PN:
Quote ‘o the Week
It is an election year in Canada, and next year in the United States. There is much furor surrounding immigration in both countries. Teddy Roosevelt summed immigration policy to Joe’s satisfaction in a letter written on January 3rd, 1919, less than a week before his death –
“We should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us he shall be treated on an exact equality with every one else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed or birth-place or origin.
But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. . . We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding-house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.” – 
Video ‘o the Week
Joe Dan Gorman at IntellectualFroglegs has sworn off the GOP. His unbroken record of 8 presidential elections as a GOP supporter may come to an end. He explains why in this weeks episode of Intellectual Froglegs titled “Dear GOP”:
https://vimeo.com/136440418
Politics ‘o the Week
The Donald keeps gathering momentum. The phenomenon in Mobile, Alabama, on the 21st of August grew from a 250 people capacity hotel conference room to a 30,000 plus stadium. Mock if you will. History says it’s a repeat, with a change of cast. If not your cup of political tea, it is excellent entertainment. From the heart, no throttle, unrehearsed. In his own words, Donald Trump on the stump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLCdDI3GAzE
Joe and I are flummoxed. We have read the first sentence of the Constitution of the United States of America: “We the People…” We believe, we endorse, we encourage, despite what our eyes are seeing.
We have also read H.L. Mencken. There are a number of applicable, pertinent quotes that tickle the mind –
– “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
– “Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.”
– “Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven.”
We also know that the United States is a Republic.
Mr. Trump is in tune with the malaise, frustration, and anger of the average American person. He is selling the idea of running the country as a business.
Not such a bad idea, for the economy.
The next year of watching the GOP learn to swim or drown will be interesting. Perhaps Donald Trump will pull a Ross Perot by running Independent. Perhaps he will emerge the GOP candidate (longest long shot). Perhaps he will be a catalyst for Conservatism (capital “C” type) and pave the way for limited government, stable economy, increased personal freedom, secure and safe borders.
We never stop dreaming…..
Ross Perot saw it this way –
– “War has rules, mud wrestling has rules – politics has no rules.”
– “The Activist is not the person who says the river is dirty. The Activist is the person who cleans up the river.”
Ted Nugent reviews the Trump performance, the GOP state of affairs, the debate, and makes his usual outrageous (and profound) observations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYukxqv7D-A
History Repeating
In 1920, H.L. Mencken had the following to say about the race for the presidency in his February 9th column:
“All of the great patriots now engaged in edging and squirming their way toward the Presidency of the Republic run true to form. This is to say, they are all extremely wary, and all more or less palpable frauds. What they want, primarily, is the job; the necessary equipment of inescapable issues, immutable principles and soaring ideals can wait until it becomes more certain which way the mob will be whooping. Of the whole crowd at present in the ring, it is probable that only Hoover would made a respectable President. General Wood is a simple-minded old dodo with a delusion of persecution; Palmer is a political mountebank of the first water; Harding is a second-rate provincial; Johnson is allowing himself to be lost in the shuffle; Borah is steadily diminishing in size as he gets closer to the fight; Gerard and the rest are simply bad jokes. Only Hoover stands out as a man of any genuine sense or dignity. He lacks an intelligible platform and is even without a definite party, but he at least shows a strong personality and a great deal of elemental competence. But can he be elected? I doubt it.”
He went on to say –
“Two issues show some likelihood of surviving. One is the issue of national independence — what is now visible as the anti-English question. The other is the issue of personal freedom. Between Wilson and his brigades of informers, spies, volunteer detectives, perjurers and complaisant judges, and the Prohibitionists and their messianic delusion, the liberty of the citizen has pretty well vanished in America. In two or three years, if the thing goes on, every third American will be a spy upon his fellow citizens. But is it going on? I begin to doubt that it is. I begin to see signs that, deep down in their hearts, the American people are growing tired of government by fiat and denunciation. Once they reach the limit of endurance, there will be a chance again for the sort of Americanism that civilized men can be proud of, and that sort of Americanism will make an issue a thousand times as vital as the imitations put forward by the Prohibitionists, the Palmer White Guard, the Wilson mail openers and the press agents of the American Legion.” – emphasis and info from The Conservative Wahoo .
Deja vu anyone?
American politics is much more than selecting a band leader for the millions of bureaucrats embedded like wood ticks in the body of citizenry. Joe and I have been watching with great interest. Also revulsion. And abject terror. What has happened to America? Are the billions of human beings on earth merely a fluid that flows from area to area based on economics? Or politics? Or something darker, more malevolent, more sinister? There is great unrest amongst the people, people of all political persuasions, people of all walks of life. Do the lessons of history REALLY provide direction for the future?
Surely what has been seen cannot be unseen – or is it Shirley?
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Evil
Hillarious Clitone. Does she have a chance? What a catastrophe she is….. The instruction given her minions:
POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOUR, STUPID
THE CULTURE (THERE IS ONLY ONE)
Poverty, American Style
The amount of time politicians obsess over “the poor” masks the actuality of who exactly the poor are, and what that means in North America. Some graphs which summarize the difference between the poor and others. First up, all U.S. households and their amenities –
vs the amenities of the poor –
The concept of “the poor” needs depth and definition. The source of the graphs here.
A quote from the article –
“As scholar James Q. Wilson has stated, “The poorest Americans today live a better life than all but the richest persons a hundred years ago.” In 2005, the typical household defined as poor by the government had a car and air conditioning. For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR. If there were children, especially boys, in the home, the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or a PlayStation. In the kitchen, the household had a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.
The home of the typical poor family was not overcrowded and was in good repair. In fact, the typical poor American had more living space than the average European. The typical poor American family was also able to obtain medical care when needed. By its own report, the typical family was not hungry and had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs.”
Who Is Racist?
GUNS, GUNNERS, GUNNERY
An incredible list of facts that the anti-gun proponents never mention, from the Robot Rob website.
WARNING: Bring lots and lots of time! The above link takes you to dozens more links. Some of these links have more links too. Prepare to spend a lot of time learning about the misconceptions surrounding gun ownership.
THE RELIGION OF PEACE (ALL OVER US)
26,734 deadly terrorist attacks since 9/11. Don’t trust me, check it out at the religion of peace website.
SUNDAY SERMON
The fourth segment of the Brainwashing documentary titled “Violence”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2pRbPydPjA
WEATHER (OR NOT)
The week continued the cooling trend. Sunday (today) was obscured by smoke from the fires in Washington State. Is the hot weather gone for good?
Joe (Smoky) Mekanic
p.s. Ramirez is always on fire – from Investor’s Business Daily –
