be subject to prosecution. Prosecution.

Some years back I had a conversation with an especially eminent member of my legion of Canadian fans about the advisability of labeling anything a hate crime. Aside from being awfully close to criminalizing thoughts, the practical problem is who is controlling what gets named a hate crime. This episode is a very clear example of the potential for catastrophe. Lunatics running the asylum. See cartoon above regarding transgender access to what, in any sane universe, would still be called the lady's room.




                                                                            

Keepers of the Protocols

In the wake of the Comey kerfuffle I have read a lot of analysis of the unnecessarily provocative manner in which President Trump fired him.

Un-presidential, incompetent, chaotic, and, a breach of protocol, are common descriptions unfortunately coming not only from the left but also from the right. In my opinion the President did it perfectly. As in, exactly what I hoped he would do.

We elected him because "Presidential" in the way his critics mean it is precisely not what we wanted. We wanted a particularly big bull in that incredibly corrupt and self-dealing china shop, rampaging about and breaking things. And break things he does. He so infuriated the execrable Comey that Big Jim actually became a leaker, of all things. Whiny, weepy, self-righteous, broken and humiliated. Exposed for who he is, finally. Protocol be damned. Outstanding job Mr. President.

Their precious protocols just protect them, but not us, from their incompetence and informs their corruption.

Congress inconvenienced by being subject to ObamaCare rules regarding employer subsidies? No problem. Exempted.

 "...members of Congress and their staffs are slated to get that will make them the only participants in the new Obamacare exchanges to receive generous subsidies from their employer to pay for their health insurance." (Emphasis added)

That was 2013. Fast forward to last month. Have the keepers of the protocols learned anything from the 2014 and 2016 elections? Judge for yourself.

"As Republicans rush to vote on their latest ObamaCare repeal-and-replace plan, it appears to still include an item exempting members of Congress and their staffs from losing the healthcare bill's popular provisions (ed. Of which they are the only beneficiaries. Interesting to note how the author tries to hide that fact. Popular provisions? Right, except for the part where those "popular" provisions apply only to Congress.).

House GOP leaders worked Wednesday night to fast-track consideration of an amended American Health Care Act without posting the bill text and without a Congressional Budget Office analysis detailing the effects of the latest changes to the legislation." (Emphasis added).

To be fair,

"...Rep. Tom MacArthur's (R-N.J.) office said separate legislation would close that loophole." Uh, right, I'll take your word for it. That has worked out really well for us taxpayers so far.

An illegal immigrant crime spree? No problem. Those illegals never get close to the keepers of the protocols.

A border wall? No way. Un-American. Xenophobic. Walls around the homes and communities of the keepers of the protocols. No problem.

2nd amendment. No way we should be permitted  to arm ourselves. We are too stupid and dangerous. Armed guards and gun permits for the keepers of the protocols? No problem.

There is another way to spell  President Donald J. Trump. Enough.

"Moderate" Muslim Update

As you know I have been looking for signs of that vast majority of Muslims who are "moderates" and opposed to their coreligionists penchant for blowing up and otherwise dismembering innocents. They have been hard to find.

This (link fixed) story looked promising.

"Over 130 imams from across the United Kingdom have said they will refuse to perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the London and Manchester terror attackers. The ritual is normally carried out for every Muslim, regardless of their actions.
In what is a highly unusual move, Muslim religious leaders from different schools of Islam -- both Sunni and Shia -- issued a statement late Monday saying their pain at the suffering of the victims of Saturday's attacks had led to their decision, and they called on others imams to follow suit."

Given all I have heard and read over the years about the proliferation of Muslims in the UK I decided to try and find out what proportion of UK Imams were represented  in the letter.

That would be about 7.4%. Not impressive, at all.

There is something very familiar about that percentage. It is in the general area of the number of Muslims said to be supportive of Islamic terrorists.

It seems to me that the numbers we have been treated to over the years are upside down.

It is becoming more obvious, as a matter of simple observation, that the vast majority of Muslims are content to sit on the sidelines and watch, if not applaud, the slaughter of innocents.

No doubt they happily engage in the moral relativism that conflates jihadists blowing up and otherwise attacking ordinary citizens as they go about their lives with Muslims killed in wars. If the distinction has to be explained it is not worth the bytes to do so.

This and That, Religion of Peace Edition

You will have noticed, upon careful reading, that I have been pointing out the deafening lack of remorse by "moderate" Muslims with respect to the murderous antics of their coreligionists. If Islam ever was the Religion of Peace it can now more accurately be described as the Religion of Pieces given the penchant of so many of its adherents to turn those of whom they do not approve into pieces in various creative ways.

Bombs laden with ball bearings and nails, machetes, knives and even vehicles. Clever those people, eh?

So, wasn't I pleased to come across this this morning.

Well, on second thought, no.  CNN is doing its best to prop up the notion that there are "moderate" adherents to the Religion of Pieces. The ruse didn't last long.

"Note the white police officers leaving before the CNN shot & the Asian officers coming in. They then left after they went off air!"

I wrote yesterday of Roger L. Simon's suggestion on stamping out Islamic terrorists by enlisting the help of Muslim countries. He suggests that those who do not help will be punished with sanctions. I called the idea useless.

You may recall that during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia President Donald J. Trump addressed a meeting of 50 Muslim leaders from the region and exhorted them to become more active in the terror fight.

This morning I read this and I am more hopeful than I was yesterday when I was busy criticizing Mr. Simon.

"Several countries took major moves against Qatar today over its support for terror. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties, setting off a major crisis in the Middle East."

I would be very happy to have been entirely incorrect in my take on Mr. Simon's proposal.

In another, earlier post on the subject of terrorism, I pointed out that part of the frustration we ordinary people suffer with respect to the policing of these terrorists is the result of the fact that our police and legal systems are obviously not up to the task.

Once again the ring leader was known to the authorities.

"The ex-KFC and London Tube worker, known as Abz, 27, was quizzed by cops over his twisted views before he was gunned down along with his two accomplices down following the depraved assault on Saturday night."

There is, perhaps, a silver lining to this story. The people complaining to the cops about this nut job were Muslims. Could these be the "moderate" Muslims I have been looking for? I hope so and I hope there are many more of them willing to come forward because that will be the best way out of this mess.

This and That # 4

Poor LeBron James.

I watched some of Game 1 of the NBA Finals the other day. At one point the commentators began discussing the tragedy that had recently befallen Mr. James.

Apparently his house was vandalized .

"A racist slur was spray-painted on the front gate of James' Los Angeles home, LA police told CNN."

His "home"? Why the sudden humility?

"The 9,350-square-foot house was custom built by "mansion specialist" Ken Ungar in 2011 for a real estate developer, his wife, and their family. The house wasn't listed on the open market, but Curbed has gotten its hands on photos of the house taken a few years back; you can just mentally superimpose the 6'8" James into them."

Yes, this poor, benighted man, who said, in response to the vandalism of his $21,000,000 "home",

 "No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough, and we got a long way to go," James said."

Poor thing.

I am assuming that the racial slur painted on his front gate was "nigger" or some variation of it. Our press is so pathetically hamstrung by political correctness I can't find an actual description of the offending term.

I wrote in This and That # 3 about all the fake hate crimes being reported in order to keep us white folk, particularly Trump supporters, on the defensive.

What if this turns out to have been done by a black guy? My limited exposure to popular black culture has confirmed that black people call each other nigger and whore all the time. So if a black guy did it, a virtual certainty in my opinion, is it still a racist slur?

You be the judge.

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This has a certain evergreen quality to it, particularly as the markets set new records.

Paul Krugman: The Economic Fallout

By Paul Krugman

Comment 2016-11-09T00:42:44-05:00 12:42 AM ET

It really does now look like President Donald J. Trump, and markets are plunging. When might we expect them to recover?

Frankly, I find it hard to care much, even though this is my specialty. The disaster for America and the world has so many aspects that the economic ramifications are way down my list of things to fear.

Still, I guess people want an answer: If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.

Under any circumstances, putting an irresponsible, ignorant man who takes his advice from all the wrong people in charge of the nation with the world’s most important economy would be very bad news." (Emphasis added)

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

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When the lunatics run the asylum. In this case, California .

"The state Senate on Wednesday voted to no longer make it a felony for someone infected with HIV to knowingly expose others to the disease by having unprotected sex without telling his or her partner about the infection."

It is the rationale that is the kicker.

" “These laws are irrational and discriminatory,” Wiener told the Senate, adding that the current felony status is “creating an incentive not to be tested, because if you don’t know your status you can’t be guilty of a felony.”" Seriously? There are too many levels on which this is stupid to bother with analysis.

Do you recognize the  formulation? Why do we not arrest illegal aliens simply for being illegal aliens? Because if we arrest ordinary illegals, the rationale goes, they might be reluctant to help us solve crimes in their communities.

Brilliant. What if there were no illegals? Well, no crime in their communities. Problem solved.

The Religion of Peace, Again. Again

Well, another week, another massacre in England thanks to our Islamic friends.

I wrote on May 23, after the Manchester attack,

"So where are all these moderate Muslims and why are they not speaking up?

I think, faced with this obvious paradox, we must conclude that we non-Muslims have invented a species of Muslim whose collective silence argues against their existence."

The silence of the "moderate" Muslims was broken, finally.

Well, kind of. This piece is written by a person I assume is a "moderate" Muslim. It is well worth the read. Here is a taste.

"While living safely under Britain’s rule of law, they nonetheless view British society as beneath contempt. They don’t want to be part of it, and they teach people like Salman Abedi that it’s a mortal sin for them to want to be part of it. Anything that happens to a Muslim anywhere in the world, once passed through the Islamist victimhood filter, becomes an anti-Muslim act for which the guilty must be punished. And so it seems that Abedi’s actions were the result of this solipsistic staple of Islamist indoctrination. In a country, and a city, where young men run the risk of falling prey to knife crime, Abedi interpreted the stabbing of a friend as an anti-Muslim ‘hate crime’, and swore revenge on the society around him.'"

The author certainly sounds like what we conjure up as a "moderate" Muslim.

Trouble is, he is so certain of the grateful support he will receive from the other 1.2 billion or so "moderate" Muslims worldwide for speaking out that he has to use a pseudonym. No doubt they will kill him when they find him.

Back here in the USA I see that "moderate" Muslims are indeed capable of public demonstrations.





New York – Muslims continued on with their civilization Jihad as they took over the street in front of Trump Tower during ‘Iftar’ or ‘breaking their Ramadan fast’.

Just not public demonstrations condemning their murderous coreligionists. The real problem for them, as usual, is us and our bigoted President.

The reason for the lack of public repudiation of the Jihadis is easily explained. While they probably wouldn't pull the trigger or slash a throat themselves, "moderate" Muslims are quite content with it being done. Islam is a triumphalist religion/ideology which robustly declares that the one true god is Allah, his prophet is Mohamed and, if you are not a Muslim you are a second class person. They obviously believe this and are content to pursue both violent and demographic means to bury western civilization.

I think I have linked to and written about Roger L. Simon before. He is a big talent. A successful Hollywood screenwriter, blogger and former liberal. He published the linked article today. We all make mistakes. His prescription for the reform of Islam is, in my view, misguided and useless. The reason it is useless is this;

"To be clear, this is not about bad people (many Muslims are fine human beings), but about a malignant ideology from the seventh century that must be expunged for the survival of all."

They are not fine human beings. If they were they would have risen up against this appalling creed long ago.

I am sure they love their children. Oh, wait, they happily send them out in suicide attacks, so maybe they have a different definition of parental love than we do. After all, they will enter paradise immediately. That is not love. It is depravity. A depravity being condoned by silence.

As the saying goes, freedom is not free. We cannot talk these people into "moderation". The practice of their religion, whether jihadist or "moderate", must be stopped in the west.
There is no "until" in my formulation.

Let them stay in all those countries of the world where they already dominate. Given the superiority of their religion and culture, why should they want to leave? Let them kill each other, Sunni and Shiite alike, to their hearts' content.

Keep in mind how we got here. We turned the Saudis into mega billionaires. They used many of those billions to export their particularly vicious  version of  Islam, Wahhabism, all over the world.

We had to have their oil so we turned a blind eye. Deal with the devil and all that. The devil is now taking his repayment in the form of dismembered, by various means, men, women and children. We no longer need their oil. We no longer need them. We no longer have to put up with their murderous barbarism.

Mr. Simon suggests that we gather all their leaders together in a huge conclave and insist that they "reform" their religion. Mr. Simon, with respect, that is a fools errand. Your suggestion that there be economic penalties for not applying themselves to this task is a pipe dream.

There are no metrics by which to appropriately place blame. The complexity of the problem combined with, except for Donald Trump, spineless western leadership would drown any such program before it could produce a single desirable result.

This is not a fight in which we prevail by trying, for the millionth time, to get these people to behave by applying western tactics of persuasion. Coercion is required, as un-American, illiberal and uncomfortable as it is for us.

My suggestion is for all of us to stop pretending Muslims are just another group of immigrants anxious to become Americans. We must confront them at every opportunity and demand that they denounce their coreligionists, if not their religion, as the purveyors of murder and triumphalism that they are.

Thanks Chelsea

I never thought I would have any reason for quoting Chelsea Clinton.

“We have to realize, especially at this moment, that sexism is not an opinion. Islamophobia is not an opinion. Racism is not an opinion. Homophobia is not an opinion. Jingoism is not an opinion. So I think that in our posture of listening, we also have to get comfortable with standing up and speaking out.”

But, here I am. She has articulated the answer to a puzzle I have been thinking about for some time.

I have mentioned before that the left is not interested in debate. They just want us to shut up and sit down.

Their method is shaming. But that is only the surface. The tactic underpinning that method is much more insidious.

Racism, sexism and homophobia are well defined terms. We all understand what they mean and none of those ism's are anything any of us would want to be identified with. The last 60 years of Western Civilization have proven that decisively. 

Might any of us, in his heart of hearts be any or all of those things? Emphatically yes. We cannot however, indulge those opinions in any way meaningfully detrimental to the objects of our prejudices. Not only are all of those real ism's against the law with respect to all commercial transactions and government interactions, they are abhorrent to most of those we want and need to interact with daily. Expression of these ism's in their real form finds one immediately ostracized except at the very fringes of society where few of us want to reside and fewer still actually reside.

In order to continue to impose their beliefs on us the left has expanded the definition of those ism's beyond recognition, but they still get to use the words.

Racism now means criticizing the opinions of black people (see any opposition to Obama), not lynching or otherwise illegally discriminating against them. Homophobia means opposing same sex marriage, not arresting, beating, ostracizing and otherwise illegally discriminating against homosexuals. Sexism now means being opposed to the distribution of tampons to women at no charge to them, paid for by men, not keeping women from voting, out of higher education and the professions, not paying them less than men for the same work.

Islamophobia? Well what is it? It is whatever they say it is at the moment. I oppose Islam for what it has always been, a superstition (like all the religions, only worse) and what it has become, a murderous and triumphal anti-democratic ideology. I am powerless to adversely affect proponents of that religion for the reasons described above, in  any meaningful way. According to Clinton and her ilk I am not even allowed to hold this opinion. 

Jingoism? Good grief. That she would confuse renewed American confidence with jingoism is hardly surprising given her adherence to the modern leftist notion of America's awfulness.

None of the things in the previous paragraphs have anything to do with the real definitions of those ism's. Nothing. Do not sit down and shut up!

The Religion of Peace Lashes Out Again

In the wake of the latest Muslim outrage, the Manchester bombing, it is very reassuring to see millions of peaceful Muslims in the streets chanting "Not In MY Name" and taking to their pulpits, the airwaves, internet and press to denounce yet another in an apparently never ending series of vicious, brutal, attacks...

Oh, right. Silence. Again.

WTC 1993, silence.
9/11, silence.
Madrid 2004, silence.
London 2007, silence.
Fort Hood 2009, silence.
Boston 2013, silence.
San Bernadino 2015, silence.
Orlando 2016, silence.
Paris, Brussels, London again. On and on it goes. Silence.
Hundreds of other attacks worldwide, silence.

Silence.

Can you imagine any huge group of people, (more than 1.6 billion in this case) adherents to a supposedly sacred text, watching in silence as their sacred text is allegedly warped into a murderous creed? It is behavior completely at odds with ordinary human conduct.

So where are all these moderate Muslims and why are they not speaking up?

I think, faced with this obvious paradox, we must conclude that we non-Muslims have invented a species of Muslim whose collective silence argues against their existence.

Perhaps Indonesians are the moderate Muslims we hope exist. Well, maybe.

"Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, was found guilty of blasphemy and has been sentenced to two years in prison in Indonesia on Tuesday."

His crime?

" Ahok was the first ethnic Chinese Christian to run the nation’s capital, and was accused of insulting Islam by referring to a verse in the Koran during a campaign speech, which was met with strong disapproval by religious hardliners."

A non-Muslim dared to interpret a verse of the Koran in a manner that "hardliners" disapproved and is going to jail. For 2 years! At least they didn't kill him. Their restraint is most admirable. Moderate Muslims at work.

I believe moderate Muslims exist in about the same numbers as unicorns.

Western governments are operating under a deadly delusion and putting ordinary citizens at risk every day. Muslim immigration to the West should be stopped, in total, now.

What makes all this so much more infuriating is that the people we employ to protect us from them can't or won't. Early reports suggest that the Manchester bomber was "known" to authorities.

The Boston bombers, Fort Hood shooter, San Bernadino shooters and Orlando shooter were all "known" to authorities.

It is obviously beyond the abilities of western law enforcement agencies, playing by western rules of police engagement, to deal with this army of in place terrorists. No more kids should be murdered in the name of political correctness or moderate Muslims.

This and That #3

I have written several times about the difficulty engaging the left in meaningful discussion because of, among other things, the apparent complete lack of good faith on their part.

There is at least one and hopefully many other lefty's I have yet to encounter, who has not abandoned the notion of good faith.

Alan Dershowitz is as doctrinaire a Democrat as there is, except where Israel is concerned. He is a stalwart supporter. He is also a brilliant lawyer. Unfortunately he is also one of the lawyers who got O.J. off. Well, we all make mistakes.

He recently tweeted a response to assertions that President Trump had committed some sort of infraction when he fired James Comey.

Alan Dershowitz @AlanDersh

Because a president has the unreviewable authority to fire the Director for any reason. 

Joe Scarborough @JoeNBCI eagerly await the flood of experts explaining why Donald Trump firing Comey to obstruct justice is not obstruction of justice.

Unreviewable Joe. Case closed.


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You have no doubt heard about all the hate crimes carried out by Trump supporters. A handy compilation at the link. They are all hoaxes of course.

One of the headline stories at Yahoo over   the weekend began,

"HOUSTON (AP) — A black Texas congressman said Saturday that he's been threatened with lynching by callers infuriated over him seeking impeachment of President Donald Trump."

Also, over the weekend, this story was published by The Hill describing harassment and threats against Republican office holders.

If you read both stories you will see that the Republican office holders who experienced harassment and threats reported them to the authorities and arrests were made.

Unsurprisingly, the "black Texas Congressman", Al Green (D), does not appear to have 

reported anything to the authorities. Why not? Most likely, in my opinion, the recordings he shared are a hoax.

Update. Here is an even more comprehensive examination of the hoaxes.

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As you know, for most of the left the narrative is everything. Anything that does not advance the narrative is suppressed.

This fabulous story did not make it beyond the Charlotte Observer as far as I know.

Unfortunately I can't seem to copy and paste the photo from the story. Have a look. It is worth it. It is also the real, non-narrative America being led by President Trump.

Classic line from the story;

" “They’re never going to put that on television,” Trump said."

Indeed.

 

The New "Civility"

You may recall the shooting of  Gabriella Giffords back in 2011. Democrats hoped, as they always do, that the shooter would be some Republican lunatic. As usual they were wrong. Not deterred, they immediately seized on Sarah Palin's graphic use of what appeared to be the images of congressional districts seen through a rifle sight on her web site as, if not the proximate cause of the shooting, at least a vile indicator of the incivility of the then political landscape.

Democrats embraced the "civility" strategy.

"TUCSON — President Obama offered the nation’s condolences on Wednesday to the victims of the shootings here, calling on Americans to draw a lesson from the lives of the fallen and the actions of the heroes, and to usher in a new era of civility in their honor."

At the time it was clear that they meant that Republican rhetoric was over the top and the root of the lack of civility in the public forum. This all took place in the shadow of the then recent 2010 "Tea Party" election. The new strategy was just another in a long line of efforts to get us to shut up and sit down.

It was a sham from the start of course. We have always been the polite party. The 2008 Presidential election, if proof is needed, demonstrated that we still were. Kid glove treatment for Barry. Using his middle name, Hussein, was verboten, for example.
 

Now it is 2017, Barry is out and Donald is in. And, this is the new "civility".

CA Dem Chair: ‘All Together Now: F*ck Donald Trump!’ as Crowd Holds Up Two Middle Fingers (VIDEO)

Cristina Laila May 20th, 2017 7:52 pm 1614 Comments

California – The classless Democrats gathered in Sacramento for a state convention on Saturday. They had some harsh words for the President as they chanted, ‘F*** Donald Trump!’.

AP reports:

California’s elected Democrats had tough words for President Donald Trump and the GOP Congress on Saturday, urging their party’s fired-up activists to work against the 14 Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation.
In a sign of the vigor of the party’s distaste for the president, outgoing party Chair John Burton, a longtime Democratic lawmaker and powerbroker known for his blunt and profane manner, extended two middle fingers in the air as the crowd cheered and joined him. “F— Donald Trump,” he said.

Video of crowd with middle fingers in the air after outgoing CA Dem Chair, John Burton screamed, ‘F*ck Donald Trump!’…"

Note that the person leading this demonstration of complete nitwittery is not some fringe player. He is the outgoing chairman of the California Democratic Party. Very high profile democrats are in the audience. Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsome, among others,  addressed the convention. Are they going to be asked by the press whether they will disavow this sort of verbal thuggery? I know, stupid question.

While the outburst above is extreme, it is not inconsistent with Democrats latest strategic brilliance.

"Swearing has become such a part of Democratic stump speeches that profane clips have become routine in Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez's speeches. With children on stage behind him, Perez told an audience in Las Vegas this weekend that Trump "doesn't give a shit about health care."

We have known who they are for a very long time. Thanks to Donald J. Trump they are finally coming out of the closet. I am sure it will serve them well.

The Wall

Much has been said and written about the need, or not, for a wall along our southern border.

Immigration reforms were undertaken in 1965 , 1986 and were attempted again in 2007 .

The political right was persuaded in 1986 to enact reforms, which included amnesty, in exchange for an employer based status verification regime and enhanced border security. There "... was the enforcement bit. The law aimed to secure the U.S.-Mexico border against illegal crossings with new surveillance technology and a bigger staff."

The status verification system was, to put it politely, a sham.

"Under the final law, all employers had to do to avoid sanctions was to make sure their workers had paperwork that "reasonably appears on its face to be genuine." If the documents were decent fakes, that wasn't the boss's problem. In fact, employers were actually penalized if they scrutinized a worker's nationality too aggressively."

In 1986 I was CEO of a manufacturing business in Houston, TX. We had as many as 100 factory floor employees at peak times of the year. Most were illegals. The system was such a farce that I don't even remember it being more than an occasional topic of conversation at management meetings. No one came looking for anything. We changed  our hiring package to ensure we had proper "documentation" on new hires. We checked the files of existing employees to see whether additional information was required. If so, it was always readily provided.

I often read that the reason employers employ illegals is that they are willing to accept lesser pay and benefits. That may be true of some but I can safely say that it was certainly not the case for us. It was just how things had developed in the 20 years or so the company was in  business before I was hired to run it. In fact, we never advertised for factory workers. When the need arose our factory managers just told their workers we needed more people and they showed up. Wages were standard for the area and every employee had company paid medical insurance.

As is obvious the increased presence and border surveillance never happened.

That brings us to 2007 when John McCain and friends announced that a new deal had been reached behind closed doors. What little we were told about the legislation made it clear that it was going to be amnesty first, enforcement second, again. McCain declared that it would be voted on and passed within 48 hours. The right erupted and the legislation was killed.

Those of us who were around in 1986 refused to go along with amnesty first and enforcement second. We had already seen that the enforcement never arrived and we were certain the same would be true this time.

We have focused on the wall as an essential element of enforcement ever since. Enduring the barrage of insults hurled our way over the last 10 years stoically.

Now it is 2017. We elected a President who promised to build the wall. There has been no significant progress made. Funds were dropped from the continuing resolution recently approved. He said it was too difficult to do now and we will get back to it in September, in the next budget.

A funny thing has happened on the way to the wall , illegal immigration has plummeted since President Trump's election.

"Illegal immigration across the southwest border is down more than 60 percent so far under President Trump, officials revealed Tuesday, even before the first new agent is hired or the first mile of his promised border wall is constructed."

Like many, I do not like the idea of a wall but considered it a necessity if the flood of illegals was to be stopped. It looks as though the mere enforcement of laws on the books already has had an enormous influence on illegals. Maybe we don't need a wall after all.

Wishful thinking, unfortunately. As much as I hate to think about it Trump will only be President for 8 years. His successor, Democrat or Republican can, and probably will, back off enforcement again. It will be much less likely that such a stand down will have much of an effect if the wall is in place. So, in my reluctant opinion, it must be built.