The author compares the Russia investigation to the movie Absence of Malice. Amusing and convincing. Recommended.
Category: Trump
Back to the Future (Make That Back to Heinlein’s Future History)
Back in the nineteen-forties and –fifties Robert A Heinlein was writing his “Future History” stories about the time period that currently is the recent past. And on his very impressive chart somewhere between the beginning of space flight and the beginning of a theocratic dictatorship in the United States was a period around the nineteen sixties that he called the “Crazy Years.” You get a flavor for what he meant in a story called “The Year of the Jackpot.” In this story social mores were unravelling. Women would spontaneously strip naked in public without knowing why they were doing it and transvestite men and women would challenge the authorities with prosecution for daring to notice that they were queer. Whether Heinlein was truly prescient or whether he just detected the beginnings of the curve and extrapolated it to its outlandish extreme is unknown to me. But obviously he was being cautious. No kidding, the current events that greet each of us as we survey the contents of our daily purveyor of fake news is well beyond what would have passed for science fiction or parody a few decades ago. States are suing the federal government to prevent it from ascertaining if a census form is being filled out by an illegal alien. A “woman” who used to be a man is marrying “man” who used to be a woman and we are supposed to believe that somehow now a man will be giving birth to the child. A porn actor is suing the President’s lawyer for defamation of character. Does a porn actor even have a character that can be defamed? We’ve been laughing at these insanities for decades but none of it has gone away or even slowed the march to the brink of insanity. Heinlein’s theocratic dictatorship is looking less and less like a nightmare scenario and more and more like a really good idea. I’m really starting to wonder how much worse Sharia Law would be than the current politically correct straight jacket we currently endure. At least under it there are easily recognizable roles for the traditional individuals most of us remember as normal.
Heinlein later in his career wrote a sort of spy novel with a female replicant heroine called “Friday.” In that universe the United States and Canada had balkanized into a number of smaller states. Some of the states mentioned are Brit-Can, Quebec, the Alaska Free State, the California Confederacy, the Republic of Texas, the Vegas Free State and the Chicago Imperium. This later novel is significantly less optimistic than his earlier works. I definitely don’t claim that Robert Heinlein was particularly more skilled as a prognosticator than any other seers around but I begin to see a rationale for separating from behavior that keeps trending not only farther and farther from normalcy but even begins closing in on suicidal. I still hope that the path forward is the majority of Americans rejecting the progressivist nightmare that is currently unfolding and at the least restore the conditions needed to allow a functional society. But I have to admit I’m starting to worry that the Alt-Right may not be just making up their apocalypse. I better get my passport stamped for the Republic of Texas, or should that be the Vegas Free State?
Trump vs the Hell Storm (Part 2)
Trump vs the Hell Storm (Part 1)
Dramatis Personae: President Trump – (PT); Vice President Pence – (VPP);
Scene 1: Trump Tower, Executive Suite. Monday 1pm. President Trump and Vice President Pence face to face around a small round office table. The table is littered with coffee cups and crumpled legal paper.
PT – Also no good? Alright, how about this one? Ten years ago, Putin knew that I was destined to be President. So, in order to destroy me he drugged me with Spanish fly and brainwashed me into sleeping with Stormy Daniels. It makes sense, right? It’s some form of Russian collusion and in a way my brain which is like a computer was hacked by Putin.
VPP – Stop! Enough! I’m sorry Mr. President but that’s enough. I can’t listen to even one more of these insane lies. I know you’re desperate but there isn’t one chance in a trillion that anyone, and I mean anyone would believe any of those stories.
PT – But then what can I do?
VPP – I know it’s a little late in the game but have you thought of the truth and an apology?
PT – Mike, that’s a brilliant idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Anyway, I’m going home right now and put your brilliant strategy into effect. Who knows? If this goes well I might even start telling the truth to Congress.
VPP – Mr. President, please take some time before you speak to her and try to understand her feelings about what you will be telling her. This will be a devastating conversation and you must be sensitive to her emotions and let her sense your sadness and contrition.
PT- Look Mike you came up with a good idea but don’t get all Dr. Phil on me. I think I know a thing or two about the ladies if you know what I mean. I’ll pour on the Trump charm and prove just how large my hands really are if you catch my drift. See ya Mike. (exits the room.)
VPP – Great Caesar’s Ghost. She’s going to murder him.
Scene 2 – Tuesday morning 3am outside the Vice Presidential Residence. Two men supporting a third man between them. The third man shakily ringing the doorbell.
VPP – (voice speaking over the intercom) Is that you Mr. President?
PT – Help me Mike. Please help me.
VPP – I’m buzzing you in. (the lock buzzes open).
Scene 3 – The Vice-Presidential Parlor. President Trump is slumped back on a chaise longue. He has several small bandages over cuts on his face, a noticeable black eye and a bag of ice sitting on his groin. The Secret Service agents appear embarrassed and Vice President Pence is standing nervously fiddling with his robe belt looking down on the President.
PT – You set me up Mike. I went into the lion’s den like some kind of roman martyr. I told her the truth and told her Stormy was over-rated as far as the sex went and that I’d make it up to her in the sack and that she didn’t look bad at all for her age.
VPP – Oh good grief.
PT – You have no idea. She went for the family jewels again so I curled up in a fetal position like they tell you to do with bears. But she was ready for that. She worked the face and and kidneys. She must have studied MMA or jiu-jitsu at some point. It took six Secret Service agents to get me out of there alive and two of them are at Walter Reed. One of them probably isn’t going to pull through.
VPP – Mr. President, I’m sure you’re exaggerating.
PT – Have you ever known me to exaggerate?
VPP – Never mind. How would you like me to help you?
PT – Well after that lousy advice I need you to redeem yourself and come up with an idea to fix this mess you’ve gotten me into.
VPP – (some strangled muffled sounds come from the Vice President’s throat and then there is quiet). Certainly Mr. President. I’ll attempt to provide you with better advice. Is there anything else I can do for you this morning?
PT – Yeah Mike. Can you get Mrs. Pence to make us some more eggs? This experience has been extremely taxing.
(more strangled sounds come from Pence and he leaves).
PT – He’s a great guy when he’s on his game. Alright guys help me into the dining room.
Trump vs the Hell Storm (Part 1)
Dramatis Personae – President Trump – (PT); Vice President Pence (VPP);
Scene 1 – Front Entrance to the Vice-Presidential Residence Monday, 3 am. Three figures standing in the shadows. The middle figure rings the door-bell.
VPP – (His loud, angry voice coming out of the front door intercom) – Who’s ringing this bell at this hour. I’ll have the Secret Service down there to arrest you, you crazy fool.
PT – (The middle figure now whispering into the intercom) – Shhhhh Mike! It’s me and I’m here with the Secret Service. Now let us in!
Scene 2 – Immediately afterward in the front foyer of the VP Residence. President Trump and Vice President Pence facing each other with four Secret Service Agent forming a perimeter around them. Both VPP and PT are in pajamas and robes.
VPP – Mr. President, has there been an attack or a disaster.
PT – Both. Mrs. Trump watched the Stormy Daniels show on tv and attacked me. It was a disaster.
VPP – But why are you here at this unnatural hour.
PT – Well I couldn’t stay there. She keeps taking shots at the family jewels. That body armor I’m wearing doesn’t do a damn thing for groin shots.
VPP – But what can I do about that?
PT – Mike I need to use your guest bedroom for a while. And I need you help. She’s really mad!
VPP – Mr President, it’s just that Mrs. Pence is not one of your bigger fans. She thinks you’re a bad influence.
PT – Boy, that seems judgmental. I mean, I never said anything bad about her. Well I can be the bigger man. But look Mike, you owe me this. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be the second most powerful man in the world. You’d still be the governor of Oklahoma.
VPP – Indiana. For Pete’s sake I was the governor of Indiana.
PT – Indiana, right, right that’s right. Sorry, yes. But come on Mike, you gotta help me out. I need some time to figure out a plan. Maybe a present or a vacation. Something to give her a chance to cool down.
VPP – Alright Mr. President. Come on in. The Secret Service will set you up in the guest room. I’ll see you at breakfast. Good night.
PT – Thanks Mike. I’ll never forget you for this. Good night.
Scene 3 – Vice Presidential Residence Dining Room, 9 am, same personnel.
PT – Boy, Mike, the eggs are pretty crummy here.
VPP – I don’t know Mr. President, I’ve always thought MY WIFE makes a very nice breakfast! And by the way, my wife is still talking to me. If you get my meaning.
PT – That’s what I said. These eggs are really YUMMY! That’s right I said yummy.
VPP – That’s what I hoped you said.
PT – And what a lovely woman Mrs. Pence is. I’ve always thought she was the best. Yes sir, I did.
VPP – Thank you sir. Now what is your plan?
PT – Well, I tossed and turned all night and came up with three different plans. I’ll present them and you tell me which one sounds best.
VPP – Very good sir.
PT – Okay. So my first idea is amnesia.
VPP – Amnesia?
PT – Amnesia, yeah.
VPP – But how?
PT – Whaddya mean?
VPP – Well how did you get amnesia and how did it end up causing you to have sex with a porn actress?
PT – Well, it could have happened in any number of ways. Do I have to spell it out for you?
VPP – I don’t think it’s me you’re going to have to spell it out to. But if you really propose using an amnesia defense I think there better be more than just the word amnesia.
PT – Fine. Ahhhhhh, so something like this. I was walking down Park Avenue near Trump Tower when a small child came out of nowhere and ran into traffic. I hurtled over pedestrians and snatched up the infant out of the street just as a taxi was streaking by. I leaped back to curb and deposited the newborn in its mother’s arms. But by a horrible stroke of bad luck a brick broke loose from the building façade and struck me on the head. My thick vibrant head of hair blunted the death blow but I was rendered amnesiac. I forgot that I was currently married and just at that moment a passing bus with a Victoria’s Secret ad caught my eye. And the rest was fate.
VPP – Vibrant?
PT – Too much detail?
To Be Continued
In Trump We Trust?
Back in 2015 Vox Day identified Donald Trump as the best candidate for president. He understood how Trump would handle the republican field and how he would connect with the American people. Between Vox and Scott Adams I read about how a NYC billionaire was going to win Pennsylvania for the republicans for the first time since 1990s. And they were right. And eventually everyone found out they were right. And the right wing rejoiced.
But believing in Donald Trump seems to be difficult for many people. They expect a traditional politician and he’s anything but that. And they doubt his conservative bona fides. And it’s easy to understand. If you’re a dyed in the wool Second Amendment advocate then the bump stock sacrifice may seem an unforgivable sin. Or if you are a fiscal conservative the budget deal probably looks like an abomination.
But what you have to remember is that in a war sometimes tactics allow you to survive to fulfill your strategic goals. President Trump is adept at dealing with bad optics. He knows when to deflect and when to distract and he knows when a tactical retreat may be needed. Basically, he knew that the gun control furor required a gesture. He provided one. But it’s a small retreat if it deflects the main assault. And in the long run the Supreme Court (if appointed by someone like Trump) could find the bump stock provision unconstitutional anyway.
Right now, plenty of people on the right are throwing in the towel and declaring the end of the Trump presidency. I guess I understand their low morale. They’ve been conditioned by the entire post-Reagan republican experience to expect failure. But what they don’t understand is they will never have a better chance of actually reversing some of the damage that thirty years of liberals has already done.
So now Vox is naming names for the record ( http://voxday.blogspot.com/2018/03/woe-is-us.html ) and asking that the record be kept. And once again, I agree with him. In Trump We Trust. He may be defeated by the Deep State and drowned trying to drain the swamp. But at least he’ll go down swinging. So good for you Vox Day and long live the God Emperor, Donald Trump. And here’s hoping the faint of heart may soon recover their hope. Because Trump is our last best hope.
American Greatness – Pick of the Day – Total Political War by Matthew J. Peterson
Peterson is part of the Claremont Institute and they seem to be the most perceptive pundits out there.
“Eight years ago, Claremont Institute Senior Fellow Angelo Codevilla called it the “Ruling Class,” a popular thesis which he turned into a book (The Ruling Class) and used deftly to explain the 2016 election and its aftermath. Michael Anton, in perhaps the most significant essay of the election, called it the “Davoisie oligarchy,” or the “Davos class” and recently coined the word the “oligogues” to describe the majority of elites in their camp that flatter and support them.”
Peterson hits all the high points and identifies what is really going on. The deep state is rejecting the people’s choice for President because he is an outsider and because they think they can.
Definitely a good read.
23MAR2018 – OCF Update
Well, I’m back in the saddle at work again and catching up here on the site. I’m halfway through Robert Silverberg’s Lord Valentine’s Castle (hat tip to Tom) and should have the review soon. And based on the story so far, I think I’ll read the other two books at some point. I have some movie and tv reviews coming up very soon. I’ve got over a thousand photos from the Southwest to edit and rate so I should have a few photo posts coming up soon. The political situation is like some kind of crazy kaleidoscopic nightmare. It sounds like Ray Bradbury’s formula for his stories, “The trip—exactly one-half exhilaration, exactly one-half terror.” And now we know just how many women are willing to admit to having sex with Donald Trump. I guess he was right about them letting him grab them. But they do seem to have been paid for the experience. Trump truly believes in capitalism. Well at least he wasn’t attacking them like Slick Willie. Either way things seem to be going well. The Republicans are afraid of losing the House, blah, blah, blah. Well they are pretty lame so anything is possible. But they really should embrace populism and try to show some backbone. It is the smart move. I still have to read some of the political columns I missed but whether there is something important to share remains to be seen. From my point of view Trump needs to clean the stables and drain the swamp. Then he can move onto policy. And he needs to punish the sanctuary cities and send the illegals home. And finally, Justice Kennedy, go away, now!
23MAR2018 – Trump Administration Catch-Up
So, I have been out of touch with the world for a week. Today I tried to catch up a little. Vox Day had a couple of linked articles. I’ll paste his article and the linked article in both cases below. Sounds like Jeff Sessions is working his slow cautious way around to rooting out his enemies in the FBI and Justice Department. Excellent. Maybe Mueller is next.
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-patience-of-grand-inquisitor.html
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/03/sessions_makes_his_move.html
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2018/03/i-think-i-feel-drop-or-two.html
Interregnum
As threatened, I will be away until next Thursday (22MAR) and will have limited (if any) opportunity to post. But don’t despair. I will be gathering excellent photographic material and revitalizing my flagging wit. I hope that in my absence there will be no Trump related nuclear exchanges or Mueller presidential indictments or any other earthshaking events. Feel free to leave comments on this post to provide me with any topics or things that you think warrant attention. Or just to say hello.
I shall return!
photog
11MAR2018 – Current State of Affairs
Here we are, believe it or not, fast approaching the first quarter mile turn on the metaphorical 2018 One Mile Trump Derby Race and Fashion Show. Currently, the favorite, God-Emperor (1) is ahead of SJW’s Last Hope (13) and JEB’s Your Daddy (17) by at least 8 lengths and his jockey has now reversed his seat and is making funny faces at the rest of the field as they rapidly shrink into the middle-distance. Abandoning the horse racing metaphor (‘cause I can’t think of anything more), we have CNN and MSNBC praising President Trump’s initiative with North Korea, the President of the Steelworkers’ Union telling Chuck Todd that Trump will get electoral support from the rank and file over his trade stance and NeverTrumper Senator Dean Heller is slobbering over President Trump in the forlorn hope that this will help him win his primary. Oh baby, the times they are a changin.
And the only real threat on the horizon, Mueller and his Russian witch-hunt, seems to be turning into a case of the besieger becoming the besieged. I get the impression that the Trump Administration is building a case against Mueller to be used to put some teeth into a tit for tat agreement to end his investigation.
And let’s look at the political environment. The Media is hanging around porn shoots trying to scare up interest in impeachment. Congressional Democrats keep insisting that 2018 is their year to win back the House and Senate. Congressional Republicans are trying to memorize the phrase tax cuts and jobs. The NeverTrumpers are becoming increasingly lonely and confused. The Dissident and Alt-Right are becoming so confident that they are almost giddy. Some of them are toning down parts of their message to broaden their appeal. Others are actually hardening their responses to leftists in the Social Media and the broader culture. In general, there is a sense that the tide is turning against the left. Whether this change is momentary or something that is gaining momentum is still unclear. But there is definitely a change going on. Good.
The Left of course is counter-attacking furiously wherever it can. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have basically expelled the Right from their sites. California has declared war on ICE and the Federal Government. And the activists federal judges are doing everything up to and including criminal malfeasance to block the Trump Administration wherever they can. But I think they know they are getting their butts kicked. Basically, these are delaying actions, scorching the earth behind their retreat. Good.
So, what about me? How do I feel about all this? I am generally optimistic. I think President Trump has shown that he can handle random catastrophes like the school shooting and deflect a lot of the media noise away from himself and his agenda. And with the extremely strong economic news and the positive foreign policy news he’s positioned to help the hapless Republicans weather the 2018 midterms.
As a sanity check I understand that bad things are going to happen intermittently throughout the Trump Administration. And some of them may be so dire that they destroy the progress currently being made. But that’s the nature of life. What Trump has done is demonstrate that we need a leader as President not a bureaucrat. We must demand that whoever is the next President gets results. He must work for us and not the global cartel. I just hope Mike Pence is taking good notes and Donald Trump will give us his honest opinion of who his successor should be.
So, there we are. Things are good and look to get even better. Maybe Justice Kennedy will do the right thing. He can vote constitutionally for freedom of religion on the Wedding Baker case and then retire to his beach house on Fire Island and allow a deciding vote Right Wing Justice to ascend to the bench. We can hope to see the Justice Department prosecuting California for obstructing the immigration laws. And we can hope to see Mueller ride off into the sunset with his tail between his legs. Stay tuned. Better days seem to be upon us.
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