CNN Continues to Clean House, Bounces Harwood

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And the beat goes on.  CNN fired their White House Correspondent John Harwood.  Immediately leftists in the press and the White House reacted with shrieks of outrage that another of their anointed has gotten kicked to the curb by CNN.

I’m starting to like this CNN CEO Chris Licht.  He’s firing all the people I despise the most at his company.  Maybe Don Lemon could be next?  Just a suggestion.

Well, between the three firings at CNN and the story that Chucky Todd is getting the boot off Meet the Press, I’m starting to think there is something good going on in the front offices of network news.  Maybe they’re tired of losing money.  Or maybe they know the wind is shifting.  Or maybe both.

Guest Contributor – Chemist – 02SEP2022 – Green Fantasy

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I confess I am mystified by Germany and the rest of Europe’s attitude.
They earnestly believe that burning fossil fuels will warm the planet and lead to global Armageddon. Well, unless those fossil fuels come from Russia. Then it is somehow OK.

Nuclear power plants produce zero CO2 and, if done right, are the safest of all power generation methods. (The US nuclear fleet has a perfect safety record going back over 50 years.) Oh, but Japan had an Earthquake followed by a tsunami which caused the pumps to fail at a nuclear plant leading to (Checks notes) zero deaths?
Never mind the fact that Germany is not on an ocean and is not subject to tsunamis, they decided to shut down all of their nuclear plants.

So they put all of their resources into Chinese made solar panels and windmills. Again, the fact that these items are only made by burning tons of fossil fuels (most far dirtier than European fossil fuels) is somehow ok.
They did this knowing that there was no way these “Green” methods could serve their needs. I guess the plan was to make up the difference with that “Green” Russian natural gas which they would still be happily buying if Vlad hadn’t had the bad taste to invade Ukraine.

Tucker is right. They will freeze. The question is – how many governments will fall>

Reactions to Yesterday’s Post (A Red-Pilled America)

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Yesterday’s post got a lot of new eyes because it got linked on several external sites.  Four of these folks left comments.  I’ve copied those comments below:

  • I enjoy your well written posts. Just for my education, you mentioned “FBI sponsored inner city crime”. Could you elaborate? Thanks.
  • I’ve said it before, and it is worth repeating: The salvation of the American people rests with the states and the state governments. Only these entities can protect and defend the people from the predators in DC. Only the states can marshal the resources necessary to prevent the federal government goons from harassing and harming citizens. Just as state governments have refused to cooperate with federal goons on various issues, it is time for states to utterly nullify the federal government. By no longer allowing collection of federal taxes within their jurisdictions, and also not allowing agents of the DC to operate within their borders, Americans can be freed of the criminality inflicted upon them by the unaccountable criminals at the US Capitol. It is time to take Federalism to the next level. A convention of states could, in a single day, invalidate the entire swamp and begin a new era of freedom and government accountability in this once great nation.
  • I think tribunals, and executions, will go a LOOONNNNNGGGGGGGG way to healing this country. The “great experiment” (i.e. the black man, women’s “rights”) is an ABJECT FAILURE!!!  We HAVE to move forward Or NO ONE DOES, and of course, NO ONE LIVES.
  • And you honestly think the R’s are the genuine answer?  You are a bigger fool and bigger part of the problem than originally calculated.

Well, I think this represents an interesting cross-section of people on the Right.  The first commentor didn’t explicitly provide his position on the topic I was discussing but he definitely read my words and had a specific question about one of my statements.  He also said polite things about my writing (which is always greatly appreciated) so I assume that we are at least not too far apart on basic beliefs on the American political situation (at least that could be the case).

The second and third commentors wanted to address specific actions that they hope some groups will take to force changes in the political situation.  These are actions that will not occur under the current political framework but would require some kind of rupture of the political structure, either through a civil war or a loosening of the federal arrangement that might involve some kind of implicit or explicit nullification of federal laws that are deemed harmful by various states.

The fourth commentor is especially interesting.  And not only because he recognized that I am, “a bigger fool and bigger part of the problem than originally calculated.”  He also seems to have gotten the impression that I think the Republicans are somehow the “genuine answer” to our problems.  What I find interesting is that not only didn’t I say or imply that the Republicans were part of any solution, but my post never mentioned the Republicans at all.  What this tells me is that many of us are already locked into points of view and ways of looking at things that almost preclude hearing what people with other points of view have to say.

And I see this in my own discussions with others.  I already have a narrative about what’s going on.  If someone has a different way of looking at things, often I attribute this different point of view to a lack of understanding or ignorance of the facts.  We develop tunnel vision to simplify the playing field.  We’re tuned into a few general indicators.  Maybe they’re key phrases or buzzwords that we use to size up whether someone is on “our side” or not.  And from these we extrapolate everything else about that person.  But the conversations between people even on the “same side” aren’t very helpful.

I’ve been of the opinion that people on the right have become more extreme because they’ve been shut out of the conversation by gatekeepers at places like National Review and the Weekly Standard (when it still existed).  Being silenced by the mainstream of your own side tends to radicalize those who are excluded.  And by the same token excluding dissident voices will weaken the reasoning abilities of those who are left.  They no longer have to defend their opinions against real opponents and so they descend into lazy idealism that is ungrounded in reality.  And so, we end up with echo chambers and silos where we preach to the choir.

There have been some positive steps taken.   In 2022 Marjorie Taylor Greene attended the America First Political Action Conference.  She became the first member of Congress to show she was not afraid of the white supremacist label associated with attending a dissident right event.  J.D. Vance refused to condemn her for it.  The Claremont Institute in California has taken small steps to have dialog with members of the dissident community.  There are the beginnings of dissident ideas being mainstreamed on national shows like Tucker Carlson’s broadcast.  These are small things but they are a beginning.

As for my humble part, I’m just glad when people leave comments; good, bad or confusing.  Any communication is better than none, I guess.  So, onward and upward.  Please leave your comments below.

02SEP2022 – Quote of the Day

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Men show at least as much zeal in mischief as in well doing, in folly as in wisdom. The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people that they will have a chance of maltreating someone. Men must be bribed to build up and do good by the offer of an opportunity to hurt and pull down. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior ‘righteous indignation’ — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.

Aldous Huxley

Tucker Carlson Tells America That Europe Will Freeze This Winter

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Tucker reviews the disaster that is energy policy in Europe.  Between the embargo of Russia and the “Green Energy” initiatives like Germany shutting down its nuclear power plants, Europe will be freezing in the dark this winter.  The fact that the price of natural gas has gone up 700% and Germans are scouring their forests for scrap wood to turn into wood chips to heat their homes this winter is somewhat shocking.

Carlson makes a very good point when he says clearly that wind and solar were never going to be even close to a replacement for coal, oil and gas for heating and electricity.  But the Russian embargos are happening just at the right moment to create a perfect storm.

And so far, the Russians are still selling some gas to Europe (about 20% of what they could be sending).  If they cut off the supply altogether it will shut down German industry altogether.  So far the politicians are maintaining their stance on the Ukrainian war.  But it’s still summer.  We’ll have a better idea how things will go in January.

Now, we’re in better shape than Europe.  We produce a lot of fossil fuels.  But our energy prices have skyrocketed and they will increase again this winter.  This should have some effect on the November elections I think.

A Red-Pilled America

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What happens when everyone knows the country is rigged?  What is lost when half the country thinks they’ve witnessed the end of honest presidential elections?  I have to assume that Joe Biden thinks the answer to those two questions is nothing.  And maybe he’s right.  After all, he’s still president, the FBI has the dissidents from January 6th tucked away in prison and he’s just hired 87,000 new IRS agents to punish that half of the country who don’t like him.  And maybe he’s planning to stage a repeat performance on election day this year.  But if he believes that I think he’s wrong.

I think one of America’s greatest strengths was the belief by a large majority of its citizens that this was an honest place where the rules were followed and the will of the people was abided by.  I think the belief in that provided the leaders with enormous legitimacy which the American people would rally around when an emergency or crisis required them to unify their efforts and make sacrifices.  Probably the greatest example was World War II.  Our fathers selflessly signed up for the war in the millions even before the draft was initiated.  They sacrificed their lives to protect their country in a tremendous show of patriotism.

On a smaller scale a similar wave of patriotic zeal swept over the country after 9/11/2001.  Even pacifists and socialists rallied round the flag and supported the war and the actions that had to be taken to protect the country.  We even sacrificed some of our freedoms by supporting the Patriot Act.  So, belief in the legitimacy of the government and trust in the honesty of our leaders was a big part of why the United States was a tremendous force in the world.  We believed we were the real deal.

So that’s all gone.  Tens of millions of Americans now know that the government is run by dishonest men.  The FBI and the other intelligence agencies might as well be the mafia as far as their brutality and dishonesty is concerned.  We’ve seen judges, federal law enforcement and other deep state actors conspire to spread lies, arrest and jail innocent men and harass and obstruct the orders of our duly elected officials.  And soon over a hundred million Americans and maybe more will be convinced that this country is now corrupt and ruled by an oligarchy that will do and say whatever it takes to hold onto power.

But so what?  What practical effect will this have on America?  Well, I think it’s already having a large effect on this country.  I think the world knows we’re no longer a united country.  I think that’s why Russia, China and a growing number of countries are beginning to break away from the global economic order that we have established.  And that’s part of the reason that our economy is beginning to flounder.  The dollar isn’t as strong as it once was.  And our friends and enemies no longer look at us in the same way.  They know we’re not as strong militarily because no one will rally round the flag any longer.  Who would lay down his life for an illegitimate government that hates him?  No one.

And this is just the beginning.  Biden has plenty more damage he wants to do.  Unchecked illegal immigration and FBI sponsored inner city crime is now a permanent reality.  As the economy deteriorates, confiscatory tax policies will surely follow to keep the government afloat.  So as public support for the government sinks our stature in the world will diminish accordingly.  Even third rate countries like Iran and Venezuela will stop fearing us and begin flouting our orders.

And that will be just a reflection of the way Americans feel about their own government.  Basically, they no longer respect it.  They only fear it.  And as we saw with the Soviet Union, even a government that controls its people through a reign of terror will eventually grind itself down to nothing through loss of legitimacy.

It’s hardly a point of pride that the Democrats will ultimately destroy their own power by debasing the United States but it does provide hope that once they crash the economy even massive voter fraud may be insufficient to keep them in office.  At that point it may be possible to salvage the country.