New Newspeak

Politicians and government bureaucrats are oblivious as to what their intended functions are. Like in George Orwell's "1984," they think that, by manipulating language, they can control our thoughts.  Now the Library of Congress has decreed (I suspect with some direction from above) that the terms "illegal alien" and "alien" are now verboten ... see: Breitbart Article. As a lover of words, I can't say how offensive it is to see our servants again trying to be our masters by suborning our language.

Are you listening Obummer?

Durgin Park

The Boston Globe has had a contest to describe a uniquely Boston experience in 50 words. Two of my talented friends have had their submissions accepted. But mine, I think, sits on the cutting room floor ... possibly because of my un-PC reference to Indian pudding. Therefore, I have decided to reproduce this 58 year-old Boston memory here and the Globe be damned:

Very long ago a bunch of us Dartmouths road-tripped to Boston for Wheaton dates. But first we dined at Durgin Park ... with its surly waitresses and thick prime rib. Starving and poor, I could only afford the halibut, called "poor-man's lobster." I ended with Indian pudding. Delicious! Wheaton was diminished.

I just checked Durgin Park's menu on-line. It no longer offers Indian pudding.

The Chameleon

Donald Trump is shifting his colors on abortion, taxes, education and medical care. It had been long suspected that Trump was not a down-the-line Republican but more of a conservative Democrat. He is now openly for single-payer health care, higher taxes, Planned Parenthood, etc. ... a lot like Hellery Clinton. But he is against open borders, unfettered free trade, Muslim immigration, gun control, the U.S. carrying NATO, etc. ... a lot unlike Hellery. In fact, Trump positions on many things seem to wax and wane like the cycles of the moon ... see: MSNBC Story for more of his vacillations.

How then is Trump's popularity among Republicans explained? It seems that his populist positions that are supportive of the things that most grate on conservatives are the propellers of his high polling and primary results. If he can avoid the media gauntlet and establishment pitfalls over the next eight months and is elected as our next president, then his other less conservative positions may move more into focus.

So it's beginning to look more and more like this November the American people, if the choice is between the Democrat Trump and the Democrat Hellery, will elect a Democrat to the White House ... unless, of course, Bernie Sanders prevails.

Afterthought: It is also suspected that Cruz and Kasich are members of the family chamaeleonidae.

A Flat World

This AM on CNBC there was a discussion on the outlook for housing prices in which the term "better neighborhood" was used. This caught my attention because such a designation still persists in our nation that seems in a headlong race toward an egalitarian society. If Bernie Sanders has his way a "better neighborhood" would be outlawed in concept if not in fact. Why should one group of citizens be permitted such an advantage over another? Are we not all equal in God's eyes? So why should some have better homes or better roads or better parks or even better schools?

No! This is not permitted! We all must live in a constructed paradise like Havana, Cuba ... where no one has a cultural or environmental advantage over  his neighbor. No one will live in higher ground. We will level all the topologies until everyone lives at the same elevation ... a flat world. And the climate will be the same for everyone. If it rains somewhere, it must rain everywhere. All residents need to enjoy the same clime, the same temperature, the same intensity of sunshine, even the same number of hours of daylight. If some people live on the shoreline, then everyone who so wants must live by the ocean. If some residents want beautiful views, then everyone must have beautiful vistas. Earthquakes, typhoons, floods, volcanoes ... even meteor strikes are no longer permitted.

The government under The Bern will insure that the climate, the economy, the topology, the flora, the fauna, the medical care, the entertainment, the abodes, the diets, the bank accounts, the employment, the apparel, the education, everything that citizens experience must be flat or equal ... except for Bernie and his flat head friends, that is.

A Different Finger

While researching my previous blog,  One Finger Salute, I came across a different kind of one finger salute that President Obummer surreptitiously gave to the assembled African Muslim leaders at a U.S.-African Leaders conference last August in Washington, D.C. This stylized hand-sign, used by Muslims around the world, is called the shahada and is a show of solidarity and an affirmation of Allah being the one true God ... see: The American Thinker Revelation for a more complete description of how this sign is made and what it means to other Muslims.

If one questions how Obummer would know this symbolism, don't forget that he admittedly spent almost four formative years in Muslim Indonesia with his mother and step-father ... wherein he attended a madrassa school being taught the way of Islam.

One Finger Salute

I have previously predicted that President Obummer would do many things in his last year in office to show his disdain for the American people ... see: Hell Year and Skulduggery. Now we see yet another of his one-finger salutes ... coming on the heels of the San Bernardino, Paris and Brussels Islamic terrorist attacks ... and defying the obvious concerns of his citizenry. Obummer is re-pledging to admit 100,000 Syrian immigrants to the U.S. this year ... not in 2017 as he originally dictated ... posing an obvious threat and economic burden to the communities wherein they are to be settled ... see: Washington Examiner Story.

Me thinks that the more criticism that Obummer gets, the more punishment he intends to inflict on us. Maybe we should try a different tactic and distract him for another ten months with oodles of paeans, encourage him to play more golf, and have him teach economics at Columbia ... he is obviously well qualified ... see: Real Clear Politics.

Oh, the Irony!

The organizers of the "March against Fear," in response to last week's Islamic terrorists' bombings, which was scheduled for tomorrow in Brussels, have canceled this event due to security fears ... see: Yahoo News Story.

Dichotomy

There is an unnerving dichotomy within the Muslim faith. The radicalized elements therein seem to have no fear of death as a consequence of their fervent actions ... whereas the Muslim proletariat seem quite frightened of being killed if they speak out against the jihadis. Why is there this consequential divergence? Is this the flaw in the DNA of Islam?

reddit Gallery CCCLVIII

Another excursion into the world of reddit Pictures. See: reddit Pics for sources.  Do yourself a favor and click on pictures to enlarge them.  Enjoy!

Yum Yum

Aspen Forest

Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

Nut Opal

Rare 'Ili Pika rabbit

The "C" Words

Chelsea Clinton complains about the "crushing costs" of Obabacare ... see: Weekly Standard Article.

Strong Coffee

Sleepyheads, if you wish to be jolted awake about the threat that Islam (not just Islamic jihad) poses for the future of civilization, then read the following essay by one of my favorite bloggers, W. Lewis Amselem (the Diplomad). In this frank and studied blast at this "religion of Peace" Amselem disassembles a lot of the myth and misinformation that we are being fed by those unwilling or unable to see the naked threat that our world is facing  ... see: Dealing with the Islamic Threat. This is pretty powerful stuff ... so be forewarned.

And now I have one more reason not to vote for that Islamophile, Ms. Clinton.

Justice Blinked

The Department of Justice blinked in its attempt to force Apple to open up the IPhone of the San Bernardino terrorist, Sayed Farook. The FBI now says that it has found a third party (NSA?) to open up this possible source of further intelligence and doesn't need the court to force Apple to comply ... see: Politico Story. This all sounds very fishy and halfway supports Apple's position that this FBI request was a red herring really meant to open up the IPhone to generic government access (not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that.)

This FBI vs. Apple issue is all about personal privacy. American people want to believe that our Constitution guarantees them an inviolate cocoon of privacy that our government cannot pierce no matter what national security issues involved. Clearly this may not be the case. However, in a related development, Edward Snowden, our traitor hero,  avers that the federal government is not the only risk to our personal security. He says that large technology companies such as Microsoft are equally guilty of the invasive collection of our personal information ... far more than we suspect ... see: Sputnik News Story. I agree with the rat-fink Snowden and would add at least Google, Apple and Facebook to his named snoop.

If you think that Big Brother government is the only risk to your little secrets, you are just another babe in the woods.

Our $10 Trillion Indulgence

Meanwhile in Argentina

In 2008, Obummer pledged that he was going to fundamentally change America ... and he has fulfilled his promise. Our bad ... he never said that this change would be for the better.

Pour example: Infowars Revelation.

Thought of the Day

Generally one of the premier jobs in the Islamic terrorist network ... because you are so indispensable you can't be used as a suicide bomber .. .is the bomb maker himself! (As it now turns out, this seems not to have been the case in Brussels ... maybe indicative of the stupidity of this particular cell of bad guys. But, if this turns out to be an error, it highlights the haplessness of the Belgian intelligence authorities.)

Afterward: For more interesting details about the actual explosives used see: New York Times Article.

reddit Gallery CCCLVII -- NSFW

Not Suitable for Work.  Another excursion into the world of reddit Pictures. See: reddit Pics for sources.  Do yourself a favor and click on pictures to enlarge them.  Enjoy!'

Reducto ad Absurdum

Red

Life Imitating Art

Wheat Field

Half Moon

First Husband

Something is happening with our possible first husband, Bill Clinton. First he was a mouth breathing zombie at a recent Arizona rally for his wife ... acting like he is a candidate for the old person's home ... see: Daily Wire Video. Then he found a way of trashing President Obummer in a Washington state speech on Monday ... the very person whose legacy his wife, Hellery, is supposed to continue if she is elected ... see: American MirrIor Video. This can't be good. More and more people are worried that Slick Willy is loosing his mojo.

The world has idolized this man as a great politician, charismatic speaker and a strategic thinker. He is still revered by much of American for the legacy from his eight years in the White House. What is happening to him? Is he still an asset to his wife's candidacy ... or should he be put out to stud? Oops, I forgot ... he's been doing this very thing for the last 16 years.

TPP

Free trade is a tricky issue ... like most government policies, it is cloaked in demagoguery. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has become a political football in the current presidential campaign ... mostly engendering scorn from the right and from the left. Obviously, the tight secrecy under which it was constructed is part of the suspicion it invokes. But a classmate of mine, Mort Kondracke,  has written, along with the Dean of the Tuck School of Business, a thoughtful progressive piece on this proposed Eastern trade pact that is worth a read. Since accessing Wall Street Journal articles is tricky, this op-ed is reproduced in Dartblog ... see: Dartblog Repost.

My only addition to this discussion is as follows -- trade protectionism in the form of the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff act of 1930 has been blamed for causing the world's great economic depression of the 1930s. If this be the case, why have not the current equally onerous trade barriers erected by China, the world's second largest economy, also led to a similar depression?

His Prose Voice

Sometimes, no matter what your political persuasion, it is enjoyable to read something written by someone who has found his prose voice. Such is the case with a former U.S. diplomat, W. Lewis Amselem (aka, the Diplomad), who has blogged a piece on the current political paroxysms in the United States. I highly recommend that you take a few minutes out to read this thoughtful treatise ... see: Thinking Aloud about Conservatism. (Some of the comments ain't bad either.)

Cuba No, Yankee Si

President Obummer travels to Cuba Sunday to prostrate himself in front of this decrepit monument to Communism. He, of course, has taken this opportunity in his last months in office to try to burnish his tarnished legacy by emulating Nixon's opening to China. This bit of capitulation would make some sense if there was any indication that the Castro brothers were inclined to relax their iron grip on this island nation. Unfortunately this seems not the case. Even Obummer's meeting with dissidents while there seems to be a staged production with very little chance that he will encounter the genuine articles ... see: L. A. Times Story.

In his last debate appearance in Miami, Marco Rubio excoriated Obummer for this Cuban trip saying:

Nothing will change for the Cuban people … In fact things are worse, than they were before this opening. The only result of “the opening” was that the Cuban government had more sources of money.

See: The Guardian Story for more details.

Lastly, do not be surprised if Obummer, while groveling in Havana, does not cave in on our relinquishing of the U.S. Guantanamo Bay naval base ... much like the then-President Jimmy Carter caved on returning the U.S. Canal Zone to Panama. This of course would force Congress to allow his clearing this prison of Islamist combatants ... which would be another sour taste of Obummer's egotistical rule.

Afterward: See: USA Today Story.

reddit Gallery CCCLVI

Another excursion into the world of reddit Pictures. See: reddit Pics for sources.  Do yourself a favor and click on pictures to enlarge them.  Enjoy!'

I am Me

New York after Dark

Banded Kingfishers

Shiver Me Timbers

Stone House in Portugal

We Were Warned

When our vote-seeking Democrat politicians were pushing for a $15 per hour minimum wage, economists warned that this would speed up the elimination of entry-level jobs ... say in fast-food restaurants ... or burger-flippers as the are derisively known. Now we see that this is beginning to happen. If the CEO of Carl's Jr., Andy Puzder, has his way. all employees at his burger joints will disappear ... to be replaced by automated kiosks and robots ... see: Business Insider Interview.

Yes, these out-of-work millennials might still vote Democrat to keep getting their unemployment benefits and welfare, but who is going to pay for these benefits? You see, robots and kiosks don't pay taxes.

When will we ever learn?

Antidisestablishmentarianism

This strange long word involves a 19th century revolution against and in defense of the established religious order in England. And this is similar to what is happening in the United States today ... evidenced by the political campaigns of Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

These three anti-establishment candidates are clearly embraced because they represent a populist revulsion against how both political parties have been governing. This revulsion is also evidenced by the fact that both parties combined only have a 12% approval rating in Congress ... and by the Occupy Wall Street, Tea Party, and Black Lives Matter movements.

And the establishment members of both parties are fighting back. The Democrats have pretty much neutered Bernie Sanders with super delegates to its convention and with the voting patterns of mostly Southern minorities. So, Hellery Clinton, the establishment Democrat candidate, appears to have prevailed.

On the Republican side, in a desperate twist, Ted Cruz has suddenly become the establishment candidate..And Donald Trump seems well on his way to upsetting the establishment bloc in his party. However this bloc has not given up ... and are posing a number of different tactics to deny Trump its nomination ... including a possibly contested convention and/or a changing of the convention rules.

Moreover  this revolution is not a trivial uprising. Both Trump and Sanders have been drawing enormous crowds at their political rallies ... and their primary campaigns have won many wide and surprising victories. But both political establishments clearly do not want to hear the voice of the people ... and, I predict, will suffer as a consequence.

The upcoming presidential election, if Trump is the eventual nominee of the Republicans, will be a clear contest between the establishment and the non-establishment ... ergo, antidisestablishmentarianism ... and many anti-establishment Bernie Sanders fans may indeed vote for Trump!

For the Birds

Another of the Obummer administration's expensive green-energy projects seems destined for the scrap heap. It's a massive solar farm, the Ivanpah Project in the Mojave desert. I have previously written about this misguided monstrosity ... see: Son of Solyndra. Killing thousands of birds, blinding airline pilots, producing less than 3/4 of its promised electricity output, and at a cost six times that of a natural gas power plant, this bone-headed boondoggle will likely cost the American taxpayer another $1.6 billion dollars when it sinks below the desert sand ... all sacrificed on the altar of silly science ... see: Daily Caller Article.

This repetition of government due-diligence lassitude and fire-hose largess is yet another proof that leaving such efforts to the private sector makes eminent sense. When our government takes it upon itself to get in the business of business, it more times than not screws the pooch. Yes, the private sector makes bad investments too, but they learn from these miscues. Our government never seems to go to school on its continued screw-ups.

10 More Self-evident Truths

Last summer I posted a list of 10 self-evident truths .. see: 10 Self-evident Truths. Recently there has been a spate of references to this older post, therefore I think it may be time to update this list with 10 new ones:

- The Clinton Foundation mainly just holds belly-rubbing meetings

- Political pundits are almost always wrong

- Organic food is often just more expensive

- Gluten-free is popular because it gets rid of most farting

- The NFL is an extremely profitable non-profit entity

- Iran is secretly building atomic weaponry

- Al Sharpton won't pay his millions in back taxes

- The EPA is trying to bankrupt the American coal industry

- Most vitamin supplements are pissed away

- ICE does not "enforce" immigration laws

Sophia

Robots, such as Sophia developed at Hanson Robotics, have advanced to the point of realistic eerieness ... see: CNBC Video (sorry about the ad.) After you have watched and marveled at this video, imagine what these humanoids will be like in ten or twenty years ...

Leprechaun Day

It was destined to happen in our increasingly secular society. At my granddaughters' elementary school, they no longer celebrate St Patrick's Day. It is now called Leprechaun Day ...

Now isn't that special!

Afterward: Will Christmas now become Rudolph Day?

Insanity

"Insanity is repeating the same task over and over again and expecting different results." -- Albert Einstein

John Boehner believes that, if the Republicans have a deadlocked convention in July, they should pick Paul Ryan as their presidential standard bearer ... see: Politico Story. This is a perfect illustration of how out-of-touch the Republican establishment is ... for, to me, it was clear that Mitt Romney's picking of Paul Ryan as his running mate was the reason that Obummer won re-election in 2012.

World Opinion

In my blog post, The Morning After, I mentioned how world leaders (and the U.S. national media) are dismayed at the growing possibility of a Donald Trump presidency. The world is perplexed and perturbed ... not appreciating how the American people might elect such a clown and a con-man to lead the free world in this time of growing crisis. However, it could be argued that the decisions these very same international pundits had made were, in fact, mainly causative of this same world-wide crisis.

To draw an important contrast ... wasn't it the naive opinions of these same world leaders eight years ago ... surmising that America's current president would be the solution to all our problems ... even to the point of giving him premature kudos and a Nobel Peace Prize? These international poobahs might be right this time in exhibiting such dyspepsia ... but experience suggests not.

Let Them Eat Cake

Many years ago a now-deceased friend attended an exhibit of French pre-revolution women's finery. His takeaway was that it was clear that the plutocrats in France had gone over the top with their female adornments -- jewel-bedecked, silk-creweled masterpieces that must have cost a king's ransom -- dresses that were obscene when contrasted with what was being worn by the then-French peasants.  Thus this clothing differential was a clear predictor of the bloodshed that was about to erupt ... costing the heads of many of the women who had previously worn these opulent gowns.

Why do I bring this up? Because, although we have not yer reached this level of dramatic clothing differential here in the United States, we seem well on our way. President Obummer's daughters, Sasha and Malia, each just wore almost $20,000 designer gowns to a recent state dinner at the White House in a dazzling display of conspicuous consumption ... see: Yahoo News Article. Such excesses must rankle many families in the declining middle class in this country ... whose discretionary annual income could not buy even one of  these two gowns. I wonder what Bernie Sanders thinks about such inequalities? Or perhaps he too secretly longs for this life ...

What's that quote about people who ignore history?

I Spy NOT

I have in the past criticized the current CIA Director, John Brennan, as being an ineffective Obummer toady ... see: Head(s) Should Roll, It's My CIA Now and Acolytes. But now his warts are on full display with his recent comments in an NPR interview that our nation should not be engaged in spying ... see: Powerline Blog. Our spy agency should not be engaged in spying? What a complete boob!

This mismatch between talent and position is a lot like a community organizer becoming president of the United States ...

The Trump Way

Watching Donald Trump in action over the last nine months has been very educational as to how he has and is succeeding. And it is obvious that Trump is a very talented verbal pugilist. He has a very effective way of dealing with questions and debate issues. (Notice I didn't say "good," just effective.) He continually pulls from the following remarkable repertoire of rhetorical trump cards ... see if you don't agree:

Taking both sides - often Trump will deny an accusation and then within two or three sentences pretty much verify it.

Eliding -- Trump quite often will not finish a sentence ... leading the listener up to an expected word or phrase, but never actually saying it ... preserving his deny-ability.

Talking over others -- If an opponent is starting to score a point, Trump will often talk so loud as to drown out his opposition.

Eliciting sympathy -- This to me is a surprising side to Trumps rhetoric ... and one he may have learned from the Clintons. He often tries to elicit sympathy by accusing opponents of unfair charges.

Denial -- Trump seems to have no compunctions to deny things that have repeatedly been seen on video clips ... and, for some strange reason, he seems to get away with it.

Insults -- I won't repeat Trump's many demeaning and puerile slights of his adversaries ... but everyone has seen and heard them ... and they do seem to cower his opponents.

Repeated themes -- The Donald repeats certain themes ad nauseam ... "We'll build a beautiful wall," "Our administration people are dumb negotiators," etc. ... and he accuses Rubio of repeating himself.

Playing on emotions -- Trump often uses apocryphal stories to tug on the emotions of his listeners.

Bluster -- Trump shouts down his opponents, waves his arms around, and tries to intimidate his debate foes or news anchors.

Changing the subject -- Very often, when Trump's rhetoric is dead-ended, he will change the subject ... like when talking about violence at his rallies, he will launch into praising the police.

Demagoguery -- Call it lying if you wish, but Trump very often stretches the truth past what anyone who was truly listening would accept.

Lacking in details -- Donald Trump usually talks in generalities ... avoiding specifics to which he might be held.

Braggadocios -- "I went to the best schools," "I am very smart," etc.

Refusing to answer -- Sometimes Trump will refuse to answer a request for specifics like "who are your foreign policy advisers?" Often over and over.

Mugging -- When opponents are pressing, Trump will often start Mussolini-mugging for the camera  to show his contempt or disagreement.


Trump has clearly learned these rhetorical tricks and street smarts (or, better, force of personality) in his years of dealing with tough (but dumb) Manhattan pols and labor bosses. Then they have been refined during his stints on reality TV ... all perfect training for this political arena.

President's Report Card

Yes, here comes another list. Since Obummer is on his way out the door, it seems time to grade his performance as president. I realize that most liberals might disagree, but I am trying to be fair:

Economic Growth                    D

Employment Growth                C

Personal Income Growth          F

Tax Reform                                 F

Entitlement Reform                   F    

Regulation Reform                    F

National Security                      D

Rhetoric                                       A

Immigration Control                  F

Military Readiness                     D

Environmental Gains                  C

Terrorism Pushback                    D

International Relations                F

Race Relations                              F

Education Improvement              D

Infrastructure Rebuild.                 D

Trade Relations                            F

Debt Reduction                            F

Golf Game                                      B

March Madness Brackets             C

reddit Gallery CCCLV

Another excursion into the world of reddit Pictures. See: reddit Pics for sources.  Do yourself a favor and click on pictures to enlarge them.  Enjoy!'

New vs. Old China

1936 Mercury Train

99 Million Year Old Lizard in Amber

Tuscon Mountain on Fire

Blue Lava Ethiopian Vocano

The Morning After

Donald Trump seems well on his way to winning the Republican nomination for president. If he can carry Ohio or Florida or both this coming Tuesday, it may well be a fait accompli. Yes, he supposedly is behind Hellery in the one-on-one presidential polling, but there are a number of feasibilities that might upset these predictions ... Hellery might be indicted ... it is certainly possible that Bernie Sander's supporters might stay home in the general election to protest his unfair loss of the nomination ... clearly Trump is garnering many of the Reagan Democrat votes in his primary contests ... and Trump, unlike Mitt Romney,  certainly is winning the enthusiasm game with many current Republicans.

So my conclusion unfortunately is that Donald Trump may well be our next president. Then what? I can envision a very difficult four years listening to someone whose personality grates on me almost as much as Obummer's. If the majority of Trump's current supporters wake up with an equivalent election hangover, then we might have a tough morning after. The degree of this disaffection will depend on Trump's governance. I do believe that he will start out on fire. The "beautiful" Mexican wall will be built. TPP will be renegotiated. A hold will be placed on Syrian immigration. Sanctions will be placed back on Iran (probably unilaterally).  Our military will start to be rebuilt.

But reality will also start to creep in. Trump's liberal core will start to show through his Tea Party patina. His Supreme Court pick will probably not thrill his conservative voters. He may have a very tough time with the old Republican guard in Congress reforming taxes, entitlements and regulations. Many countries around the world are already appalled with the possibility of a Trump presidency. I doubt if all the king's horses and all the king's men will be able to put this egg back together. And his abrasive personality will constantly incite the American media, so that they will take daily pot shots at him ... eventually making important reforms almost impossible.  ... as well as stirring up serious class and race warfare.

I do think Donald Trump, as President, has an outside shot at becoming a cheap copy of  Ronald Reagan. but I am not betting a lot of money on it. I'm already stocking up on ice packs and Alka Seltzer.