Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach March 13, 2016 – 9:59 am

Patriotic Pinup Fiona Stephenson

Happy Sunday! It’s another gorgeous day in America. The Sun is shining, there’s a warmth of spring in the air, the mockingbirds are trolling the geese in the pond out back. This pinup is by Fiona Stephenson, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Independent Sentinel explain who Obama wants to help defeat ISIS
  2. Wizbang discusses Ann Coulter’s foot in mouth disease
  3. Western Hero has liberal’s dichotomy of thought
  4. Vox Popoli covers SJW’s putting theory (SJW’s always lie) into practice
  5. Vlad Tepes discusses whether ISIS is really Islamic
  6. This ain’t Hell… wonders if Bernie will denounce La Raza
  7. The People’s Cube explains that March is Leprechaun month
  8. The Other McCain covers the “enslavement of women”
  9. The Lonely Conservative explains that both Trump and Chicago are wrong
  10. The Liberty Zone explains that free speech is not just for those you like
  11. The Daley Gator wonders if Donald Trump remembers when he partially blamed Pam Geller
  12. Raised On Hoecakes offers a brilliant Bernie sign
  13. Powerline notes that Obama’s CIA director is against…..spying?
  14. Patterico covers the Trump supporter who supposedly gave a Nazi salute
  15. And last, but not least, Neo-neocon describes the Trump voter

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page. While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. (BTW, since someone asked, the reason I leave links for the previous week up (or you might see a *) is because they are place holders for later in the day or for next weeks. Easier than rewriting all the time. Also, the listing order has to do with how they are added over time, not how good a post is. I just copy and paste from the previous week, then edit. If you see one of the *’s, go ahead and check out the blog anyhow, see if there is an update. I cannot update with my Android during the day.

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Did Democrats Abandonment Of The Working Class Lead To The Rise Of Trump?

By William Teach March 13, 2016 – 9:06 am

There are all sorts of theories as to what gave rise to Donald Trump. The NY Post’s Kyle Smith argues that this was a long time in coming, as Democrats abandoned the working class

The elite professional class, in the 1950s one of the Republican party’s most reliable constituencies, became the very heart of the Democrats by the 1990s. The party of labor morphed into the party of lawyers. This didn’t happen by accident.

In his new book “Listen, Liberal, Or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People,” progressive commentator Thomas Frank (author of “What’s the Matter With Kansas?”) says Democrats need to take a good long look in the mirror if they want answers to why blue-collar workers are feeling abandoned and even infuriated by what used to be their party.

Many such voters are now backing Donald Trump, who is sketching out the problem with America in exactly the terms they agree with: Jobs are either going to Mexico, or going to Mexicans. Unchecked illegal immigration on the one hand and free trade on the other hand are driving down the wages of working-class Americans, or costing them their jobs outright.

Let’s think about this. Democrats have been calling themselves elites for decades. They imply that they are better than everyone else. They patronize the working class, and call for things like a $15 minimum wage, but, so much of what they actually implement is aimed for the betterment of the Professional Class at the expense of the working class, be it from the loss of jobs to raising the cost of living for the working class through various initiatives, such as ‘climate change’ policy. Donald Trump has tapped into this anger, sorrow, and concern in the working class.

This isn’t racism: angry Americans told they were losing their jobs at a doomed air-conditioner factory in Indiana wouldn’t have applauded if told production was moving to Canada instead of Mexico. Either way, they’re losing their jobs.

Of course it isn’t raaaaacism, but, this is the default position of the Democrats, to throw out smears designed to put people on the defensive when Dems have no legitimate argument.

In Frank’s analysis, around 1972 the Democrats started to suspect their lunch-bucket workers were warmongering dinosaurs doomed by their reliance on dying Rust Belt industries. The party placed its future in the hands of groovy technocrats in non-union fields and wrote off the workers, who soon defected to the Republican party even though Republicans didn’t and don’t apologize for being the party of capital.

The Republican Party stands for giving people a hand up. Democrats stand for a handout. A handout keeps people where they are, and beholden to the government, while the intelligentsia of the Democratic Party sip champagne in their hoity toity parties. And Donald Trump is here to exploit the woes of people who feel unprotected.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Salon: Trump’s Not Really Hitler, He’s Mussolini

By William Teach March 12, 2016 – 3:06 pm

An article at the reliably bat guano insane Salon that isn’t quite so bat guano insane

Trump’s not Hitler, he’s Mussolini: How GOP anti-intellectualism created a modern fascist movement in America

In an interview with Slate, the historian of fascism Robert Paxton warns against describing Donald Trump as fascist because “it’s almost the most powerful epithet you can use.” But in this case, the shoe fits. And here is why.

Like Mussolini, Trump rails against intruders (Mexicans) and enemies (Muslims), mocks those perceived as weak, encourages a violent reckoning with those his followers perceive as the enemy within (the roughing up of protesters at his rallies), flouts the rules of civil political discourse (the Megyn Kelly menstruation spat), and promises to restore the nation to its greatness not by a series of policies, but by the force of his own personality (“I will be great for” fill in the blank).

Not much of a case for being a Mussolini type fascist, especially when the Obama movement featured much of the same (mocks, encouraging confrontation, and force of personality. Obama got others to do his uncivil discourse work).

To quote Paxton again, this time from his seminal “The Anatomy of Fascism”: “Fascist leaders made no secret of having no program.” This explains why Trump supporters are not bothered by his ideological malleability and policy contradictions: He was pro-choice before he was pro-life; donated to politicians while now he rails against that practice; married three times and now embraces evangelical Christianity; is the embodiment of capitalism and yet promises to crack down on free trade. In the words of the Italian writer Umberto Eco, fascism was “a beehive of contradictions.” It bears noting that Mussolini was a socialist unionizer before becoming a fascist union buster, a journalist before cracking down on free press, a republican before becoming a monarchist.

Some of the article makes sense, some of it is way off base. Of course, one has to wonder whether Trump is interested in making people not just reliant on The State, but getting people to worship The State above all others, which is an important part of fascism. Adherence to Government above all else. Government as the dominant, driving force for all citizens. Is he interested in nationalizing “the means of production”, along with simply creating massive central government control of the economy? I seriously doubt it.

Enter Fascism. Fascism promised people deliverance from politics.  Fascism was not just different type of politics, but anti-politics.  On the post-WWI ruins of the Enlightenment beliefs in progress and essential human goodness, Fascism embraced emotion over reason, action over politics.  Violence was not just a means to an end, but the end in itself because it brought man closer to his true inner nature.  War was an inevitable part of this inner essence of man.  Millions of European men had found this sense of purpose and camaraderie in the trenches of the First World War and were not going to sit idly by while politicians took it away from them after the war (famously, after the war Hitler was slow to demobilize and take off his uniform).  Fascists’ main enemies were not just Marxist politicians, or liberal politicians, but politicians in general.

And these people wanted Government. They wanted to replace those in charge with more authoritarianism. Is that Donald? Is he a dictator in waiting? Reading through the article, it certainly makes some links, but, here is where it breaks down

Branding Trumpism Fascist has the political benefit of mobilizing disparate forces in the fight against him just like the antifascist coalition of World War II led to unprecedented alliances between ideologically disparate forces (the Soviet-American alliance being the primary example).  In the American context, seeing Trump as a 2016 reincarnation of Mussolini can unite Democrats, Republicans, independents, Naderites, neo-cons, constitutionalists, and others, into a broad anti-Fascist coalition which would bring Trump down and save our democracy.

In other words, Salon doesn’t like Trump, so they will simply brand him a fascist, attempt to make it stick, and then attempt to destroy him, using weak links and rationales.

Read: Salon: Trump’s Not Really Hitler, He’s Mussolini »

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If All You See…

By William Teach March 12, 2016 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle, which should be banned for Other People, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Quiet Towers, a new addition to the feedreader, with a post giving an autopsy on the Ben Carson campaign.

Ending the week off with Adrienne Barbeau, who was in the original The Fog. Also, Creepshow. Of course, the photo is from The Cannonball Run.

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Rubio Hits Chris Cuomo With Facts No Warmist Wants To Admit

By William Teach March 12, 2016 – 7:59 am

Let me point out that I like Marco Rubio. He has good positions on many, many issues. Yes, he’s a bit closer to the get along Republicans in the Senate, but, other than on immigration, he’s a good politician. He’s also great on ‘climate change’

(Newsbusters) When CNN host Chris Cuomo tried to trap Sen. Marco Rubio by asking him to prove he wasn’t a climate change “denier,” Rubio responded with facts no climate alarmist wants to admit about carbon regulations: “it won’t do anything for our environment.”

Attempting to get Rubio to either confess that he didn’t agree with the “consensus” or depart from his conservative supporters on the issue, Cuomo cited a discredited statistic inflating the number of scientists claiming that humans are the cause of climate change. “Why not embrace the science, though? You didn’t speak to that specifically last night. The science to 99 percent of the community is clear, it’s something that’s seen as a future perspective. Why don’t you share it?”

Warmists/Progressives will never give up their talking points, no matter how many times they have be debunked and destroyed. Another example is the “hands up, don’t shoot meme.” They still trot it out. And let’s not forget that science is not infallible. Nor that the consensus was once that the earth was flat. That witches were real. That sacrifices could stop Bad Weather.

Not falling for the obvious trap, Rubio patiently tried to explain the difference between natural climate fluctuations and man-made climate change. “The question you should be asking a policymaker is: what can we do in government to effect the rise of sea levels? And the answer is, ‘oh, pass these laws we want you to pass.’ So I asked the environmentalists and others who are supporting those laws, ‘well, how many inches of feet of sea level rise will that law prevent?’ And there answer is, it won’t prevent any.”

Rubio also pointed out that these climate regulations “will do nothing to affect the environment but will have a direct and immediate impact on our economy. I think that’s a terrible tradeoff.”

He’s correct. All the things the Cult of Climastrology wants to do will have nary an effect on the climate, all while instituting this tax and that tax, increasing the cost of living (which hurts the poor and middle classes, not the big shots who endorse them), and giving Government more and more power over our individual lives and private entities.

I have utter distrust of Rubio when it comes to illegal immigration, but 100% trust for Rubio that he won’t Do Something when it comes to anthropogenic climate change.

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Long Time Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly Endorses Trump, Goes Nutty On Baseball

By William Teach March 12, 2016 – 7:34 am

I’m not sure what it is about Donald Trump that has caused many supposed Conservatives to go batty. Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Ben Carson, among others, and now

(Daily Caller) Veteran conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly endorsed Donald Trump Friday in St. Louis.

Schlafly told the crowd, “I asked him to stand by the Republican platform because we have the best conservative platform we’ve ever had and he endorses it. He will stand by it. He is a real conservative and I ask you to support him.”

The crowd erupted with cheers as she continued saying, “I’m confident that Donald Trump will appoint judges like [Justice Antonin] Scalia.”

Schlafly added that “we’ve been following the losers for so long,” but that would change with Trump.

For all we know, Donald Trump could make a good or even great president if he managed to win the general election. He could also end up as bad as Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and Warren Harding. The problem is, Trump’s record is a mixed bag of trail mix. He’s all over the place. He’s not a conservative, and, personally, I’m tired of posers, fakes, fools, and squishes claiming they’re conservatives. Most have no idea what it means. Someone should ask Trump to define what it means to be an American Conservative.

Fortunately, Schlafy is super concerned with baseball (via Twitchy)

https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/708357246141526016

I’m not sure about insane, but, it is utterly wacko

This foreign influx into our National Pastime may help explain why our youth is abandoning baseball. Youth who play baseball have declined by more than 40% since 2000, and some communities where baseball was once booming now struggle to fill teams. Television ratings for World Series games are less than half what they were three decades ago.

Baseball owners are doing the same thing that big corporations do – bring in foreign labor to take jobs that should go to Americans. American baseball players are better, as the awards and Hall of Fame prove, but perhaps baseball owners think that foreign players are cheaper and easier to control.

It is time to cut off visas for foreign baseball players, and return our National Pastime to Americans.

I’ll write what Liberals are probably thinking: this is the bat guano insane extension of an out of control belief in reducing illegal and legal immigration. There’s a big difference between people from around the world using work visas to take the jobs of Americans (see Disney, for one) and the best baseball players in the world playing baseball in MLB. This is going down an extreme, nativist road. I’m no big fan of David Freddoso, but, he had a good point when he tweeted “The Conservative movement didn’t just die. It had bad leaders that strangled it.”

Maybe it’s time to rebrand, much like liberals did in calling themselves “Progressives.” I’d like to use the original name, classic liberals, but, liberalism now has a bad connotation. How about “Constitutionalists”?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Long Time Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly Endorses Trump, Goes Nutty On Baseball »

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Obama Super Concerned About The Diaper Divided

By William Teach March 11, 2016 – 3:03 pm

No, really

Cecilia Munoz writes

But the benefits of this new economy aren’t available to all Americans, and the consequences of that divide are severe. Nearly 1 in 3 families struggle to afford diapers for their babies. In some cases, moms and dads stretch the time between diaper changes to make their limited resources last. 

Hmm, is the White House admitting Obama’s economy sucks? Sure seems like it. Of course, the solution to this is More Government! And, Obama’s going to talk about it

Tomorrow, the President is traveling to Texas to participate in SXSW, where he’ll talk about how we can use technology to solve the issues facing Americans today. Ahead of his trip, the White House is highlighting a cross-sector strategy to expand access to affordable diapers for America’s poorest families.

I’m doubting those in attendance will be concerned with diapers. But, fortunately, Obama has solved all other problems, so, he can pivot to diapers.

By the way, some Warmists claim disposable diapers are bad for climate change.

Read: Obama Super Concerned About The Diaper Divided »

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If All You See…

By William Teach March 11, 2016 – 1:00 pm

…is an awesome greenspace that should be replaced with solar panels, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Camp of the Saints, with a post on why he was wrong on Sarah Palin.

Shannon Elizabeth, who was in the terrifying Thir13en Ghosts.

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Raw Story Very Upset That Anyone Would Dare Use Free Speech On ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach March 11, 2016 – 10:26 am

What else is there to take away from this?

Fox pundit blows off ‘99.9% of scientists’: Denying climate change is ‘what the 1st Amendment is about’

Michael Warren, a writer for The Weekly Standard, argued to Fox News on Thursday that the Department of Justice would be wrong to pursue a racketeering case against ExxonMobil for denying climate change because the company had a free speech right to say whatever it wanted. (snip)

“They said that assertion — the 97 percent — comes from a handful of surveys, and abstract counting exercises that have contradicted by more reliable research,” the Fox News host (Heather Childers) explained. “So if the science is still in question, how could you take this to the level of breaking the law?”

“Even if 99.9 percent of all scientist agreed on this,” Warren opined, “the First Amendment protects your right to have a different opinion or to look at different evidence, and say something differently. I mean, that’s what the First Amendment is about.”

Well, can’t have Free Speech, right? In Warmist World, Wrongthink is not allowed, and must be banned. Free Speech? Pffft. Suspend the Constitution for this. Warmists tend to show their ugly little fascist sides quite often.

Let’s not forget, there is not 97% consensus. That paper has been thoroughly debunked.

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Obama Admits He Has World’s Largest Carbon Footprint

By William Teach March 11, 2016 – 7:11 am

You might remember me referring to Obama as “Man with world’s largest carbon footprint” numerous times. Obama admits I’m correct

(Weekly Standard) President Obama once “ruefully” admitted to staff that he personally is the planet’s largest source of carbon emissions, according to an anecdote published in The Atlantic.

The brief aside was mentioned by author Jeffrey Goldberg in a passage about the burden of Obama’s worldwide travel arrangements.

With that, Obama stood up and said, “Okay, gotta go.” He headed out of his office and down the stairs, to the red carpet and the honor guard and the cluster of Malaysian officials waiting to greet him, and then to his armored limousine, flown to Kuala Lumpur ahead of him. (Early in his first term, still unaccustomed to the massive military operation it takes to move a president from one place to another, he noted ruefully to aides, “I have the world’s largest carbon footprint.”) (WT: emphasis mine)

You know what they say, the first step to fixing the problem is admitting to the problem. Of course, Obama failed to follow through on fixing his problem. He’ll still take a helicopter flight over to Andrews AFB to jump on his giant fossil fueled jumbo jet, accompanied by a backup jumbo jet and multiple fighter jets, for a cross country flight, which is followed by numerous movements of large fossil fueled vehicle convoys, all to give a short official speech followed by multiple fundraisers, maybe a party, maybe golf. And, sometimes, those fundraisers aren’t even in the same city as the speech, which necessitates another fossil fueled flight.

But, he does want to change your use of fossil fuels, hence we end up with things like his so-called Clean Power Plan. And he’s more than willing to give your money away to the United Nations to be spread to dictators via their Green Climate Fund. And reward his donors with taxpayer money for failed solar projects. This is the same guy who fought against put solar panels on the White House.

And, yes, much of the footprint is just a part of doing the job of President. But, he’s taken almost no steps to reduce that footprint in his own life and his presidential life. That is what’s called “hypocrisy”. It’s a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude. Which is prevalent throughout the Cult of Climastrology.

Read: Obama Admits He Has World’s Largest Carbon Footprint »

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