Who’da thunk it?
https://www.rove.com/article/1-30-20-wsj
El Paso is a heavily hispanic district and the local Republican skunked his Democat opponent by a mile. How sad.
Maybe Mexican American Texans should just be called Texans.
Category: Reviews
Reviews of books, movies, tv shows and other items
Senators are Saying the Farce May be Over By Sunday
Apparently more senators are coming forward to tell the press that the Republicans have the votes to deny witnesses and move on to the final vote this weekend.
Good. It’s about time. I can’t wait for the State of the Union Address. Maybe Pelosi will boycott it and we won’t have to see her hideous face.
Escaping from Their Better World
Joss Whedon is a colossal Progressive Jerk. His politics are as stupid as the politics of any of the other losers in Hollywood. But his one saving grace, in my opinion, is that he created the “Firefly” television series and the follow-on motion picture “Serenity.” Serenity is a perfect metaphor for the culture we live in.
In the fictional Firefly universe, the powerful elites control the “Core” worlds where life is luxurious and everything is controlled by the security state known as the Alliance. Out on the rim life is difficult and the inhabitants chafe under the hegemony of the Core which defeated their Rebellion in a devastating war. But they are far enough away from the Core that they can evade much of the control if they live outside the legitimate business world. One such concern is the Firefly Class spaceship “Serenity” captained by former rebellion soldier Malcolm Reynolds. Mal now runs Serenity as a trading ship which indulges in all manner of illegal enterprises and is constantly on the run from the Alliance security forces.
In the movie Serenity Mal is in more than the normal amount of trouble because one of his crew possesses a dangerous secret that the Alliance will do just about anything to stifle. On a distant world the Alliance tested a chemical called pax. It was meant to remove all aggression from the populace and therefore create a “better world” free from anger, hate and fear. Unfortunately, it not only eliminated aggression it completely eliminated the will to live and the inhabitants just lay down and died.
To stop Mal and his people from revealing this secret the Alliance sends their most skilled “Operative” to eliminate Serenity. In one of the pivotal scenes the Operative reveals to Mal his motivation.
Mal – Do you even know why they sent you?
Operative – It’s not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Mal – So me and mine gotta lay down and die so you can live in your better world?
Operative – I’m not going to live there. There’s no place for me there any more than there is for you. Malcolm, I’m a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.
Later on, Mal stops running and decides to take a stand.
And I do not hold to that. So, no more running. I aim to misbehave.
To my mind this is exactly what we are faced with in our present culture. The elites are determined to force us to live by the rules they have invented whether we want to or not. In their minds we are evil children who need to be punished and trained to love Big Brother. They don’t want coexistence. They want capitulation. But the truth is we are stronger than we know and stronger than they fear. The main thing is not to play by their rules. And by no means play fair. Deception and secrecy are perfectly reasonable in the present situation. Use whatever advantage you find and be sure to protect you and yours. Don’t let them wear you down. And don’t let them steal the enjoyment of life with your family and friends. That is the definition of victory.
And to paraphrase Malcolm Reynolds, without a doubt we need to misbehave.
ZMan Reacts to Christopher Caldwell’s “The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties”
Caldwell rights about the deleterious effects caused by the affirmative action legislation in the 1960’s.
Surprisingly, the ZMan seems to think some of the views of the Dissident Right are leaking through to mainstream society. I’ll have to read Caldwell’s book to see what I think.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? – A Country Music Review
Back in 2000 I went to see the Coen Brothers movie of the same name and even though George Clooney was just as much of a progressive jerk back then as now I enjoyed the movie immensely. So, I bought the movie soundtrack sometime in early 2001 and listened to it from time to time. Then 9/11 happened and I found myself listening to that album over and over. One song especially, “Angel Band,” seemed soothing and fit my mood. About the same time, I was driving home from work, listening to the local classic rock station and it struck me that I had heard the same six songs on the way home for the last six months and just couldn’t stand to hear them again. So, I tried a few of the other rock stations and realized they were playing exactly the same songs. In desperation I clicked around to see what else was playing. Eventually I stumbled on a country music station and by some weird coincidence they were playing Angel Band! I took it as a divine intervention and from then on, I switched to country music.
So that may explain why I have an exaggerated regard for “O Brother Where Art Though.” But undoubtedly it is a very good album. Even the songs that are not strictly country fit the mood of the collection. My favorite songs in the collection are:
- Down to the River to Pray (Alison Krauss)
- I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (Dick Burnett)
- Didn’t Leave Nobody but the Baby (Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch)
- Indian War Whoop (John Hartford)
- Angel Band (The Stanley Brothers)
I’ll review the movie separately but I don’t think it’s necessary to watch the movie to enjoy the music but it does add an extra dimension to the experience which I recommend.
Traveller by Chris Stapleton – A Country Music Review
Chris Stapleton is a big country music star. His 2015 debut solo album Traveller was double platinum and went to number 1 on Billboard. But I only heard of him when I looked up a song that was on the soundtrack of the movie Hell or High Water that I watched last year. That was the song “Outlaw State of Mind.” So, I figured I’d buy the album it was released on and that was “Traveller.” Chris Stapleton is a very successful songwriter with his songs being sung by country artists such as Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley. And when you listen to this album you realize he is a fantastic lyricist. It is filled with great music. There are all kinds of different songs, songs about love, heartache, addiction, music, God and working-class alienation. There’s plenty of good stuff on it but being the romantic that I am my favorite song on the album is a love song called “More of You.” It’ a mandolin accompaniment to a husband describing his undying love for his wife. As a man married for almost a lifetime to a woman as stubborn and aggravating as Camera Girl no one is more aware of the homicidal impulses that can awaken in a husband’s tortured mind when such a woman really tries to twist the knife. But I also know the flipside, which is that a good marriage is the best thing that can happen to a man. This song captures that good side. It is simple, tender and beautiful.
Traveller is a good country album. Give it a try.
Star Trek – The Original Series – Complete Series Review – Season 1 Episode 17 – The Squire of Gothos
I’ve liked this episode since the time I saw the original broadcast. The story can be considered science fiction but I prefer to think of it as comedy.
The Enterprise is in route to some star base when in the middle of a starless void they detect a planet where none should be. Attempting to avoid it both Sulu and Kirk disappear from the bridge. Spock assumes command and even the planet has a poisonous atmosphere he beams down a rescue party headed by McCoy. They find themselves in an Earth-normal environment and enter a building that appears to be a medieval castle. There they find Sulu and Kirk statue-like in an apparent stasis. Then they hear someone playing the harpsichord and someone calling himself General Trelayne, the Squire of Gothos, introduces himself to them and releasing Kirk and Sulu to consciousness invites the crew to be his guests. But guest is just a euphemism for captive. He toys with the crew members but meanwhile Spock has located Kirk and company on the planet and beams them to the Enterprise. Trelayne shows up on the bridge of the Enterprise and returns Kirk and the landing party back to Gothos. He also adds Spock and Kirk’s new Yeoman Teresa Rose who, of course, is a fetching blonde played by an actress named Venita Wolf.
Realizing that Trelayne doesn’t intend to release them Kirk figures out an escape plan. He guesses that the device that Trelayne uses to perform the various miraculous transformations of matter and energy is hidden in the ornamental mirror in the castle hall. Kirk uses Trelayne dancing with Yeoman Ross as an excuse to challenge Trelayne to a duel. When Trelayne fires his pistol into the air Kirk diverts his own shot to destroying the mirror and the mechanism behind it. Transporting back to the ship while Trelayne is powerless Kirk orders the Enterprise depart the vicinity of Gothos at top speed but before he can warp out of the system, they observe the planet Gothos somehow in front of them again. After several more futile attempts at escape Kirk heads back to the planet instructing Spock to wait a short time and then leave the system at full speed.
Trelayne is dressed as an English magistrate and he condemns Kirk to death for treason. But Kirk convinces him that hanging would be boring and instead Trelayne should hunt Kirk for an exciting experience. While Kirk is hiding, he tries desperately to call the Enterprise on his communicator and tell them to run while Trelayne is distracted but the signal is blocked. Finally, Trelayne traps Kirk and prepares to kill him with a sabre. But Kirk knocks the sword out of Trelayne’s hand and slaps him in the face calling him a child. Just then two voices, a man’s and a woman’s, are heard and Kirk and Trelayne look up to see two shining globes of light. The voices come from these globes and they turn out to be energy beings and in fact Trelayne’s parents. They berate Trelayne for mistreating his “predators,” meaning the enterprise crew, and tell him that play time is over and he must come home. Then Trelayne assumes the tone and diction of a petulant child who doesn’t want to quit playing. He tells his parents that they promised him he could have Gothos for his plaything and that he was winning against Kirk. The voices continue to berate him and repeat, “No Trelayne,” to all his entreaties. At least he keeps repeating, “But I woulda won,” over and over again as he slowly fades away. Afterwards, the voices apologize to Kirk for their son’s misbehavior and promise to let him return to the enterprise without further interference.
Back on the bridge Spock asks Kirk how Trelayne should be characterized in their report. When Spock rejects the title of God of War, Kirk suggests a little boy, and a very naughty little boy at that.
As I stated above, I’ve always enjoyed this episode as a pure comedy and nothing else. The Trelayne character is enjoyable as a selfish petulant child who loves play acting and posturing. There’s nothing much to this story but the clash of Trelayne’s and Kirk’s personalities and even that is just a pretense to allow Trelayne to perform his tour de force. There is the pretty girl hanging around which is nice. But these things and the payoff joke at the end are enough. I give this a 9. On the Kirk side, he does a shoulder roll or two and some minor acrobatics but nothing really embarrassing so let’s call it a 9 // 2.
Why the U.S. Security Establishment Can’t Stand Trump by Steve Cortes
Real Clear Politics has an excellent article that lays out how and why the Security Agencies have attempted to prevent President Trump from wresting control of the United States from their control.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/25/why_the_us_security_establishment_cant_stand_trump.html
He lays out the steps methodically and clearly. Reading just how treasonous these swamp dwellers are I fervently hope that President Trump succeeds in sends all of the ringleaders to prison for several decades. They truly are despicable.
25JAN2020 – American Greatness Post of the Day – Espresso Populism by Niccolo Soldo
Soldo has a second installment on Italy’s revolt against globalism. https://amgreatness.com/2020/01/24/espresso-populism/ In the article he states that tomorrow, 26JAN2020 the reliably left wing Italian province of Emilia-Romagna is voting and currently the polls are deadlocked with a good chance that the right wing populist Lega party led by Matteo Salvini will win. Soldo compares that to the Republicans capturing the California legislature, governorship, and both their senators and house representatives all at once. Since that is a known impossibility I hope Soldo has higher hopes for the Italian election in question.
But tomorrow is not a long time to wait so if you’re interested in this story as the next domino after Trump and Boris Johnson, then stay tuned and test his theory tomorrow.
Here is an Example of Confusion About What Conservatism Is
In his essay titled, “Can Conservatism Be Conserved?” Spencer Klavan questions whether a new “conservative coalition” made up of actual conservatives together with various non-conservatives who have been alienated or even attacked by the “Woke” progressives can form a coherent movement. But then he concedes that most of these “new conservatives” would reject the title. Klavan explains,
“An inescapably important reason for this is that many members of the new conservative coalition (especially those who don’t identify as conservative) reject the label because they hold views, and practice ways of life, which the historic conservatism of only a generation ago deemed deeply distasteful, even unconscionable. Weinstein and Boghossian are atheists. Murray, Doyle, and Straka are openly gay. White is transgendered, and Birchill and Bindel are lifelong feminists.”
Apparently, the only thing all these people have in common is they don’t want to be de-platformed by the “Woke” hall monitors. Maybe that means they believe in free speech. But maybe they only want it if it suits their speech. After all, feminists and the various alphabet people seem plenty willing to call anything they don’t like hate speech and get these people de-platformed or worse.
At its core I think this outreach to non-conservatives is just the latest example of liberals trying to act as gatekeepers and redefine conservatism into something acceptable to their friends on the Left. It’s kind of like the ecumenism that was supposed to let people of different faiths coexist but ends up by turning Christian Churches into cultural centers devoid of any connection at all to Christ because it might be offensive to the non-Christians.
In my opinion it is a mirage to think that embracing these various leftists as some kind of a partnership will do any good at all. On the contrary, all it will involve is attempts to disavow any actual conservatives who won’t paper over their rejection of the various dysfunctional and dangerous lifestyles or worldviews that these so-called conservative allies espouse. A similar thing was done to the paleocons by the neocons a few decades ago. That was how we ended up in the mess we are in now. Trump was able to, single-handedly, drag those deplorables back into the fold. The last thing we want to do is give “new conservatives” another bite at the apple.
So, in answer to the title of Mr. Klavan’s article, yes conservatism can be conserved but not by accepting non-conservative ideas and the people who live by them. Let the progressives, the liberals, the moral relativists, the feminists and the alphabet people battle with their even crazier “woke” brethren (or whatever gender bent category they prefer) on their own. We have nothing in common with them and nothing to gain by engaging with them. I would much prefer to engage with the fringe groups to the right of us and see if we can find some common ground with them. Their ideas are more extreme than ours but they at least do not reject the values that we embrace. In many cases I think they have let pessimism radicalize their thinking and pushed them to conclude that only radical solutions to our problems exist. I think the last few years have shown that progress can be made if the right people get involved. If actual conservatives have a part in running the country better outcomes are possible.