Work on that, Republicans

I'm so tired of Republicans, conservatives, media mavens and "influencers" all twisted up in the Epstein files. You're being conned and the Trump haters are delighted.

 
They showed no interest in it during the Biden years, so right there is your clue. It's only being used to divide and you're falling for it again. I don't care if Tucker or Kirk or Kelly or Bannon or Bongino are chattering and unhappy. Get over it.

 
No president has ever had six months like the first half of 2025, and you are pouting on social media because your pet project wasn't solved? Pedophilia involving rich celebrities. There were thousands and thousands of women and girls trafficked for sex during Biden's open borders--work on that. Democrats are weeping and visiting those rapists in prison and complaining about their toilets and food. Give me a break! And Trump has put a stop to it by closing the border which everyone said couldn't be done. Every day in Africa's civil wars women and girls are raped, assaulted and kidnapped. Work on that! Every day our universities are getting foreign money to destroy the minds of young Americans. Work on that!. Every day hospitals are committing sexual mutilations and abortions. Work on that! There are still agencies, non-profits and colleges allowing men to beat up women in their sporting events. Work on that!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dan-bongino-back-at-work-as-trump-fumes-over-epstein-clash/

Tucker Carlson blames Pam Bondi for Donald Trump's Jeffrey Epstein backlash

How to witness with the little things--advice I gave 7 years ago

St. John Paul II: “No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.” Little things mean a lot. Say grace when you're eating in a restaurant, the same as you would at home. Be visible in your thankfulness for everyday gifts. Wear a cross and be prepared to tell others your testimony if asked--just be sure it's about Jesus and not just you. Some people place a bumper sticker for their church, para-church organization or Christian media. It's especially good if there's a bit of rust or a dent you'd like to cover. I found our local station (820 a.m. in Upper Arlington, OH) because of a bumper sticker. How refreshing to find inspired and interesting talk radio by women. Be prepared to give a pleasant greeting--God bless you. Have a blessed day. James Isenhart always greets me (on FB) with something short and inspirational. He's doing something small, yet huge, for Jesus reaching people who maybe haven't had a kind word all day. Adrienne Ross (on FB) is another--although she has many topics, she never fails to glorify God after a wonderful service at her church. When we're not commiserating about politics, I love the resources Joan Shaw Turrentine (blog friend) directs me to. My cousin Gayle never fails to find just the right Bible verse to encourage me in e-mail. And when you ask for prayers, I always stop right away and do that. You benefit us all by asking--don't be shy.

What we learned from the FBI Whistleblowers

"A former FBI agent testified before Congress Thursday saying that the FBI manipulated data to make domestic terrorism linked to Jan. 6 seem like a nationwide phenomenon instead of an isolated incident. . .

Steven Friend: “Typically you would investigate Jan. 6 as one case with lots of subjects, but instead the decision was made to open up a separate case for every single individual there,” he said during the hearing. “And instead of, on paper, investigating them from the Washington field office, spreading and disseminating those to the field offices around the country, and if the individual lived in that area.”

“In effect,” he added, “it made it look like there was domestic terrorism cases and activities that were going on around the 56 field offices when in fact the cases were really all from Washington, D.C., and Washington had a task force that was responsible for calling the shots in all those cases.” Whistleblower: FBI manipulated J6 cases to make domestic terrorism appear widespread - Alpha News

Dinner, last day of April

Let's return to the real reason we have social media. Photos of our meals. This is Sunday dinner today: pork tenderloin, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, coleslaw on leaf lettuce and mixed fruit--pineapple and blueberries. I love my Mountain Ivy dishes from Blue Ridge Southern Pottery (Erwin, TN) which I bought at the Lakeside archives sale store in 2018. The pattern is a little older than me, and the pottery closed in 1957.

Taibbi and Shellenberger Twitter testimony

The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing featuring testimony from independent investigative journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger who were involved in the “Twitter Files,” a series of articles on how government agencies and lawmakers interacted with the social media company over content moderation.

Both men are highly respected writers/journalists, yet the Democrats tried to demean and insult their integrity and credentials.

‘Twitter Files’ Taibbi and Shellenberger testify before Congress - Deseret News

Matt Taibbi Opening Statement to Congress - COMPLETE Text and Video (substack.com)

Bret and Heather 165th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: Skepticism ≠ Terrorism - YouTube

Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Hearing on the Twitter Files - YouTube

Unfriending on social media--divisive or deserved?

"Democratic voters are almost three times as likely to have “blocked, unfriended, or stopped following someone on social media” after Donald Trump’s victory, according to a study released Monday [Dec. 2016]."

No surprise here. Democrats are not inclusive and hate diversity of thought or opinion. IMO, they are also more likely to be racist in their support of policies that hurt blacks and other minorities through their own good intentions. That said, that article is 6 years old. So I am also less likely to "friend" a Democrat whereas before I was much more forgiving and open minded. It really began with the BDS--Bush derangement syndrome--before a black president, an orange president, and the current confused resident of the WH. Now, if I don't know they are conservatives but we are acquainted, I choose not to put up with it. And so the divide widens.

Mean girls--today and 68 years ago

I just watched a Fox News story on the damage social media is doing to young teen girls and their body images. I used to be a young teen girl who hung out with other teens, caring about every word and piece of gossip. We didn't have social media like Instagram or TikTok (the focus of this story). We didn't have personal phones (most of us were on a party line). We didn't have organized sports (against the law in those days). If we took a photo it was on film and it was 2 weeks to get it developed. We all went to church and almost no one had divorced parents. But we still found all the ways to be mean girls and make snide remarks about bodies and tease anyone who didn't fit the mold or current fashion. Can I get an Amen or am I the only one who remembers "the good old days?"

  

Conservative news, journalism, opinion, talk shows H–M

Sean Hannity, Fox News host opinion show, radio talk show   https://www.hannity.com

Victor Davis Hanson, columnist, professor, farmer http://www.victorhanson.com

Daniel Henninger, conservative commentator, deputy editorial page director of The Wall Street Journal, Fox News contributor. https://www.wsj.com/news/author/daniel-henninger

Hugh Hewitt, radio talk show host, attorney, academic  https://www.hughhewitt.com

Jim Hoft, conservative news,   https://www.thegatewaypundit.com

David Horowitz, conservative writer, founder and president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's publication, FrontPage Magazine;

Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, commentator, https://www.mikehuckabee.com  newsletter  

Laura Ingraham, radio talk show host, book author, political commentator https://lauraingraham.com/

Andrew Klavan, conservative commentator, novelist   https://www.andrewklavan.com

Mark Levin, conservative commentator, radio, TV  https://www.marklevinshow.com/

Dana Loesch, talk radio host, television host. Big 2A fan https://danaloesch.com  https://www.youtube.com/user/thedanashow/featured

Rush Limbaugh, most famous radio talk show, conservative,   children’s book author, https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/

Heather MacDonald: political commentator, journalist City Journal, author War on Cops various videos as speaker for conservative groups
   
Michelle Malkin: political commentator, blogger, author 4 books, weekly syndicated column.

Michael Medved radio talk show, conservative, author of several books,  pop culture   http://www.michaelmedved.com/

Eric Metaxas, Christian, biographer, radio talk host  http://ericmetaxas.com 

Dennis Miller radio podcast, conservative commentator, humorist  https://tunein.com/radio/The-Dennis-Miller-Show-p123379/ 

Dick Morris pollster, commentator, author,   https://www.dickmorris.com

Charles Murray, author, lecturer political,  scientist, various sites as speaker,

Links A - G of conservative links  http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2020/11/conservative-news-journalism-opinion.html    

Conservative news, journalism, opinion, talk shows A - G

America’s Voice News  24/7 digital entertainment and news network, focusing on Conservative family values.  https://americasvoice.news/

Sharyl Attkinsson: Investigative Journalist. "Full Measure." https://sharylattkisson.com/

Fred Barnes: executive editor of The Weekly Standard https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/author/fred-barnes

Glenn Beck: politics, author, producer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur https://www.glennbeck.com/

Bill Bennett: pundit, politician, political theorist, author http://thebillbennettshow.com/

Brent Bozell: Founder, President Media Research Center; columnist, TV commentator https://www.newsbusters.org/people-and-organizations/brent-bozell

Breitbart News https://www.breitbart.com/

Tammy Bruce: nationally syndicated radio host, author, and political commentator. Lesbian. https://tammybruce.com/

Tucker Carlson  Fox News Opinion show host,  conservative journalist, political commentator  https://www.foxnews.com/shows/tucker-carlson-tonight

Ann Coulter: Lawyer, author, columnist, frequent TV guest https://anncoulter.com/

Steven Crowder:  American-Canadian conservative political commentator, YouTube channel and podcast https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/

Dinesh D'Souza, Indian American conservative, speaker, author, film https://www.dineshdsouza.com/

Larry Elder, black conservative talk show host, https://larryelder.com/

Richard Fernandez, Filipino-Australian, conservative columnist, https://pjmedia.com/columnist/richard-fernandez/

John Fund, senior editor at The American Spectator, National Review, https://www.nationalreview.com/author/john-fund/

Mike Gallagher, conservative radio talk host, https://mikeonline.com/

Pamela Gellar: Commentator,  Activist Counter-jihad movement https://gellerreport.com/

Jonah Goldberg,  syndicated columnist, author, political analyst, and commentator. The founding editor of National Review Online  https://jonahgoldberg.com

Sebastian Gorka, British Hungarian immigrant, conservative talk show host,  https://www.sebgorka.com

Greg Gutfield,  Fox talker, comedian, author   https://ggutfeld.com/

Good reading and research–Conservative

Our Favorite Conservative sources

• • American Greatness
  • American Mind
  • American Story
  • American Thinker
  • Aspen beat
  • Babylon Bee
  • Belmont Club
  • Churchill Project
  • Claremont Institute
  • Daily Torch
  • Dartblog
  • Federalist
  • Gatestone Institute
  • Hollywood in Toto
  • Hoover Institution
  • Hot Air
  • Hugh Hewitt
  • InstaPundit
  • Jewish World Review
  • Law and Liberty
  • Legal Insurrection
  • Liberty Daily
  • Lileks
  • Lucianne
  • Manhattan Contrarian
  • Michael Ramirez Cartoons
  • Michelle Malkin
  • RealClearPolitics
  • Ricochet
  • Steyn Online
  • Tim Blair
  • Urgent Agenda

• Media

  • American Spectator
  • City Journal
  • Claremont Review of Books
  • Commentary
  • Daily Caller
  • Fox News
  • FrontPage Mag
  • Memeorandum
  • MEMRI
  • National Review
  • New Criterion
  • New York Post
  • Spectator USA
  • TownHall
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Washington Free Beacon
  • Weekly Standard

The Arbery shooting in Georgia

The Arbery shooting in Georgia reflects the need for Democrats to make everything about race. Nothing is ever a love affair gone sour, an innocent inquiry mistaken as a robbery or bad blood between co-workers. At least if the victim is black and the perp is white. Out of 100 black men who are murdered, 94 are victims of a black man (or occasionally a black woman). Four will be brought down by white, Hispanic or Asian men (or occasionally a woman). And statistics are similar for whites and Hispanics. For every 100 white or Hispanic men who are murdered, 83 will be victims of a same race assault. In most cases both the victim and assailant will be young.

The female mayor of Atlanta with no evidence whatsoever, called it a lynching, and blamed President Trump! I pity the family of the black man who never get justice because he was killed by another black man, and no one paid any attention. Certainly not the mayor and the major news media.

After 1994, violent crime dropped drastically--maybe 50%. Thousands of black lives have been saved. Experts don't agree on the reason. Because of the bias in research based on political and religious views, it’s difficult to tease out the details, but one thing is for certain, the media distorts reports of violent crime. It can sell more papers, or get more TV revenue or encourage more clicks on line for profit if it involves a black man being killed by a white man, and particularly if police are involved.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/05/this-was-a-lynching-atlanta-mayor-ahmaud-arbery-shooting/

Updating my list of conservative news and talker shows

This A-List of conservative columnists, tv and radio hosts, talking heads, bloggers and guest commentators originally was published here 2.5 years old,  borrowed it from Christopher Buckley with his permission.  Now I’ve added a few names, and deleted some. You don't have to depend on the broadcast media or the MSM Trump haters. Your mileage will vary. It’s too much work to track down all the links so just Google, DuckDuckGo or Bing them.

  

Sharyl Attkinsson: Investigative Journalist. "Full Measure."
Fred Barnes: executive editor of The Weekly Standard
Glenn Beck: politics, author, producer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur
Bill Bennett: pundit, politician, political theorist, author
Brent Bozell: Founder, President Media Research Center; columnist, TV commentator
Breitbart
Tammy Bruce: nationally syndicated radio host, author, and political commentator. Lesbian.
Tucker Carlson
Bernard Chapin
Pat Condell
Ann Coulter: Lawyer, author, columnist, frequent TV guest
Steven Crowder
Monica Crowley: Columnist, talk radio, author. PhD.
Mark Dice
Matt Drudge
Dinesh D'Souza, Indian
Larry Elder, black
Eric Erikson
Nigel Farage, British
Richard Fernandez
John Fund
Mike Gallagher
Pamela Gellar: Commentator,  Activist Counter-jihad movement
Paul Gigot
Jonah Goldberg
Sebastian Gorka, British Hungarian immigrant
Joe Dan Gorman
Greg Gutfield
Sean Hannity
Daniel Hannon
Victor Davis Hanson, columnist, professor, farmer
Daniel Henninger
Hugh Hewitt
Jim Hoft
David Horowitz
Mike Huckabee
Brit Hume
Laura Ingraham: radio talk show host, book author, political commentator, guest host for O'Reilly
Janice Fiamengo
Boris Johnson
Alex Jones
Brian Kilmeade
Andrew Klavin
Bill Kristol
Michael Ledeen
Mark Levin
Dana Loesch: talk radio host, television host. Big 2A fan
Rush Limbaugh
Frank Luntz
Heather MacDonald: political commentator, journalist City Journal, author War on Cops
Andrew McCarthy
Gavin McGuinness
Michelle Malkin: political commentator, blogger, author 4 books, weekly syndicated column.
Michael Medved
Eric Metaxas, Christian, biographer
Dennis Miller
Dick Morris
Charles Murray, author, lecturer
Lionel Nation, YouTube channel
Peggy Noonan
James Okeefe
Bill O'Reilly
Candace Owens, black talk show on Prager University
Joe Pags
Jordon B. Peterson, Canadian, psychologist
John Podhoretz
Dennis Prager
AlfonZo
Michael Ramirez
Dave Ramsey, money and budget; Christian
Michael Rechtenwald
Glenn Reynolds
Rockin Mr. E
Dave Rubin
Karl Rove
Gad Saad
Michael Savage
Buck Sexton
Ben Shapiro
Thomas Sowell, black
Mark Steyn
John Stossell
Kimberley Strassel: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, weekly "Potomac Watch"
James Taranto
Stacy Washington, black
Matt Walsh
Michael Walsh
Paul Joseph Watson
Allen West, black
Bill Whittle
Geert Wilders, Dutch
Walter E. Williams, black
Kevin Williamson
Milo Yiannopoulos

Do we really need the federal government for common sense?

"The U.S. Senate’s Judicial Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), will host a hearing, titled “Stifling Free Speech: Technology Censorship and the Public Discourse,” which will address whether social media giant Twitter and other tech companies are censoring conservative speech, including the hit pro-life movie UNPLANNED." (Carmel Communications)

Do we want the government directly involved in managing a private business like cable stations and social media companies? Are they now public utilities? Cities and states stifle religious expression and thought through local regulations and laws (bakeries, restaurants, flower shops)--does the federal government need to pile on another layer? Are there tax adjustments the government can make to companies who violate our freedom of expression and religion?

Comments. . .

I suppose I shouldn’t feel too bad about what people say to me about my blog or Facebook Posts.  Arthur Brooks has just begun a new column at the Washington Post taking Charles Krauthammer’s old spot, and some of the endearing comments were:

• Someone calling themselves Leaving weighs in with, “Well, this column is garbage.”

• dogbath adds, “The personable but warped Mr. Brooks provides a second home for psychopaths at AEI.”
• Benzaiten comments, “Ok I didn’t finish this article because it was becoming sappy nonsense.”

The internet is a cesspool.

Home grown dezinformatsiya/дезинформация

“Russian internet trolls worked overtime in 2016 to inject disinformation into American elections. A year later, as news reports now reveal, Democratic operatives, some funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, tried out these same tactics to boost Senator Doug Jones in Alabama. Russia’s online dezinformatsiya has gone native, and it will get worse.”  Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2019

Disinformation, fake news, false narratives, conspiracy theories,  obfuscation, propaganda, yellow journalism, and flat out lies have always been a part of the American political process.  Disinformation is more a government embedded plan, but how are we to know our own government doesn’t do the same.  It was the Clinton campaign in 2008 which launched the “Obama birth certificate” story, which then made numerous evolutions through the right wing.  Her campaign also funded the fake dossier about Trump in Russia. None was done without the help of the deep state.

Not sure why WSJ is giving all the credit for our own home grown mischief and tactics to the Russians or even social media and the internet.  After all, we’ve got George Soros and all his many sticky fingers into U.S. non-profits and churches.

 

“The Kremlin’s “dezinformatsiya” campaign—whether carried out against Ukraine, Estonia, Germany or the U.S.—involves “a bewildering array of narratives designed to distort truth and confuse its enemies,” Mr. Patrikarakos writes. And of course it isn’t just the Kremlin that operates in such a way. “Obfuscation has found its perfect platforms” in the realm of social media, he notes, reaching “audiences to a degree unprecedented in modern history.” The conditions are ripe: “In the postmodern Western world, where academics decry the notion of an ‘objective truth,’ where the lack of trust in institutions is lower than at any other time in living memory, this type of information finds a receptive audience.”” (War in 140 Characters)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/26/before-fake-news-there-was-soviet-disinformation/?

 

(WND books, 2013)

Go to the Amazon site and “look inside” for an overview of this book.

Nothing ruins a relationship like politics

On Facebook, Christopher Buckley writes:

“It has long been my dour and sour view that you don't get to make good friends later in life because they don't have the same background or share the same experiences as the ones you've had with old friends... Well, my best friends died. (From living large. We should all be so lucky.)

Other friends, shockingly, have unfriended me because I believe in reason and they, passionately, in unthinking madness.

But I will tell you now that I was very wrong about what the length of a friendship means.

I am very glad to know everyone I have met here on this platform along the way and on my life's journey...

We expire... That's the deal.

So fill your barrels as you sail on... Life is a continuum... (funny if you know me IRL) and we will be cruising these waters until the end! XOXO

The WalkAway Campaign

There is a social media site that’s getting a lot of traction, and I read it since I was a Democrat until 2000.  The founder, Brandon Straka, a gay actor (I suspect he must be out of work), has done some TV appearances on Fox—or possibly others. The bulk of the “testimonies” are young people—of all varieties—gay, trans, brown, black, born again Christians, Muslims, atheists, white even foreign—who have walked away either from liberalism or Democrat party.  Many submit videologs about their epiphanies.  Not all say they’ve become Republicans, but they aren’t voting Democrat in this or the 2020 election.  Their biggest complaint seems to be they are tired of being treated like victims, and they realize the media are biased.  That said, this one pasted below seems a little formulaic to me—as if it were written by a Democrat or two I know.  As if they were suddenly to see the light.  Question:  Do people really become wise, sensible, patriotic and pragmatic by getting off social media and not watching the news?

“I'm 26. I was a Democrat and progressive every since I first got into politics. Loved President Obama, voted for Bernie in the primary. Then voted for Hillary. I HATED Trump, the reason is because I thought he was racist, sexist and a bigot, I also thought all Republicans and his were supporters were too. When he won, I was devastated. Couldn't believe this happened. I expected the world to end, literally. Up until a little over a month ago, I was a dedicated viewer of CNN and MSNBC, listened to SiriusXM progress on a daily basis etc. Everyday that passed by, I got madder and madder. And I hated him more and more. I finally got so tired of him, I decided to stop watching the news and take a break from social media. That was when I finally had time to think, on my own, without 24/7 liberal commentary/media TELLING me how to think.. I realized this is the greatest country on Earth. I'm not a victim, I'm not a whiner. I take personal responsibility for myself. There's so much to be grateful for being an American. I started questioning why I was a Progressive. The reason is because I thought I was SUPPOSED to be one. I also realized that the news paints this man in such a terrible light, they WANT you to hate him. While in reality, this country is doing GREAT under his leadership. They want you to focus on his character and not how America is becoming the world leader again. Every single attack against him is that he's supposedly racist sexist and bigoted, that's all bs man. Nobody wants to talk about how great America is doing right now. When you realize that, there's no way you can be a Dem anymore. He is standing up for this country, and they hate it. They want him to be a globalist and make the rest of the world happy, at the expense of Americans. I honestly believe they don't love this country. I didn't. I came to the revelation that 90% of what I was complaining about was BS and playing the victim. All rooted in emotions and zero logic. I was mad all the time and truly didn't know why. That's exactly how all of them are. They'll never admit this country is wonderful. They'll never admit this man is doing great. I am. Therefore I am not a Democrat anymore, and I will vote for him in 2020. And whoever wants to help him along the way. I believe millons of Americans like me are walking away, silently. The media will never report it. But they will see sooner rather than later.”

Screen life isn’t real life

“Unfortunately, TV (any form of information/entertainment on a screen whether phone, video, film, computer)  floods the viewer with inauthentic images of real-life situations. This is why the Church has always had her doubts about theater and other forms of entertainment, not just because they can be bawdy, but because of the false vision of life that they present in such convincing ways. It’s our task to remain vigilant, to maintain a different way of viewing things, even when the spiritual dimension has been suppressed.” Bevil Bramwell, OMI https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/01/14/of-television-and-liturgy/

Trying to keep the TV and Facebook off today (a fast), but we do have a trip planned to the Columbus Museum of Art to see the Post Impressionism show after church.  Betty Zimmer, who’s had 35 years as a docent will be our guide, and we plan to have lunch there.

From the CMA website:

"In partnership with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, Columbus Museum of Art presents Beyond Impressionism – Paris, Fin de Siècle:  Signac, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec and Their Contemporaries. CMA is the only U.S. venue for this extraordinary exhibition. Featuring approximately 100 paintings, drawings, prints, and works on paper, the exhibition explores the Parisian art scene, focusing on the most important French avant-garde artists of the late 19th century, including Paul Signac, Maximilien Luce, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Félix Vallotton, Odilon Redon, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The Parisian fin de siècle was a time of political upheaval and intense cultural transformation."

Democrats are concerned about divisiveness

After 9 years of marches, protests, burning down buildings and disinviting conservatives to speak at colleges, after whiners unfriending relatives on social media, prepared scripts on what to talk about at Thanksgiving, 90 minute CNN specials on how awful the president is for not being Obama, constant Russia, Russia, Russia talk, sneers about faith, sympathy and prayer when an atheist carelessly left out of the NICS database kills Christians, calling the nuclear family "white supremacy," ridiculing western civilization . . . Democrats and Never Trumper non-Democrats announce their concern about divisiveness in the nation and again virtue signal after state and local elections . Duh!

Christians and social media

Today I read a really convicting article on line about social media and why it is so bad for Christians. Of course, she had a blog, wrote for on-line publication, uses FB and e-mail and twitter, but still made good points. I am guilty as charged. So now I'm dropping a quarter into a cup on my desk each time I turn on my computer. I'll find a good cause. So far, it's $1.25 today.