"Pottersville," USA

Victor Davis Hanson writes a brilliant comparison of the damage wrought by the Obama era with the "Pottersville" of classic movie fame.

Obama living his dream--which has turned into our nightmare.

Photo via johnmesserly.wordpress.com

The most pithy description I've heard of the Obama presidency is a quote from Mark Steyn: "If he were on the other side, what exactly would he be doing differently?" Kind of sums up all the devastation in one blunt sentence, agreed? Hanson's article echoes that sentiment.

We Americans are in a very bad place right now. Perhaps worse, and far more perilous, than Pottersville.

Law and Disorder

Photo: NY Daily News, May 9, 2015
The day following Officer Brian Moore's funeral.

Crime is up in Baltimore, you say? Well, imagine that.

You can't have it both ways, people. Either cops do their jobs with community support, or they hold back from fear of negative consequences to themselves, their families, and their careers. And when cops hold back, criminals step forward. It's not rocket science; it's a predictable combination of common sense and human nature.

Occasions of police brutality are real, but these unfortunate incidents are not racially motivated. If you're resisting arrest, attacking or threatening an officer, or otherwise acting with aggression that threatens the peace, you might get roughed up while being arrested. It doesn't matter what color you are; it's the cops' job to subdue you and prevent harm to themselves and to others. No surprise there, at least to any thinking person.

In all of the strident protests, nobody ever holds a sign reading "Stay Safe--Surrender Peacefully!" So much conflict and grief could be prevented if that were the message. But arriving at that rational conclusion requires critical thinking and honesty, two characteristics in short supply these days. Emotional reaction and political agendas always seem to trump intelligent thought nowadays, a fact that makes me fear for our country's future.

When there's trouble or danger in our lives, who are we to call for help if not the police? It's a hard question that many US cities are being forced to face.

Earlier this month, NYPD officer Brian Moore, age 25, was shot and killed by a career criminal when Moore approached to question the shooter. Moore and his partner had seen the murderer adjusting a gun in his belt. There were no riots, marches, or protests over Moore's death. He was just a cop doing his job. Cops know that any shift they work could be their last. But a group of children standing on a sidewalk to salute Moore's passing hearse wore T-shirts that proclaimed "Blue Lives Matter."

It's a message that surging crime rates in besieged cities might now be willing to consider.

Low Expectations

Although it makes me ill to think of it, the US is already deeply immersed in the ramp-up to the 2016 presidential election. Victor Davis Hanson has some sobering thoughts on the international difficulties that will face our next national chief executive.

At the rate things are deteriorating at home and abroad, I hope we make it to the 2016 election intact as a country. I also hope that yet another pathological liar doesn't become the next president. But maybe I'm setting the bar too high.

Memorial Day

NO-bamacare

I've previously mentioned some of my beefs with "Obamacare," euphemistically called the Affordable Care Act. Since first signing up on January 1, I've learned that the federal subsidies that lower my premium to a payable amount each month are actually considered taxable income. So for 2015, I'll owe taxes on an additional $5,000 of income that I've never seen.

Only the government could call this "affordable." (Maybe they mean it's affordable for them?)

Today, more surprises were in store as I researched finding a new physician. It seems that my healthcare organization--one of the largest in California--doesn't cover my Obamacare policy. I asked if it was because I had the cheapest (excuse me, the most "affordable") version, the "Bronze" plan. The representative in the hospital's insurance registration office gave me an airy "No."

"Bronze, silver, gold, or platinum, it doesn't matter," she casually informed me. "None of our doctors participate in that plan." Well, pardon me while I go drop dead.

I suppose this is one sure way of reducing healthcare costs: make sure that no one gets insurance coverage to see a doctor. Brilliant in its simplicity, stunning in its stupidity. NO-bamacare--a prescription for American healthcare's total collapse.

Free School

If you're not reading Victor Davis Hanson on a regular basis, you're missing out on a free education about the reasons our society appears to be collapsing in on itself. Treat yourself to some knowledge and visit VDH's webpage at least once a week. I promise, you'll be surprised by how much you will learn.

Mother's Day

Mom, c. 1945 - she was what Dad would call "a real tomato"
Happy Mother's Day!

Learning to Not Think

"If you try to shut down public debate, is this a way of ensuring that you win—or an admission that you have already lost?" - Robert Tracinski

This is interesting reading about the increasing intolerance of left-wing ideology. It's sad but true that America now has a "party line" of liberal elite dogma that must be not only strictly adhered to, but never challenged. By anyone. At any time. Under any circumstances.

Below are just a few examples of contrary points of view that are rejected out of hand:

• Against gay marriage? You're a homophobic cretin.
• Have doubts about climate change? You're dangerously ignorant.
• Believe in protecting our borders? You're unquestionably a bigot.
• Think the rioters of Ferguson and Baltimore are wrong? You're totally racist.

There was a time not so very long ago in this country when reasonable adults could differ. Debate opposing ideas. Argue their cases. Not anymore. Those in the public eye who do not follow the combined gospels of the ruling elite and left-leaning academia (and are unwise enough to say so) are shouted down, ridiculed, and bullied off speaker's platforms.

What has happened to us? The Founders admonished that thinking people of strong character were necessary for the republic to succeed. How shocked they would be to see how far our capacities for tolerance, empathy, and civility have fallen, how quickly, and with such thoughtless disregard for the consequences. Americans today are taught from an early age to follow the popular "wisdom," to be part of "the crowd," not to think independently or to make individual choices through a rational, ethical thought process. And oh, how badly it shows.

The Coming of The Queen

With the 2016 presidential campaign already in full gear (Lord help us), I am thoroughly looking forward to reading The Queen, an upcoming book about Hillary Rodham Clinton and her obsessive quest for the White House. The title is a play on Machiavelli's The Prince, which tells us that five centuries don't do much to change the dark side of human nature and its corrosive drive for power.

The book will be released in June but is available for pre-order. Author Hugh Hewitt's books are always readable and packed with solid information that has been verified beyond questionability. The Introduction, linked here, is a juicy kick to read. It will drive Hillary bonkers, because it's such an authentic description of her and her motivation.

As anyone who has been paying any attention at all in the last twenty years knows, if there's one thing Hillary can't abide, it's authenticity.

I've been a Hewitt fan, follower, and listener since I stumbled upon his radio talk show in the summer of 2002. He sometimes remarks on air that his mission until the next presidential election is to keep Hillary out of the White House.

From your lips to God's ears, Hugh. Along with Peter Schweizer's Clinton Cash, may The Queen hit #1 on every bestseller list and be read by every concerned voter. The "survival of the realm" may depend upon it.

The Writing on the Wall

Handwriting is quickly becoming a lost art. I'm saving whatever surviving letters I have received over the years. I suspect that old-fashioned "letters" will be collector's items before too long, and they will certainly be something to show and explain to the grandkids.

I notice that even 40-somethings today print in block letters when they are forced to put pen to paper. When I went to school, back in the Middle Ages, "Penmanship" was a subject that you were taught, then tested and graded on. I remember I got as high as an "A-" in penmanship. In many school systems today, cursive handwriting is not even taught to the students. 

It's rather sad that our grandchildren probably won't understand what "getting a letter" means. If you're past your twenties in age, think back through the mists of time, all the way to the quaint 1990s. Do you remember when you found a handwritten envelope addressed to you in the mailbox? Admit it--it made your day!

Those days of pen and paper, like the days of board games, hardcover novels, and telephone landlines, are mostly behind us. But I think the decline of cursive writing is a loss for us all. You can write that down.