Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

As George R. R. Martin is fond of writing, Winter is coming, and along with it comes the possibility of another round of COVID-19 breakout. To combat this, the same people who said we needed to stay quarantined to slow the spread (except, of course, if you’re ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter, or Biden/Harris supporters) are now saying we need to go back into lockdown to slow the spread again.

You know, because lockdowns worked so well last time.

Although we covered this topic earlier this year, the topic has been refreshed, namely because the Left keep acting as though the pandemic isn’t a thing. Which makes it perfect fodder for this week’s Lexicon!

lockdowns

What the Left thinks it means – a way to protect society from the spread of COVID-19 by limiting or canceling in-person activities, such as visiting a restaurant or going to concerts

What it really means – a means to control and manipulate people under the guise of science

When they weren’t telling us to ignore lockdown orders to combat racism, Leftists were enamored with idea of everybody staying inside to, as they called it, “flatten the curve.” Well, the curve didn’t get flattened so much as it got the Mamie Van Doren Special breast augmentation surgery. To cover this up, the Left kept moving the goalposts as to when the lockdowns would be over. First it was 2 weeks. Then 3. Then 4. Then 6. When it got to 12, I sold.

After blowing through the first couple of Leftist-designated goalposts, many people (including your humble correspondent) started to wonder if the lockdowns were actually supposed to control the spread of COVID-19. (Spoiler Alert: The scientists still aren’t on the same page as to the effectiveness of lockdowns. But we’re supposed to trust the science so…I guess we trust the ambiguity?) Then, Democrat governors across the country used the outbreak to enact restrictions stricter than my third grade teacher (to whom I still owe three weeks after school in detention), and people rebelled. Even though most people still considered COVID-19 a threat, they also saw the draconian moves by said governors to be as big of a threat. There is a debate to be had concerning freedom during quarantine, but the Left doesn’t want one. They just want to tell you what you can and can’t do.

Of course, those rules don’t apply to them because…reasons?

The reason lockdowns became a subject of discussion again is because Democrats leaders are getting caught violating the rules they want everyone else to follow. Who could have seen that coming? Even before now, Democrat governors and their spouses in some cases were caught defying their own mandates for personal gain. Imagine being told you have to stay in your house and not have Thanksgiving while the person telling you this is spending Thanksgiving with his family in a foreign country. If you’re living in Austin, TX, you know what that’s like because it actually happenedthis year.

You know, even Beethoven wasn’t this tone deaf.

At this point, the concept of lockdowns may be medically wise, but foolish in practice because we’re not all in this together, contrary to what the Left says. They’re in it for themselves and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process. That much is evident by how many businesses of all sizes have closed down due to lack of business or been forced out of business by governors who don’t have to worry about serving customers or making payroll. All they have to do is pretend to care when it’s election season.

On top of that, the Left hasn’t made any friends by, well…acting like Leftists. It’s hard enough to get everyone to go along with a reasonable request as it is, but it’s made even more difficult when you’ve given people a reason to distrust you. Congratulations, Leftists. You’ve made it impossible to achieve the right goal. And as someone who would benefit by the curve being flatter than pancakes in Nebraska, I’m not happy the Left used lockdowns to grab up power, hurt people and the economy, and create rules they don’t have to follow, but really should.

Thus, we see the facade of the lockdowns. Leftists used science to convince most of us to stay indoors and away from others, and we did. After weeks went by, the message stayed the same, even when the science didn’t back up their ideas. In the end, it was never about following the science or staying in lockdown until we got COVID-19 under control; it was all about control of as many people as possible.

And unfortunately it worked pretty well.

Where we go from here is hard to say. As I mentioned earlier, there is a valuable debate about freedom during the time of quarantine, and this is the time to have it. If President-Elect Joe Biden has his say, we will be looking at actions more draconian than the ones we’ve already experienced and he will try to justify it using the same method (i.e. the public good) the Left used during the first round of lockdowns. The thing is the same argument can be used to refute more stringent restrictions because of the number of people out of work due to the lockdowns themselves. The Left calls it putting profits ahead of people, but they also admit there are economic costs to a lockdown. When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, profits are how you get paid. Put another way, the Left is putting politics and pain before people.

And you might need to dodge as the Leftists’ heads explode.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett may not have had a chance to figure out what other Justices wear under their robes, she has shown she can sway a decision in short order. By a 5-4 verdict, the Supreme Court struck down New York State’s restriction on religious services due to COVID-19. And as you might expect, the Left took it as well as they usually do: by using Twitter to call her “Amy Covid Barrett.”

The reason for the Left’s latest bout of Loser-itis, aside from resting on the laurels of two previous decisions in their favor, is a gross misunderstanding of the First Amendment’s “Establishment Clause.” Many Leftists on Twitter felt the ruling violated the Establishment Clause because…well, I’m still trying to figure that out, but it might have something to do with Justice Barrett’s faith.

The heart of the case involves faith, and not just Justice Barrett’s. Thanks to New York Governor Andrew “Fredo’s Smarter Brother” Cuomo’s edicts, the question of religious freedom during a pandemic came front and center. And for this week’s Lexicon, let’s take a look at the larger concept of religious freedom.

religious freedom

What the Left thinks it means -the right to worship as you see fit, unless you’re a Christian

What it really means – a vital freedom the Left feels it has to destroy or undercut

The Left’s approach to organized religion is much like their ethical standards; a lot depends on the situation. Much like their world view, Leftists approach religion in terms of a power dynamic, with Christians (used interchangeably with the term “evangelicals”) seen as the most powerful. As a result, Leftists want to hinder Christianity while elevating other religions, namely Islam. That means Muslims get the benefit of the doubt whenever one of theirs does something minor like, say, killing coworkers at a Christmas party, but Christians don’t when they do something major, like…putting a Nativity scene in a public park.

Thanks, ACLU.

And really that’s how the Left has made their religious animosity into law: through the judicial system. Whenever a Christian makes a move in accordance with his/her faith, the Left runs to Big Daddy Government to get their way. Through legal wrangling, identifying loopholes that are either in the original text or an Oktoberfest-pretzel-making frenzy of legal arguing, and a Supreme Court case that made any public school action subject to the “Congress shall make no law” section of the First Amendment, you’re more likely to find a non-violent ANTIFA member than you are to find a Leftist willing to let Christians celebrate without issue.

Although Fox News and others have called such a notion this time of year “The War on Christmas,” the real issue isn’t so specific. Any time a Leftist strikes a blow against Christianity, it affects all religions because the same rules can, may, and eventually will be used against them all. Need proof? Governor Cuomo’s edict that brought about this Supreme Court decision affected any religious gathering. In response, members of the Catholic Church and Jewish faith brought the suit that ultimately ended up in the Supreme Court’s lap.

And because Justice Barrett wasn’t shy about her faith during her confirmation hearing, the Left pinned the decision on her. But the reality is…the Left sucks at reading the Constitution. Although they’re familiar with the Establishment Clause, they overlook the second half which prevents Congress from making any laws that prohibit the free exercise of religion. Using Leftist logic, that means Governor Cuomo did his brother Fredo proud…in the bad decisions department.

And if there’s one thing Leftists hate, it’s using their own tactics against them. Well, except if you take into consideration the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg upheld similar restrictions in two previous cases, and her replacement turned the tide. Regardless, there was a clear violation of religious freedom in each case, but only the most recent decision recognized it and brought it to the forefront where it should have been in the first place.

That’s the problem, though. The Left has made it easy to ignore or overlook religious freedom because they have successfully lobbied society to adopt an “all or nothing” approach to religion. Essentially, the Left says religious freedom is only applicable if all religions are represented. Otherwise, the only fair thing to is to have no religions represented. Using people’s feelings to get what they want. That’s the Leftist way!

This is going to be a controversial statement for some and it’s not meant to offend. If you want religious freedom for all, you are going to have to get along with people of different creeds. That means not trying to convert non-believers and leaving them alone to worship as they see fit. The expectation, though, is they will do the same. To put it in the Lutheran vernacular, it’s one big potluck where everyone will bring a little something to pass, and no matter how bad the Jello is, you put it aside and focus on the Little Smokies. There is strength in numbers, and when it comes to religious freedom, there is no time to let theological disagreements get between us.

So, break bread with a Baptist! Go to brunch with a Buddhist! Get lunch with a Lutheran! Grab a coffee with a Catholic! Share a snack with a member of the Church of Shatner (and, yes, this is a real thing)! Dine with a deist! And round out your night with s’mores with Satanists! As that great philosopher Red Green says, we’re all in this together.



Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

The Left loves recycling. Just look at the ideas they keep bringing up even after they’ve failed worse than Michael Dukakis trying to look tough driving a tank. One of the ideas that has come back into vogue for the Left is cancelling student debt. And with the possibility of Democrats taking back the Senate as of this writing, the idea may become a reality before we know it.

And in typical current year fashion, there’s a hashtag to promote the idea, #CancelStudentDebt, designed to get the President and Department of Education to use their powers to forgive federal student loan debt. But as anyone who’s seen “Jurassic Park” a couple of times will tell you, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Should we? Let’s discuss it further, shall we?

#CancelStudentDebt

What the Left thinks it means – a great way to stimulate the economy and allow college students to put their money towards more practical means

What it really means – a way to remove consequences for people who ran up debt studying stupid majors

Back in the day, going to college was a big deal because it meant you had the intellectual drive and economic ability to go. To help people less fortunate, but no less driven, than wealthier families, student loans were created, and it proved to be the gateway to higher education. As time passed and Leftist ideas about education took hold, the value of a high school education got devalued faster than Arthur Andersen’s reputation, so college went from a luxury to a necessity.

Then, Leftists started coming up with all sorts of crazy majors that result in an utter lack of marketable skills outside the halls of academia. Of course, the students who take on these crazy majors don’t find this out until after they graduate with a ton of debt and a lack of ability to do anything more challenging than asking whether you want to Mega-Size your drive-thru meal. Instead of going back to the colleges and universities that gave out the academic equivalent of a Burger King crown, these students (who are all Leftists because that’s what they’ve been indoctrinated to be) look to the government to help them again after asking them for help to get the useless degrees they got in the first place.

Funny how that works, isn’t it?

When it comes to cancelling student debt, I can see what the proposed economic benefits could be. Not having to pay through the nose monthly to pay for the education received would be allow young people to put more of that money towards living expenses, like rent, food, and, oh yeah, the latest iPhones. Just because you have more money to spend doesn’t mean you will spend it wisely. As someone who ran up credit card debt like a scammer at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch, I am proof of that.

Although this will put money back into the economy (at least on paper), it also allows people to run up a different kind of debt. If you think student loans are bad, wait until you see the interest payments on credit cards. (Of course, the Left also wants to cancel credit card debt, but that’s a blog post for a different time.) And unlike student loan holders, credit card companies expect to get paid monthly and have the tools to really make your life a perpetual 2020. Given how much people spend these days to get the latest stuff and their lack of even a cursory knowledge of basic economics, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb saying cancelling student debt will be a bane to the folks who ran up the student debt and a boon for credit card companies.

Here’s a fun little fact to mull over if you support cancelling student debt. The people who tend to default the most on student loans are…doctors and lawyers. In other words, the Left are inadvertently helping former students who could afford to pay their debts, but choose not to. Tell me again how you Leftists are against tax cuts for the rich again…

But there are a few groups of people who will be left behind with this idea. Some people worked their way through college without student loans, while others have been paying off or have paid off their debt. To put it simply, these folks are hosed. Yet, these are the ones who will be expected to make up the shortfalls of cancelling student debt, all while not getting any of the benefits. As it turn out, that may be by design.

When the Left thinks of economics, they think in terms of winners and losers. If someone gets ahead, it’s solely because they took advantage of someone else, even if the former did everything by himself/herself. When you view the world like this, there will always be a power dynamic that has to be “corrected” to make things “fair.” So, the Left will always see those who have paid their debts as the ones with power and the ones who ran up the debts but haven’t paid them as victims.

The one thing the Left overlooks in this dynamic is choice. We choose to go to college, we choose what classes to take, we choose what majors we want, we choose to accumulate debt, and we choose whether to pay off said debt. That’s a lot of choices, and all of them personal choices. That means the people complaining about crushing student loan debt are the ones who put themselves there in the first place. But since Leftists are incapable of accepting responsibility for their actions, they will blame others for the stupid decisions they make and expect the government to bail them out.

But that’s not how it works. The government isn’t there to be your babysitter, nor is it there to fund your dreams of finding a job in the Albino Native American Pottery Poetry field. At some point, you have to realize a lot of the crap you’re experiencing is on you and you might need to figure out how to get yourselves out of it. The first step towards that end is realizing you’ve made some horrible decisions, and I’m not just talking about getting multiple piercings to the point you trigger the metal detectors in airports 3 states over. Take a look at who and what you support and what role they’ve had in shaping your decisions. If they’re the cause or at least the cheerleaders of your bad decisions, they’re not role models; they’re enablers, and they might just be making a buck or two off your misfortunes.

In the meantime, let’s take the hashtag activism for a walk on the responsible side. Even if you agree with the #CancelStudentDebt notion, there are parts of it that, if unresolved, will lead to the biggest producer drop-out rate since Atlas Shrugged. And without someone else’s money to fall back on, what will Leftists do?

Probably create another hashtag.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

After the Associated Press called the 2020 election for Joe Biden, the Left wet themselves with joy (and I hope it was just tears). As soon as the fireworks were set off, the spreader events…I mean street parties, and other celebrations wound down, the Left then started demanding President Donald Trump concede the election and start a smooth transition period. You know, like the Left did when President Trump was elected.

Okay, bad example.

While we’re trying to sort through questions like whether Twitter will consider “Not My President” hate speech, few people are considering what a transition looks and feels like. And, as you might expect, the Left has a completely different mindset when it comes to transitions.

transition of power

What the Left thinks it means – a tradition where an outgoing President paves the way for an incoming President to hit the ground running

What it really means – holding Republican Presidential staffs to standards Democrat Presidential staffs can’t meet

Politics is an ugly game, especially in these hyper-partisan times. I’ve seen family Monopoly games end more amicably than recent elections and with fewer lawsuits. And after 4+ years of the Left demonizing the President, his family, his staff, his supporters, and anyone even tangentially related to the Trump family or campaign, any transition of power is going to be more like a hostage negotiation than a handing off of a baton.

In recent history, one party has been responsible and without malice when handing over the keys to the White House to its new inhabitants. And the other party is the Democrats. Whether it was taking White House furniture, removing the W keys off keyboards or spying on the incoming President, the Left has been petty when it comes to transitions, so when they demand a smooth transition for Joe Biden, it rings hollow for me.

The reasons for the Left’s call for civility after their lack of said civility over the past few years come down to holding President Trump to their standard, using it as a pseudo-concession, and scoring a political win without spending political capital to obtain it. Let’s break these down one at a time.

One of the Left’s favorite strategy guides is Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky. One of the tenets is “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” In this case, the Left has set the demand Trump follow the precedent of previous Republican Presidents and submit. And the President has done what any Republican President in his place has done: ignore them. (Okay, only some of them would have told the Left to take a hike, but we can dream.) The more President Trump defies the Left’s demands, the more vocal the demands become. It’s like having a Judas Priest concert in the Grand Canyon.

Because President Trump has yet to concede, the Left are trying to manipulate him into a half-measure they can spin into a concession. If Trump starts the transition phase right now, the Left can then say he conceded, even though he hasn’t really. That will go a long way toward getting popular opinion on their side because many people think Biden is or should be acting President right now, but that’s to be expected by a culture that made Cardi B popular.

And the best part of this for the Left is they don’t lose any political capital making these demands. As of this writing, the House is barely in Democrat control and Senate control hasn’t been completely decided yet. After wasting money and political capital to unseat Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham and fail, the Left needs to keep their eyes on what they can and cannot afford to use to fulfill their objectives. Right now, all the Left has to do is keep telling President Trump to concede or at least start the transfer of power to Joe Biden and it doesn’t cost them anything but time and energy.

In spite of all this, the Left hasn’t gotten Trump to budge because he’s not like past Republicans. He has his own set of rules and norms, which has infuriated people on the Left and the Right because they don’t agree with his approach. It also means he isn’t bound to their expectations. When they say “jump” Trump tells them to jump in a lake, although probably not in those words nor as nicely as I put it. Although this approach has made him less popular than Gretchen Witmer at a Michigan NRA meeting, it has shown an independent streak the Left doesn’t know how to handle. They love diversity, except when it comes to diversity of thought. Free will is a Leftist’s worst nightmare, so they will try to coerce compliance whenever possible.

Needless to say that hasn’t worked with President Trump.

Regardless of who takes up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue come January 20th, the transition tradition is going to look and feel different going forward. Republican Presidents may be more emboldened (hey, I can dream, can’t I) to treat the Left like the Left has treated Republicans during previous transitions of power, but something tells me they’ll be adults about it. Meanwhile, Leftists are going to continue to use the process to say one thing and do another for political ends.

In other words, acting like they do on any day ending in a Y.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

Before I begin, I have a question I’d like an answer to. Who requested a 2000 rerun?

Although there were many winners and losers from this year’s elections, there is one group who definitely fall into the latter category: pollsters. You could swing a dead cat (and, really, why would you) and hit a pollster whose can’t-miss election predictions based on research was so appallingly bad TV meteorologists were saying, “Hey! That’s our schtick!”

Now, if this were the first time the polls were wrong, I could perhaps forgive the people who put them together and say they were having a 2020. Unfortunately for them, this isn’t the first time. If anything, the only consistency they showed was how wrong they’ve been. Yet, people outside of the polling industry based decisions on where to go and how hard to campaign based on these numbers which swung wilder than Charlie Sheen. Let’s take a look at the wonderful world of pollsters.

pollsters

What the Left thinks it means – people who review numbers to create charts and graphics showing trends so people get an understanding of what is going on in a political race

What it really means – people willing to take your money and provide you with crap while knowing they will keep their jobs

When done right, polling can be an important and useful tool, and pollsters know this. What they don’t seem to know anymore is how to do polling right. Everything from sampling errors to confusing questions have rendered pollsters more useless than a second appendix. Even between pollsters, there are different methodologies and strategies at work, which create wide swings in the numbers. At any given time, a candidate could be up by 200 points or down by a gajillion. (Sorry to have to bust out the math jargon there, but it was necessary to prove the point.) Granted, the pollsters don’t share call lists, but the point remains there is no consistency in what numbers are produced.

Now, our friends in the media don’t care about the accuracy of the polling numbers for two reasons: 1) the accuracy isn’t as important as the horserace element of an election, and 2) they suck at math. The latter isn’t in question because any media type who still considers Paul Krugman to be credible has to suck at math or at least suck at making value judgments. That leaves the horserace.

The news game is funny in that it mostly relies on misery for ratings, which translate into money. Lately, even hard news has given way to celebrity worship and mixed celebrity with misery. Instead of worrying about whether the news they’re putting out is at least somewhat accurate, the media are now straight out of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry.” Under these circumstances, the need for accuracy takes a back seat to the need for ratings. Polling creates a buzz during election season across the board, whether it be Fox News or MSNBC. By focusing on the horserace, the media don’t have to do any actual work because that’s done by, guess who, the pollsters. All the media have to do then is take the pollsters’ work and report on it. Then, it’s a matter of Blather, Rinse, Repeat to continue the buzz until Election Day.

Then, there’s the donkey in the room: ideology. Most people in the media are Leftists, which means polling takes on an air of authority since there are hard numbers involved. After all, we’ve been taught to accept majority rules, even if we don’t understand how the majority became the majority. What better way to convince people the Left is, well, right?

Without getting too far into the weeds, the effectiveness of polls relies on a number of factors, including the number of people polled, what method is being used to get the results, and how confident the pollsters are that the results accurately reflect what the rest of the population believes. If any of these factors go pear-shaped, the results aren’t going to be reliable. Let’s just say media polling loves pear shapes. A lot.

Outside of becoming pollsters ourselves, we don’t have a lot of options on how to combat pollsters and the misinformation they peddle. One thing I can suggest, however, is to not put much stock in the polls. And that means not to put much stock in pollsters.

Given how inaccurate polls have been in the past 20+ years, I don’t think that will be too hard to do.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

The election is days away as of this blog post (check local listings for further details), so it’s getting to be crunch time for both the Trump/Pence and Biden/Harris campaigns. As you may expect, voter turnout is going to be more important than knowing when the cut off Joe Biden during a live speech. That’s why both Democrats and Republicans have Get Out the Vote, or GOTV, efforts. On their faces, it makes sense.

And if you’re expecting a “But” here, you are correct. The efforts may be rooted in good strategy, but in practice…well, let’s just say there is a history of abuse from people of a certain ideology who think the ends justify the means. But let’s give it a fair hearing.

And by fair, I mean let’s rip on the Left for a while.

GOTV

What the Left thinks it means – efforts to ensure as many people as possible vote

What it really means – efforts to ensure as many people as possible vote for Leftists

Yes, I know Democrats and Republicans have GOTV campaigns. Where the two parties diverge is how far they’re willing to go to get votes. In recent years, we have seen Democrats use the following tactics

– voter intimidation
– bribery in the form of a sweepstakes
– paying people to vote for Democrats
– giving people free meals
– having campaign helpers go into nursing homes to fill out ballots for them
– attempting to register people for absentee ballots who didn’t even live in the area

Not to be outdone, here is the lowdown, dirty things Republicans did with their GOTV efforts:

– told voters to vote

Those monsters!

If you noticed, there seems to be a lot more dishonesty on the part of the Left when it comes to GOTV, which says a lot about their character, none of it good. Why would they have to resort to underhanded tactics if they have the votes to win? After all, don’t they say “When we vote, we win”?

They’re hedging their bets.

The Left lost its collectivist mind when Donald Trump won in 2016 because he was able to overcome the tactics referenced above, as well as a behind-the-scenes effort by our friend Uncle George Soros to put Leftists into state-level positions responsible for counting the votes cast. Now, with the push for voting by mail being amplified by Facebook, ads from jeans companies, and other entities, it creates an environment where GOTV efforts can sway the election in favor of the Left.

Then, the Democrats nominated Joe Biden, who has been gafferrific leading up to Election Day. That decision alone isn’t enough to hand the Left another well-deserved defeat, but it puts extra importance on the GOTV efforts. If they can get enough people to vote, they may be able to overwhelm the number of Trump voters to pull off a victory, and with the other safeguards they have in place, it is a real possibility.

But therein lies the flaw in their strategy. One of the traits I’ve found in Trump voters is their loyalty. All Trump needs to do is tell people to vote (which he has) and they will turn out in droves. His rallies are as well-attended as an all you can eat buffet on the way to a Weight Watchers meeting, and they are unapologetic in their support for the President. Add to that the number of people outside of the GOP willing to vote for Trump, and you have the Achilles heel of the Left’s GOTV strategy. You can’t win an election if you don’t have the votes.

And as we’ve seen in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and other places across the country, the Left have no problem suppressing some votes and manufacturing others. But that’s a whole different blog post altogether.

The point is GOTV efforts are great at energizing the base to vote, but they can be weaponized by those willing to break a few election laws to get a Leftist into office. But I’m totally not saying Leftists would do that. To accuse Leftists of cheating, lying, and manipulating potential voters like utter scumbags is the last thing on my mind. In fact, let me go on the record as saying I will not even consider the idea the Left would stoop to dishonest tactics to try to save face after Donald Trump whupped their collectivist asses in 2016.

I won’t consider it because it’s pretty much true.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

Out of the three Presidential shitshows…I mean debates, the last one was the best, partially because of the quality of the questions asked, and mostly because of the answers the candidates gave in response to said questions. One of the most intriguing questions surrounded energy policy, specifically oil. Joe Biden’s flip flops on whether he wanted to get rid of the oil industry as a whole made for must-miss television.

For the past few decades, the Left has had its sights on the oil industry and attempted to make it seem like Hitler, but less cuddly. Whether it’s blaming them for global warming/cooling/climate change/whatever it’s called this week or painting them as soulless money grubbers more cartoonish than a Captain Planet villain, the Left is all-in for getting rid of oil if at all possible. And, to be fair, oil companies haven’t always been worthy of protection from bad PR, but are they as bad as they seem? Let’s find out!

the oil industry

What the Left believes it means – an industry that pollutes and destroys the environment for profit, needs to be eliminated as a source of energy

What it really means – an industry that has become more indispensable than we realize

What do you think of when someone mentions oil? I’m guessing it’s either fuel or oil in general. Well, surprise surprise, that’s what the Left thinks of, too! Although it’s not wrong, it’s not the whole picture. Those evil petroleum barons make everything from plastics to Plexiglass. You know, just like the barriers used at the last Presidential debate?

But it goes beyond that. There are industries that are currently oil-dependent for their survival. Farming, transport, construction, these and many more require an oil industry presence for them to do anything. And last time I checked, we kinda need food to survive.

“Well, then we’ll use alternate fuel sources,” Leftists say. In fact, that’s their solution for everything. Replace fossil fuels, like oil, with wind or solar or other alternative energy sources. I’d like to see them put a windmill on a tractor for the sheer comedy value, but it belies the issue with the Left’s position on oil: they don’t understand enough about it to make an informed decision.

Shocking, I know.

In their rush to do a cut and paste energy policy, the Left overlooks the fact machinery requires lubrication and fuel. Right now, the bulk of the machinery uses oil-based products to make them move. It would like millions of dollars to retool existing or new equipment to meet the Left’s standards, but without some form of lubrication, the equipment makes nice paperweights, albeit expensive ones. You could try to use plant-based oils, but you will wind up smelling like you bathe in fry medium. Granted, this might make Leftists more appealing to fast food connoisseurs, but only because they think you might be able to score them some free food.

On the fuel front, the fossil fuel and even the biofuel versions have an advantage over solar and wind in that they can work in any type of weather. Let’s say you have a semi-truck that works on a rechargeable solar battery. It works great when there’s sunlight, right? What happens overnight? With current solar battery life, there are going to be more than a few stranded drivers waiting until the dawn, thus slowing down deliveries of everything from food to supplies. Prices will skyrocket, there will be shortages that can’t be addressed in a timely manner, and it might turn Main Street into one big CHAD/CHOP compound.

But…lower carbon footprint?

Let’s be honest here. Oil isn’t going away anytime soon, and no amount of Leftist wishful thinking will make it happen any sooner without massive infrastructure and technological changes we haven’t tried to make yet and the Left hasn’t figured out we need. The “Party of Science” everybody! Put simply, we need the oil industry to function until we can find a replacement, so the Left is putting the cart before the horse, literally.

Aside from that, the oil industry is a Leftist target because it’s playing the same game the Left has been playing by putting out research to support its position on global warming/cooling/climate disaster/whatever they’re calling it this paragraph. Granted, this is as fucked up as letting Jeffrey Dahmer give you food prep tips, but considering the oil industry’s science is as unbiased as the Left’s, it’s pretty much a wash.

However, it’s not the science that offends the Left in this case; it’s the fact the oil industry isn’t backing down from Leftist pressure. They are combating science with science, as junky as the science may be, and not apologizing for what they do. The Left have to be bullies to get their way, so when someone tells them to go piss up a rope, they don’t take it well. In fact, they work towards destroying anyone and anything that defies them.

You know, like what they’ve been doing for the past few decades?

As badly as the oil industry has screwed up (the Exxon Valdez and BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico come immediately to mind), they are a hell of a lot more useful than the Left is. That doesn’t mean we can’t hold them to task for screw-ups, nor does it mean we shouldn’t be looking for ways to improve our energy policy or find new ways to use the resources we currently use. What it does mean is the Left hasn’t done enough homework to justify completely weaning the country from oil right now.

Maybe that’s why Joe Biden’s position on the oil industry is so disjointed. Naaaaaaaaaah!

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

This past week saw the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearing devolve into a monkey dung fight with better suits, but one concept that kept being introduced in between the handfuls of crap being flung was originalist. The Left came up with their own unique (i.e. utterly insane) interpretations of the idea, often pointing to the way women were treated when the Constitution was ratified. In short, the Left wanted ACB to get back in the kitchen, but it’s not sexist when they do it.

Yet with all of the talk on the Left about originalist thinking, few have actually nailed it down. And by few I mean it’s rarer than a Nosferatu burger that a Leftist got it right. So, consider this a teachable moment for the Left.

originalist

What the Left thinks it means – a backwards way of applying the Constitution to legal cases because of cultural changes and the passage of time

What it really means – applying the Constitution as written to legal cases

With the exception of a few Amendments, the Constitution is pretty straightforward as to what the government can and cannot do. As a result, Leftists try to muddy the waters so it’s not as simple as it looks, and since Leftists think they’re the smartest people in the room, they volunteer their expertise to interpret the Constitution (as they interpret it, of course). If someone were to come along and point out the simple concepts the Left tries to misconstrue, that person becomes a threat.

You know, like Amy Coney Barrett.

Whenever the Left sees a threat to their self-imposed intellectual supremacy, they calmly and maturely state their case as to why originalist thinking is dangerous. And if you believe that, I have swamp land in the Gobi Desert I’d like to sell you. I’ll even throw in a free Gobi Dessert with a purchase!

What the Left does with originalists is portray them as out-of-touch, uber-conservative types who don’t understand society changes, so our interpretation of the Constitution has to change. Remember, the Left believes the Constitution is ever-changing, always in flux, and means different things at different times. As much as our personal interpretations of the Constitution can change with time and social perspectives, that doesn’t change what is actually written.

Take one of my personal favorite Amendments, the First Amendment. When making decisions on everything from whether online speech should be regulated to whether a community can have Christmas decorations in public parks, people often overlook the key five words at the very beginning of the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law. Thanks to our friends on the Left and their allies in the ACLU, anything that gets government funding is subject to the limitation placed specifically on Congress, and if you disagree or resist, they will sue you. Call me crazy (and I’m sure some of you already do), but I’m curious how a Christmas decoration in a public park equates to an act of our legislative body. Although I’m curious how my mayor voted on Obamacare…

Now, imagine an originalist taking a look at all of the lawsuits and threats of lawsuits from the ACLU and dismissing them because Congress didn’t act. (So far, it hasn’t happened, but a boy can dream.) Not only would it make the ACLU look like idiots (which happens on any day that ends with “day”), but it would remove the power the Left has to suppress the free expression of religion through subversion of the First Amendment. (Oh, and by ignoring the whole “nor prohibit the free exercise thereof” part of the First.)

Even with something as vital and impactful as a Supreme Court decision, the Left is playing political games, mainly because they know they can’t win people’s hearts and minds and need the courts to enact the Left’s agenda via judicial fiat. Of course, the easiest way to win hearts and minds is to…oh, I don’t know…come up with ideas that don’t suck. The originalist nukes this tactic from orbit because he or she understands the limits of the judiciary and will most likely toss out the bad decisions for legislative bodies or, Heaven forbid, the people to decide.

Therein lies the key difference between Leftists and originalists. The Left uses the Constitution as a Swiss Army knife, a tool for every idea developed by and for tools. Originalists use the Constitution as a map to guide an outcome so no one gets screwed in the end. (Unless, of course, you’re into that kind of thing.) This has a lot to do with how well each side understands the Constitution and to what ends. The Leftists have a workable understanding of the letter of the law, but only enough to find or create loopholes. Originalists have a deeper understanding of the words in and concepts behind the Constitution so they can understand the spirit of the law, not just the letter. This knowledge of context makes it easier for the originalists to pick out the wheat from the chaff in the Left’s Constitutional arguments.

Which pisses off the Left to no end.

Although the Left’s opposition to Amy Coney Barrett appears to be based on abortion rights or dismantling the Affordable Care Act, underneath is a deep contempt for her originalist stance and a fear she won’t take any of their monkey dung masquerading as legal and Constitutional concepts. And given some of the questions/rants provided by the Senate Democrats, monkey dung might have been the most substantive things they had against her.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

There’s an old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” With a wild Presidential election year and 2020 being, well, 2020, we are indeed living in interesting times. And that has lead to some interesting prospects coming up sooner than we think.

For the past couple of months, the Left has floated the idea of adding more Justices to the Supreme Court, a practice known as “packing the court.” It’s been done, or at least threatened, in the past with varying degrees of success. Now, in the shadow of Ruth Bader Ginsburg passing away and Amy Coney Barrett possibly becoming the newest Supreme Court Justice, the Left wants there to be more chairs that need to be filled.

Looks like Norm Abrams might need to start a show called This Old House of Justice. And maybe he could make some new chairs on the Olde Yankee Woodshop.

Meanwhile, let’s unpack this packing the court business, shall we?

packing the court

What the Left thinks it means – adding more Supreme Court Justices to balance the diversity of the High Court and the ideas being discussed

What it really means – adding more Supreme Court Justices so the Left can circumvent making an argument to the American people

Let’s be frank. This whole “packing the court” idea wouldn’t have become an issue if President Donald Trump lost and if the Senate were under Democrat control. With Hillary Clinton as President, the Left could have counted on her to find a nominee who was far enough Left that he/she/zer could make Lyndon LaRoche look like Rush Limbaugh. And with a Democrat-controlled Senate, the advise and consent could be done via TikTok, or possibly through emojis.

Even that might be too complex for some of the Senators, but that’s another story.

Once Trump won, the Left’s plans went up in smoke like Denver, Colorado, on 4/20. Then, when the Democrats failed to win back the Senate with their can’t-miss slogan “Orange Man Bad,” they were left with trying to impeach the President for crimes that weren’t actually crimes, per se, so much as they were the delusional rantings of a group of Leftists whose knowledge of the Constitution begins and ends with spelling “Constitution.” When that succeeded and Trump wasn’t removed from office for, well, not doing anything illegal, the Left’s focus became adding seats to the Supreme Court to counteract the President’s agenda.

Before I go further, let me point out the Left aren’t known for good long-term strategy. Their strategy is in-the-moment and assumes the best possible outcome. So, when their ideas crash and burn like the Hindenburg but with more government spending attached to it, they don’t know how to react. To them, their plans were and are perfect and it must be because of dirty tricks by the Republicans that the plans didn’t come to fruition. Case in point: Russiagate. At this point, they would be happy to prosecute a Trump surrogate who likes White Russians or had a salad with Russian dressing once, if only to “prove” Trump got help from Russia to win the Presidency. It couldn’t have been something else, like Hillary Clinton being the worst candidate in recent history (and that includes Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, and Mitt Romney, kids).

Meanwhile, back in the original point I was making, the Left hasn’t thought out this packing the court idea very well for the reasons I mentioned above. They are assuming Joe “I Lost Twice in Previous Presidential Candidacies and I Still Got the Nomination” Biden will win because…say it with me, friends…”Orange Man Bad.” In order for this plan to work, Democrats need to retake the Senate, and this year is just crazy enough that it could happen. Having said that, it’s not a lock by any stretch of the imagination. Even less than 30 days before the election, something crazy can happen that will upset the checkerboard.

Like, maybe…avoiding answering the question about whether Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are in favor of packing the court.

Oh, and the continuing chaos in Portland and other cities across the country.

Or the poor performances of Biden and Harris in the debates.

Or Hunter Biden being indicted for financial crimes aided by his father.

You know, any of the usual things that can trip up a candidate this close to Election Day.

The point is packing the court relies upon Joe Biden winning and Democrats getting control of the Senate again. If one of those prospects doesn’t pan out, it’s game over. But there’s another aspect the Left hasn’t through about: President Trump might pack the court before Leftists get a chance. You think Amy Coney Barrett is a dangerous candidate? Imagine repeating that process with men and women just like her.

That popping noise you hear right now is the exploding of Leftists’ heads as they realize the President could do just that.

Which will not only make the Left mad, but that much more motivated to win the Senate in 2022 and the Presidency in 2024 so they could get more Justices on the Supreme Court…which will motivate the Right to do the same. And before we know it, the Supreme Court will need to meet at FedEx Field. On the plus side, the Washington Football Team (or as I call them, the Artists Formerly Known as the Washington Redskins) aren’t using it for much right now, so I’m sure sharing won’t be an issue.

The bigger issue, however, is it creates a situation where the legal system gets bogged down to the point of working even more slowly than it does now. The more Justices you add, the more people have to touch the case and the slower the resolution will be, unless the Supreme Court wants to do a superficial job which increases the chance of poor rulings from the bench. I’m talking Plessy v. Ferguson level bad here. Plus, with civil and human rights cases, a speedy and fair resolution are essential because of the impact such cases have on society and the legal system immediately and years down the road. The Left likes to say “Justice delayed is justice denied.” And now they want to make justice even slower because of a President they didn’t think could win and a Senate they thought they couldn’t lose. What happens when the wheels of justice don’t move?

That silence you hear is the Left not being able to come up with an answer consistent with their idea to pack the court.

Regardless, packing the court is going to be more of a problem than it’s worth (which is zilch). The fact it hasn’t been thought out enough yet to be persuasive to anyone outside of the Leftist hivemind should be enough of a red flag to keep yourselves far away from adopting the idea. But if not, think about the lines at your local government institution, whether it be the post office, the DMV, or a county-level office. In some cases, things run smoothly, while in others, they run at the speed of inert.

Guess which option packing the court will achieve.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

During the first Presidential freakshow…I mean debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked Presidential Donald Trump about his stance to discontinue federal racial sensitivity training using Critical Race Theory. You would have thought the President decided to throw kittens and puppies against a brick wall by the way Wallace and the Left reacted to the President taking action on this.

As you might expect, the Left loves Critical Race Theory and hates anyone that would curtail its use. But what exactly is it? An academic exercise? A sociological theory? A combination shampoo and conditioner that prevents dandruff while keeping your hair bouncy and manageable? Well, allow me to be your tour guide on this bus tour of the latest Leftist Lexicon entry. And remember to bring your hip waders because it’s going to get pretty deep here.

Critical Race Theory

What the Left thinks it means – an important concept necessary to address systemic racism and create an even playing field for all

What it really means – a crackpot idea that perpetuates racism as a means to gain financial, political, and social power

Granted, I might have a bit of a slanted view on Critical Race Theory because, well, I’m applying common sense and logic to it. Darn my logical mind! Let me try to explain it concisely and without my biases getting in the way. Critical Race Theory has two facets. The first is white supremacy has obtained and maintained a monopoly of power through various systems, including the law. The second is these systems can and should be dismantled and transformed to balance the scales, as it were.

On second thought, let’s go with what I originally typed.

The first tenet of Critical Race Theory sounds a lot like what the Left thinks today about whites, or as I prefer to be called Honkey-Americans. There is an article of faith on the Left (which is weird given their stance on religion generally) that there are power structures all over the place controlled by whites. You can’t swing a dead voter’s stack of absentee ballots without hitting one! If you question it, the Left doesn’t provide proof. Instead, they call you ignorant, backwards, or worst of all…a Trump supporter!

The funny thing is the lack of proof the Left provides is the proof of the lack of racist power structures. Even though there are still predominantly white positions of power, there are people of all colors making strides into said positions. Do we have a point of equity yet? Nope, but we have a point where race is not a factor in determining qualifications for a position. If anything, hiring practices may be moving in a direction where being white is a hindrance.

Then, let’s take a look at college enrollment and pre-enrollment activities, like the SATs. As far back as the 1990s, the SATs have been adjusting their scoring based on the race of the student taking the test. It’s like handicapping a horse race, but with scores. If student A is of a certain race, he or she will get points added to the final score. If student B is of a different race, he or she will get deducted points from the final score. Based on research done on these scoring practices, the ones getting the points added tend to be black, while the ones getting points deducted tend to be white and Asian. When these students enroll in college, blacks get higher acceptance rates than whites or Asians with similar or superior qualifications.

Feel superior yet, my fellow Honkey-Americans?

The second tenet of Critical Race Theory looks good on the surface, but underneath lies, well, lies. Even if you replace all of the white people in power (which would be incredibly sexist) and replace them with people of color, it’s not going to change the system itself. All it will do is change who is in charge of it. And if you do destroy the allegedly racist system and rebuild it in your image, what would that look like? I think I do.

Maybe there are some white farmers in South Africa right now willing to help educate the Critical Race Theory fans about what their ideas might lead to if allowed to come to fruition. Provided they’re not murdered for being white, that is.

The real damage from Critical Race Theory isn’t limited to the perceived systems of power. It’s also affected education, the legal system, and of all things freedom of speech, just to name a few. But it’s in those few areas where the bulk of the damage can be done because each area I just mentioned affects us personally, even if we’re not people of color. We have at least a generation or more of college students who have been taught on various aspects of Critical Race Theory in numerous academic disciplines who then apply that information in other sections. And before you can say “Put on a mask,” it’s spread far and wide.

On second thought, you might need a hazmat suit because Critical Race Theory is as toxic as 1987 Chernobyl.

One of the big questions I have for Critical Race Theory advocates is what happens if you can’t persuade people to adopt it. It’s going to be a hard sell for a lot of people, so there is going to be pushback, and based on what I’ve seen on the topic, it’s not well-developed beyond “white people suck.” And if this is about holding people accountable, who will keep you accountable should your idea go the way of South Africa, circa…oh, today?

As Bill Clinton would say, “There’s the rub.” Wait, that was “Rub me there.” Either way, the basic concept of Critical Race Theory lacks the kind of specificity that would make it persuasive and actionable. Then, there’s the prospect the idea could spread to other minorities and be used against the ones currently pushing for Critical Race Theory. For example, what if Critical Race Theory was used to say African-Americans have institutions of power that have been used to oppress Asian-Americans? Or black conservatives using it to suggest black Leftists have institutional power used against them? And don’t get me started on the power structures that have oppressed albino Eskimo tap-dancers who self identify as Cher!

From where I sit (which is usually in my living room), Critical Race Theory has the potential to be abused to the point of absurdity, further diving people and making the current situation worse. To put it another way, Critical Race Theory is the academic equivalent of 2020: you don’t know what’s going to happen next, but you know it’s going to suck.

Here’s my solution. Ignore race and treat each other like human beings. Sure, it’s not good for the Leftist outrage machine, but it has a track record of working multiple times a day in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and social interactions. Look at where you live, work, and play. Even in my neck of flyover country, people of all races and beliefs get along, and without needing or wanting Critical Race Theory. If anything, we have Critical We Don’t Care About Race Because It’s A Superficial Reason To Hate Each Other Theory. It may not roll off the tongue easily, but it makes a heck of a lot more sense than the alternative.