The basis for today’s populist conservatism.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/07/07/leo-brent-bozell-abortion-game-00044246

“To really understand the GOP’s hard-right turn, look to L. Brent Bozell Jr.”

An interesting look at how we got where we are today with “conservatism”.

Often times, we on this forum have pointed to certain times and individuals who have started the downward spiral of the modern GOP and ideas embraced by today’s “conservatives”. Newt Gingrich gets a lot of props due to the “Contract with America” when he was Speaker.

This well written piece goes back even further and explains who and how we got where we are today.

DeSantis signs bill requiring survey of Florida students, professors on their political views

https://www.salon.com/2021/06/23/desantis-signs-bill-requiring-florida-students-professors-to-register-political-views-with-state/

Always good to check in on the “free speech, good ideas don’t require coercion, free and open debate, etc.” crowd.

It is of course tired and cliché to point out Republican hypocrisy–that’s just a given–but these are the policies of a party preparing to enforce minority rule. Good times ahead.

How’s that open border working out?

Mass shooting by illegal immigrants prevented 

Simply refusing to enforce immigration laws is not a substitute for passing better immigration laws. 

There is a lot we don’t know about this yet, but this is not just a lone wolf type massacre that was stopped. Gang or cartel involvement is likely. 

But in either case, neither of these men should be here. Letting criminals and terrorists in by not screening immigrants before releasing them into the country is inviting disaster. 

 

Every damn time

PJ Media : Clear and Present danger

So, another dysfunctional young man kills people and afterward we learn that he should not have been able to purchase firearms yet slipped through the system.

First we heard that the Highland Park shooter was ‘known to police’ and now we learn that police were called to the home because he was threatening to butcher the family with a sword.

No arrest, no report to the NICS database. And in less than a year, the father signs off on an underage purchase of the firearms used. Continue reading “Every damn time” →

Big Oil = Big Tobacco

https://tinyurl.com/maaccmrv

The gist of the article is that just like Big Tobacco did, Big Oil is creating a dangerous mass of liability through its history of deception about the dangers its products present. Big Tobacco lied to the public, downplayed the health risks, funded contrarian science, and promoted unproven ideas to protect its market. Big Oil has done the same. For decades.

If it is any comfort, think of the looming wave of financial accountability for the lying liars of Big Oil as being a case of bullshit eventually losing out in the “marketplace of ideas.”

As an aside, the article points out that the Heartland Institute played a similar deceptive role as a cut-out for both Big Oil and for Big Tobacco.

Ho Hum. Just another day in America – 70 Rounds 7 Dead

There is no polite way to put this. The NRA and everyone who has fought against the banning of assault weapons has even more blood on their hands.

Once again, the maniac LEGALLY bought a “high powered rifle similar to an AR15.” With such firepower he was able to get off 70 rounds, killing 7 and injuring about 30 more. He fled the scene dressed as a woman. The weapon he left behind was in a database which led to his quick identification and capture.

The media has been headlining the site of this tragedy as “Chicago.” It is not. It is Highland Park, a prosperous middle-class town near Chicago. The fact that the town is approximately 30% Jewish may also prove relevant when the motives of the killer are made public. So far, no motive has been reported. We do know that he is 21, white, heavily tattooed, a nascent rapper fascinated by violence, attended several Trump rallies, and had posted a picture of himself wrapped in a Trump flag online.

There is no valid reason for weapons of war with no purpose other than killing people to be readily available to almost anyone in a supposedly civilized country. None.