Hope Springs Eternal

"Just looking at the positive side and not dwelling on the downside. Takes up too much energy being negative."

Betty White, January 2021

Hope springs eternal in the human breast. ~ Alexander Pope

A Carol for Peace

One of my favorite Christmas carols is "Do You Hear What I Hear?" I first heard it as a teenager. While I knew it was a modern addition to the classical favorites of the season, it is only in recent years that I learned it was composed during the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962.

The dramatic historical moment associated with this song may explain my partiality to it. Although I was a child at the time of the missile crisis, I have never since (even today) felt such anxiety about what the future might hold. During the frightening fortnight of that crisis, I had a nightmare about nuclear war that still lives vividly in my memory.

"Do You Hear What I Hear?," with its message of the good news of Christ's birth spreading far and wide, seems to me a hopeful prayer for peace more than a Christmas carol. But it works beautifully as both. Wishing you a Merry Christmas--and peace in 2022.

 

A Fact of Life

In California, we're back in masks as of December 15. This is nothing more than our dictatorial governor grasping onto his Covid-bestowed power as it inevitably fades away. Nobody I know worries about Covid these days. It's old news.

People are mostly compliant with the ridiculous reimposed rule, but there is an entirely different feel to the general attitude of the population. It's like everyone is offering a psychological eye-roll; okay, we'll wear the useless thing for another month or so, but it's an exercise in futility. There's no rigid enforcement of the mandate anywhere that I can see. In the office, the grocery store, and the mall, all is calm, all is bright. 

After nearly two years of pandemic, most people have accepted the fact that Covid is here to stay, much like the common cold and the annual flu. We've got a handle on this now. We know to wash our hands, stay home if we or those we are planning to see are not feeling well, social distance if it makes people comfortable. In short, use our God-given common sense. Beyond that, well, let's deal with it. Covid is a new and permanent fact of life.

Hiding in the house until I die of something else besides Covid is not in my game plan. I heard today that in the Netherlands, people are being warned not to hug their grandchildren on Christmas for fear of spreading Covid. Are the Dutch snuggle police going to come for them if they venture a hug? No wonder Western civilization is collapsing.

Covid may be an inescapable reality, but hugging grandchildren is a more important one. I'll gladly risk the former to enjoy the latter. That's a fact.

A Green Shoot of Hope

When I returned from my Thanksgiving holiday travels, I scheduled a pickup from my usual ride share service. My tall, young, athletic-looking driver was polite and affable, and we exchanged the usual pleasantries on the way out of the airport.

I mentioned how the rise in gasoline prices must be affecting his costs. With that one comment, he launched into an animated description of how much better things were in the country before Biden became president. Since I, too, live in the real world, I could only agree. As he expounded on his theme, the startling truth came out: my driver was an on-fire Donald Trump supporter and had voted for him twice, in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Oh, did I mention that this particular driver was African-American? How careless of me. Yes, since race is the priority topic these days, it must somehow be very important that he was Black (although not to me). I'm your basic Caucasian boomer-age grandmother--could you get two more opposite demographic examples? Yet we were in perfect agreement on such topics as the 2020 election, the Covid mandates, the wreck of our economy, the assault on small businesses, and the superiority of Trump's presidency over the slow-rolling catastrophe we are currently mired in. Who would have thought that, in today's divisive climate, two such different ethnic and cultural personalities could agree so completely?

Well, I believe Americans would have thought so. Not the elites in power, not the ruling class that lords it over us, not the legacy media that lies to us daily with smug confidence that we are too stupid to realize the destruction that is deconstructing the United States. Real, everyday, hardworking Americans of all races, religions, backgrounds, and creeds who are living out our national nightmare on a daily basis will not be surprised that minority voters supported Donald Trump. America is the land of e pluribus unum--the many become one. Chance encounters and conversations like the one I enjoyed on the way home after Thanksgiving are what confirm our national unity--our oneness. Despite the constant harangues from our supposed betters about division, we understand that we are all Americans.

The half-hour trip home flew by as I listened, answered, and affirmed the thoughtful pronouncements of my driver. It was an invigorating discussion. The experience was what these days I call a green shoot of hope; it was a reminder that I am not alone in my longing for the unity and greatness of America to return. It was also a reminder that Americans, as a whole, are a strong and good people. As the joyful season of Christmas unfolds, I refuse to believe we will allow the darkness to overcome us.

American Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving, 2021

A Derailed Messenger

Speaking as a Catholic, I can't take Pope Francis seriously. His globalist-leaning behavior is far too politically motivated. I think he is dangerously off the rails as pontiff and is steering Catholicism down the wrong track.

He refuses to denounce Biden's support of abortion or to deny him Communion because of it. Yet any Catholic woman who undergoes an abortion is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church, unable to receive Communion. Evidently it's Biden's choice that is acceptable to the pope, not the unfortunate pregnant woman's choice. That's secular hypocrisy worthy of America's legacy media machine.

Climate change is a hot topic for Francis, no pun intended. He's now preaching to young people to protect the environment. Excuse me, but how does this fit in with the Great Commission? Jesus Christ left a clear directive that his disciples were to teach his message--love God and neighbor--and to baptize them. That's it. He makes no discernable mention of the weather.

Furthermore, there's a story in both Matthew's and Mark's gospels that Jesus actually killed a tree. For the self-appointed environmental pope, how awkward is that?

Plan A, B, or C

I've become addicted to Victor Davis Hanson's podcasts. Today I listened to "Scandalous" on The Traditionalist. As always, he covers many topics. Towards the end, he addresses the chaotic shambles that is the Biden administration.

Hanson contends that, during Biden's first ten months in office, every appointed government department head's job has been to undermine that particular aspect of American life. The Energy department destroys the domestic gas, oil, and nuclear power industries while the secretary laughs out loud at high gas prices. Transportation's secretary promises continuing supply chain disruptions "as long as the pandemic continues," claiming that child care issues (of all things) are a "root problem." Homeland Security has erased the southern border and allowed untested, Covid-infected illegal aliens to stream into the country and has settled them in various states far and wide. Justice has neutralized the rule of law and turned the FBI loose on concerned school parents fighting for their children against mask mandates and the teaching of CRT. As for Defense, Americans don't need to be reminded of what they did (nothing) for Afghanistan and by indoctrinating our troops with CRT.

Hanson offers three theories that he believes Americans are pondering to make sense of this wanton destructiveness. First, it could be caused by sheer incompetence. Second, it is a carefully crafted plan to create so much chaos that the Federal government will have to step in and assumed control over all aspects of daily life. Lastly, it could be similar to an alternate universe scenario; the Biden administration truly believes this is all good. Higher gas prices, supply chain crisis, inflation, crime, open borders--yes, it's all good for the country.

Sign me up for the second option. I think this is a deliberate effort by the Federal government to provoke a societal collapse. Events are moving quickly, and worsening steadily, because Democrats know they will lose across the nation at every level of the mid-term elections next November. They need the crisis of collapse now. Considering the pain and suffering of hard-working American citizens resulting from their intentionally induced chaos, Democrats won't get another opportunity for quite a long time.

For Our Veterans

We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to do violence on those who would harm us ~ Author in dispute

For the Marines

Hauling a Heavy Load

If you want to understand the causes and effects of the ongoing supply chain crisis, read Ryan Johnson's article: I’m A Twenty Year Truck Driver, I Will Tell You Why America’s “Shipping Crisis” Will Not End. 

Johnson's article is well worth reading for information and education about the processes involved in and the current obstacles facing our transportation industries. The functionality of our supply chain is a complex succession of interlocking steps that, as we are noticing in stores across the country, cause quite a cave-in when one step is missing or lacking in efficiency.

The ruling elites who create our crises don't need to worry about their impact. These self-appointed superiors travel to climate change conferences in private jets and gas-powered SUV motorcades, and they don't stand in line at the grocery store. It is the working American citizen who is left to pay the tab for terrible policies. Ryan Johnson's article tells us that we're in the supply chain nightmare for the long haul.

Homage to Voters

Here's to the parents who voted en masse

To change what their children are learning in class.

Here's to the families who shouted "No more!"

To taxes and crime, and mandates galore.

Here's to the people, making their stands 

To reclaim our country--built with our hearts and hands.

Random Questions

I'm just catching up on the week's headlines, and it's hard to know where to start digging in to the wealth of absurdities being covered in the media. Below are just some random thoughts I have over crazy current events.

1. Can Mayor Bill de Blasio really be a "Trekkie" if he doesn't know which main character wore the blue shirt?
2. If Alec Baldwin had hired a NRA gun safety instructor for his movie, do you think he would be in the news right now?
3. If the spending bills in Congress cost "zero dollars," why are the Democrats frantic to pass new taxes?
4. If American citizens are being fired from their jobs for not being vaccinated, why are unvaccinated illegal immigrants overrunning the US southern border with impunity?
5. If the vaccinated are afraid of the unvaccinated, is there much of a "vaccine" worth fighting about? 
6. Don't you agree that Queen Elizabeth, aged 95 and still working, is entitled to a few days of rest without all the panicked pearl-clutching?
7. Why is Joe Biden always either whispering or yelling at us?
8. And finally, well--IS the pope Catholic?

Fighting for Freedom

 

I wonder if King Biden has ever read the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights? Biden and his subservient minions are very busy dismantling whatever vestiges were left of our democratic republic. It would be nice if he had some knowledge of what is being destroyed, but I know that's a reach.

The First Amendment has already been trampled into dust. There is no freedom of speech tolerated in the kingdom of Biden. Any public speaker brave enough to diverge from approved Leftist talking points will be canceled and/or fired, the clear message being: Sit down and shut up; we know best. When the government closes churches and arrests congregants, free exercise of religion has become a quaint piece of history. A free press? Stop, you're being silly. And as for freedom to peacably assemble? Ask parents attending school board meetings to protest vaccine and mask mandates or curriculum about that one. Don't even mention petitioning the government for a redress of grievances; that's fast becoming a one-way street with Left turns only.

The bloated spending bills that Democrats want to force down our throats will include IRS surveillance of our personal bank accounts, with no warrant or probable cause necessary. So much for the Fourth Amendment. Welcome to the new American police state.

Yet in the Tenth Amendment, we learn that the Federal government has no right to issue sweeping nationwide mandates on vaccines or employment requirements. Decisions about masks, jobs, and most other issues in a citizen's life belong to each individual state--or "to the people." That's us. According to the Constitution, we get to decide how our daily lives will go. Not the government, not its agencies, not its self-appointed emperor.

I see a growing amount of pushback now from everyday people in many states against the government's tyrannical overreaches. That's a good thing, a green shoot of hope for our country's survival as the land of liberty. It seems that somewhere in our national DNA, the vast majority of Americans understand the need to be free. It's sad but not surprising that Biden doesn't get it.

Celebrate the Sailors

To US Navy Service Members ~ Click here & Celebrate Your Day

Thank You!

Getting Schooled

When a country falls to tyranny, it happens quickly.

That is what my late mother-in-law always said when she recalled her flight from Stalin's takeover of her homeland with only the clothes on her back. Over the decades, I had heard all her stories of the fear, despair and horror of experiencing the iron grip of Communism so suddenly squeezing the breath out of a nation. Helen spoke also of the wreckage of human life that followed a Communist takeover--longterm confinement in refugee camps, enduring hunger, total poverty, and ubiquitous death. It all seemed so foreign, so remote from life in the United States.

Not anymore.

Think about the authoritarian changes to our country in the past year and a half: sweeping, liberty-killing mandates imposed nationwide on citizens--but not on illegal immigrants; a wide-open southern border; organized destruction of law enforcement; employment termination due to a differing opinion; arbitrary Big Tech censorship in all of social media, to name but a few.

There was a green shoot of hope in parental resistance to the left-wing agenda in our schools. People were speaking out, objecting to the filth and lies being force-fed to their children. It was a bright spot in the chaos, a truly American moment.

We can't have that now, can we.

With absolutely no Constitutional authority to support him, so-called Attorney General Merrick Garland is unleashing the FBI on parents who "threaten" school boards and educators. Merely objecting to curriculum could be considered a "threat." This is a brazen violation of every parent and taxpayers' First Amendment rights to free speech. It is a blatant totalitarian move to squelch all dissent by parents and frighten them into silence so that the radical Left can continue to poison and indoctrinate America's children. It is a chilling step towards transforming the US in to a police state.

You thought it couldn't happen here? It is happening here. And, as I was warned by my mother-in-law, it's happening fast. What happens next, if America allows this tyranny to stand?

Let's think about the track record of Communist dictators throughout the last century. Start with the violence of the Russian Revolution, continue to the establishment of the Soviet Union and its ongoing rape of Eastern Europe throughout the 20th century. Think of Mao Zedong's Chinese Revolution and ensuing control. Remember the many decades of suffering in North Korea and Castro's Cuba. One hundred million people were slaughtered under Communist dictators within a 100-year period--an average of one million people killed per year. Quite an achievement, wouldn't you agree?

Aside from all who were murdered, millions more were imprisoned; misery and poverty abounded for those unfortunate people remaining behind. All these survivors ever wanted to do was escape their oppressive government.

I leave you with one question for homework. If the Left--the Communists, the Marxists, call them what you will but realize they are tyrants--have such a better idea for managing government, why does history prove that they always need to impose it by brutal force?

A Plan in Motion

The repeated claims that Joe Biden is "incompetent" are wearing thin. As president, Biden certainly is incompetent; but then, he was incompetent as a vice president and as a senator, also. There is much more to his "incompetence" than most Americans are willing to voice out loud.

Joe Biden is a front man for the hard left-wing forces in this country--in the media, academia, entertainment, business, military, and politics--that are itching to take us down and rebuild us in their image. In the Wuhan virus, they found their vehicle to seize control of our daily lives. Like any dedicated dictatorial lefties, they are not about to let go.

Immigration is only one example of the purposeful destruction of our country. Mask up those American school children, quarantine them, isolate them from their peers and limit their activities. Force workers to get vaccinations against their will and their Constitutional rights or lose their jobs. Do the same to our soldiers. Complete control of the citizenry is part of the plan.

But illegal aliens? Let them overrun the red states, unmasked, untested and unvaccinated. Relocate them, at taxpayers' expense, to strategically selected states. Let the illegals spread Covid freely and run up the Covid case numbers and hospitalizations in conservative states. Turning red states blue, along with collapsing their governmental infrastructure, is a very big part of the plan.

The Border Patrol agents are being trashed for doing their jobs. Nevermind that every single one of the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants crashing our southern borders is, by United States law and definition, a criminal. The demoralization and dismantling of law enforcement is also part of the plan.

There are numerous examples of the plan in motion aside from immigration. Afghanistan, voter laws, "tax the rich," climate change, critical race theory, cancel culture are all part of it. There is much more. For a full accounting of the ongoing Communist march upon our nation, read Mark Levin's American Marxism. A bestseller since its July release, the book is a chilling explanation of our current dire situation. But it's a book concerned Americans should read.

We need to understand that there is a plan in motion. We must understand precisely what that plan is. Most importantly, we need to know how to fight back. American Marxism shows us the way.

Truth Teller

Mark Steyn explains exactly how much trouble we're in. Every American concerned about what's happening in our country should read it--and become even more concerned.

A Hinge Moment of History

Fair Warning

As solemn and sad as it was to watch, I found a strange comfort in the television coverage marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. There were commemorative ceremonies at all three locations of the Islamist terrorist attacks.

Listening to the respectful recitation of thousands of victims' names at Ground Zero by loved ones, and hearing their heartfelt words of remembrance, I realize how fresh this horrific event remains in America's collective mind. The cherished memories of 9/11's thousands of victims ripple directly into many tens of thousands of lives--family members, loved ones, friends, neighbors, coworkers. These thousands in turn touch the many millions of Americans who still believe in our nation's founding values and principles and in our inherent strength and goodness. Watching the coverage offered a bright ray of hope in the midst of a dark and dangerous time in our national history.

Like biblical demons, the numbers of America's enemies both foreign and especially domestic are legion. But I think the numbers of loyal Americans who love our country are greater. More than they would ever give to us, I offer this fair warning to America's enemies:

We, the American people, will never forget 9/11. We will always remember our overwhelming loss and our unified strength in its wake. In our individual, quiet ways we will fight your efforts to destroy our nation. Count on it.

On this sacred day of vivid remembrance, I say this to our many enemies: You've got your work cut out for you. Watching my fellow Americans so sincerely commemorate the 20th anniversary of this tragic day fills me with a calming certainty.

You are going to lose.

 

New York City 9/11 Commemoration

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial - Washington DC

Flight 93 9/11 Memorial - Shanksville, PA

 

Not So Fast

Between the Supreme Court decision upholding the Texas Heartbeat Law and Hurricane Ida's devastating damages, the Biden White House and its synchophantic political guardians are eager to turn the page on the Afghanistan atrocity.

Nice try, but I don't think it's going to work.

The tragedy, horror, disgrace, and shame of the Afghanistan pullout won't go away. All across the country, Americans feel the weight of this national sorrow. Thanks to Biden, for the first time in our history we deliberately left Americans behind enemy lines. Thanks to him, we left friends of other nations who had stepped up to help us in honor of the NATO alliance--without even telling them we were leaving. Biden also left unimaginable quantities of valuable military equipment, paid for by us--the American taxpayers. Most soul-crushing of all is the sickening knowledge that due to Biden's terrible decisions, we needlessly lost thirteen of our best and bravest young American troopers. 

So go ahead, Joe. Talk about women's health and climate change all you want. Seize upon those evolving headlines, courtesy of your media guard dogs. But this isn't a campaign blip or just another news cycle. Stories will continue to come from Afghanistan about what is happening to our fellow citizens left behind and also to our Afghan friends. We may even learn the fate of your own Afghan interpreter who saved your life. He personally begged you to help him and his family, but you didn't help. Imagine how safe that makes the rest of us feel.

No, the Afghanistan story will dog you for a while, Joe. You betrayed the people of the United States, our courageous and dedicated warriors, our international allies, and our national security. Ignore it or not, Afghanistan is going to leave a mark. 

Looking Like America

Transfer of the 13 fallen service members at Dover AFB

I noticed something highly unusual today in the solemn ceremony of the transfer of the thirteen fallen service members. In our current diversity-obsessed culture, I wonder how many other Americans also noticed.

Every single one of those flag-draped caskets looked exactly the same. They were identical in every way. There was no indication of the race, color, creed, or gender of the courageous warrior within. There were no quotas, no percentages, no demands for "equity." For each of the thirteen there was an identical box, an American flag, an honor guard, a broken family, and a fallen hero. No more, no less--no difference. 

With constant gratitude to each and every active duty member of our military, and with unending thanks to all our veterans, I must say that looked like America to me.

One Father's Dream

You may recall in the long-ago days of this past spring, Andrew Gutmann pulled his daughter out of an expensive New York private school because of Critical Race Theory being part of the curriculum. He has gone on to start website, "Speak Up For Education," and to organize the Dream Coalition, a growing alliance of teachers, parents, activists, journalists, and many other concerned citizens who honor the legacy and goals of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. I'm grateful I grew up in a culture that strove to achieve those ideals outlined in his most famous speech. My children were raised and educated in the same values and principles. Today I'm a concerned grandmother worried about the poisonous atmosphere of identity politics infecting my grandchildren's innocence and corrupting their education.

Gutmann's letter to his Fellow Americans about the dream of a color-blind society is written with his usual eloquence and wisdom; it's as much worth reading as King's speech is. Andrew Gutmann is a father with the same dream today as Martin Luther King Jr. immortalized nearly sixty years ago.

In this fight for our nation's soul, reading the Dream Coalition letter and signing up with "Speak Up For Education" are valuable steps every American can take. I think Dr. King would agree.

Always Faithful

“There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy."

- Gen. W. Thornson

Methodical Madness

 Though this be madness, yet there is method in't’.

~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet II:2

With the horrifying collapse of Afghanistan, I think many Americans feel the need to reevaluate the conditions and intentions of our current executive branch of government. I often hear that Joe Biden is a front man who is not calling the shots, and maybe that's true. Many people contend that he's demented, confused, unaware of what's happening around him.

After the travesty that has unfolded over the past few days, I'm not so sure. This man is cold-blooded. Today he scornfully waved off the widespread panic and human carnage at the Kabul airport as having happened "four...five days ago." Don't go dredging up the past, man. This guy has moved on.

I find it strange that every international agreement President Trump had made needed to be broken except for the Afghanistan one. The halt to the remain in Mexico policy at our southern border, canceling the Keystone Pipeline and rejoining the Paris Climate agreement, reviving the Iran deal and stopping our withdrawal from the World Health Organization were all top priorities for Biden. He couldn't dismantle Trump's work of four years fast enough. But when it came to Afghanistan, he "inherited a deal"? I'm not buying it.

Every single action Biden has taken since his first day in office has caused damage to everyday, hard-working, law-abiding Americans. The increase in crime, lawlessness, inflation, taxes, gas and grocery prices, and the ongoing debacle on the border are all directly traceable to Biden's terrible policies. Illegal aliens infected with COVID are being flown and bused all over our country--without IDs, without masks. Yet  American citizens are lectured daily about vaccinations and now booster shots.

So much of what has been happening since Biden took office seems as though there is a plan in place to take the country down, to collapse what's left of our institutions into chaos. It makes me wonder if all the parents rising up against CRT at local school boards was slowing down the plan's progress. Were there too many independent Americans having the unmitigated gall to assert their Constitutional and parental rights? Well, that could be fixed. Let Afghanistan implode, and watch America's values and prestige in the world fall into the bloody dust. The wheels of society can fall off that much more quickly and easily now.

So you didn't like mean tweets? Neither did I. But at least Trump was on America's side.

Awakening Action Items

If you're not reading The Federalist, I think you should be--along with American Greatness and The Epoch Times. The August 11th article by Joy Pullman, "85 Things You Can Do To Help The United States Shake Wide Awake" at federalist.com is an invigorating read for anyone who likes to "do" rather than dream.

Out of the 85 recommendations, I counted; I'm already doing more than one quarter of them. That is gratifying, but improvement is always a personal goal. There are plenty of additional positive ideas, and I'm sure that among the 85 items presented there are appropriate action items for everyone.

Among my favorite suggestions was cutting your cable television subscription and donating the cost to charity instead. I also liked not shopping on Amazon; I usually don't, if I can order direct from the vendor's webiste. Refraining from purchasing goods made in China is another favorite. I read labels carefully now. If I can find comparable (or superior) items made elsewhere, China goes back on the shelf. Just this weekend while gift shopping I purchased items from Canada, France, and India. It's easy to do once you get into the habit of checking the merchandise labels.

Since last year I have used DuckDuckGo, Firefox, Bing or Brave as my search engines, not Google. When Covid supply chain disruptions began last year, I started building an emergency food supply stored on my garage shelves. (My mother would've called this my "larder." We kids used to laugh at her stock of backup groceries in the basement, but the past two years have shown that she was onto a valuable precaution.)

The last item reads:

85. Support a Wide Awake writer on Substack, Patreon, or some other subscription or membership option.

I recently discovered Substack and like what I read. Last year I became a supporting member of PragerU. I recommend PragerU most highly to anyone who would like to make sense out of what's happening in the country. The five-minute videos are free, and all are worth watching. I also follow Victor Davis Hanson, one of the smartest, most accomplished and common-sense Americans educators of our time. Listen to his podcasts and learn.

Don't waste precious time wringing hands over the sad state of America. All of us who want our country back should be taking action in our own individual ways, no matter how small, to help shake it wide awake.

Stepping Up the Destruction

The politicians are avoiding all mention of it, but the obscene spending bills lumbering their way through Congress include a massive tax on every middle-class property owner in the country. The elimination of stepped-up basis taxes the heirs of every hard-working family's inherited property.

Farmers and ranchers will be particularly harmed, a fact which is explained in the quote below from FBNews:

Stepped-up basis allows a farmer to pay capital gains taxes only on the property’s increase in value since the land was inherited, not on the full increase in value since it was purchased by that farmer’s parents or grandparents.

While generational family farms and ranches are the most dramatic example, people need to realize that this tax will apply to every long-time homeowner in the US. If you've owned your home for decades and have enjoyed an appreciation in its value, your children or grandchildren will pay the confiscatory price when you die if you leave the property to them. Your heirs will owe gargantuan capital gains taxes to the Federal government. In too many cases, the family home will need to be sold because of the tax debt.

The dismantling and destruction of our formerly free country continues at a rapid pace with no end in sight. The American dream has faded into history. 

Satisfying Smackdown

I don't know how many times I've watched this clip today, but I smile every time I do.

Note to Joe Biden: If you're going to tell Gov. Ron DeSantis how to do his job, he's going to have a suggestion for you, too. Changing American citizens into obedient subjects apparently is a very hard sell in the Free State of Florida. Oh, yes.

It's about time Biden got smacked down so publicly for the disaster unfolding on our wide-open southern border. I can only hope there's more to come.

Guardians of the Future

The Cleveland Indians baseball team will next year be known as the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland is not my town or team, but as a (former) baseball fan, I've known about the Cleveland Indians my whole life. In fact, they were the Cleveland Indians for both of my parents' whole lives.

The "Indians" was the team name throughout two World Wars, the Roaring '20s, the Great Depression, the Korean war, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam war, the entire space age, 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Great Recession, right up through the January 6 Capital riot and on into Antifa, BLM, and CRT. 

Leaving race obsession out of any public decision today seems impossible, but I've got a good imagination. Why such a servicable 105-year-old name urgently needed change, I can't fathom. But naming rights belong to the team's city, and Cleveland has decided that "Guardians" fits today's team better than "Indians." Perhaps they have a good point.

Cleveland did a thoughtful job in choosing the Guardian name. Cleveland's "Guardians of Traffic" statues are quite impressive. They are 90-year-old landmarks on the Hope Memorial Bridge, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 to ensure the preservation of the traffic guardian statues. That's a solid hometown hook for the new name.

Appropriately enough, the bridge is located within a stone's throw of the Cleveland baseball team's home, Progressive Field. Now, there's a name I would change.

Guardian of Traffic - Cleveland, OH

Perspective Needed

People don't pay much attention to history anymore--especially United States history--but it's worth mentioning that the Capitol building was attacked long before the January 6, 2021 riot.

There was the 1954 shooting by Puerto Rican nationalists that left five Congressmen wounded. In 1971, the Marxist group Weathermen Underground bombed the Capitol. As wrong as it was, it's not as though the January 6 breach was something completely foreign to the Capitol's history. 

I find myself unable to watch a nano-second of media coverage of the joke "commission" investigating January 6, but this much I can say: Anyone who compares the January 6 Capitol breach to the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, owes an immediate apology to each one of the thousands of family members who still grieve the loss of their loved ones on that terrible day. Debra Burlingame, sister of one of the airline pilots murdered on 9/11, explains why in this interview.

Not a Word to Add

Victor Davis Hanson sums up the terrifying mess this country has deteriorated into in a mere year and a half. The American Descent into Madness › American Greatness (amgreatness.com) is a long piece, but it is an important must-read--and quite a depressing one, because it's all true.

There's nothing more to say.

Freedom Beyond Control

The New York Times

When events like Sunday's mass protest against the Communist Cuban government erupt so suddenly and unexpectedly, I'm always reminded of the human flaw of believing we are in control.

Pity the poor "Democratic Socialists" (actually, they are Marxists) in United States government, big business and media who truly believed their plan to shove socialism down our throats was all wrapped up in a tidy bow. Suddenly there are thousands of brutally oppressed people marching in the streets screaming "Libertad!" (Freedom) and "Patria y Vida!" (Homeland and Life) less than one hundred miles from Key West. "The Squad" is uncharacteristically quiet. Apparently the current Cuban crisis makes socialism, let alone communism, a very hard sell.

These Cuban protestors are brave people. American protests are not punished with torture and execution, but Cubans may pay with their lives for daring to speak out against the totalitarian Communist government. Many of them already have.

And what is the US government's response to Cuba's reach for freedom? Pathetically inadequate--a weak mix of lame words and no actions. I expected nothing more from the current administration, and I'm sad to be right in that conclusion. But throughout real America, the people of the United States support the courageous efforts of the Cuban people to throw off their communist chains. This is nowhere so true as in Florida, the home of so many Cuban families that escaped the iron fist of communism and made a free and prosperous life in America. Miami, Fort Meyers, and Naples are among the Florida communities marching in solidarity with the Cuban people who are risking all in demanding their liberty.

The "Democratic Socialists" who want to break and remake our nation are noisy and have the headlines. But the Americans who believe in our country, and in Cuba's drive for freedom, have the numbers. We have taken the stark warning from Cuba. Despite their arrogant illusion of control, I think the "Democratic Socialists" will need to peddle their Marxism elsewhere. Libertad is the word of the times.

A Galvanized Grassroots

Not to be a downer on the weekend, but Victor Davis Hanson's piece in American Greatness on "The Cruel Progressive Creed Undoing Civilization" is a must-read for any concerned American citizen. Saturday or not, we don't have time to waste. The Communists and Marxists in our elite ruling class are very busy dismantling our society, 24/7. We who wish to protect our national values, institutions and traditions have got to keep pace, and knowledge is power.

The brightest ray of hope to end the death spiral is the army of parents rising up across the country to challenge the radical left-wing agendas of school boards and to demand accountability. In many cases communities have initiated efforts to recall school board members and--most encouraging--many parents have chosen to run for election to their school board themselves.

This activism and involvement on a local level is very good news for the ultimate health of our republic. It is a necessary reaction to overreach and oppression. In the USA, contrary to progressive dogma that believes only it knows best, "We the People" are the government. We ourselves are responsible for maintaining our hard-won liberties. Freedom begins--or ends--at our own doorsteps.

Words to Live By

 

"...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

Preamble, United States Declaration of Independence

A Chilling Read

This week I finished reading Jonah Goldberg's book, Suicide of the West. Published in 2018, just a heartbeat in time ahead of the pandemic and current breakdown of our society, Suicide is remarkably prescient in detailing where all the wearying decades of political correctness was actually going. The book does a chillingly accurate job of explaining the origins and meaning of our current national and cultural crisis.

I've followed Goldberg for many years. He's a conservative "Never-Trumper" who can be brilliantly smart and laugh-out-loud humorous at the same time. Suicide of the West is thoroughly researched and annotated; although it is completely absorbing and endlessly interesting, it is not a fast read. There is so much data and history, so many facts and examples provided, that this reader had to maintain a slower pace in order to process all of the information being presented. But I found it to be well worth the time investment. I recommend it to any thoughtful American seeking to better understand just why it seems apparent that the wheels are coming off our society.

The book leaves us at our present destination. The final chapter, "Decline is a Choice," is where this nation stands today. I have been continuously shocked at the rapid deterioration in our political and societal health during the past year. After reading Suicide of the West, I don't believe that Jonah Goldberg has been at all surprised.

A Year for St. Joseph

Since I've been watching Sunday mass online for a year and a quarter now, I'm behind the times on Church news. I just found out we're more than halfway through the Year of St. Joseph that was proclaimed in December 2020 by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde. That title translates to "With a Father's Heart." 

The letter is a beautiful analysis of St. Joseph's many important roles, virtues and qualities. I wish I had learned about it in time for Father's Day, but better late than never.

St. Joseph was my father's favorite saint, and he's mine, too. I (almost) always say a quick St. Joseph prayer at bedtime. To celebrate the remainder of his officially designated year, I'll be spending a bit more time talking to the most significant dad in human history. It's been my experience that he's an attentive listener.

Honoring Dads

“The power of a dad in a child’s life is unmatched.” – Justin Ricklefs

Living in the Now

 Yesterday is a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is cash.

If you've recovered from whiplash, then welcome to our new national holiday, Juneteenth. There will be very little waiting for "effective next calendar year" this time. The bill was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, by the House on Wednesday, signed by the president Thursday, and many Federal workers had Friday off. This just proves government can move fast when speed serves its political purposes.

I've got no problem with Juneteenth. I had never heard of it until last year, but after I learned about it I agree that it's important. However, I'd feel better about adding a new Federal holiday if Columbus Day could be left alone. That's our history, too.

Slavery in America ended almost two centuries ago. Show me another country that ever fought such a long and bloody battle to end it. Our Civil War was followed a century later by the Civil Rights movement and the heroic efforts of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to achieve equal rights for all Americans regardless of race. Look at the stature of our Black leaders today, including a former president--who is actually half-White, a salient fact that always remains background noise. Black Supreme Court justices, national security advisors, military leaders and heroes, senators, congressmen, professors, writers, sports legends are among our most renowned national figures.

To say that Blacks in America today are oppressed is outright ridiculous. Furthermore (take note, BLM activists), the American people--including Black people--know it's ridiculous.

As I was channel-jumping on my car radio this week, I heard a brilliant proposal put forth. The speaker (name unknown) was talking about the reparations controversy. He offered this resolution: "Every slave owner in America today should pay every slave in America." I laughed, but the preposterous nature of that concept proves how far we as a nation have traveled on the road to progress.

We are not a perfect union; we are only a "more perfect union" than we had been in the distant past. Slavery has been in our rear view mirror for many generations. Let's learn and remember the hard lessons from it, of course. But let's live now, today, in our current day and time, and keep trying to do better as a nation. Happy Juneteenth.

The Necessary Quality

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities...because it is the quality which guarantees all the others. 

~ Winston Churchill

D-Day Landing ~ Normandy, France ~ June 6, 1944

 

Parental Control, Demonstrated

Andrea Widburg has a terrific piece in American Thinker about a mother, Tatiana Ibrahim, who lit up her town's school board meeting over the nihilist indoctrination being forced upon their children. Read There is a lioness in Carmel, New York who is fighting for the children, and be sure to watch the video that's included in the article.

I first heard the audio of this parent's scathing and fearless takedown of her town's school board on Mark Levin's radio program, and it was riveting. A search for the video led to Widburg's report. I think it must be seen and heard to be fully appreciated; Ms.Ibrahim is breathtaking.

Tatiana Ibrahim is speaking the same message that Andrew Gutmann was recently writing. This link will take you to Gutmann's website, Speak Up For Education. His website provides definitive action items for concerned parents who want to fight back on behalf of their children.

I wish more mothers and fathers--unknown numbers of whom undoutedly agree with both of these brave parents--would find the courage to stand together and speak out for their kids, also.

Beyond Measure

Arlington National Cemetery ~ AFA

Further to His Letter

I know where I stand on these questions. But what say you, America?

~ Andrew Gutmann

One month ago I posted a piece about one brave father in New York City. His brilliant letter detailing his decision to pull his daughter out of her left-wing private school was gripping, and it went viral on social media.

Today Andrew Gutmann published his follow-up article in The Hill. Not surprisingly, it's another home run. This man is not only a highly intelligent critical thinker and exquisite writer; he is also one brave and fearless hero. To be willing to step forward and stand before the myriad forces of evil that are innundating our country, and to face the ensuing consequences and personal price, takes enormous courage. 

Gutmann is right to point out that it's not just school systems that are pushing division through critical race theory. I have family members who have been "strongly encouraged" to attend "white privilege" seminars at their place of business. In these classes they are taught how inherently racist they have always been, although they may not even be aware of it. In fact, they are told, this obliviousness confirms their racism.

This "re-education" of adults and indoctrination of children is beyond propaganda. It is what all Marxists do, tear down and destroy at another's expense in order to achieve their selfish ends. It is, quite simply, evil. Our nation will not long survive the determined efforts to divide Americans against each other. Unless, of course, we Americans begin to speak out and fight back as this one courageous father has done.

He ends his article with a challenge to his fellow countrymen. Where do we stand? Today the United States needs an army of Andrew Gutmanns. I know I'd like to enlist. But what say you, America?

Educated News

It's been a while since I recommended that you check in with Victor Davis Hanson on a regular basis. I think the present is a good time for a reminder.

VDH's website now contains an impressive array of audio, podcasts and interviews along with his incisive written works. Today's "Feet of Clay" article about Americans losing trust in our institutions is alarming in its truthfulness. If you want to be well informed about current events and hone your critical thinking skills in the process, check out the professor's online content. His podcast, The Classicist, is a healthy addiction for me. It's available at all the usual podcast sources as well as his website. I've linked to his Private Papers here, and you can also find this link in my homepage's sidebar. 

Over the years there have been edits to which websites I've linked to, but I'm proud that VDH has been included from the beginning. If you'd like to raise the quality of your news consumption up a notch--and these days, who doesn't?--give Dr. Hanson a try. He never makes an assertion that is not immediately backed up by hard facts and/or vivid examples. Fair warning: you'll find yourself being educated as much as informed.

Travel Notes

For anyone emerging from Covid exile who might be eager to travel again, be prepared to check your carry-on luggage. The planes are jam-packed, just as they were in olden days. The big difference now is that you're suffocating in a face mask for five or six hours. Also, don't forget to pack a lunch unless you can live all day on one tiny pack of minature toy pretzels.

A few days ago I completed my third cross-country trip during the Covid-19 pandemic. My first trip was almost exactly one year ago, in mid-May 2020. I flew from West to East coast for my mother's burial (the word "funeral" is completely inaccurate). Flight options were extremely limited in those early days of pandemic hysteria. Most planes were sparsely populated. I had to take what I could get, on an airline I had rarely used before, and stay buckled up for constant changes.

Among the dizzying array of travel changes pinging my text and email were departure times, arrival gates, terminals, and connecting flights and cities. Not even airline employees could explain what was going on. Had it not been for one blessed airport employee who whisked me (via speeding wheelchair) to my connection at a far-flung terminal, I would have missed my mother's burial. I still wonder if Mom sent him my way.

My second trip was at Christmas time, to visit grandchildren I hadn't seen in more than one year. Again, flights were few and changes were many. There were still not many people traveling at Christmas, and middle seats were blocked empty, but that is no longer the case. On this most recent trip I took a total of five flights, traveling to family visits in two states, and all the planes were fully loaded. I've noticed that a flight attendant's voice never sounds happier than when it is announcing, "We have a completely full flight today! Every seat will be occupied."

There is an upside. I have never seen planes so sparkling clean in my life. Before Covid, I used to get strange looks when I whipped out my wipes and started cleaning my tray table, armrests, light bulb button and seat belt buckle. Nowadays I'm more likely to be asked if I can spare one or two for my seatmates.

Cross-country travel has always been somewhat daunting to me, but in these days of Covid it's especially rugged. The surprises never seem to stop. When I returned home and dragged my bags to the ride share area, my phone app informed me that there were "few drivers" and I would need to wait one hour for a pickup. That's a new wrinkle. I hailed a taxi instead, gladly forking over a few extra bucks just to get home before midnight.

Despite such challenges, it's worth it to make the effort, take the trip, and tolerate the logistical turbulence. It's a small price to pay for reconnecting with family. As a new summer stretches out before us, I wish safe and happy travels to you and yours. Remember to pack some patience.

Speaking for Many

The letter linked here, from a courageous father to his daughter's now-former school, is a masterpiece of passionate conviction and literary eloquence that should be read by every school parent in America. It clearly expresses what so many mothers and fathers across the country are thinking in this despotic time.

Bravo, Andrew Gutmann. I hope your letter inspires other parents to speak out against the leftist totalitarian garbage that American children are being force fed; I hope it calls forth millions of similar voices that will fight back.