Conservatism, Inc. is crumbling

Starting after the 2010 mid-terms, there was a growing, angry group of people on the Right that began to abandon conventional conservatism because they perceived that the big personalities of the Right didn’t actually want to accomplish Right-Wing results; they just wanted to sell books, cruises, and do fundraisers. In other words, Conservatism, Inc. This group of people grew larger and larger, eventually rejecting “establishment Republicans”, and forming the core of voters that elected Donald Trump to the White House. Since Trump’s nomination (and victory) those people have seen a steady stream of examples that their suspicions were correct: it was all just a bunch of hucksters that wanted your money, and when the chips were down, they’re not really that conservative at all. National Review’s Against Trump… Continue reading

Bob Corker– “fake news”

I am on the distribution for Senator Corker’s e-mail newsletter.   This Tuesday, his newsletter included the item below, which I am copying in its entirety, since it is just a short piece out of the longer message. I thought it was interesting to see Senator Corker react after he had received shabby treatment by the Lamestream Media. In an interview with host Brian Kilmeade on “Fox & Friends”, Senator Corker pushed back against false reports about why he supported tax reform. Corker is not a member of the tax-writing committee and had no involvement in crafting the legislation. He requested no specific tax provisions throughout the months-long debate and had no knowledge of the pass-through provision in question. Corker said he supported the legislation because our country will… Continue reading

Town Hall Meeting in the Village of the Darned – Wednesday 730pm EST

It’s that time of the week again, when we connect for another town hall meeting in the Village of the Darned.  We will try to start off @ 730PM unless BDB posts an earlier time. Jam a topic in the comments below and let people read up if you like. If the software tells you that you’re the only caller, don’t you believe it!  Press on with the access code and you’ll probably find us in there! US: 515-604-9908 Access Code: [see chat in “BDB Chat” tab above] Select International Local Dial-in Numbers Japan +81 3-5050-5104 Switzerland +41 43 550 70 62 United Kingdom +44 330 998 1256 If you need a different number (calling from Uzbekistan, say), let us know in the BDB Chat.

Christians in Israel

I saw a couple of recent stories about Christians in the Holy Land. There was this article about Bethlehem: http://religionnews.com/2017/12/19/in-christs-birthplace-olive-wood-artisans-carry-on-a-holy-land-tradition/ Here are my favorite media critics looking at that article: https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/struggling-to-keep-olive-wood-traditions-alive-in-bethlehem This article covers the Christian exodus from the West Bank, as seen from the point of view of the Christian hog butcher of Beit Jala: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/1.830920 I thought they made for interesting Christmas reading. Trump made his announcement about Jerusalem in response to the shenanigans at the United Nations; I do not think he intended it to be connected in any way with either Hanukkah or Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to all the noble folk who reside here. An update from south of PDX on Christmas morning.    The lit tree is a dwarf Obtusa Cypress; he’s the linch pin of the pond.   A bit of frost here in what is known locally as the Banana Belt, twenty miles south of Portland:

Dollars and Dimes

Our friends at RatBurger have a post up with an utterly captivating video clip from the wayback machine — former Presidents Reagan and Ford, and Her Majesty her own self, discussing commonsense economics.

It is nearly tear-inducing to see these astounding human beings discussing the search for a cup of decaf coffee and the fate of nations as such astoundingly human creatures.  We broke the Soviet Union and freed a billion people.  Gotta have decaf or my heart will trip offline.

Please do see this touching post over at our friend’s site.  You’ll be glad you did.

House Burned Down? Too Bad.

MLH commented on MJBubba‘s excellent post about the UN and Israel that there was a great treatment of the news over on the American Spectator, and boy was she right!  This is a great read; a welcome approach to a gulp of fresh air — at last! — from an American government committed first and finally to the American people. Trump and Haley warned the anti-American crowd that we would not be lectured to on morality by the likes of Bolivia and Belarus, and that some of those countries are the recipients of American foreign aid — a spigot he would happily cut off if they followed through on their threats of condemnation. “They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote… Continue reading

A New Hope

This drew my attention and brought back the America versus true conservative nonsense from the past on some other site. http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/21/trumps-interior-sec-is-breaking-us-dependence-on-china-for-rare-minerals/ Ah, the arguments of  the need to maintain manufacturing and resources as a nation versus the free trade unicorns… A superpower needs to be capable of making anything it needs to survive and thrive or it either becomes a tyrant empire or a colony of the next superpower. There are some things a national government should do, and one is maintain capacity for making war and sustaining power. When we allow fabrication assets to be shut down by material manipulation and sold to strategic competitors at cents on the dollar, I find the free trade mantra to ring quite hollow. When we create resource scarcity by lawfare… Continue reading

Town Hall Meeting in the Village of the Darned – Wednesday 730pm EST

It’s that time of the week again, when we connect for another town hall meeting in the Village of the Darned.  We will try to start off @ 730PM unless BDB posts an earlier time. Jam a topic in the comments below and let people read up if you like. If the software tells you that you’re the only caller, don’t you believe it!  Press on with the access code and you’ll probably find us in there! US: 515-604-9908 Access Code: [see chat in “BDB Chat” tab above] Select International Local Dial-in Numbers Japan +81 3-5050-5104 Switzerland +41 43 550 70 62 United Kingdom +44 330 998 1256 If you need a different number (calling from Uzbekistan, say), let us know in the BDB Chat.

The Main Street Economy

The year is ending in a big flurry of economic activity, the main street kind. The learned elites sense it from retail sales, but there is more tangible stuff going on. I just helped a client buy a new commercial van. The dealers are selling out of inventory and are scrambling as businesses rush to replace aging fleets. I had to give an order to a dealer across a mountain range to get the model   needed, as all others were sold out. Housing and commercial extension  new construction is hitting a pace not seen in decades. Wages are rising for skilled labor. The halfway house for felons are having no trouble finding jobs these days. All they have to do is show up sober and work is… Continue reading