Trump To Address 9000 in Phoenix?

Six months before the primaries Donald Trump is speaking before 9000 people?

The GOP Establishment should start taking this guy seriously. So too, Tea Partiers, Conservatives and yes, Democrats.

My position is simple: Trump is a faux conservative on every issue except immigration. We do not agree as to the remedy for economic woes. He wants to stop the Chinese from "manipulating" (read: devalue) their currency. I want to encourage the leaders of all but the US to manipulate their currencies. I favor a strong dollar but Trump sees merit in a weaker dollar. Trump is also a bit of a protectionist and I am a fan of cheap foreign goods.

Concerning likability I used to think of Trump as a chronic publicity seeker. I never saw one minute of "The Apprentice" and I was in a room once when someone was watching "Celebrity Apprentice." My only favorable association was when he was a guest on Howard Stern's radio show. He surprised me at how spontaneous he was on the radio because in pictures he looks stuffy. He was funny too. Great radio days...But all in all I can't say that I liked Trump.

What I love about Trump is that he is a fighter and yes, a leader. I am so sick of all the wusses in the GOP who won't stand up for anyone or anything. The last fighter the GOP had was Sarah Palin. Since Palin, the GOP has rolled countless doormats off its assembly line. I for one cannot bear another Mitt McCain reaching across the aisle.

Trump has internalized that distinctive New York moxie. You push him, he pushes back. You ask him a stupid question and he will highlight YOUR stupidity. I am willing to sacrifice some ideology for a leader who is more like Netanyahu (or even Putin) than the pathetic Jebs and Mitches and Boehners, to say nothing of the pansy we have in the White House.

America is hungry for a fighter. For that reason, I am not dismissing Donald Trump.

If You Follow MSM, You Missed A Bombshell: Lerner, Holder DOJ, FBI Conspired Against Obama Opponents

JULY 07, 2015

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released new Department of Justice (DOJ) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents that include an official “DOJ Recap” report detailing an October 2010 meeting between Lois Lerner, DOJ officials and the FBI to plan for the possible criminal prosecution of targeted nonprofit organizations for alleged illegal political activity.
The newly obtained records also reveal that the Obama DOJ wanted IRS employees who were going to testify to Congress to turn over documents to the DOJ before giving them to Congress. Records also detail how the Obama IRS gave the FBI 21 computer disks, containing 1.25 million pages of confidential IRS returns from 113,000 nonprofit social 501(c)(4) welfare groups  – or nearly every 501(c)(4) in the United States – as part of its prosecution effort. According to a letter from then-House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, “This revelation likely means that the IRS – including possibly Lois Lerner – violated federal tax law by transmitting this information to the Justice Department.”

See rest of story here.

Not Exactly A Book Review: "The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas"

I have had a hard time writing this non-review. Even though I enjoyed Jonah Goldberg's "The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat In The War of Ideas" a few things are bothersome. 

First, let's look at the Table of Malcontents, or my slightly abbreviated version.

1. Ideology

2. Pragmatism

3. No Labels

4. Dogma

5. Separation of Church And State

6. Power Corrupts

7. Diversity

8. Social Darwinism

9. Slippery Slope

10, Dissent

11. Social Justice

12. Community

13. Ten Guilty Men

14. Living Constitution

15. Let Them Eat Cake

16. Violence Never Solves Anything

17. Middle Class

18. Science

19. Youth

20. Ounce Of Prevention

21. The Catholic Church

22. Spiritual But Not Religious

23. Understanding

24. Democracy And Unity

In addition to these nuggets, Goldberg gives us "I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This is not so much an invalid cliche as it is an always insincere statement. It seems to forever be delivered by someone unwilling to sacrifice much of anything for anyone, much less sacrifice their mortality for a rival. They are willing to offer up their earthly existence but would they be willing to pay $100 to defend their enemy's speech? $10? $5? 50 cents? 

Goldberg dismantles with good humor the yo-yo's who make this proclamation.

It took me a long time to warm up to Jonah Goldberg. Sorry to say that his flamboyant mother clouded my opinion of her son for a long time. Goldberg is witty in a common sense, P. J. O'Rourke kind of way. This is an entertaining, sometimes laugh out loud book. It is also scholarly at times. Goldberg even works in a "Starship Troopers" reference, an always-endearing maneuver in the eyes of this blogger. 

The origins and evolution of the term 'Social Darwinism' are interesting. It seems that no one has ever been for Social Darwinism. It is always a disapproving label applied by Evolutionists who are satisfied enough with Darwinism to explain everything else.

Goldberg traces the origin of the phrase, "Better that ten guilty men go free..." and applies mathematics to the problem. In dollar terms it is probably not better that ten guilty men go free if such choices have to be made. 

Minor criticisms: Goldberg seems to run out of cliches at some point and to maintain a book length product he dissects statements about youth and invalid criticisms of the Catholic Church. Still, his observations are valid and long overdue. 

Larger Criticism: The subtitle "...How Liberals Cheat In The War Of Ideas" The title suggests that these are exclusively liberal clichés. To be sure, Lefties have made their contribution to Emptyspeak. Vapid terms like 'Social Justice' are parroted exclusively by Occupy types. Terms like 'Community' and 'Understanding' and 'Diversity' also have some partisan affiliation. But Conservatives talk about the slippery slope in regards to gay marriage or assisted suicide. Who doesn't use "Ounce of Prevention" and who doesn't lapse into an occasional "Hindsight is Twenty-Twenty"?

When Peter Schweizer drops a bombshell on the Clinton Foundation, CNN et al painstakingly alert the audience that Schweizer is a conservative reporter who might bring some bias to the discussion. Bernard Goldberg called attention to the broadcast convention of identifying conservative representatives and pundits as CONSERVATIVE but assigning no particular label to non-conservatives.

While this sort of subtle bias is frustrating, we have to ask ourselves if Conservatives don't paint themselves into a corner. When Goldberg dissects more or less universal clichés and blames their usage on Liberals, the line is drawn in the sand. Can we later complain if Goldberg is dismissed as a Conservative writer?

Don't let my nitpicking ruin your fun. "The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas" is both entertaining and enlightening. If this was Amazon, I would give it four stars.


 

They Don't Make Democrats Like They Used To: Viva Philip Berg

Usual disclaimers. I believe Barry Obama Soetoro was born in Hawaii and that he is the father of Birtherism. A young man who then called himself Barack submitted a phony biography to the literary agency, Acton and Dystell in 1991.

Philip Berg is one of the few Birthers who raises the Indonesian citizenship issue. That is much more significant than Obama's birthplace.


SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Reposting Bob Schieffer/Howard Kurtz Snippet

Strange how certain people with certain viewpoints are often "disappeared" from the Banana Republic of Youtube.  A different version of this video was posted at this blog on June 2, 2015.

CAN'T SAY WE MISS YOU

So, The President Did Not Light Up The White House In Red, White And Blue On Independence Day?

If the president did light up the White House, my desultory web search did not reveal that display of patriotism and pride. After President Jarrett lit up the White House in rainbow colors to spike the football in America's end zone a week ago, a petition was circulated to illuminate the White House in the nation's colors on July 4th.

Didn't happen? Must have been the holiday. With so many staffers getting the day off, I bet Barry had to take the trash to the curb too.


JUST A WEEK AGO