Why are Improved Relations With Russia a Bad Thing?

There will be many discussions about the 2016 presidential election when time passes and we look at it less emotionally. Among them will be the horrible campaign run by Hillary, the cheating on the part of the DNC and the complete upheaval of the electorate and pre-conceived notions of how they would vote.

But the biggest discussion has got to be about Russia. The very same Russia that the Obama administration attempted to "reset" relations with and then botched it big time.




Or this memorable moment when Obama sounded like a lapdog to Medvedev:

Obama wanted nothing in the world more than to have good relations with Putin and Russia. He pulled missile defense out from Poland--a NATO ally--simply to placate the Russians and essentially turned a blind eye when Russia invaded the Crimea.

His own lack of negotiating skills and his chief foreign policy advisor, Hillary, made a mess of the situation.

And then things went south when Putin realized that Obama was a feckless leader who believed his very presence was enough to make the world bend to his ideas. The final straw was his inaction in Syria after drawing a red line (and then blamed our top ally for it). When Putin saw that he saw an advantage to go into assist Bashar Assad and also, and more importantly, give his military real-life experiences.

He also said the infamous words to Mitt Romney who saw exactly what Putin was doing. Oh how the media laughed over that pithy comment:



So here we are. The Democrats got smoked in the last election, they now have the least amount of power in decades nationally and they need to blame someone because liberals can never blame themselves or their ideology. So they blamed Russia and the media made them the new bad guy. They alleged that Trump colluded with the Russians and the highly politicized intelligence apparatus assisted as well.

Trump said he wants to work with Russia for the greater good and if the roles were reversed we'd see endless front page stories about what a good thing this is. But since it's Trump, they are using it to delegitimize him and his yet-to-begin presidency.

We need to work with Russia and we need to check their intentions, trump knows this since he's a deal maker. The U.S. having Russia as an enemy is a bad idea since they will be needed to maintain peace in the western Pacific and Asia. China is the real threat and the last thing we want is the outgoing president driving Russia to become friendlier toward their southern neighbor.

I don't trust Putin at all and never have but we need to work with him to solve the problems that exist between two super powers.

The actions of Obama recently with regard to Russia are as damaging as any lame duck president has ever left for his successor. By muddying the waters he has hurt our chances of finding a diplomatic settlement to the problems we face with Putin. These are real-world problems and the simple fact that Russia did not effect a single vote does not change anything. The problems exist and will continue to if we treat the as an adversary.

If Obama wants to hand Trump an impending NATO war in Europe, he's doing exactly that. It's important to note that Putin was actually the adult the last few weeks when he opted to not expel diplomats like Obama did. Putin is a businessman as well and he knows that Trump will do what he has to to protect his nation but also do what he needs to make the world (and Europe) safer. We have a common enemy in global jihadism and I for one would rather have the Russians fighting it with us versus against us.

The Democrats Reap What Harry Sowed

Back when the GOP was filibustering Obama nominees, the vile Harry Reid went there and invoked the "nuclear option" essentially kneecapping the filibuster. me and many other conservatives said that the Democrats should be very, very careful in their actions since they wouldn't hold power forever and we were laughed at because we were too stupid to realize that Hillary was a shoe in.

And here we are. The GOP owns it all and the very worst fears of the donkeys have come to pass, Trump is the man calling the shots and he's about to seat a cabinet that gives them the vapors. Mattis, Sessions, Flynn and the others are freaking them out--much like we had reservations about many of Obama's picks.

Unfortunately for them but fortunately for the country they can't do a damn thing about it. They crossed the line of the nuclear option and thus cut their own legs out from under them. The filibuster was put in place because of situations like this but they were too impetuous and immature to play by the rules. Just as Obama expanded presidential power to unseen lengths, the Dems are stuck with the bed they made.

And this also applies to the Supreme Court nominee Trump will announce in a couple of months. He can pick anyone and the donks are stuck with it.

I wish I could muster up at least one bad feeling for them but they made the new rules and will have to live with them. I anticipate many tears and strongly worded editorials from the MSM but Trump has made clear they can go screw themselves so as an avid follower of politics, I'll greatly enjoy this show. The only thing that would make it better would be if Harry Reid was still around to have to live this fun.

The Trump Momentum Keeps Building-Former Enron Advisor Paul Krugman Hardest Hit

Has there ever been a bigger reaction to a president-elect and his everyday decisions? How about all sectors of the economy reacting so positively? I've never seen it except maybe when Reagan won but I don't remember it that well.

Anyway, more good news comes rolling in today; the Dow passed a new high in 12 sessions since Trump beat Hillary. Let's start with this:

"November's Trump effect still fuels the Dollar with optimism over Donald Trump implementing fiscal stimulus measures reinforcing expectations of an improvement in overall US GDP. A strong rise in inflation from healthy growth could force the Federal Reserve to raise US interest rates aggressively in an effort to prevent the economy from overheating," Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, said in a note.

When was the last time you heard about the economy overheating? It sure as hell wasn't any time in the last eight years.

And how about this:

As of Wednesday's close, the Dow has posted gains in 18 of the past 22 sessions and 12 record closes since the election. The S&P and the Nasdaq, meanwhile, have risen 4.8 percent and 3.9 percent since Nov. 8, respectively.

Honestly, this is incredible. 

And what about the asshole with the anti-Midas touch Paul Krugman? This clown was an advisor to Enron and Enron tanked. He won a Nobel in economics but then Obama won one for peace and has invaded more countries than Bush and Cheney. He said on election night that the Markets would tank incredible amounts and has been a huge proponent of Obama's action on economic matters. In short, the guy is always wrong. Here's some more of his predictions in the event you want a good laugh. 

Think about what we are seeing. Trump continues to do everything politicians aren't supposed to do; he takes a call from the president of Taiwan and when China complains he tweets out that he doesn't care. He's choosing those who he wants and giving the finger to anyone who disagrees. He had an excellent moment on the Today show where douchebag Matt Lauer questioned his daily tweeting and Trump essentially said I don't need you Matt and intimated that he reaches more people tweeting than he could on that lame show. The guy is breaking all the rules.

Today he also selected a guy who sued the EPA to lead the EPA. As an aside, I'm in the environmental business and believe in good environmental policy but policy that works with businesses and doesn't stymie them. The EPA has been out of control for a decade and we need a robust discussion on global warming that includes all sides of the issue, Trump signaled he is looking at it the same way. 

This is going to be some ride and one that will change America more than any other in modern times. I don't believe there's been this much discussion of an incoming president in my lifetime and January 20th cannot get here soon enough. 

Liberals Don't Understand the Simple Economics of the Carrier Deal

Donald Trump said he would work to keep the jobs from Carrier Corp. from leaving Indiana and made it part of his stump speeches. Who can forget this:



Now Trump has done so and employees are jubilant. Those opposing Trump have belittled the plan since it required tax breaks. Here's what the anti-Trumpers will never understand: Yes the cost is $7-million in incentives but the return on investment (ROI) is short and the ultimate benefits far outweigh the initial costs.

Carrier has opted to keep 1,000 jobs in the Indianapolis plant, let's say each job pays $50,000 a year plus benefits so let's take that out to $70,000 per employee. The taxes paid on those salaries and benefits will equal approximately $10,000 each paid to the state, local and federal governments. Plus this is 1,000 more people paying into the nearly insolvent social security fund.

 Let's further look at the buildings these workers will build air conditioners in daily. The property taxes will be paid to the city.

 Let's expand further, the utilities for the building include electric, natural gas and water. The electric needs to be generated and that's a further five people being paid. The natural gas needs to be extracted and piped through several stations to get to the end user, that 10 jobs all down the line. And the water? The local municipal water utility has to pump the water, treat the water and move the water through pipes. Let's say that saves one job.

 But what about ancillary effects: I imagine they have vending machines in the break room of the plants. Let's go low and say that three people stock those vending machines from 3 different companies. And how about the first aid kits, uniforms and cleaners who the company hires. Lets say that is another 3 people. And how about contractors? No plant does all their own work so they may need outside people for welding, motor and tool repair and a company selling them maintenance supplies and equipment. I'll go low again and say that 10 people are utilized for that. And what about transportation to get the product from the factory in Indiana to California. Trucking companies will hire (or keep) drivers who will be dispatched by dispatchers. Let conservatively say that is 3 more people.

 I could go on and on but you see where I'm going. But let's then look at one more aspect of this; all the people named above will buy gas for their cars, drink beer at their local bar, take their families out to dinner, pay property taxes, shop at Home Depot and Walmart, give to charity and simply live their lives. The expanding effect is huge. The $7,000,000 spent now will be looked at as a great investment.

 Finally, every state in the union does the same exact thing to keep businesses local. Liberals act as if this is some sort of bribery and Trump's idea. It's not, he just negotiated better terms than a politician would've. This will prove a successful strategy if implemented the way Trump wants to. He's already working to keep additional jobs in Indiana and elsewhere and if successful he will make good on his promises. Never have we had a president have this kind of effect before even taking office. Companies who got away with shafting employees and had rules allowing them to do so under Obama can no longer expect the same latitude with Trump in office.

Wednesday Evening News & Notes

-Are we hitting the new Morning in America? It appears so. There's been a lot of good news since Trump won; the markets shattered records, a huge oil discovery in Texas and now this:

And 'optimistic' might be an understatement. According to the latest report, in some cases, Americans are the most hopeful they have been in more than a decade. For the first time since 2006, 37 percent of households said they expect their personal finances to improve in 2017. Also hitting decade highs: real income expectations, as wage growth continues to gain strength in a broadening swath of the economy. 

Note that Bloomberg tries like hell to tamper the news that this is because of Trump but they are Bloomberg and they are biased. Now let's all hope Trump can come through. 

-Well this is funny. So a magazine called Blackhair that bills itself as the leading publication for women of color in Europe accidentally had a cover model who is white woman named Emily Bador. But what if Ms. Bador identified as black that day, it worked for Rachel Dolezal. 

-The Trump people say Elton John will play the Trump inauguration. John has not confirmed as of yet but he did play Rush Limbaugh's wedding. Here's a funny dig by a Trump transition team member:

“This will be the first American president in US history that enters the White House with a pro-gay rights stance,” Scaramucci claimed.

-Ace remains the funniest guy on the Internet day in and day out. Dude gives no fucks. 

-Tommy Hilfiger is a capitalist and knows that dressing Melania would be a huge get for any designer. You may recall that Michelle Obama's designer (I forget her name and don't care enough to look up the sniveling weasel--it's probably in the article but I'm not giving her the plug) said she would not work with Melania and no other designers should either. I guess Tommy is giving her the finger. Plus, have you seen the dresses? 

-Megyn Kelly has a new book out. Apparently Trump supporters have pretty much trashed her in the reviews...or maybe the book just sucks. Anyway, Amazon is covering for her by erasing some of the reviews. I used to like Kelly but she just comes across as arrogant and not too bright now that she's on daily. 

-Allegedly General Mattis changed Trump's mind on waterboarding. Mattis supposedly said “Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I’ll do better.". If we can get better results with a few Coors Lights and a pack of Marlboro's I'm all for it. 

Thoughts on Trump Not Going After Hillary

I know there will be a lot of pissed off people that "lock her up!" will not come to fruition--at least not by Trumps command. The Clinton's are scum and have been doing illegal shit for 30-40 years, we all know that. They should've been locked up decades ago but alas they were still around polluting America and selling access (and Uranium) while leaking secrets.

But think about this from Trump's perspective; the man has no ability under law to order her arrested or even order an investigation. We know that presidents can and have persuaded the FBI to look into certain things, congress as well. However, what really comes from it?

Trump needs to play ball somewhat here. He owns the House and the Senate but the Senate can hold thing up unless we invoke the nuclear option--which I'm all in favor of doing selectively. By going hard after Clinton and putting an old sick woman who, by the way, garnered 60-million votes in the penitentiary serves him no good. It looks vindictive and honestly won;t help him in the long run.

That's not to say Sessions may not opt to prosecute but that's for when he takes office and looks at the evidence. The new head of the FBI will have to look at the evidence as well and see if he feels as Comey did. If he opts to look deeper at the email issue or the Clinton Foundation and finds strong evidence, that's a completely different animal if the evidence supports it.

Trump played the "lock her up" card and played it well. But it was just campaign rhetoric. He can't govern with that mindset and was wise to drop it for now. But if he starts wavering on other important promises I'll be the first to hit him hard. He better deport illegals starting with the criminals and he better build the damn wall (and get Mexico to pay). He better fix the VA and rebuild our military and he better put a hold on refugees coming from countries who wish us harm. If he starts getting wishy-washy on that he will be called out and he'll serve one term only.

Trump Is Interviewing an Eclectic Group

Say what you will about Trump but he's going outside the box on some of these interviews.

The latest is Bernie supporter and former ranking member of the DNC who left when the Wikileaks emails exposing Debbie Wasserman Schultz's rigging of the election against Bernie were released. Tulsi Gabbard is a congresswoman from Hawaii and is a liberal but she has an independent streak that seems to appeal to Trump.

Supposedly Trump is considering her for the UN Ambassador job and I think she would be good at it but comments like this will be hard for Trump to go that direction:

"I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the President-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government—a war which has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes in search of safety for themselves and their families."

A) Neocons have had nothing to say about this because neocons don't exist except in the minds of liberals and B) Obama has been pussyfooting around to the point that he gave Putin and opening. The Russians saw that we have gained hard won experience over the last 15 years and he wanted to test out his new military equipment in real life situations. Obama allowed him that opportunity. 

Hiring Gabbard for that position would be a nice overture to the Bernie supporters but in the long run would mean nothing substantial. On the flip side, Ambassador to the UN is a job that does not really effect policy. 

Of more importance is the job of Secretary of Defense. Every single vet and active duty person is hoping that "Mad Dog" Mattis gets the nod. This guy is the real deal and has the respect of every Marine I know. That tells me all I need to know. This guy cares about those who serve and as a dad of an active duty air man, I want this guy. I served during the Clinton years and we didn't have that. He will counsel Trump wisely. Plus, Trump would do exactly what he's been doing for the entire election cycle: going against what the media wants and expects. 

Finally we have Trump talking to Mitt Romney. I respect that as well. He's trying to mend fences with the establishment wing of the party. Whether Romney will take a job as Secretary of State is a question without an answer but I think he'd be good at it. He's smart and has a level head. He won;t spout inane statements like Kerry but me more in the mold of Condoleeza Rice. 

Whomever he chooses, you can't say he didn't expand out and talk with a lot of different people. Here's to hoping he selects well and has the humility to listen to them. 

Every Trump Supporter Needs to Chill the Hell Out

People, relax. The man was elected a little over a week ago. No one knows what his selections are going to be with regard to his cabinet and the other 3900 hundred jobs he has to fill. No one knows what his policy decisions will be with the exception of the idea of national open carry.

We all need to give the man a few weeks to get his head around whom to select and why to select them. He's not wavering, he's not walking anything back and he's not selling us out, he's just trying to put together a team that comprises the best people in the best positions; that's what a CEO does.

I hear people freaking out and bailing on the guy based on newspaper reports from people who camp out and watch the elevators at Trump Towers and then write stories based on supposition. Believe me, Trump hates the media--hence the steak dinner they are still being whiny bitches about--he's not telling them anything and anything you read should be read with a grain of salt.

The man is busy taking calls from world leaders trying to suck up, dealing with former enemies trying to get in good with the man they ridiculed and talking to commie mayors...okay, that last one is one that has me a little suspicious but I'll wait and see.

Chill out y'all, let's give it some space and see where he goes with all this. It's an enormous time for us and these picks will shape the world for the next few years.

Bannon is the New Target For the Media to Destroy

The media is pissed.

In their collective minds they are thinking: Donald Trump--that stupid, racist, misogynistic, bombastic son of a bitch beat us and we used every dirty trick in the book. If half of America weren't Fox News watching, alt right neanderthals, we'd have won this one for Hillary. So what if our trust percentage is somewhere around a rabid coyote, the public need us and is too stupid to know what's best for them. We really need to go after Trump so here's what we'll do: we'll play up the protesters but won't report that they are bussed in by left wing groups and we'll start beating on Bannon daily. We'll use words like alt-right and white nationalist and by the end of the week Donald Trump's senior advisor will be the same as Hitler.

Yeah, the media is pissed.

But anyone taking the time to read about Bannon will come away with a different story. I'n not even going to link to anything because I want people to do their own research on this guy.

Tuesday Night News & Notes

Commies in Texas get arrested at anti-Trump rally. They look exactly you'd expect American commies to look like.

Breitbart is hitting back twice as hard.

Amusing, Trump is making the world safer by the day.

This is day number six that neither Trump nor Hillary have called for calm from their base.

Therapy dogs were brought into the Capitol to soothe the minds of people after Trump whopped Hillary in the electoral college. Such pussies.

As someone who has to deal with the EPA on numerous levels, this should shake that agency up a lot.


This is nothing new: fake a hate crime, the media immediately puts it out without investigation and ties it to whomever they hate at the moment and eventually it's proven false.

This nails it. I've been saying for a few years that eventually the pendulum would go back the other way and it would't be gradual. It swung back with enough force to knock the Earth liberals inhabit off its axis.

Why I Supported Donald Trump

I was on the Trump train pretty early. As far back as the end of last year I said he could win if he ran against Hillary. I also believed he would lose if he ran against Bernie and I still believe that to be the case.

So why did a lifelong Republican who is conservative on fiscal issues and moderate on social issues go against his party to support a billionaire businessman and reality TV star?

Simple really, I was sick of being let down by my party. I'm a guy who voted for president the first time in 1988 and pulled the lever for George HW Bush. I did so again in 1992. I held my nose and voted for Bob Dole (good man, horrible candidate) and then every Republican since. I may have voted for a Democrat in a down ballot race like school board but that's doubtful.

When Barack Obama came into office, he had the House and the Senate and wreaked havoc. Obamacare, Cash for Clunkers, the bailout and myriad other expensive ideas that did nothing but enrich his cronies. Those years really sucked--much like I suspect they will suck for Democrats the next two years.

The GOP told us get us the House and we will use the "power of the purse" to rein in Obamacare and withhold the funding. I believed them. They won and they elected John Boehner to lead them. The guy was a joke who cried at the drop of a hat and wanted nothing more than to not make waves. He had no intention of blocking Obamacare.

Then we were told that they really would stop Obama if they got the Senate as well because just having the House wasn't enough. So we worked and got them the Senate and they elected Mitch McConnell to lead them. He made Boehner look like a genius. Obama worked McConnell over repeatedly and sometimes I think he would mess with him just for fun. Every single time we had an opportunity to make a statement, the GOP would buckle. They would get some minor concession and Obama would get more than he ever expected. Establishment Republicans proved to be exactly what many had said, spineless elites who only wanted the stays quo. Win a few elections and then go lobby  where you could make big bucks. Romney was just more of the same even though I supported him.

The first crack in the armor and a prelude to Trump was Eric Cantor getting beat in Virginia. A ranking Republican lost his seat. He was the sitting House Majority Leader and lost by 11 points to a Tea Party candidate. The Tea Party won a few other impressive victories and they set the stage for the emergence of Donald Trump.

So, completely disenchanted with the GOP for how they treated the Tea Party and how they belittled those who supported the cause, there wasn't much choice. I started reading what libertarians had to say but they are anti-military and that's dangerous.

Then here comes this boorish, brash, non-politician on the scene. But I liked that he was a guy who could make the party a big tent party like Reagan did. He said what he felt without a filter. I think I described him as a Facebook comments section come to life. He let nothing bad said about him pass and I liked that finally we had a fighter. He would battle the media on a daily basis while the GOP establishment was kissing up to them. Where the typical republican would actually care about what the NY Times said about him, Trump would berate the NY Times and dare them to write something bad about him.

He knocked off some pretty heavy hitters in the Republican Party. Cruz, Rubio, Scott Walker, Christie and so on. He beat the biggest field in my lifetime and did it without surrendering an inch. As the primaries rolled on, he started battling the establishment Republicans to the point that the National Review devoted an entire issue to taking Trump down. Conservative icons like Krauthammer, Krystol and Will were knocked off their plinths in much the same manner as that young soldier pulled down that statue of Saddam. He kept battling. He played the media the entire time and they fell for it every time.

In the general election he really won over a lot of people. Yes, Hillary may well have been the worst Democratic candidate since Kerry and she carried semi trailers full of baggage but she had the full support of the media and the undying love of her party who even cheated to help her win. Trump went after her and the media went after him and the media lost.

So why did i support Donald Trump? Because we finally had a candidate who willing to fight. When  the media hit him he hit back 10 times as hard and repeatedly. He had the ball to call Hillary exactly what she was, a criminal who should be in jail.

Let's see how this all plays out. I'm hoping he sticks to the important promises--fixing the VA, rebuilding the military, building a wall, checking unvetted refugees and cutting corporate and personal taxes. Here's to hoping he succeeds.

Liberals Know So Much That Is Not True

A friend linked to this post on Facebook saying this is how she feels about the election. Let me take a moment to refute this and maybe educate a liberal or two:

"If you're a Trump voter who is tired of being called a bigot, if you say you voted for him based on gun rights or economic issues, or because you think Hillary really was that awful, and in spite of his rhetoric, rather than because of it, I believe you. If you're in my life, I clearly don't think you're a vile hateful person. But if you're now watching protests across the country and you don't understand why, or think they are just being sore losers, let me break something down for you. These people aren't just angry or sad that someone they didn't support won the election, they're scared.

Okay, lets see why they should be scared:

They're black Americans who hear talk of law and order and remember a racially charged stop and frisk program, or see an emboldened KKK holding a celebratory parade.

The fact that the Grand Dragon off the KKK supported Hillary must've escaped him. Stop and frisk actually reduced crime and was use as an anti-crime tool against all people, not just blacks or Hispanics. 

They're Muslim Americans who worry that spitting in their face is now okay and violations of their rights to assemble and their rights to privacy are about to come.

I remember after 9/11 when the news was hoping for massive retaliation against Muslims and it never happened. There were a few cases and that's unfortunate. However, there's been more of a backlash in England, Germany and Sweden by a long shot. people are concerned that Muslim-Americans do not speak up whenever an attack occurs. When will they unite and protest when jihadi's kill people in San Bernardino or Fort Hood? 

They're LGBT Americans who fear not just of the loss of marriage rights or restaurants gaining the right not to serve them, but of an administration that thinks it's more important to research electrocuting the gay out of them than AIDS.

Restricting them from restaurants? That's about the most inane thing I've read since the election. I guarantee that there are a lot of gays living in Trump buildings and Peter Thiel was an enormous supporter who will be in his cabinet. Also, Trump has defended was defending homosexuals back when Hillary and Obama were against gay marriage. Does this like a man who would restrict anything for homosexuals?

If you're tired of being called a bigot, then you need to use the same voice you used on Tuesday and speak out against these things fully and clearly.

We have and vehemently. The biggest advocate for Trump is a flamboyantly gay man named Milo who conservatives have been posting to Facebook for the last two years. Personally, I was in support of gay unions as far back the beginning of this blog in 2003. I didn't need to "evolve" as Obama did. 

In conclusion, perhaps the author will take a few minutes to understand just why the electorate voted for Trump. Every time we said we were against men in women's bathrooms because we think our daughters should be safe you called us homophobes. Every time we brought up the facts about Benghazi you ignored us. Every time you protested the aforementioned Milo or others and stopped them from speaking thus eroding our rights you ignored our opinions. Every time you called us racist simply for questioning the president or asking for wronger border controls is coming back to haunt you. Every time you tried to take our 2nd Amendment rights you energized us. Every time you laughed at us when we said Obamacare would be a disaster (which has been proven) you made us stronger. 

Trump is not what you think he is. He is a centrist businessman who will bring new ideas and fresh insight into government. Perhaps it's time to stop acting like children and start acting like Americans. If you choose to fight every step of the way you have the right, however, Trump is here for the next four years so deal with it. 

Sunday Morning News & Notes

Good morning all. Hopefully the Eagles can win today. Penn State had a nice win on a day with three major upsets.

Here's what is new:

Unfunny comedienne can dish it out, can't take it when it's given back, gives crowd the finger and walks off stage.

The Democratic Party is cratering all over the country. This does not bode well for them going forward.

George Takei has a split personality:

You may have seen the article about Hillary strolling in the woods contemplating her election loss when she happened upon a nice woman also out for a stroll with her kid. They portrayed it as Hillary being down to earth and mingling with the common folk but in fact it was a Democratic operative who works for her. She's so fake she has make shit up even when she doesn't have to.

When you actually make a sign that says "rape Melania" and then proudly hold it up at a rally, you've crossed the threshold of being the opposition into the realm of being un-human and your opinion no longer matters.

Several years ago, Newsweek was sold for the price of $1. I think that was way too much. Anyway, they pre-printed 125,000 special issues with Madam President on the cover in celebration of the anticipated Hillary Clinton win. They are now recalling them. I guess making business decisions like this are one of the reasons they were sold for less than the price of a pint of Bud Light.

Liberals are now eating their own. When you blame Oprah but not the shitty candidate you had you've lost your mind. No one has listened to anything Oprah said in years.

Donald Trump plans on fighting the media from the White House. Not sure how I feel about it since he's going to be really busy.

A Special Snowflake Test

By now you've noticed that some people just aren't handling the election all that well. You may even be one of them. Below is a test to determine if you are in that esteemed group known affectionately as Special Snowflakes. Let's get started, shall we?

1. Have you cried, screamed or broke something since Tuesday?                              Yes    No
2. Was the thing you broke owned by someone else?                                                 Yes    No
3. Are you currently unemployed with a degree in Gender Studies?                          Yes    No
4. Do you consider Community Organizer a job to aspire to?                                    Yes    No
5. Did you not take your exams because of the Trump win?                                      Yes   No 
6. Do you believe the country owes you something?                                                  Yes   No
7. Have you ever attended a coloring session and strived to stay within the lines?    Yes   No
8. Do you get offended by even the most minor joke?                                                Yes   No
9. Do you think Trump voters are backward rednecks who hate gays?                       Yes   No
10. Do you think signing a petition will make Hillary president?                                  Yes   No

That's it. If you answered yes to any one of the questions, you are indeed a special snowflake and need to grow the hell up. And since you're all used to participation trophies, feel free to get yours by sending a self addressed, stamped envelope to:

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Attn: President Trump

Trophies will be shipped after January 20, 2017

Saturday Morning News & Notes

Back to writing on this blog thingy. It's been a while. Going from writing every day for ten years to not writing at all was weird but I needed the break. Plus, Facebook is a fire hose where this blog is a minor drip when it comes to eyeballs seeing what I write. Back in the halcyon days of the Bush years and the early Obama years, bloggers were getting massive hits and linking to others. That's slowed a bit but I never wrote here for recognition, I wrote here for myself and a few friends.

Here's what's new in this crazy world where the Cubs won the World Series, Trump won the election and the 76'ers are...well, they are still losing so that one didn't quite fit.

-The bitter losers on the left are back to their assassination fantasies. Like the Bush years, they seem to think that posting about killing Trump passes for intellectually stimulating material. The left is in full freak out mode but are too stupid to actually look and see who is to blame for Trump winning. They don't blame Hillary, they don't blame Obama and they don't blame the establishment that has allowed the world to get to the point it currently is at. Their anger is at a businessman whom they believe to be racist but can point to no examples except what they believe he said about Mexicans. I seem to recall that many over on that side were convinced that racists would try to kill Obama. It never happened but I sure hope the Secret Service is on their toes now with Trump in office.

-Liberals continue to show their collective intolerance. This is going to get much, much worse.

-I fear for our future. The University of Pennsylvania had safe spaces for students upset Trump won that included, well: 

"For the most part, students just hung out and ate snacks and made small talk," Tancredi told The College Fix. "Of course, that was in addition to coloring and playing with the animals."

-One would hope that people would realize just how childish they're acting but I really think that will not be the case.

-This may be the greatest benefit of a Trump win--watching Pelosi grovel for support. Remember when she said that we have to pass the bill in order to see what's in it? Those of us paying attention were appalled that the sitting Speaker of the House was being so opaque about a bill effecting 1/6 of the economy. I think we were called racist and anti-woman for commenting on it, I can't recall but it seems about right since i was called racist every single day back then.

-If Trump makes General Mattis or some other patriot the Secretary of Defense, the US military will be even greater than it is and the treatment of vets will be in line with the agreement we made with the government.

-Oh yeah, Hillary blames her loss on the media. When you stop laughing you can read about it here.

Why Hillary Lost

There will be books about this election and Hillary's with insiders selling their stories and little anecdotes. The people who were in charge will write books covering their asses and blaming it on the candidate and someone will write Hillary's side where she'll blame someone else. It always works that way when Democrats lose. Some will get it right but most will get it way wrong. They will never feel what the Trump voters felt during the campaign so they are not capable of taking a deep look at what fueled what is probably the greatest campaign ever. That may sound like hyperbole but name one other winner who overcame the tsunami and opponents he faced in the primary, the media he not only challenged but beat and the dirty tricks of Hillary's cronies. Add in his own party fighting him and you have one hell of a story.

I'm sure I'll get comment that this is misogynistic but before you waste the pixels know that I truly don't give a fuck what you think so save your energy. If you want the truth, read on.

But why did Hillary lose?

First, the woman in inherently unlikeable. She's fake as hell and that;s easy to see from anyone looking at her objectively. She's almost robotic and insincere. She perpetually has the look of the jilted wife sitting in alimony court (well, she did experience half of that) glaring at her ex. She thought it was endearing to use a southern accent when talking in the south and talk black when addressing African-Americans. She laughed at inappropriate times and came out as a cackle further adding to the aura of bitchiness. And her voice when she spoke; it was like fingernails on a chalk board. No one had any problems believing the stories of how she treated the Secret Service, the Marines who guarded the white house and just about anyone else. She tried to play the every-woman but hadn't driven a car in 27 years. She lied about coming out of the white house broke as she was absconding with the silverware.


Second, she ran a horrible campaign. I don't mean like Mike Dukakis bad, I mean the worst ever. She acted as if it was owed to her and campaigned like it was a coronation. The media assisted in that as well and only added to her cocoon of love she thought the American people had for her. We aren't a monarchy in this great land, you have to earn it and she felt she did through her service to the country.  As a side note, why does anyone believe that getting elected and being hired is service. It's a job and the American people are the bosses but I'll get back to that. She had a campaign chaired by John pedestal who it has come to light--thanks to Wikileaks--is a complete weirdo and scumbag. She had Robbie Mook who was the single worse campaign manager slightly beating out Donna Brazile. The guy looked lost on camera when asked even the simplest of questions and constantly evaded when challenged. In a campaign that saw the other candidate actually answering his critics in real time on Twitter, Hillary's responses were canned and that does not fit in this generation. Their responses to Wikileaks were bad when the first DNC emails were released and they never learned. The steady drip, drip, drip destroyed her. She should've just released everything and been done with it but she lost the momentum. The home brewed server issue was another one where Hillary evaded and never gave the answer clearly enough to get people to stop asking. She never took any responsibility, She mouthed the words but there was never conviction and that came across.

Third, she was killed on social media. Obama won both elections by owning social media. His people were awesome at setting the agenda and keeping his supporters in line. Romney wasn't and it led to his defeat.  Someone asked me when Trump first got in it what i thought and i told them he's like a Facebook comments section come to life. He answered any challenge and gave it back double. The media thought it would hurt him but the people who could be swayed loved it. Hillary on the other hand had surrogates like the vile, Soros-backed Media Matters doing her dirty work on the net. I can't tell you how many trolls they must've hired to comment on any anti-Hillary meme or sentence. It had the exact opposite effect of what they had planned. While Trump had real people out there backing him, fighting for him and debating for him, she had trolls. They were easy to spot, they were the ones who posted something anti-Trump or pro-Hillary and when you clicked on their profile it was an account created November 2, 2016 and had no pictures. The people she called Deplorables and Obama labeled clingers were smart enough to see through that. Trump fans would go to pro-Hillary sites but were actual people who actually debated.

Lastly, she completely underestimated Bernie supporters. When the DNC emails were released right before the convention, Bernie still had clout. Her belief that his support would ensure their support was sorely misguided. They didn't just get mad, they actively worked against her. Perhaps had she elected Bernie as her running mate she could have convinced them to get on board but she not only thought they would jump to her, she didn't even make an effort to placate them. There were many Bernie supporters who hated her more than Trump supporters did and that is saying something. While Trump built a movement, she destroyed one and pissed on the ashes. That equated to easily millions of people who chose the orange businessman with bad hair and mean streak over her or opted to sit this one out

There are a plethora of other reasons she lost: the cheating, Bill, Benghazi (which had a bigger effect than many realize), Kate Steinle, her support for Black Lives Matter over the police and so on.

But quite simply, she ran a horrible campaign. It should be fun to read the inside dirt but the liberals who write the stories will never understand what actually happened in America,

The Death of the Mainstream Media

Here we sit a day after a political earthquake shook the United States of America. Looking back at how this election season played out it struck me that there were some winners and losers. Not the obvious ones like Hillary but others like the establishment Republicans like National Review, Charles Krauthammer, George Will, etc. There will be a flurry of ass kissing in the next few weeks.

There were winners as well such as Sean Hannity (who was over the top but was fair to all GOP candidates), Breitbart (especially Milo), Drudge who proved to be a king maker and others.

But let's look at the real losers and see just how far they have fallen:

The Mainstream Media:

Never in history has the media actively worked directly with a candidate to the best of my knowledge. The media actively worked to get Hillary elected as shown by Wikileaks. Here's some examples:

CNN:
The so-called Clinton News Network lived down to their name. From the outset they were on the Hillary train and weren't going to stop their relentless pursuit of getting her elected. During the primaries, insurgent socialist Bernie Sanders won the hearts and minds of many young people and the far left wing of the Democratic party. He went from being a joke to being a direct threat to the anointed one. Hillary cultivated them through the years with invites to events and exclusive interviews so she had her allies set to counter anything. The penultimate moment was when Donna Brazile, member of the DNC and CNN contributor gave questions to Hillary she was to be asked at a debate. That was exposed through Wikileaks. When Wikileaks eventually exposed the DNC for colluding to beat Hillary and the evidence came out just prior to the convention, they buried the story or worse yet, when forced to report it said it was the Russians or that they were fraudulent. They helped to disenfranchise a large group of people who entered the political world for the first time.

During the general election they were anti-Trump all the time. From Anderson Cooper fact checking Trump in the debate to the myriad stories they aired about how bad Trump was. It didn't have to be true or even plausible, they ran with it. Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer were biased every night but the real let down was Jake Tapper. He was exposed as a liberal hack and that was disappointing.

Fox News:
Megyn Kelly and Shepherd Smith destroyed themselves repeatedly. Yes, Kelly is still the new face of FNC but Hannity grabbed the ratings. Her spat with Trump was ridiculous but she was bitter about it. Her face when it was clear he was going to win was epic. She was exposed as not just a lightweight but a not very bright lightweight.

FNC hurt the brand with Republicans like me who liked the channel. They went from being fair and balanced to be unfair and unbalanced (news wise and mentally). Yes, Bret Baier distinguished himself and showed what a true pro he is as did Chris Wallace. But in the aggregate, Fox News hurt themselves.

Politico and the Others:
Glenn Thrush is the lead politics guy at Politico. He's worshipped by the DC elites and liberals. He was also exposed by Wikileaks submitting stories for review by Hillary personnel. He actually called himself a "hack" and urged Podesta not to tell anyone. We soon found out there were others doing the same thing.

The overall media took their talking points from the Hillary campaign. Whatever Hillary's people said, they printed--sometimes verbatim as you'd see the exact same line in tweets and articles. If you're going to be a flack the Clinton's at least be semi-original.

The media refused to do there jobs and investigate Clinton. The Wikileaks emails were served to them on a platter but nothing was reported by them. Instead it was sites like Zero Hedge who methodically went through each email. They refused to even bring up Benghazi or investigate the story fully. A sitting ambassador died and Hillary blamed it on a video, which led to a man being wrongly imprisoned. They gave her a pass.

This election was one that should force the media as a whole to do some deep introspection. They will not of course instead blaming it on Wikileaks or some other such bullshit. They will not blame themselves and will wonder why the media is hated more than the Zika Virus.

Hollywood:

Star after star shilled for Hillary. From has-beens like Cher to worn out old hags like Madonna who offered a blow job to those who voted for Hillary (and because of it probably lost Clinton the race), the actors came out and supported her. From vulgar ads to ridiculous commercials. They had zero effect on the race. When Hillary has Jay-Z and Beyonce and gets 10,000 while Trump alone draws double that, you knew that the celebrity effect would be nil. Hell, Michael Moore made a documentary slamming Trump that was released two weeks before the election and the only thing heard about was his saying why Trump is liked.

Numerous stars said they would leave America if Trump were elected thinking that would make people vote for Hillary. They voted for Trump just to call their bluff. My favorite was Miley Cyrus whining about Trump and his "grab her by the pussy" comment while there's pictures all over the place of her doing extremely vulgar things. Sorry Hannah Montana, it didn't play even a little.

Springsteen played free shows for Hillary and it had no effect. In fact, many people looked at Springsteen as a complete hypocrite who sings about the blue collar man but then supports the woman who has hurt the blue collar folks the most.

Some in Hollywood had the balls to take a stand such as the South Park guys and Michael Bay who made 13 Hours.

But overall, Hollywood was pummeled in this election. From the cackling harpies on The View to Ellen Degeneres, we saw the absolute worst hackery.

So is this the end of the MSM? Doubtful but I do believe they will have to do some should searching and take a good long look in the mirror. But don't worry, that introspection will be over soon and they'll be back to their old ways starting January 20, 2017.

An Open Letter to the Republican Party

To the RNC, Congressional and Senate Republicans and other establishment cronies,

You've really done it this time. We've stuck by you and voted straight Republican time and time again. You've put up horrible candidates such as Mitt Romney going all the way back to that stiff Bob Dole. These were guys who were selected by you in back room deals with winks and nods.

We've defended you when the media would not because you did something, stupid, something illegal or something that was both.

You promised us that if we gave you the House you would stop Obama, You promised us if we gave you the Senate you would stop Obamacare. We gave you both and you gave us a Speaker who cried for no reason and would rather make bad deals than have to fight. You gave us a Senate Majority Leader who is the epitome of establishment politics and cronyism. He spent more time fighting fellow Republicans who happened to be conservative than he did fighting the vile Harry Reid.

We've had enough. Enough of the lies and deceit. Enough of your acting like you stand for conservative stances while approving every single dollar Obama asks for and allowing illegal immigrants to charge across the border. You are the lawmakers of this country and you allow the law to be broken daily.

You care more about what Politico or Morning Joe (both very liberal) say about you than you do what your constituents say (except every two years when you need our vote). You don't want to make waves because you just might not get invited to that big party in Georgetown.

You drag your feet on all substantive issues. Yes, some want to investigate corruption but the overall party does not. Four people including the ambassador killed in Benghazi? You investigate and then use the Democrats intransigence stall it. A Border Patrol Agent gets killed in an operation that allowed guns to flow to drug cartels and you do nothing. An American citizen gets killed by an illegal alien in San Francisco (an illegal "sanctuary city") and you do nothing because you don't want to upset the Democrats or the apple cart.

Obama says he wants to spend more and you not only allow it but give him more than he wants. Heavens no!, we can't shut down the government you said--even though we gave you the Senate after doing so. Obama welcomes in thousands of unverified Syrian refugees and you avert your eyes and do nothing or, worse yet, agree with him.

You allowed America to be a place where free speech is banned. I've not heard a single Republican stand up for free speech in the last several years. You've also allowed the police to fry and have not said a damn word. Just the very chance that standing up for the police will make you seem racist is enough to shut you up. In my book, that makes you a pussy.

Most shamefully, you've allowed our vets to die because of a the VA and have done nothing. You give lip service to veterans but in reality you despise them. If you didn't, you would have shut down Congress to get some results.

So here comes this brash and crass business man who says things that anyone else would have suffered for and you ignored him. Then he started winning so you actively worked against him. He kept winning so you sent out your last presidential nominee to bash him. He won more and you actually started to support Ted Cruz whom every single establishment type abhors.

Now he's the nominee and people are saying that they will not support him or will even vote for Hillary. The Speaker of the House will not support the Republican nominee. But that's fine because he was a very incapable candidate when he ran.

The National Review did an entire issue stating the case against Trump and he still won. Pundits who wrote him off were proven to be idiots.

But the scariest thing to you--the establishment--is that you were proven irrelevant. No one gives a shit what you say or do because you are meaningless. Your spineless nature and actions have given rise to the man you hate. Allowing your fellow Republicans to be called racist, xenophobic and misogynistic when we weren't was unforgivable. Except you didn't say anything because you actually believe that securing the borders, checking Islamic immigration and telling off-color jokes is racist, xenophobic and misogynistic. You've morphed in to liberals and there's zero difference. How do you think we feel when we defend the constitution and the military and you call us zealots?

The media too is feeling the crushing truth hitting them. They are even more irrelevant than Congress. Trump owns them and then bypasses them to say what he wants on Twitter. They are an even bigger embarrassment than Lindsey Graham.

So I say to the GOP; there's change in the wind. People are so sick of your bullshit that they've voted for Trump. He's no conservative but he stands for the core values of America. He's attracting blue collar workers, pissed off middle class workers, disaffected tradesmen and people who believe in the American ideal Reagan did. And please, keep Reagan's name out of your mouth, Trump is more like Reagan than this party has been in 8 years.

Out With The Old & In With The New...Thank God

2015 was a strange year in the world.

Looking back, some weird shit happened:

• A former Olympic gold medal decathlete identified as a woman, got a show for doing so, acknowledged that he was also a republican, said he wants to adopt a baby and then got into a verbal war with another self-identified tranny who gave away some of the most damaging secrets ever disclosed. Essentially; two dudes fighting over who is more woman. Amazingly, one was named Woman of the Year for his "bravery". This, of course, left out true women heroes such as Kurdish women fighting for their homeland, a young Pashtun woman who was shot in the head for advocating education for other women continuing her fight and numerous other woman in countless other hellholes fighting for the right to breathe and not the right to chose their gender. 
• The whitest woman in America was exposed by her parents as, well, the whitest woman in America. This was problematic for her because she was a leader in the NAACP and a teacher of African Studies at a college. Liberals lined up to take the side of the white woman against black people who were offended of having their racial identity stolen for financial gain. 
• A former spokesman for a major fast food chain was found to be a pedophile and sentenced to prison. Jared Fogel was intertwined with Subway for a decade and somehow, they didn't suffer when their public face was convicted of sex crimes with children. 
• Bill Cosby was identified as a serial rapist and was subsequently arrested for sexual assault. Rarely has a public figure gone from being so beloved to being rejected so fast. 
• Another major terror attack occurred on US soil and was actually called a terror attack despite the best efforts of the media. While Fort Hood and others were definitive terror attacks--called "work place violence" by Obamatons-- it was much harder to mislabel an attack on a mall that the media followed intensely. We also saw the President of the US make a speech (standing up) from the Oval Office in which he pretended to take action but instead said nothing new. 
• Terrorism also remained a major issue around the world with an attack in Paris that led to millions of people overlaying their Facebook avi with the French flag in solidarity. Alas, not so many did it when America was attacked but I digress. So 2015 became the year that the French looked stronger and more decisive on the world stage than did America.
• The void left by American leadership led to Russia becoming a super power wannabe again. Hard core Americans actually wished we had a leader who led as well as a former Soviet KGB member. 
• Obama and John Kerry pushed a disastrous treaty that will allow Iran to have nukes in a little more than a decade, released $150 billion to them to continue their proxy wars and was backed up by threats and snooping on allies...
• Well, former allies. 2015 was the year that Obama went to war against Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel. He demeaned the leader, sent operatives to agitate against him in an election and essentially shunned them from in front of the world all so he could say he made a deal with Iran and cement his "legacy". 
• 2015 was the year of "trigger warnings", "safe spaces" and the year America learned exactly what we've produced by handing out participation trophies. We now have a country full of gender studies majors getting offended by "micro aggressions" and historic flags and a nation and media that played along further enabling them. 
• 2015 will be remembered as the year that political correctness jumped the shark. Being called a racist, xenophobic, homophobic, war mongering, hater became a badge of honor. Men and women who were sick of the breakdown in the US decided to stand up and start taking it back. They did so with humor and sarcasm because straight discourse is dead (or on life support). By belittling every new case we saw and laughing and pointing at the perpetrators, we've seen the pendulum start to swing back. 
• Which brings me to this: The leader for the Democratic party is the wife of a man accused of rape and sexual assault who had sex with his (much) subordinate intern and she is running on a platform of feminism. She broke myriad laws by mishandling secret information that would have landed the average person in a federal prison for years. Her opponent is a self-declared socialist whom has not the slightest clue about the economy but promises the world to the aforementioned participation trophy winning students. He also has some extreme, non-feminist views on women. So, we currently have two old white people on the Democratic ticket and they're both carrying heavy baggage. 
• And finally, 2015 was the year of Trump. He resonates with people no matter how inelegantly he says things--which is probably increasing the resonance. The man is vicious and immediate when attacked. Within minutes of being called out, he goes on the offensive and does not sugar coat what he says. The media try to take him down and he ridicules them. His own party leadership try to attack him and he goes right back at them ten-fold. The man wields the hashtag like it's a sword. Others rise and fall while Trump remains at the top. Any baggage on him has likely been printed already and he's flummoxed both parties. People may not agree on everything or even most of what he says but they will vote for him when the time comes. If it's him versus Hillary, he will win. He's not afraid to get down in the gutter Clintonistas live in and , in fact, seems comfortable going there. 

Well, that's a recap of 2015. I'm guessing 2016 will hold just as much and to a person who follows politics, we can only hope that to be the case.

On Trump, History and Carter

Personally I think Donald Trump went too far--or better yet, spoke wrongly about what his plans are for Muslims entering the US. I'm a strong advocate of stopping all immigration for a period of 3-6 months except those cases that are pending for people emigrating from friendly nations. I mean cut it off until we have a detailed investigation into how the system works and fix the parts that don't.

Trump went full bellicose in saying he'd ban all Muslims all his staff didn't help the situation when she said that he meant even Americans--which he did not. He's doubled down on this several times.

So, of course the media is going out of their collective minds reporting it and thinking that this is the one thing that will sink Trump...finally. Alleged media icon and good liberal Tom Brokaw went so far as to go full Nazi:

He went on to cite historical evidence of the human costs of allowing fear and prejudice to dictate policy, while images of the events he described appeared on screen. His examples included the “herding” of Japanese-Americans into internment camps, the Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II and its consequences for Germany, the "anti-communist witch hunt" instigated by Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) in the early 1950s and the persistence of institutionalized discrimination against African Americans through the 1960s.

Okay, so he cited the "herding of Japanese-Americans" into camps (authorized by a Democrat and liberal icon FDR), Nazi genocide (perpetrated by national socialists) and McCarthyism--the go-to example of oppression but they always leave out the fact that McCarthy was right, the government was riddled with communists as the Venona Cables showed. So, in essence, every example Brokaw cited was either by a socialist or was proven, in fact, to be true; but liberals live in their own little cocoon where FDR was a god, Hitler a right winger and McCarthy destroyed people with no facts.

But back to Trump. He's getting excoriated because he is recommending checking immigration and stopping those we are at war with from entering the US. This is madness they say, he's a racist and a xenophobe, etc. But wait, there's precedent that the good Mr. Brokaw neglected to mention in the piece linked above:

Fourth, the Secretary of Treasury [State] and the Attorney General will invalidate all visas issued to Iranian citizens for future entry into the United States, effective today. We will not reissue visas, nor will we issue new visas, except for compelling and proven humanitarian reasons or where the national interest of our own country requires. This directive will be interpreted very strictly.

That is President Jimmy Carter discussing banning Muslims we should have been at war with--but Carter didn't have the balls to declare it--from Iran. And to top it off,  Trump is well within US law to propose and enact such a ban. Hell, Carter used the law to ban Iranians.

So, do I agree with Trump on this? Partially. As noted above, a halt to all immigration is not a horrible idea. But Europe has been extremely open with their immigration policies and we have to ensure they do some work on this as well. Nearly all of the attackers in Paris were Belgian, French or other European.

Trump is a showman and he's feeling his oats. He's saying outrageous shit and his polls keep going up. Yet, eventually, people are not going to want to see Trump the circus barker but Trump the statesman. He has to start toning it down and present real policies and vision.