Back Off, Big Government

It has been rather an entertaining stretch of hysteria, the media's reaction to "Brexit," Great Britain's assertion of--gasp!--its own sovereignty. I can't imagine what's so shocking about it, but then again I'm one of the troglodytes who actually believe people should have a say in how their country is run.

Photo from GMX

Think about it. Everyday people--not just Americans or Brits, but everyone in all Western "democracies"--are supposed to listen to the self-appointed "elites" in charge of running--or should I say, ruining--our lives, our careers, our economy, and our government. It gets tiring, following all those orders handed down from on high, does it not? "Follow these regulations...use this light bulb...buy this trash container...drive this car." Or better yet, pack yourselves onto a bus or a train, while we, your worthy betters, get chauffeured around in SUVs with bullet-proof windows.

Is it so surprising that at least one country has stood up and said "Stuff it!" to the insufferable powers that be?

The most laughable canard that's been peddled ceaselessly is that the "older, less educated" British voters wanted to leave, while the "younger, better educated" demographic wanted to remain. Of course. Just look at those old codgers in the photo, celebrating the results of the Brexit vote. And where, oh where, are all their blue collars?

I think Brexit is just one more symptom of the sickness of our time. Too much government interference by too many bureaucrats in too many corners of people's lives has finally resulted in a gigantic slap-down. Hooray. I hope the reaction is contagious and reaches American shores soon. Brexit could be the start of a very healthy trend.

The Lasting Impact of Dad

I'm still trying to imitate Dad and still falling short.
~ Happy Father's Day ~

Questions after Orlando

"President Obama, who has spent his presidency yearning for the reality he wants rather than the one he has, once again downplayed any suggestion that this was another battle in the war on Islamic terror he does not want to fight."

~ Jonah Goldberg, NRO

Where do you begin to try making sense of the increasingly delusional responses to the radical Islamist terror attack in Orlando? 

Do you start with the media and elites who quickly flip to supposed bigotry against homosexuality?

Do you blame guns and scream for gun control?

Do you cite the twisted references to those Christians stirring up hatred again?

Do you talk about a possibly gay Islamic man so full of self-loathing that he commits this atrocity?

Do you pivot to presidential elecction polling numbers?

Do you blame it on America, because everything is our fault, after all is said and done? 

Or do you start with reality? Yes, I'd like to start there, thank you. It goes like this: A radicalized Islamist cold-blooded killer slaughters 49 of our fellow Americans and wounds 53 more. It's the most devastating terrorist attack on American soil since the radical Islamist terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center almost fifteen years ago. That's where the conversation should be.

Raw evil. Look at it. It's ugly but simple. Evil. A radical Islamist murderer. Nothing else to be said.

Do you think maybe we could keep our eye on that ball for oh, maybe 24 hours before veering off into completely irrelevant political agendas?

What about the victims?

What about the families?

What about compassion, and giving a damn about people, and leaving your personal opinions out of the carnage for a respectable period of time?

What about recognizing the truth of what is happening before our eyes, around our country and across the world? What about doing something to stop it?

That's it. That's where you begin.

D-Day Remembered

Victor Davis Hanson refects on D-Day, on this 72nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of the beaches at Normandy. There is so much to remember and appreciate of what those soldiers did for us. So many of them gave up their lives so that we could live ours.

From the Semper Fi Parents Collection