tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54794882024-03-13T06:01:05.456-05:00Wince and NodUncomfortable truths, gently expressed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger746125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-54656962594343203312018-04-11T16:25:00.001-05:002018-04-11T16:25:27.154-05:00Sobering<p dir="ltr"><a href="http://thefederalist.com/2018/04/10/time-united-states-divorce-things-get-dangerous/">Is it really time to split the country?</a></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-57367866154476838142016-06-10T12:20:00.000-05:002016-06-10T12:36:26.614-05:00Email to Speaker Ryan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Speaker Ryan,<br />
<br />
I am very distressed by your comments about Trump and the judge. You mischaracterized his comments and slandered him. This is why I don't think you have my back as a Republican. I was not a Trump supporter at any time during the primaries. First Walker, then Jindal, then Cruz. But from everything I can tell you will happily characterize my positions, my beliefs, my (possibly incorrect) facts in support of my beliefs and my word choices as racist, right before you tag me as a racist. This must be some sort of horrible allegiance to extreme bipartisan virtue on your part. I would like you to have the sort of bipartisan virtue which begins with partisan virtue first.<br />
<br />
Just say you disagree. I can handle you disagreeing. For example, you are, out of your humanitarian convictions, very pro-immigration. I get that. I am pro-immigrant, but I am in favor of decreased immigration. The first people who suffer when we have too much immigration are recent immigrants. Maybe this is because I work with lots of immigrants and you don't. For a while, of the eight cubes around mine, seven had immigrants sitting in them. (Now they are mostly empty - don't worry, it's a restack, not a layoff.) These people are great to work with and alot of fun to be around.<br />
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Soon, I am told, 25% of our population will be immigrants or their children. That might be too many. For one thing, I have noticed that immigrants tend to bring their friends and relatives. If half of that 25% bring a friend or a relative, we are up to 33%! This puts a great strain on our ability to make Americans out of our new neighbors, which we need to do to build trust and unity. My co-workers are, in many ways, eager to learn how to be American, but in other ways they tend to stick to their own (just like my Italian, Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors, and well ... me). When they are too numerous, segregation is too easy.<br />
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There are many other reasons why America, Americans, and new immigrants might benefit from less immigration.<br />
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In any event, please allow Trump to point out that a liberal judge might be biased by his liberal politics, including his liberal racial politics. We all know that actually happens.<br />
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This article is very good on the subject: <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/markdavis/2016/06/10/this-time-trumps-not-the-problem-n2176320">http://townhall.com/columnists/markdavis/2016/06/10/this-time-trumps-not-the-problem-n2176320</a><br />
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Yours,<br />
Tom DeGisi<br />
Former Democrat Voter as of 2004</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-45048169939760229582015-05-01T18:00:00.000-05:002015-05-01T18:00:00.757-05:00The Road To Hell Has No Potholes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I like the article, but not because I like doing things badly because of ignorance.<br />
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Important sentence at the very end:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Jonathan M. Katz is a freelance journalist and the author of “The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster.”</blockquote>
Read: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/magazine/how-not-to-report-on-an-earthquake.html">How Not to Report on an Earthquake</a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-61104217437590310522015-04-30T18:15:00.001-05:002015-04-30T18:15:00.176-05:00Why Blacks Vote Democrat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's not <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/354265/plantation-theory-kevin-d-williamson">The Plantation Theory</a>, it's that they are risk averse. Democrats market their policies as risk reducing, even though they (mostly) don't work. Conservatives need to develop better policies that actually reduce risk. If we do that, we'll get blacks (and single women) to vote for conservative politicians. See Singapore.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-23815026142436203682015-04-30T18:00:00.000-05:002015-04-30T18:00:02.878-05:00Too Rapid Immigration...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Is bad for America and Americans: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417690/conservative-populist-breakout-john-fonte">The Conservative Populist Breakout</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-8883017745622915262015-04-29T19:30:00.000-05:002015-04-29T19:30:00.883-05:00Clinton, See Influence Peddling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://thefederalist.com/2015/04/29/is-the-clinton-foundation-just-an-international-money-laundering-scheme/">Is The Clinton Foundation Just An International Money Laundering Scheme?</a> (yes)</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-39974543808684217462015-04-29T19:15:00.000-05:002015-04-29T19:15:00.253-05:00Man and Woman Does Not Equal Man and Man Or Woman and Woman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
And neither wishing nor wordplay will make it so. <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2015/04/28/im-gay-and-i-oppose-same-sex-marriage/">I’m Gay, And I Oppose Same-Sex Marriage</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-80329923418999417882015-04-29T19:00:00.000-05:002015-04-29T19:00:12.143-05:00Democrats Burn Down Democrat City, Blame America<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/the-blue-city-model-the-wall-street-journal-has-an-excellent-editorial-today-explaining-how-the/">Elizabeth Price Foley opines on Baltimore, the Democrat Problem</a><br />
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And you will want to click on the links.</div>
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<div>
<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-blue-city-model-1430263661">The Blue-City Model: Baltimore shows how progressivism has failed urban America</a></div>
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Key graph:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The men and women in charge have been Democrats, and their governing ideas are “progressive.” This model, with its reliance on government and public unions, has dominated urban America as once-vibrant cities such as Baltimore became shells of their former selves. In 1960 Baltimore was America’s sixth largest city with 940,000 people. It has since shed nearly a third of its population and today isn’t in the top 25.</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/28/baltimore-is-a-democrat-problem-not-americas-problem/">BALTIMORE IS A DEMOCRAT PROBLEM, NOT AMERICA’S PROBLEM</a></div>
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These people are part of the problem: <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/04/27/hill-need-to-understand-resistance-looks-different-ways-to-different-people/">HILL: NEED TO UNDERSTAND ‘RESISTANCE LOOKS DIFFERENT WAYS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE’</a><br />
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Update: <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2015/04/29/How-Stop-Next-Urban-Race-Riot-Ask-Republican">How to Stop the Next Urban Race Riot? Ask a Republican</a><br />
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</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-20993669300898504262015-04-29T18:45:00.000-05:002015-04-29T18:45:00.570-05:00Sobering, as Usual<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/190540/hogans-heroes-lied">‘Hogan’s Heroes’ Lied</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-87036712671364982312015-04-29T18:30:00.000-05:002015-04-29T18:30:02.125-05:00A Reason for Optimism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://thefederalist.com/2015/04/29/the-paradox-of-dogma-how-the-left-is-crippling-itself/">The Paradox of Dogma: How the Left Is Crippling Itself</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-87924086427277937612015-04-29T18:15:00.000-05:002015-04-29T18:15:00.050-05:00Umm, Social Conservatives Have A Pretty Good Track Record<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ross Douthat points out that our 'wild ideas' have, historically, predicted the future pretty well:<br /><br /><a href="http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/the-wild-ideas-of-social-conservatives/?_r=0">The Wild Ideas of Social Conservatives</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-86663240930426937242015-04-29T18:00:00.000-05:002015-04-29T18:00:00.762-05:00Today's Heroes - Perry and Luttrell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-rick-perry-and-the-lone-survivor-a-father-son-relationship/2015/04/29/4c8cb0da-ed5e-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html">How Rick Perry befriended the real ‘Lone Survivor’ Navy SEAL</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-91427508140363449092015-04-27T19:45:00.000-05:002015-04-27T19:45:00.972-05:00Beware Our Angry College Students<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2015/04/20/the-brownshirts-are-back-and-theyre-in-our-universities/?singlepage=true">The Brownshirts Are Back. And They’re in Our Universities.</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-7201101376587046702015-04-27T19:30:00.000-05:002015-04-27T19:30:00.367-05:00Reminder: It Is Hard To Be Clear<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
And it is hard to understand: <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/04/mixed-signals-why-people-misunderstand-each-other/391053/">Mixed Signals: Why People Misunderstand Each Other</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-25339323788224947052015-04-27T19:15:00.000-05:002015-04-27T19:15:00.442-05:00Much Worse Than Adams and Much, Much Worse Than Tail-Gunner Joe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
This Wisconsin prosecutor is worse than the Alien and Sedition Acts and the 50's Red Scare: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417207/politicized-prosecution-run-amok-wisconsin-rich-lowry">Politicized Prosecution Run Amok in Wisconsin</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-6313943193596862342015-04-27T19:00:00.000-05:002015-04-27T19:00:05.016-05:00Black Lives Matter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Therefore: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417214/black-murderers-matter-dennis-prager">Black Murderers Matter</a><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-26652407490988701122015-04-27T18:45:00.000-05:002015-04-27T18:45:00.037-05:00Prosecutors!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Too much power, too little accountability: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/convicted-defendants-left-uninformed-of-forensic-flaws-found-by-justice-dept/2012/04/16/gIQAWTcgMT_story.html">Convicted defendants left uninformed of forensic flaws found by Justice Dept.</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-74973794092486202022015-04-27T18:30:00.000-05:002015-04-27T18:30:00.960-05:00Don't Trust Your TV About CSI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/csi-is-a-lie/390897/">CSI Is a Lie</a><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-15227675898090947472015-04-27T18:15:00.000-05:002015-04-27T18:15:00.482-05:00High Crimes And Misdememors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1476765138/pjmedia-20">The People Vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against the Obama Administration</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-18679518519337104122015-04-27T18:00:00.000-05:002015-04-27T18:00:03.116-05:00Why Do Our College Students Rage?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Because we taught them thus: <a href="http://popehat.com/2015/04/19/safe-spaces-and-the-mote-in-americas-eye/">"Safe Spaces" And The Mote In America's Eye</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-28180284060832759902015-04-17T19:32:00.000-05:002015-04-17T19:32:00.120-05:00Anti-Life Extremists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Federalist: <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2015/04/16/meet-the-real-abortion-extremists/#.VTAanFSnj54.twitter">Meet The Real Abortion Extremists</a><br /><br />When you oppose a bill making it murder to kill a fetus without the mother's consent, you just might be anti-life.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-46122728931619507532015-04-09T20:17:00.000-05:002015-04-09T20:17:00.091-05:00Why We Love Socialism But Need To Love Free Democratic Capitalism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Free democratic capitalism is, empirically, the best way to help poor people.
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<br />
No, that’s not right.
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Free democratic capitalism is, empirically, the best macroeconomic way to help poor people.
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<br />
But families are, empirically, the best microeconomic way to help poor people.
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And families are very authoritarian and socialist, not democratic and capitalist.
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People have been living in families how long? Since the beginning. But free democratic capitialism is a relatively recent invention. We are wired at a very deep level to understand and love authoritarian and socialist families. Free democratic capitialism? Not so much.
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The problem comes when people do the very natural thing, and generalize from the wonderful nurture of their family to the creative destruction of capitalism and well…. Understanding and loving capitalism usually has to be taught. It’s not natural for us, like understanding quantum physics.
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This is a failure of the schools.
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Liberal policies, governed as they are by political institutions, not free choice, advantage the politically well connected (like middle class people) and disadvantage the politically powerless (like poor people).
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The combination of these things explains both the popularity of Democratic policies and their failure.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-37891061625459620652015-04-08T19:17:00.000-05:002015-04-08T19:17:00.053-05:00Why Liberals And Conservatives Will Not Agree<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://bit.ly/1nF2ZL2">Liberals and Conservatives Rely on Different Sets of Moral Foundations</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-74626715209924574162015-04-07T21:28:00.000-05:002015-04-07T21:28:01.007-05:00Is There a True Artifact of the Resurrection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416411/what-does-shroud-turin-prove-about-easter-myra-adams">What Does the Shroud of Turin Prove about Easter?</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479488.post-24798263304248947462015-04-07T20:10:00.000-05:002015-04-07T20:10:00.677-05:00Both Maladministration And Attempting To Subvert The Constitution Are Impeachable<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Key graph:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Similarly, the House Judiciary Committee, assessing impeachment in the aftermath of Watergate, noted that to Blackstone, “high misdemeanors” was a constitutional term of art that encompassed “maladministration”—again, an obviously political rather than judicial expression. George Mason had attempted at Philadelphia to make maladministration explicitly impeachable; Madison objected on grounds of vagueness; yet, the Judiciary Committee reports, Mason complained in turn that limiting the device to bribery and treason “would ‘not reach many great and dangerous offences’ including ‘[a]ttempts to subvert the Constitution.” “High crimes and misdemeanors” was the resulting compromise, and it was understood to incorporate such attempts.</blockquote>
Read: <a href="http://bit.ly/1p7R3AX">Defining Impeachment Up</a><br />
<br />
Related: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803738579/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0803738579&linkCode=as2&tag=pjmedia-20">It Didn't Start With Watergate</a><br />
<br />
Related: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416446/down-watergate-kevin-d-williamson">Down from Watergate</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com