1967 and 1968 were scary in presidential politics

Today I was reminded of just how scary 1967 and 1968 were for our country--which put today's problems with Biden and 2 wars in perspective. Our children were born in 1967 and 1968 and this podcast reminded me of how helpless we felt.  You want your kids to have a better life, but it all seemed to be crashing.  Especially awful were the assassinations.  If you were around then and have forgotten what a mess the Democrats (and the country) were in, take a listen to the podcast "Honestly." Bari Weiss is the founder of Free Press and main speaker on the Honestly podcast, but she has a guest host, Eli Lake, for this one. I'd forgotten how much LBJ and RFK hated each other, and the level of disruption the Chicago riots caused. Mr. Lake brings it all back with some of the interviews. Honestly with Bari Weiss: When a President Drops Out: What Biden Can Learn from 1968 on Apple Podcasts

From the transcript: "Today, Free Press writer Eli Lake hosts a special episode about what happened in 1968 when President Johnson decided he was not fit for reapplying for his job. He listened to his critics and backed away from the White House, allowing the Democrats an opportunity to stage an open convention to choose their next candidate for the presidency. But why did the party want him gone so badly? And how did this seismic decision work out? It’s a tale of murder, war, and riots that culminated in the most explosive convention in the history of America."

DEMOCRATIC_CONVENTION_1968_REEL_1_306-1424-r1.webm.720p.vp9

America the Beautiful

"America the beautiful" by Katherine Bates composed on a trip to Colorado is so beautiful I thought I'd write something about it. It's been recorded by so many famous entertainers and bands--Elvis Presley to Aretha Franklin, military bands to small town band concerts. Everything I've read would indicate it is public domain--but alas, even that is being argued and worked out in the courts. But I was certainly shocked to read in my morning devotions (Magnificat, July 2024) that the copyright is held by the Benedictine Nuns of the Abbey of St. Cecilia, Ryde, Isle of Wright, UK. That's either a big typo or perhaps applies to a particular recorded rendition. I'll check with the publisher.

Katharine Lee Bates | Biography, America The Beautiful, Poems, Books, & Facts | Britannica

"Amber Waves" is the title of a USDA magazine. The title is probably taken from that familiar tune. I used to collect first/premiere issues of magazines and have the first issue (in print). It still exists on line. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves.aspx

Latest, updated list of lies about President Trump

 https://sharylattkisson.com/2024/06/50-media-mistakes-in-the-trump-era-the-definitive-list/?

The list is now at 160, but because they are so often repeated even after debunked, some people are hearing them for the first time.  Like the bleach thing, and the "nice people" lie.

Dr. Zhivago and "The Secrets we Kept"

This is a terrible way to waste 15 minutes, but I've been researching the use of polystyrene foam as disposable coffee cups. I'm reading a spy novel ("The secrets we kept" by Lara Prescott). It's 1956 and the typing pool is gathered at the coffee shop (in Washington DC, and I don't yet know who the spies are but the latest fad in novels is to have bright young women save the West as spies). Here's the line that stopped me. "The Agency's own brew, though brown and hot, tasted more like the Styrofoam cups we drank it from."

Doesn't that sound like an anachronism to you? So of course, I looked it up. Not a lot of history (with dates) for polystyrofoam cups, but AI tried. Seems this environmental disaster was developed in 1954 and the foam cups created in 1957. Sometime in the 1960s they began to be used for disposable coffee cups, and 7-11 popularized them around 1964. The big use expansion of these cups was the 1970s and 80s. That's the bare bones, and right now if you're drinking disposably, it's probably a paper cup with a thin plastic coating (which may be leaching into your coffee), and the BIG advancement was in the development of the lids.

Back to the spies. This novel is built about Boris Pasternak's "Dr. Zhivago," and although I'm not sure I read it, I did see the movie several times. Also I took Russian in college and I can pronounce the names. The author's name is Lara, as was the love interest in Pasternak's novel.

https://youtu.be/WiWWa-T0EIY?si=e22chGIuSSxQafZX  Lara's Theme

Presidential immunity

I think Democrats should be thrilled with the clarification of presidential immunity by SCOTUS. Both Obama and Biden have serious crimes that could come back to haunt them. But Democrats are so damaged by their hate for Trump they think anything in the Constitution they don't support is about Trump.

The decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, established a broad new immunity from prosecution, not just for Trump, but for past and future presidents, too. Presidents may not be prosecuted for exercising their “core” constitutional powers, and even in situations where former presidents might be prosecuted after leaving office, they are entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for official actions they took as president.

Such immunity is needed, said the chief justice, in order to protect an “energetic,” and “independent executive,” willing to take “bold” actions and make unpopular decisions when needed. And while Roberts said that private actions by a former president are not protected from prosecution, his opinion seemed to inexorably intertwine private and public actions. Supreme Court says Trump has absolute immunity for core acts only : NPR

Clarence Thomas swipes at Special Counsel Jack Smith's appointment in SCOTUS immunity case | Fox News

Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic decision granting Donald Trump immunity | CNN Politics

Angry Democrats upset about Presidential immunity

"The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution. And the system of separated powers designed by the Framers has always demanded an energetic, independent Executive," the SCOTUS opinion said.

Democrats are angry and insane. President Trump has all the same rights that all presidents and all citizens had before the SCOTUS decision, yet they believe "Democracy" has failed under a "MAGA court." They don't see that SCOTUS has protected them! Think of all the angry, biased, crazy, befuddled things Biden has said and done in the last 4 years--they better hope he has immunity.

The debate aftermath

I don't know what is more painful--listening to the rehash of how frail and confused the "leader of the free world" was last night, or how disgusting the shock and horror of the Demedia was, especially when they've known this his whole term. The media have lied to Democrats in propping him up.

I asked one of my Fitness Friends this morning if he'd watched the debate (he's 70, but looks 50--don't you hate that). He made an interesting observation: "If the Democrats hadn't cheated in 2020, we'd be done with both of them and both parties could bring in younger candidates."

Taibbi tells all to Tucker

I listened to the entire 2 hour 20 minute interview of Matt Taibbi on the Tucker show this afternoon (waiting for a call back that never came). By the end I was almost tearful. It's sad when one's dreams are dashed--even for leftists. Taibbi was considered the golden boy of liberal journalism. Worked 10 years in Russia (speaks Russian) as a journalist and had his dream job for 16 years with Rolling Stone. He got the big exposé about Twitter, how it was infiltrated by government intel. He now works as an independent (Substack) and is called "right wing" by the Demedia, his former friends and colleagues. He really dislikes Trump, but has had to acknowledge the Soviet/Russian style justice he has received (and Steve Bannon). He was such a huge fan of Obama it was almost painful to listen to his confession of faith. Oddly, he is such a believer in the values of freedom of speech and a journalism ethic that I don't believe ever existed in real practice, that he's about as MAGA as one could be without knowing it.

One odd thing I learned during the interview is both men have fathers who were adopted. Taibbi is actually of Filipino/Hawaiian ethnicity, adopted by Italian Americans with a Lebanese surname.

The Debate between President Trump and Joe Biden

The Democrats' idea of free speech guaranteed to Americans in the Bill of Rights is very fluid.

 
In 2021 you could lose your career if you advocated the use of Ivermectin, a safe, legal, low cost treatment for parasites which also acts as an anti-viral.

In 2024 you can verbally abuse Jews and threaten their right to exist with no fear of arrest or career damage but lose your job for saying a man is not a woman.

Remember that when you watch the debate tonight. It's back to basics . . .

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Steve Sailer notices things--trends, seasons, laws, murders

Steve Sailer notices things. Then he writes them down. Then his columns were collected into a book titled "Noticing." He's called a right wing extremist and racist by Media Matters or SPLC because he notices things like 15,000-20,000 blacks were murdered or died in car crashes as a result of BLM's Ferguson (2015-16) and George Floyd (2020) riots. With guns blacks killed each other (44% increase) and when police were told not to patrol or stop cars for searches because that was racist, more blacks died in car crashes (39% increase). He uses a lot of CDC statistics. It seems that Black Lives Don't Matter to Democrats because they want Sailer to stop writing about such uncomfortable topics (which could be compiled and collected by any journalist if they cared). He's been on many podcasts, but today is the first day I'd heard of him.

Steve Sailer: BLM, Karens, Donald Trump, and What Democrats Don’t Want You to Know about DEI (tuckercarlson.com)

The names in DC have changed, but the politics are now criminal

In a summary of post WWII U.S. political history--from the 1950s to today--Joel Ross writes, " It is just that the Dems have now taken it [dirty politics] to a whole new level of criminal behavior in an attempt to consolidate power. Cheating in elections is now a science for them, and so we have 11 million illegal new potential people to sign illegal ballots. That is what this year’s election represents.

 
It is 43 years later [after the Reagan Revolution, 1981-1989], but the same political left vs right battles are being fought, just the names are different, and the tactics are now criminal. The pendulum is now swinging back, and the numbers are very much larger. This election is a historic moment equal to when Reagan got elected and changed the direction of the country away from government control.

Consider, 1979 was the Iran hostage crisis, then came Reagan and it ended immediately. 2024, Gaza war and hostage crisis with Iran proxy. 1979 weak Carter, inflation was 11.3% and the economy was headed in the wrong direction. Now weak bumbling Biden, prices are up over 20% for basics in four years, and there is another hostage crisis involving Iran proxies. Along comes Trump seeking to reverse all of the Biden failures and over regulation. The Dems already have a plan to try to stop him from eliminating deep state swamp dwellers."

Prayers for June 23 from Magnificat magazine

 

Slow down by Iamson

 I was listening to "Pray as you Go" this morning and the song selection was "Slow Down" by Iamson.  That's not a song that "speaks" to me, because at 84, I couldn't go much slower.  But the message is more about where we put our focus, I think. Even when my body won't move, it seems the mind is busy.

https://genius.com/Iamson-slow-down-lyrics

Slow down, where are you going?
What's so important that can't wait?
Tell Me, what are you seeking?
What is it that's keeping you from bringing Me your questions?

Should Republicans use Lawfare as taught by Democrats?

This is from the webpage of Jay Hubbard, 

Regarding lawfare, we shouldn’t unilaterally disarm. We should employ the same tactics they’ve engaged in until we successfully instill a realistic fear which establishes a sense of mutual destruction and allows a “ceasefire” to emerge.

The rule of law is predicated on the same standards supposedly being enforced for all. Therefore, all we’d have to do is persecute them on the same grounds they persecuted us. We wouldn’t even have to lie about any of it.

Impeach Biden for a quid pro quo with Ukraine.

Toss Hunter Biden in jail for falsifying a document.

Hold Biden liable for sexual assault due to a very old and poorly corroborated accusation.

Launch a congressional committee to investigate the multiple “insurrections” that occurred during the BLM riots. Jail hundreds of those criminals.

Prosecute the prosecutors who arrested people for self defense, on the grounds that said cases constituted prosecutorial misconduct.

Toss Attorney General Merrick Garland in jail for failing to appear to answer a Congressional subpoena and thereby getting held in contempt of Congress.

Do the EXACT SAME THING to FORMER Attorney General Eric Holder for, again, the same “crime.”

Jail James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, for lying to Congress when he falsely testified that the government wasn’t collecting telephone records on millions of Americans.

Prosecute everyone involved in arresting Trump, on the grounds that their behavior constitutes “election interference in the 2024 Presidential Campaign.”

While we’re investigating electioneering, prosecute the 50+ former intelligence officials who lied to squash the Hunter Biden laptop story.

Prosecute former President Obama and FBI director James Comey for breaking espionage laws when they spied on the Trump campaign.

Prosecute members of the FBI for misleading the FISA court by leaking news to the media so they could later present that news article to the FISA judge as though it were independent corroboration of their accusation, thereby securing authorization for continued warrantless wiretapping. This was fabricated corroboration designed to manipulate the court.

Prosecute the politicians in PA who violated their state constitution when they illegally changed the voting rules during the 2020 presidential election (again, just call it election interference).

Every right-of-center news outlet should sue the Whitehouse Press Secretary for libel, for lying about all right wing news outlets supposedly pushing “cheap-fakes” when all they did was show unedited clips from a pool feed (meaning a camera feed shared by all networks). Even if they couldn’t win, sue them anyways.

Launch multiple IRS investigations over the Biden family’s numerous unexplained shell corporations where foreign funds were received and then dispersed amongst family members.

Launch another investigation regarding the coverup of said crimes, as exposed by the two IRS whistleblowers who testified that pressure was placed to steer investigators away from implicating Biden.

Prosecute Clinton for destroying her email servers.

Prosecute Biden for mishandling classified documents when he was a Senator and later the Vice President, both positions which lacked the Presidential authority to unilaterally classify documents.

On the grounds of child endangerment, arrest those involved in all of the “kid friendly” transgender shows, particularly the ones which featured explicit and sexually suggestive dancing.

Arrest pro-abortion protestors for harassment.

For the crime of “trespassing,” arrest the people who stormed the capitol to protest the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh.

For rioting, arrest the protestors who set a fire near the Whitehouse, temporarily forcing the Secret Service to rush President Trump into a secure bunker.

For inciting riots, arrest all politicians who publicly encouraged riots in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

Arrest all Democrats who previously went to court to fight ANY election results. Do so on the grounds that their legal argument constituted “a conspiracy to illegally overturn a free and fair election.”

Sue any school district who pushes trans ideology. Do so on the grounds that it’s abusive to children, violative of woman’s rights regarding female sports, and unsafe for girls who face a heightened risk of sexual harassment when males access female locker rooms.

Criminally prosecute all hospital administers and surgeons who partook in gender reassignment surgery for minors.

Ask all Whitehouse advisors to divulge privileged conversations, and when they refuse on grounds of executive privilege, lock them all up.

Indict Biden’s lawyers until you force one of them to flip and testify against him in exchange for a plea bargain.

Just as Biden’s administration sued Texas for enforcing state immigration laws, arguing that federal authority superseded Texas policy, sanctuary cities should be sued on similar grounds.

Even if we lose every case, we must force them to contend with the legal expense and political fallout.

Tea and Memorial for Lakeside Women's Club

 This afternoon the Lakeside Women's Club had a tea on the lawn of the Hotel Lakeside to celebrate 80 years of friendship and programming.  The program began with a memorial for deceased members since last summer.  That included my good friend Nancy Long who was a longtime member and also frequent presenter at the various book reviews. Also, today is her birthday, so the ladies wished her a happy heavenly birthday.   Gretchen Curtis provided an interesting program speaking as Bessie Hoover, the first president of the LWC and wife of A.L. Hoover long time Lakeside director. In July there will be a service for Nancy at the memorial garden at Lakeside.

Zombie eggs?

What or who are these "other people" who produce human eggs to be harvested for IVG?

"During an IVF cycle, women and other people who produce female sex cells have their eggs surgically removed." (From the article "How many IVF babies are born in the US?" at USAfacts.org)

This is the control the culture crazies have over biology. If "fact" compilers at USA Facts are so intimidated by woke activists, then how do we trust them on other "facts" like murder rate by race, or number of illegals during Biden years, or trade data with China?

If a woman who believes she is a man is still producing eggs to be harvested so she or her partner can be a mother, then she is a woman, not "other" person. How hard can it be for educated people in 2024 to grasp that scientific fact?

For a more civil society call them racists

I suspect the pleas that we return to a more civil society without so much polarization with more bi-partisanship is mainly suggested by Democrats. They really take offense at being questioned about their party's abortion platform, their patriotism, about their feeble president, their weaponization of the DOJ and their funding by dark money. They desire our silence and polite understanding. They are also virtue signalers--especially those who say they are Christians. For example. If you want to promote peace, harmony and reasonable dialog in a vacation community--let's say Lakeside, Ohio--where people come to see old friends, to fish or boat, and to take in some stimulating Chautauqua programs--why invite (and pay) a speaker who has written books "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy," "White Too Long, The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity," and "The End of White Christian America?"

Steve Bannon goes to prison; Eric Holder didn't

Steve Bannon is going to jail July 1 for contempt of Congress, but Eric Holder (same charge) didn't. What's the difference? Bannon was on Trump's staff at one time. It's a misdemeanor. Who goes to jail for a misdemeanor? Only Republicans, pro-lifers, and conservative Catholics. They are going after Guliani for the same reason. Trump got the Soviet 1930s style trial and death in prison; his aides and lawyers, jail time and personal ruin. A Michigan grandmother got a 2 year sentence for a pro-life protest. Democrats don't just play hard ball, they want to destroy the judicial system.

 “In my 20s I served my country on a Navy Destroyer [and] in my 70s I’ll serve my country in a federal prison. It doesn’t make any difference,” Bannon said. https://youtu.be/YGRMp-GkIwo?si=vy9mGbTLSyBF_omv

"Unless you were equally appalled by Obama Attorney General Eric Holder's refusal to turn over Department of Justice documents about botched gun-walking Operation Fast and Furious in 2012, I don't want to hear it. The gun-walking operation was a mess that got Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry killed. He was murdered by one of the guns in this scandal" (Townhall.com)

BLM and Antifa got to burn down buildings, paint logos in the streets, and disrupt our cities and economy for months and months. No problem. And the media called it racism when they got arrested.

June 13, 1777

On June 13, 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in South Carolina. He declared that "the welfare of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind." So true. There are those among us who want to end that. They are angry that this is a great country, and they riot in the streets, burn down buildings and mock us from our elite universities. They say things like "first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people." They hate all of Western Civilization.

30 days to think about pride

Pride is considered one of the seven deadly sins because

It glorifies oneself and not God
It is selfish
It rages against all wise counsel
It is not submissive to authority
It is judgmental
It leads to discrimination

For sure!

"In the Bible, the first sin committed by human beings, often referred to as the original sin, was rooted in pride. Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden came from their desire to be like God, to have the knowledge of good and evil, and to assert their independence from Him."

So, it may be good to have 30 days devoted to remembering the failures and unhappiness caused by pride. Especially that part about wanting to be like God.