“Hey, Bernie, don’t lecture me on socialism; I lived through it.”
Category Archives: History
Bloomberg
The risk he will not take:
…when I look at the data, it’s clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I could win a number of diverse states — but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency.
In a three-way race, it’s unlikely any candidate would win a majority of electoral votes, and then the power to choose the president would be taken out of the hands of the American people and thrown to Congress. The fact is, even if I were to receive the most popular votes and the most electoral votes, victory would be highly unlikely, because most members of Congress would vote for their party’s nominee. Party loyalists in Congress — not the American people or the Electoral College — would determine the next president.
I’m always amused at the horror of some that a president might be selected exactly the way the Founders intended it.
Nancy Reagan
RIP. The media is treating her much more kindly in her death than it did during her husband’s presidency.
Only Eight Justices
Is that a problem? Neither Alito or Breyer think so.
The Flint Crisis
It’s not just a water crisis. Like many cities, Flint is the culmination of decades of Democrat malgovernance. It’s a few days old, but Shikha Dalmia has been on the case:
…IMHO, if liberals were truly interested in helping Flint residents rather than simply sacrificing them to the altar of the God of Beneficent Government, they should approach private philanthropists for donations to buy out the houses of Flint’s residents and let them flee to better climes where jobs are more plentiful and the government less intrusive. (Houston, anyone?) Giving each Flint resident $10,000—or $40,000 to a family of four—will require about $4 billion, which is hardly beyond the means of the wealthy trinity of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Mark Zuckerberg. And surely there are others whose help liberals will allow Flint victims to accept!
And what about the city of Flint? Indeed, if liberals were really as caring as they claim to be, they would shift their focus from saving geographical areas to saving living, breathing human beings.
But if they really, really want to do something about it, they should hand it to private developers to turn it into a giant landfill to bury liberal good intentions.
Reminder: they may be good intentions (though I think it’s more about power and corruption), but there is little “liberal” about this.
The Middle Finger Of God
Some worthy thoughts on mendacious politicians, the Clintons (but I repeat myself), and Donald Trump:
I’ve talked enough about the virtue of politeness and persuasion in politics. But how about a little disdain for unrestrained political carelessness? Trump’s total lack of ideological or intellectual rigor and consistency is making fools of people who once claimed they cared about such things.
Trump’s schtick as a sprinkler system of insults is getting everyone dirty. He throws mud on anything and anyone in his way. But that muck washes off quite easily. What stains down to the soul is the eagerness to apologize for, or even celebrate, the filth. In his professional life, Trump has left a trail of wreckage. His own James McDougals are strewn about like victims after a tornado. And his defenders celebrate this as proof he’s a great businessman.
Now the F6 is heading for Washington. His fans remind me of the naïve fools in Independence Day who welcome the aliens with cheers and handmade signs on rooftops, incapable of fathoming that they will be greeted with a death ray. The analogy breaks down because the dupes on the roof didn’t pave the way for the invaders. Meanwhile, Trump’s supporters have been crucial in bringing the Middle Finger of God to our doorsteps.
It is an amazing phenomenon.
Explaining Trump’s Appeal
A timely essay on the current state of the nation from Charles Murray.
[Sunday-morning update]
A bridge too far: I agree with Ace that Trump finally damaged himself last night, at least with actual Republicans. It’s one thing to say we had bad intel; it’s entirely another to say that Bush deliberately lied us into war. That’s the ravings of the left, not a leading Republican candidate.
John Lewis
This is sad. He’s either lying for Hillary, or senile.
Hillary’s War On Women
Kathleen Willey is going to fight back this fall if Hillary is the nominee.
I think the Democrats are in deep denial about what a terrible candidate she will be.
Space Resource Distribution
This article at The Space Review seems profoundly ignorant of economics and history, including the history of the Moon Treaty, because that basically seems to be what he’s proposing.