In a world full of self-important and thoroughly dishonest people like Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau it’s nice to have people like the Babylon Bee to puncture and mock these odious creeps. This one made me smile.
Month: February 2022
Jonah Goldberg Completes His “Joe Scarborough-fication”
Back in the early 2000’s I used to read Jonah Goldberg’s posts at NR Online. He was pleasant and witty and struck a balance between ideology and practicality that at the time I thought was warranted. But over the years Goldberg has “evolved.” His positions have become establishment conservative to the point that they are just moderate Democrat with a streak of Neo-Con foreign policy thrown in.
When Donald Trump exposed the National Review as a useless pack of losers Goldberg slid even farther to the left and then last month when Tucker Carlson began exposing the false flag nature of the January 6th “insurrection” Goldberg flounced out of his Fox News role. Now he has completed his transition to CNN’s newest “conservative” stooge. I guess they really needed a new one now that Joe Scarborough has completed his transformation into a less unfunny Stephen Colbert. Goldberg will provide the needed gravitas to match Don Lemon when they break out the Point/Counterpoint act over the outrage of the week.
I look back at those times and I have to assume it was more a case of my own ignorance than Goldberg’s deception. He’s probably still the same guy. He may even still believe exactly the same things he always has. What’s changed is the degree to which I’ve learned the hard lesson that the establishment Republicans; both the politicians and the media were always there just to use us for a paycheck. They never believed in the values they claimed they were defending. Their job was to get our votes or our dollars and put up an act as if they were fighting a battle against the Left and lose gracefully.
So all of Jonah’s act; his “Liberal Fascism” book, his cultural observations; were all just the window dressing to keep us clicking on his show. Now his show has found its true home. And with CNN supposedly reworking their brand to be a “straight news” outlet Goldberg can assume his place as the moderate Republican who can explain the crazies on the right to such sages as Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper.
I’m sure it will be a good gig for him. He’ll adjust his outlook to match the stripe that CNN/Discover is pretending is their version of objectivity this week. As I said I don’t think Goldberg has changed meaningfully over the years. If tomorrow they need him to call himself a liberal or a libertarian or a conservative I’m sure he could tweak his act and make it work.
To me the important thing is to learn a little something from the experience. What I’ve figured out is never take things at face value. Look at results. The scientific method is the operative approach. Do a thought experiment. If X claims to be a conservative then when X is in office does he make things more conservative? If the opposite occurs either X is incompetent or X isn’t conservative. Either way, eliminate X and look for a better alternative and then try it. It’s very ad hoc but it’s probably the only way to get results.
So good luck Jonah I hope the viewers at CNN enjoy your act. At least now you’ll be with your actual team.
Even Deep Blue NJ is Dropping the School Mask Mandate
After almost losing his job last November as governor, Phil Murphy has announced that he will lift the school mask mandate in March in New Jersey. Of course the school boards can keep the farce going if they dare but then they will risk being thrown out of office when they come up for re-election. The article noted this will put pressure on New York State and City to end their school mask mandates also.
So for my money this is one of the biggest cracks in the COVID wall. March seems to be the month that makes sense. Spring begins and flu season comes to an end. Let me tell you it can’t end soon enough for me. New England is even worse than New York and New Jersey so they’ll drag it out as long as they possibly can here. But it will happen.
The important thing is for all of us to remind the voters in November who tortured us for the last two plus years and who deserves to lose their jobs for it.
08FEB2022 – Quote of the Day
Christianity – and that is its greatest merit – has somewhat mitigated that brutal Germanic love of war, but it could not destroy it. Should that subduing talisman, the cross, be shattered, the frenzied madness of the ancient warriors, that insane Berserk rage of which Nordic bards have spoken and sung so often, will once more burst into flame. This talisman is fragile, and the day will come when it will collapse miserably. Then the ancient stony gods will rise from the forgotten debris and rub the dust of a thousand years from their eyes, and finally Thor with his giant hammer will jump up and smash the Gothic cathedrals.
Heinrich Heine
08FEB2022 – Photo of the Day
What Will the Revolution Look Like?
Civil War, Great Divorce, Loosened Federalism, The Big Crack Up, Bill of Rights Sanctuary States? I hear so many people talk about the changes that are coming. But nothing I read seems at all specific about what will happen and how it will end up. And there’s nothing surprising about it. It’s because nobody really knows what will happen. So, what do we know?
I think one thing that is crystal clear is that the most progressive 30% of the country despises the most conservative 30% of the country. And at this point, vice versa. We also know that the 40% left over in the squishy middle are hopeless idiots that ricochet back and forth from election to election. Because of this no hope exists that we’ll be able to resolve the differences between the Left and Right through the election process at the federal level. But we do know that the elites control all the institutions that dictate how we live our lives; the schools, the colleges, big business, the media, etc.
The only way forward that I can see that will move things forward is for the states to put together an agenda of changes that they will drive within their boundaries and change the way life is lived by their citizens. This is in line with what Ron DeSantis is doing in Florida. He is working with his legislature to defend his citizens from being forced by the federal government to surrender their freedoms. He has outlawed mask mandates and vaccine mandates and that has been a boon for his state.
But what needs to be done is for the Red States to organize and go after other obnoxious targets. For instance, almost every college in America is a bastion of woke ideology where normal young people are brainwashed and bludgeoned by Leftist professors and administrators. Why? Florida has an enormous number of colleges, about one hundred and thirty of them, and there are millions of students. Why shouldn’t there be a bill of rights for college students? The state could regulate the misbehavior of administrators and professors by bringing fines and even jail time in cases where the civil rights of non-leftists are being attacked. And since these schools are in fact large scale conspiracies of Leftist propaganda, I could see organized crime laws being used to threaten them with a permanent shut down. That would be something to see. And beyond that even their use of affirmative action could be attacked at the state level.
I’m aware that the feds would try to intervene. And that’s where this would have to break new ground. The states would have to resist any attempts by the feds to intervene. Not caving to the Justice Department; this would be the revolution. It’s never been done, except by the Left. Look at sanctuary cities, marijuana laws. These are examples of states saying no to the federal law. This is what the revolution would have to be.
And it’s not just restricted to colleges. The states can take control of the public schools, the welfare programs, corporate policies on affirmative action, tech companies discriminating against conservatives, obscenity laws, even things as controversial as gay marriage and adoption. All these parts of life can be addressed by governors and legislatures. And these things would be wildly popular. They could even use referendums to gauge the relative popularity of different problems and use this information to decide which initiatives to address first.
Controlling the federal government is still something we can attempt to do. But in the meantime, waiting for this to happen is a mistake. The states will have to lead the way and free their people. That is the revolution we are waiting for.
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) – An OCF Classic Movie Review
(Spoiler Alert – Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)
Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert are the newlywed couple Gil and Lana Martin. They have migrated from the settled and comfortable area near Albany, New York to settle in the frontier farming community of Deerfield in the Mohawk Valley. But this is during the American revolutionary war and the Mohawk Valley is the scene of conflicts between Americans and their Indian allies versus British troops, loyalist settlers and their Indian allies. The movie starts off with Lana learning to accept the rigors of frontier life after her more affluent existence with her well-to-do family. But once the young couple begin to prosper the attacks begin. The Indians burn down their homestead and they are reduced to living as servants in the house of a rich old woman Sarah McKlennar (played by the irascible Edna May Oliver). Gil is enlisted in the local militia and they participate in the Battle of Oriskany where they are victorious but at a cost of nearly half their men.
Meanwhile Lana gives birth to their daughter and the Martins find a happy life working for McKlennar. But eventually war returns to Deerfield. An overpowering war party of Indians is approaching. The settlers abandon their farms for the relative safety of Fort Schuyler. The settlers resist the attack for as long as their ammunition holds out but eventually Gil is sent out on a desperate mission to get reinforcements from Fort Dayton. Three Indian braves chase him for hours through forests and grasslands until finally he reaches the fort and brings help. Just as the Indians have occupied the stockade and a desperate hand to hand battle is under way, the militia from Fort Dayton arrive to save the settlers. They quickly defeat the enemy and restore order. The commanding officer informs the settlers that the war is now over and the English have surrendered to General Washington. Lana and her child have survived the battle but Mrs. McKlennar was mortally wounded and as she dies, she leaves her farm and money to the Martins.
The movie is a semi-historical account and the action of the story is dramatic enough and the characters interesting enough to keep the viewers’ interest. I found Edna May Oliver’s portrayal of the cantankerous Mrs. McKlennar as probably the dramatic highlight of the movie. Fonda and Colbert do an admirable job as the young couple trying to survive the war and various character actors such as Ward Bond and John Carradine add substantially to the effort. I would rate this movie as a diverting historical adventure story. Perfect for a winter evening when you don’t want to go to sleep too early.
07FEB2022 – Quote of the Day
In truth, it was neither a vision, nor a seraphic revelation, nor a voice from heaven, nor any strange dream or other mystery that brought me into the way of salvation; and I owe my conversion simply to the reading of a book. A book? Yes, and it is an old, homely-looking book, modest as nature and natural as it; a book that has a work-a-day and unassuming look, like the sun that warms us, like the bread that nourishes us; a book that seems to us as familiar and as full of kindly blessing as the old grandmother who reads daily in it with dear, trembling lips, and with spectacles on her nose. And this book is called quite shortly the Book, the Bible. Rightly do men also call it the Holy Scripture; for he that has lost his God can find Him again in this Book, and towards him that has never known God it sends forth the breath of the Divine Word. The Jews, who appreciate the value of precious things, knew right well what they did when, at the burning of the second temple, they left to their fate the gold and silver implements of sacrifice, the candlesticks and lamps, even the breastplate of the High Priest adorned with great jewels, but saved the Bible. This was the real treasure of the Temple, and, thanks be to God!
Heinrich Heine
07FEB2022 – Photo of the Day
A Nice Review of How CNN Went from a News Outlet to a Mental Hospital
Younger readers may not remember when CNN was a news outlet that covered news like wars and disasters and political events worldwide. Sure, it was probably always biased toward the Left but that is the status quo among all journalists.
But this article traces the downfall to Jeff Zucker and his shift from covering the news to creating tabloid infotainment. A fairly concise explanation. I like how it ends:
“Moving forward, what’s next for CNN when the company falls under the Discovery Channel umbrella later this year? Let’s hear from its soon-to-be largest shareholder, John Malone of Liberty Media.
“I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing,” Malone said in an interview that recently aired on CNBC.
The collapse of CNN is now complete: Nine-out-of-ten viewers, gone. Its top-rated anchor, Chris Cuomo, gone. Its network president, gone. Its integrity in shambles.
Oh, and new management coming in that is signaling big-time changes … changes that may bring CNN back to the proud network it once was before Jeff Zucker destroyed it.””
Don Lemon are you next?
Wanted: Local Political Contributors
As the Primary and General Off-Year Elections creep up on us I’m interested in getting posts from readers about their local political scene. Places like Texas, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota are represented by readers here. Even Canada and Australia have local political stories that some of our readers might want to provide. So if you are interested in sharing your perspective on your local politics, get in touch. Either leave a comment or send an e-mail to orionscoldfire at charter dot net. Anonymity is, of course, perfectly fine and if you prefer to discuss local cultural issues instead of or in addition to politics that also is encouraged. I’ll add this want-ad to the footer of the posts for a while to see if I can entice any readers to write.