Black Lives Matter, so...Give Us Free Stuff!

The Black Lives Matter folks have published a manifesto that lays out in great detail 6 Demand and 40 Policy recommendations.

I'll save you the time required to read it.  They want Free Stuff.




The six demands are:

• End the War on Black People
• Reparations
• Invest-Divest
• Economic Justice 
• Community Control 
• Political Power

Some of these are blatant in their demand for Free Stuff.  The specific policy demands under Reparations and Invest-Divest, and Economic Justice, for example, are basically a list of Free Stuff they want.  Free school, free healthcare, free basic income, etc. 

But even the Demands for Political Power and Community Control are basically demanding free stuff.   They want Participatory budgeting and Protection and increased funding for Black institutions
which are both ways of getting more Free Stuff. 

The only Demand that is not loaded with Free Stuff goodies is End the War on Black People.  This is essentially a demand to be free of responsibility and consequences.   No bail money, no consequences for having a criminal record, no rules for behavior.    This is a recipe for social disaster.  

Criminal behavior needs to have negative consequences or it will grow out of control.   Crime and murder are already rampant in Black communities.  Making crime consequence-free will not end well for Blacks.

Black Lives Matters had never been about saving the lives of Black People.  If BLM was truly interested in Black Lives they would be protesting on street corners on the south side of Chicago. Instead, they are grandstanding at the Democratic National Convention and shutting down Trump rallies. 

Now they have clarified for us what they are really all about:  Free Stuff.

Why the RNC was Peaceful

The Republican Party just wrapped up it's convention and there was very little violence.

Scratch that. 

There was virtually none.

This is in sharp contrast to the recent experience at Trump campaign rallies and the dire predictions of violence by the media.

There were virtually no protesters, and certainly none of the professional protester class that make trouble around the world at political events bothered to show up.

Why?  

There are several reasons:

The protesters all got jobs and couldn't make time in their busy work week to show up and protest.    Ha!  Kidding.   Just seeing if you were paying attention. 

Cleveland was fully prepared.  We don't know a lot about the security preparations and that is proof that they were well done.   Whatever the Police and other agencies did to keep the peace, it worked, and they should be commended. 

The Left is saving its Ire for Hillary The hard Left is mad at Trump, but they are really extra special mad about Hillary.   This will only get worse as WikiLeaks reveals the true extent of the hatchet job the DNC did on Bernie.   I think the leftists will turn out in droves in Philadelphia, and there will be more violence as the week goes on. 

The Optics are Bad for the Left.   Donald Trump and his peers will be inside the convention center saying that immigrants and Muslims are violent, dangerous and anti American.  It doesn't look good to have a bunch of immigrants and Muslims outside the building being violent and dangerous while waving Mexican flags. 

I think the largest factor here is the optics.    The Media and the Left have noticed that every time a Trump supporter gets attacked by a bunch of hippy anarchists or illegal immigrants, his poll numbers go up. 

So they stayed home, and the RNC was safer for it.

Now, if we can get them to stay home in November and elect a Republican, we can rest easy in a country that will be safer for it.

More Proof Guns are Dangerous... to Leftists

The Republican National Convention just wrapped up in Cleveland, and we can now compare the actual results to all the dire predictions from the Left.  It turns out, to the surprise of exactly no one with half a brain, that they were completely wrong. 

The Media predicted a bloodbath at the RNC due to the insane laws that permit people to (gasp!!) openly carry firearms .

The news papers all jumped on the Police Union's concern over the open carry law:

CNN: "Cleveland police union asks for suspension of 'open carry' in wake of Baton Rouge, ahead of RNC."

Yahoo!: "Police union: Open carry of guns should be suspended at Republican convention in Cleveland."

The Washington Post: "Police union calls for open-carry gun ban as fears of violence mount ahead of the GOP convention

Well, of course the results are in: it was the safest political convention in years. 

Very few arrests.  Zero violent demonstrations.  No shootings. 

The only thing in danger from people peacefully exercising their rights is the wrong headed ideas of the Left. 

The open carry laws may not have prevented violence -- there are many other reasons why the Left chose not to demonstrate at the RNC -- but it is proven once again that law abiding citizens possessing firearms are not the problem in this country.

The Real Reason Hillary was not Indicted

The facts are pretty clear -- Hillary Clinton violated multiple Federal statutes in her extremely careless handling of classified material and other work related materials.

So why wasn't she indicted?  The FBI claimed that she lacked intent, and that 'no reasonable prosecutor' would have taken the case.

Both of these excuses are lies.

She intended to set up the server.  She intended to strip classified markings from documents.  She intended to give her legal team access to classified material when they did not possess the proper clearance.

Many 'reasonable' prosecutors have stepped forward to say that they would, in fact, indict her.   After all, if a 'reasonable' Marylin Moseby can indict police officers in the Freddie Gray case, it is not hard to assume you can find a prosecutor to press charges against Hillary.

So why, then, are there no charges forthcoming?

It is not because Democrats don't play be the rules, or that Hillary is considered to be above the law.

It is because a guilty verdict against Hillary destroys they entire Democratic Party, impeaches a President, and creates a Constitutional crisis without precedent. 

One of the provisions of the Federal statutes regarding the safe handling of Classified material is a 'duty to report'.   If you are aware of a situation that may compromise the security of information, you have an active duty to report that to the proper people.

Hillary Clinton's use of a .com email address instead of .gov domain is clear evidence of non-secure handling of classified material.   No one reported her for doing so.

Therefore, anyone and everyone that sent or received a message to the @clintonemail.com email address is guilty of failure to report.

How far does this spread?  Well, we know for a fact that it covers all of her personal staff.  Everyone of them is guilty of a felony.

Most of the senior members of the State Department can safely be assumed to have seen an email with a non-.gov address. All of them are guilty.

What did Obama know and when did he know it?

We can even assume that other cabinet level Secretaries must have communicated with the Secretary of State at some point.  

It is even likely that the President of the United States at some point used his famous Blackberry to communicate with Hillary.   If so, he is guilty of a Federal felony.

The decision not to indict Hillary was not about her.  It was about protecting the entire senior leadership of the Democratic party.  And probably some Republicans, too.

If this case were pursued to its logical conclusion, the entire Obama administration would be under felony indictment.  

That's the reason she was not indicted. 

A Republic, if You Can Keep It.

We chose a Republic over a Monarchy several centuries ago :

The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it."

What's the difference between a Monarchy and a Republic, you ask?  The Rule of Law.

 And now, the Rule of Law is dead.   It has probably been dead since Justice Roberts declared Obama Care to be Constitutional because it means the opposite of what it says. 

But it is officially dead now.

The FBI has declined to press charges against Hillary Clinton.

In the face of overwhelming proof, the FBI has declared that she will not be charged with a crime.

This is the end of the Rule of Law.

The FBI's own statements on the matter prove beyond any doubt that she should be facing hundreds of felony charges for mishandling classified material:

"...there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.

For example, seven e-mail chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received. These chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending e-mails about those matters and receiving e-mails from others about the same matters. There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position, or in the position of those government employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation. In addition to this highly sensitive information, we also found information that was properly classified as Secret by the U.S. Intelligence Community at the time it was discussed on e-mail (that is, excluding the later “up-classified” e-mails).

None of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, but their presence is especially concerning because all of these e-mails were housed on unclassified personal servers not even supported by full-time security staff, like those found at Departments and Agencies of the U.S. Government—or even with a commercial service like Gmail.
Separately, it is important to say something about the marking of classified information. Only a very small number of the e-mails containing classified information bore markings indicating the presence of classified information. But even if information is not marked “classified” in an e-mail, participants who know or should know that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it.
While not the focus of our investigation, we also developed evidence that the security culture of the State Department in general, and with respect to use of unclassified e-mail systems in particular, was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information found elsewhere in the government."


She is guilty -- the FBI states it in plain language.

And then they decline to press charges.

There is ample precedent for charging people with putting classified email on non classified servers. 

But they say she didn't have intent to damage US national interests when she violated statutes that explicitly do not require intent.

Hillary is too big to nail.

The Rule of Law is dead.  Long Live Queen Hillary. 

The Poe Horizon

We have reached the Poe Horizon, where it is impossible to tell parody from actual delusional ideas.

From the Federalist:


With apologies to Monty Python, a parody conversation between a Jihadist and a Liberal apologist:

“We did this because our holy texts exhort us to do it.”
“No you didn’t.”
“Wait, what? Yes we did…”
“No, this has nothing to do with religion. You guys are just using religion as a front for social and geopolitical reasons.”
“WHAT!? Did you even read our official statement? We give explicit Quranic justification. This is jihad, a holy crusade against pagans, blasphemers, and disbelievers.”
“No, this is definitely not a Muslim thing. You guys are not true Muslims, and you defame a great religion by saying so.”
“Huh!? Who are you to tell us we’re not true Muslims!? Islam is literally at the core of everything we do, and we have implemented the truest most literal and honest interpretation of its founding texts. It is our very reason for being.”
“Nope. We created you. We installed a social and economic system that alienates and disenfranchises you, and that’s why you did this. We’re sorry.”
“What? Why are you apologizing? We just slaughtered you mercilessly in the streets. We targeted unwitting civilians — disenfranchisement doesn’t even enter into it!”
“Listen, it’s our fault. We don’t blame you for feeling unwelcome and lashing out.”
“Seriously, stop taking credit for this! We worked really hard to pull this off, and we’re not going to let you take it away from us.”
“No, we nourished your extremism. We accept full blame.”
“OMG, how many people do we have to kill around here to finally get our message across?”



Now, the actual statements of the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party:  Muslims are tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.

This is incredibly frustrating.

No, not for me.

For ISIS...

They now have to issue guidelines to their killers to avoid targets that make it easier for the US government to take the blame for the attack.

As is noted in the latest ISIS guidelines:

Most of the individuals present at pulse nightclub were Latino. We recommend — And Allah knows best — that it is better to avoid targeting places and crowds where minorities are generally found in America. knowingly that the federal government will be the one taking full responsibility. Therefore we advise targeting areas where the Anglo-Saxon community is generally concentrated. This class of the American community is the majority and it is the one that is in the American leadership.

We have reached the Poe Horizon, where it is impossible to tell parody from actual events.

Read the full story by Robert Tracinski here

Everything You Need to Know About Gun Control

The Democrats are currently staging a 'sit in' on the floor of the House of Representatives until they get a vote on certain gun control measures. 

This is pure political theater.  The Democrats are not serious about enacting gun control.   They are simply trying to use this issue to gain political leverage and publicity.

How do we know this?

The Democrats controlled the House and the Senate and the Presidency with veto and filibuster proof majorities for 4 months during Obama's first term, and near super majorities for the entire first two years.


They passes ZERO laws on gun control.  

None.  Not one.

If the Democrats really believed in gun control, they could have passed it, just like they did with the Affordable Care Act, without a single Republican vote.    They did nothing. 

Democrats are not serious about gun control. This is all just political theater designed to increase their power and control.

The War on Reality

The Left has now fully divorced itself from reality.  Socialists and other assorted left wing idiots have always had a rather casual relationship with the truth, but now they have gone full bat shit crazy.  They deny basic reality in order to keep the narrative alive. 

The latest proof?   They claim that we 'may never know' the motive of the Orlando terrorist.

Let's do a reality check here:

• The terrorist himself called in to 911 and reported that we was doing this in the name of Allah.
• The terrorist himself called in to 911 and reported that we was doing this in the name of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. 
• Mateen was reported to the FBI by a Muslim friend because he expressed sympathies for ISIS and jihad. 
• Mateen was reported to the FBI by a co-worker for pro-Islamist statements
• The Terrorist called a local new station to report is motive for the attack.  

But... we may never know what motivated Mateen according to Loretta Lynch, the highest law enforcement officer in the land.

We may never know, says the Guardian.

We may never know, says the New York Times.

Really?  We may never know?

It seems pretty clear what his motivation was -- he was inspired by Islam and Jihad.

He said so himself, and every fact in the case points to that reality.

But the Left has to deny this reality, because the truth is damaging to their narrative and their world view.

This is not the first time the Left has trotted out the 'we may never know' what happened trope.  After the Ferguson incident had been fully revealed and all the fact were in exonerating the officer and backing up his story, Obama still claimed "We may never know what happened.."

The Left claims that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, and it is only because we are provoking these lovers of the Religion of Peace that they are lashing out at us.


Well, this guy was born an American.  This guy was raised an American.  This guy had every advantage of being an American.    And yet he still committed an act of Jihad.

So maybe Islam is not the Religion of Peace after all.  Maybe the Left is living a lie.

Maybe the Left is at war with reality itself. 

The Inmates are Running the Asylum

Loretta Lynch, the highest law enforcement officer in the land, is officially out of her mind.

She has completely left the realm of rational thought and discourse with her latest pronouncement on the Orlando attacks.


Lynch said the Department of Justice stood in solidarity with the LGBT community “in the light” following a Muslim terrorist’s massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub last week.

 “We stand with you to say that the good in this world far outweighs the evil, that our common humanity transcends our differences, and that our most effective response to terror and to hatred is compassion, it’s unity, and it’s love,” Lynch said. “We stand with you today as we grieve together, and long after the cameras are gone, we will continue to stand with you as we grow together in commitment, in solidarity, and in equality.”


What kind of hippie dippy, New Age bull crap is this? She is responsible for our national defense against terror, and she thinks the best response is compassion and love???

If this is the attitude of the Obama administration, it is no wonder that we are losing the War on Terror.

What the Actual F*CK???

What the f*ck is going on with the FBI and the Justice Department?

This situation has gone from embarrassing to criminally incompetent.

After screwing up the investigation of the Orlando shooter, the FBI now appears to have lost track of his likely-accomplice wife.

Hang your head in shame, FBI

They lost her????  What the f*ck??

Attorney General Loretta Lynch admitted today that the FBI is unaware of the whereabouts of Omar Mateen's wife, Noor Salman.   This is outrageous.  She is at best a material witness in a mass shooting.  Worst case,  she is an accomplice.  

And they LOST HER. 

How does this happen?  Are there any adults in charge anymore?

This is a staggering display of incompetence.

This comes after the FBI seems to have screwed up the investigation into this jihadi in the first place.

The FBI was informed on no less than 3 separate occasions that Mateen was a potential risk.   Twice they investigated and found nothing.  Once they didn't even bother to look.

And it gets worse.  It appears that this is not the spur of the moment actions of a lone wolf.  This appears to be a terrorist conspiracy. 

Mateen gave away his house to his sister for $10 just a few months ago.  His wife was a witness to the transaction.   Why would you sign away the rights to your home for $10?  Because you knew you wouldn't need it much longer, that's why.   And the wife knew about it.   She is an accomplice.  And the sister and brother in law are likely accomplices as well.


These people should be in jail.  They are clearly implicated in this crime.

Why won't the FBI follow the very wide and clear trail of evidence?  Why are they allowing reporters to trample all over the crime scene?  Why are they not keeping track of witnesses and accomplices?

Can this be explained by sheer incompetence?  It seems unlikely that the entire FBI can be this stupid and irresponsible.

Perhaps the Obama administration doesn't want the FBI to find out that his whole family knew this was coming.   Because if the American public knew that the this was a conspiracy of an entire group of Muslims, the entire narrative of the 'lone wolf gun nut' falls apart.

Ban the AR-15!

In the wake of the horrific shooting in Orlando, it makes sense to consider banning the AR-15

As has been noted by many experts on the Left, the AR-15 is a weapon of war designed solely for killing people by spraying hundreds of bullets from massive clips that rivals a bazooka in noise and recoil, and inspires PTSD. 

Uh,...wait, what?  Not a word of that sentence is remotely associated with the truth.

Let's ignore the fact that none of the above is true for the moment and proceed with the idea that the AR-15 must be banned. 

What would that look like? 

Not an AR-15

If you try to ban the AR-15 by name you have the minor problem in that the gun used in the actual attack was not, in fact, an AR-15.  It was a Sig Sauer MCX   There are many many rifles that look or operate like an AR-15 and are just as lethal.  So you can't ban the rifle by name. 

You have to focus on banning certain characteristics.   Like California and other states have done in the past, you would have to ban cosmetic features like pistol grips, barrel shrouds, and scary looking accessories.    

But these characteristics don't make the rifle lethal.   They only modify its capabilities or make it look mean.   A ban on features would have no effect, as has been proven in California and other places. Cosmetic bans are literally window dressing.  

In order to effectively ban AR-15 type rifles, you would need to ban the features that makes it so dangerous : a magazine fed semi-auto firing mechanisms. 

A ban on all semi auto-rifles would ban the vast majority of the millions of long guns owned by Americans today.  It would also ban most shotguns as well.  

So when you call for a ban on the AR-15, you are actually calling for the elimination of perhaps 75 million guns.  Guns, by the way, that kill fewer Americans than knives since rifles of all type account for less than 3% of all murders.

And not just a ban on the sale and manufacture of these weapons.  You need to ban possession. While the Orlando shooter bought his gun just before the shooting, the Newtown school shooter stole the gun from its legal owner. 

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that this ban would require the confiscation of 30-40 million weapons from as many as 25 million gun owners.  

 

As we noted in an earlier post,  even 99% compliance with such a ban leaves 350,000 weapons in the hands of the most deranged 1% of gun owners.   The police will have to raid 350,000 homes defended by determined Americans armed with 'weapons of war'.

Good luck with that.  

Blame the White Christians, Natch!

When the news of the shooting at an Orlando night club broke, there was a lot of media speculation on who could be behind this horrible attack and what their motives might be.  

The media speculated that it was a right wing religious nut job motivated by anti gay animus and homophobia.   

The Left wing victim hood narrative was about to kick into gear and blame nasty conservatives and Republicans for this crime. 

Then the facts came out.  

The identity of shooter and his motivation are now crystal clear.  We know this because he called 911 and a local news station to announce his motivation. 

He is a Muslim. He is a registered Democrat. He committed this crime as a supporter ISIS.  He wanted to kill gays because he was offended by them kissing in public.  

Naturally, the media reacted to this news by placing the blame for this on.... Conservative Republicans.  

That's right, you see.  Christian Republicans have created such a toxic anti gay environment that it is forcing Muslim Democrats to shoot up gay night clubs.  An environment so toxic, in fact, that the shooter is even confused about whom to credit for his inspiration.  

George Orwell, call your office.

OK, Gay People, Do You Get It Now??

For several years the gay activist community in this country has been waging a splendid little war on anyone in this country that does not toe the Gay line.   Any statement even remotely against gays is met with a horrendous onslaught of social and legal disapproval.  And they have been quite effective at moving the legal and moral goalposts quite far in a short period of time.

Making a statement that was the official position of President Obama and of the Democrat Party in 2008 (a marriage is between a man and a woman) is now considered to be a hate crime. 

The gay activist mafia has been quite effective waging a culture war to destroy all who oppose them, particularly the most dreaded of foes, the bakers and cake makers!  Every baker must comply with the wishes of the Left and happily bake cakes and pizzas for gay weddings or be vilified and prosecuted for discrimination. 

All the while, they have been screaming that the culture of homophobia in this country is the worst thing in the world.  They have maintained that the US is a horrible oppressive place, and that Christians are terrible oppressors of the LGBT people.  And they have enlisted Islamic front groups as natural allies in this culture war.

Wait.  They changed that.   It's now LGBTQ, and apparently a hate crime as some form of patriarchal oppression to use the old formulation. 

Wait.   They changed it again... it's now LGBTTQQIAAP.     No.   I'm not making this up.

Gay people enjoy extraordinary legal protections, have higher incomes, and play a disproportionate role in American culture.   All while claiming to be oppressed victims. 

Meanwhile, in ten countries around the world, homosexuality is punishable by death.  There are weekly reports of gay people being executed for being gay, in many cases by being thrown off of the roof of a tall building. 

Conservatives in this country have been pointing out for years that the real fight for gay rights should be focused on things like not being thrown off the top of a skyscraper instead of having a cake baked for a wedding. 

Gay activists have been pretending to fight the good fight against defenseless Christian bakers while ignoring the real threat posed by radical Islam.

Well, the Islamic war on gays has finally arrived here.   49 dead in a gay night club shooting at the hands of a radical jihadist that expressly targeted gay people for the crime of being gay. 

Muslims around the world are celebrating the attack.


They can't ignore it any longer. .

Well, of course they can.   They can blame guns.  Or blame the white homophobic toxic culture for enabling the shooting.  Or blaming hyper masculinity. 

Western civilization is not an oppressor of gays.  It is the safest place in the world for gay people to work and live.   Gay people had better wake up and recognize that the real threat is not the religious nut that won't bake you a cake, the real threat is the religious nut who wants to kill you.  

Close the Terror Gap!!

There are a number of people complaining that the recent mass shooting was done with a
legally purchased AR-15, and that people on the terror Watch List should not be allowed to have guns. Presumably, they think this would have prevented this tragedy from occurring.

Noted legal expert Kim Kardashian and other scholars have weighed in on the topic through such thoughtful mediums as Twitter and FaceBook, proclaiming that we need to do something to prevent such carnage in the future. 

Apparently the idea is to cross reference the Terror Watch List and/or the No Fly List with the current background check database so that people on 'the list' would be enjoined from purchasing firearms.

There are several problems with this approach.

1.   These lists are secret government lists for which there is no transparency for how a name gets added or deleted from the list.  There is no oversight, control, or appeal.    Effectively, it would be a secret, non-judicial process for stripping rights from people the government doesn't like.   Even the most trusting-of-government-souls on the planet should be a little apprehensive about signing away fundamental rights to a secret bureaucratic list. 

2.  The shooters in the most recent terror attacks weren't on the list in the first place.  Even if this law had been in place, it would not have prevented any of these attacks.  The shooter in the Orlando shooting was interviewed by the FBI on multiple occasions and was cleared.  HE WAS NOT ON THE LIST!!  The San Bernadino shooter was not on the list either.

3.  Actual known terrorists won't be on the list either.  If the FBI is actively investigating someone for possible ties to Islamic Jihad, the last thing they will do is potentially tip off their quarry that they are being watched by adding them to the watch list.   If the FBI had a mole inside a terror ring and suddenly every member of the cell is suddenly on the No Fly List, the entire operation will be blown.  They won't be adding real terrorist to the list, so it won't help here.

There are few things more ripe for abuse than a secret list maintained by the government for purposes of oppressing people the government does not like.  Given the overt politicization of the IRS, how long do you think it takes before the Justice Department caves in to pressure from the Left and adds every member of every organization named as a terror group by the Southern Poverty Law Center to the list?   Pretty soon such groups as the Singing Nuns will not be able to purchase guns. 

Blame the Gun, of course!

With so many issues to discuss after the horrific terror attack in Orlando, which do you think the media and the Democrats will focus on:

• The FBI twice failed to accurately assess the threat this guy posed. What is happening inside the FBI that prevented them from getting this right?
• If the FBI can't accurately assess one guy when he is twice identified as a potential threat, how can they assess a hundred thousand Syrian refugees? 
• This the second case of 2nd Generation Jihad. What is happening in the Muslim community that is radicalizing these "Americans"?
• If we cannot accurately assess incoming refugees and they potentially represent a multi generational threat, should we stop taking in additional Syrian refugees?
• Radical Islam has been killing gays overseas for years. Not a week goes by without a gay guy getting tossed off a building somewhere. Now will gay people recognize that the real threat to gay rights is not some baker in Ohio, but a radical global movement with the intention of killing all gay people in the name of Islam?
• Blame the guns.

 

I wonder which they will focus on...

Just kidding.

We already know the answer to this question since Obama's remarks blamed guns in less than a minute, while not mentioning Islam even once.

Biden - Warren 2016??

As the 2016 Presidential Campaign stumbles towards its ignominious conclusion, the question of Hillary Clinton's pending indictment looms ever larger.

Hillary for Prison!

The question comes down to this: will Hillary be indicted for her email crimes before the election?  There are many arguments on both sides for this, but it essentially boils down to a political question: Will Obama make the political call to torpedo her?  Or will he protect her?

There are currently two power bases in the Democrat Party.   The Clinton's hold tremendous power.  They are the de facto power brokers behind the scenes the control large parts of the party apparatus.  That gravitational pole is counter balanced by Obama.  As the current President, he wields de jure control over much of the party.  

This election will determine who holds the power over the entire party in the future.  If Clinton wins, then Obama will be Jimmy Carter, redux.  He will give speeches and meddle in international affairs, but he will essentially be a side show.  The real power will be completely in the control of the Clinton machine.

If Hillary is the nominee and loses, then the current status quo is preserved, with a divided power structure between the Obama's and the Clintons.

If Obama want to own the Democrat Party, then the Clintons must lose and be destroyed in the process.

The simplest way for Obama to achieve party hegemony is to indict Hillary.   The Clinton's are destroyed and the sole control of the party will pass to Obama.

Since Obama cannot run again, he will have a hand picked proxy run for President. 

That is Joe Biden.

Democrat Dream Team, Plan B

Joe has been hinting around that he wants to run.  But his general incoherence and penchant for gaffes make him a liability in a prolonged campaign.   His best bet for winning is a short, tightly scripted campaign.

A scenario where Hillary is indicted is perfect for Joe -- he gets to step in at the last minute as a reluctant hero and do a short sprint from the convention to the election.  You need to balance this ticket with someone to excite the Bernie Sanders voters and to get the female vote. 

Enter Elizabeth Warren. 

There was a lot of speculation in 2015 about this ticket as a Plan B for the Democrats.  This was before Bernie upset the plan by hanging in there and making the Biden August Surprise a little more complicated. 

All of this speculation boils down to this question:  Does Obama want to be Boss Tweed or does he want to golf and relax? 

If he has any interest in preserving his power, you can expect a bombshell indictment just before the convention.

To Trump or Not to Trump?

Donald Trump is now the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for the 2016 election cycle.

There has been a lot of conversation about his candidacy -- ranging from the insightful to the absurd.   He seems to be a truly polarizing man, who soars higher in the polls every time the media attacks him.

Some of the pro-Trump arguments are interesting.  He is the only candidate that is immune to the power of the media.  If Republicans are ever to regain power in this country, the Leftist media stranglehold on our culture must be broken.  He seems to be largely immune to the power of the media, and he may well be able to destroy its power.

Some of the anti-Trump arguments are interesting as well.   He is not a conservative, he is a megalomaniacal opportunist and con man that will destroy the brand of the Republican party and quite possibly the country.

But perhaps the single most persuasive argument in favor of Trump is this:  Look at how the Left is losing its mind over his candidacy.  There have been violent protests in Chicago and other places that have often led to campaign events being cancelled.

The Left says nothing about Kasich or Jeb!.  It verbally attacks Cruz, smearing him with insane conspiracy theories about the Zodiac Killer and entanglement with the JFK assassination.  
Trump, however, brings them out in the streets, rioting, screaming, and attacking people.

The Left truly hates Trump.  They hate him with a passion that is not equaled by their disdain for all the other Republican candidates combined. 

Hate is based in fear, and it is clear that the Left fears a Trump presidency. 

The pure animal hatred of Trump is his strongest endorsement.

Solar Power Goes Up in Flames

The hopes and dreams of the Environmental movement went up in flames this week.   Not that this will slow them down, but it exposes the lie of renewable energy.

The world's largest solar energy plant is the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in California.  It went up in flames over the weekend, apparently due to some misaligned mirrors.

Located on 4,000 acres of public land in the Mojave Desert, the sprawling concentrated solar thermal plant is equipped with 173,500 heliostats—each with two mirrors—that focus sunlight on boilers located on top of three 459-foot towers. The tremendous heat created by the concentrated solar power produces steam that drives turbines to produce electricity. The plant, the largest of its kind in the world, features a gross capacity of 392 megawatts, enough to power 140,000 homes. Each of the computer-controlled solar-reflecting mirrors is about the size of a garage door.


This plant is in real trouble.  It has failed to meet any of the benchmarks for output over the past few years, and now one third of it's capacity will be knocked off line for a while. 

These Federally funded (meaning tax payer funded, meaning you paid for this) environmentally inspired energy projects NEVER work.   They never meet the projected energy output levels, and they are never economically viable.  They always require subsidies or other favorable treatment in order to survive. 

They also don't do much for the actual environment.  These facilities, like the wind turbines as well, kill large numbers of birds each year.   Unlike the turbines that chop them up, these solar plants fry them up for us.  The birds fly through the solar flux field and  get cooked. 

Government cannot pick winner and losers in any sphere of the economy, and this has been repeatedly proven true in the energy sector.

This is another example of our tax dollars going up in flames.  Literally. 

A Few of My Favorite Things

There are many people blathering on the internet, but a few of them have captured my attention.

Stephan Molyneux of Free Domain Radio is one of those people.  

His YouTube Channel is very interesting. 

With host Stefan Molyneux, topics range from philosophy to economics to art to how to achieve real freedom in the modern world. Passionate, articulate, funny and irreverent, Freedomain Radio shines a bold light on old topics - and invents a few new ones to boot!

Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web, with over 100 million downloads and is 100% funded by viewers like you. Please support the show by signing up for a monthly subscription or making a one time donation at: http://www.freedomainradio.com/donate

Stefan Molyneux is the founder and host of Freedomain Radio, the largest and most popular philosophical show in the world. With more than 3,000 podcasts, 10 books and 100 million downloads, Stefan has spread the cause of liberty and philosophy to listeners throughout the world.

Prior to launching Freedomain Radio, Stefan built a thriving career as a software entrepreneur and executive. In 2006, he left his work in the tech industry to devote his efforts to Freedomain Radio. Now a full-time parent and philosopher, Stefan speaks regularly at liberty-themed events all over North and South America. His speeches cover subjects ranging from politics, philosophy, science, economics, relationships, parenting and how to achieve real freedom in your life.

Stefan is the author of two novels, "Revolutions" and "The God of Atheists," as well as eight non-fiction books on relationships, government and religion.

Past live appearances include presentations at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum, the Porcupine Freedom Festival, Libertopia, Students For Liberty, FreedomFest, LibertyNow, Capitalism and Morality, LibertyFest West, the Brazilian Mises Institute's Idieas em Movimento, Freedom Summit, and the Global Escape Hatch.

Stefan has participated in a number of live debates, among them: "Bitcoin vs. Gold: The Future of Money" with Peter Schiff, "Zeitgeist Versus the Market" with Peter Joseph, "The Function of the State in Society" with Professor Vladimir Safatle and "How Much Government is Necessary?" with Michael Badnarik

Venezuela Feels the Bern

The PanAm Post is now reporting  "Hungry Venezuelans Hunt Dogs, Cats, Pigeons as Food Runs Out"

Ain't socialism grand?

Ramón Muchacho, Mayor of Chacao in Caracas, said the streets of the capital of Venezuela are filled with people killing animals for food.  Through Twitter, Muchacho reported that in Venezuela, it is a “painful reality” that people “hunt cats, dogs and pigeons” to ease their hunger.

A Yellow Lunch-brador Retriever

Venezuela is circling the drain.  They implemented a socialist economic plan that Bernie Sanders would be proud of, and the economy is now collapsing around them.  

This cannot go on much longer.  The people are hungry and will soon be starving.  An uprising is coming soon.

Unfortunately, the uprising will come with Obama in office, and he will surely back the Maduro government and it's neo-communist policies.  

It has taken a mere 15 years to reduce Venezuela from the richest and most successful country in South America to an economic and social train wreck.

The signs of economic and social collapse continue to mount.  The article goes on to note:

Shortages of everything but Police and Guns

The population’s desperation has begun to show, with looting and robberies for food increasing all the time. This Sunday, May 1, six Venezuelan military officials were arrested for stealing goats to ease their hunger, as there was no food at the Fort Manaure military base. The week before, various regions of the country saw widespread looting of shopping malls, pharmacies, supermarkets and food trucks, all while people chanted “we are hungry.”

Not so shockingly, none of this has been reported in the media in the US.  When the society collapses, it will be reported as the result of low oil prices, not the inevitable results of 15 years of communist bungling and economic malfeasance.

An entire nation destroyed, and thousands of lives are at risk because they voted themselves some nice comfy socialism.  

Feeling the Bern yet, America?

Bill Nye, Please, Just Stop

Bill Nye, the alleged Science Guy, is at again.

He is pumping out lies in defense of the great Climate Change Hoax.

Today, he tweeted this nonsense in response to recent tornado activity: "More severe weather. More suffering.  Let's all take climate change seriously."

The implication being, of course, that this severe weather is somehow connected to climate change.

That implication is a lie.

Not only does he know this -- he has come out in the past explaining that there is no real link between climate change and tornado activity -- but every real scientist knows this.  The connection between climate change and tornado activity is tenuous at best.

It is very simple for anyone interested in the potential connection to so some basic research and find out the during the time the earth's temperature has allegedly been spinning out of control, the number and severity of tornadoes has been declining.

So, if there is a connection between rising temps and tornadoes, the correlation is negative.  Which means fewer tornadoes.  

But this good news would fly in the face of the narrative for Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming.

So he lies.

If the case for CAGW is so strong, why does he need to lie?  Shouldn't there be an endless string of real weather events that could be used to illustrate the dangers of our reckless abuse of the planet?

After all, the temperature of the earth has been spinning out of control for over a century.  We should have at least some proof by now.

The fact that he is now Bill Nye, the Lying Guy tells you everything you need to know about how real climate change is.



h/t @JohnHonore

'Indigenous Science' Proves Climate Change is a Joke

According to the Daily Caller, the White House and the Canadian government have released a new joint plan for how the two countries will go about regulating potential drilling, mining and other such energy endeavors in the Arctic — a decision-making process that will now use “indigenous science and traditional knowledge” to understand how to mitigate the effects of global warming.

An Inuit Scientist Ponders the Mysteries of the Wheel

Let's get a few facts straight before we get too far into this conversation.

There is no such thing as Indigenous Science.  This is true in every way you can possibly imagine. 

Science is Science.  Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

There is no such thing as 'indigenous' science.  Either a theory and observation meets the definition of Science, or it does not meet that standard.  There is no separate standard for indigenous people.

If indigenous man engages in scientific experimentation that meets the definition of science, then he is doing science, not 'indigenous science'.  If someone is conducting experiments that do not meet the definition of science, then it is not 'indigenous science', it is non-science.

The definition of Indigenous Science is as non-scientific as you can get.  It includes such anti-scientific gems as:

• The purpose of indigenous science is to maintain balance                                                               
• The end point of an indigenous scientific process is a known and recognized place. This point of balance, referred to by my own tribe as the Great Peace, is both peaceful and electrifyingly alive. In the joy of exact balance, creativity occurs, which is why we can think of our way of knowing as a life science.

If we put aside the fact that there is no such thing as 'Indigenous Science' for the moment and simply look at the accumulated knowledge of the indigenous peoples of the arctic, we find that they never even invented the wheel.  Or written language.  Or multi-story buildings, or anything else beyond a primitive Stone Age culture.  So not only is there no such thing as indigenous science, these people haven't done any regular science either.



"Science" from a people that have not invented the two story building...

This is not science, this is mysticism, as they explain in point #6:

• Indigenous science is holistic, drawing on all the Sense, including the spiritual and psychic.

So Obama is saying that Climate Change 'science' is going to be advanced by rules based on non-science.   We are going to use mysticism and 'the Great Peace' to determine the future of our economy, our nation, and our civilization.  

The Great Spirit save us all.   

Although there is a good chance this is all a big joke.  The last bullet notes:

• Humor is a critical ingredient of all truth seeking, even in the most powerful rituals. This is true because humor balances gravity.

So they might be kidding about all of this. 

Or it might prove that Climate Change is the biggest joke of all.

Equality is the Root of All Evil

Equality, at least the way it is defined by the Left, is the root of all evil.

The Left defines equality differently than most people, and certainly differently than anyone else in history.

I would define equality as equal rights and opportunities.   That is, all people, regardless of gender, skills, IQ, or looks, are equal in the eyes of the law and have equal opportunities.

The Left defines equality as 'everyone is the same'.

This has a profound effect on how the Left perceives the world and the prescriptions they put forward to change things for the better.

If everyone is equal, i.e., the same, then why do we have unequal outcomes?  The Left, mindful that we are all exactly the same, cannot explain these differences with internal factors.  Therefore the differences must be external.    The only thing that keeps Africa poor is colonialism.  The plight of minorities is grounded in racism, the disparities for women are due entirely to sexism, etc.  

In reality, there are any number of real world factors that can help explain the horrific conditions in sub-Saharan Africa.  Culture, IQ, the lack of the Rule of Law, lack of Property Rights, etc. all go a long way towards understanding what's wrong in this part of the world.  But since all of these undermine the idea that we are all equal, they are discounted entirely.  So we are left with the external forces.  And that, typically, is the fault of racist White Men.

Much of what is wrong with Leftism (and there is a lot!) can be traced to this basic error in thinking. 

Equality does not mean equal.

Equality of rights and equality of opportunity are at the core of the concept of Equality. 

Once you abandon equal opportunity in favor of equal outcomes, you have to start using the power of the state to make things equal.  You have to point guns at the people who have achieved better outcomes and force them to fork over the filthy lucre to those that have less.

People don't generally like having stuff taken away from them.  So you have to shoot a few to get the others to fall in line.  

And this is why communist governments kill millions of their own people -- they are forcing equal outcomes based on a wrong headed definition of Equality. 

Objective Journalism or Hit Piece Libel?

The media has lost all objectivity and now routinely engages in partisan attacks masquerading as journalism.

The latest example is this 'news item" from MSNBC.    The headline "Workers fight for dignity in Trump's Las Vegas hotel" tells you everything you need to know. 

Dignity?  Dignity comes from within.  It is defined by Webster as 

a way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control
or

the quality of being worthy of honor or respect

 

These are behaviors that individuals control -- it has nothing to do with Trump or his hotel.

 

The misuse of the term dignity here is meant to imply that somehow Trump is not treating people with respect.   The article lists a number of alleged instances where Trump is not treating his workers well, including the fact that the cleaning staff is not allowed to talk to The Donald or his family.  

 

The Horror!  Because the cleaning staff are routinely encouraged to chat it up with guests and the management team at other hotels.  Actually, no.  They are not.  They are there to clean, not to make friends with the guests.

 

The article goes on to list a number of alleged wrongs that this illegal immigrant family is suffering, such as the fact that the father is currently in jail for a DUI.  How any of this is related to Trump is a mystery.

 

This is not journalism, it is a libelous smear campaign.

 

 

 

Socialism Works until You Run Out of Other People's Money...

Socialism works great.  Really, it does.   Just take a look at that formerly filthy rich capitalist country, Venezuela.  They used have everything.  Oil exports drove the richest country in South America.

But no more.  15 years of socialism have worked so well that Venezuela has run out of everything.  No food, no toilet paper, no breast implants, no car parts.  

See Socialism works perfectly!

Until you run out of other people's money.  Or, in this case, until you run out of money period. 

Venezuela, it seems, no longer has enough money to pay for its money.

Bloomberg is reporting:

In a tale that highlights the chaos of unbridled inflation, Venezuela is scrambling to print new bills fast enough to keep up with the torrid pace of price increases. Most of the cash, like nearly everything else in the oil-exporting country, is imported. And with hard currency reserves sinking to critically low levels, the central bank is doling out payments so slowly to foreign providers that they are foregoing further business.

Venezuela, in other words, is now so broke that it may not have enough money to pay for its money.

So there you have it.

Socialism works so well that it only took 15 years to destroy the wealthiest nation in South America.

How long before it destroys the United States?

Liberals Want it Both Ways

Every time there is a political controversy, the Left seems to want to have it both ways.

Recently there has been some argle bargle over comments made to a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. 

The student refused to stand because “Donald Trump is going to send us back to Africa.”

The teacher is now in hot water because he responded that the student "should go back to Africa".

Let's ignore the lack of accuracy in the student's allegation -- Trump has never said he was in favor of sending citizens back to Africa.

The real issue is this:  This student receives free education and free food courtesy of the US taxpayer and yet has the gall to refuse to stand up out of respect for the US Flag.  And he is terrified and insulted at the prospect that he might have to go back to Africa.

You can't have it both ways, kid.  Either the US is a racist hellhole not deserving of your respect, or it is so awesome you are terrified at the prospect of having to leave.

You don't get to disrespect the Flag AND say you love this country too much to leave.

You want to have it both ways.

Leftist Self Awareness...

The Left lacks self awareness at shocking levels.

The latest example comes as they are discussing the potential for a Clinton-Warren Presidential ticket.

The article notes:







Really?  Can anyone thing of a recent two term President that was elected with ZERO executive experience and less than two years in the  Senate?

Like, say, Barack Obama??

I happened to agree -- Elizabeth Warren is in no way qualified to be President.

But for senior Democrats to criticize her for having the same exact qualifications as Obama is rich with irony and demonstrates a complete lack of self awareness.

I'm baaaaaack!!

My apologies for the lengthy hiatus.

I will be posting more regularly.