It seems like we’re seeing old favorites (The Little Mermaid, The Lord of the Rings, a music scene without Nickelback) being revised for a new generation with little twists to make them seem different (a black Little Mermaid, The Rings of Power, Nickelback putting out another new album). The same can be said for political and social issues.
Former Vice President and Internet creator Al Gore resurfaced, which typically means 6 more years of global climate change talk. And, true to form, he was talking about…global climate change. But instead of pushing a doomsday scenario, he talked about the world reaching “a positive tipping point” thanks in part to the Inflation Reduction Act. I’m not sure what fighting inflation has to do with climate change, but hey, I’m not a biologist.
But I’m also not a dumbass with the memory of a goldfish with ADHD. It wasn’t that long ago that Gore pushed less-optimistic predictions concerning climate change.
It was waaaaaaaay back in 2006 when Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” warned us we had 10 years to avoid “a point of no return” unless we took serious action to combat climate change. Sixteen years later, we’ve blown past that point and are now at a positive tipping point? What changed?
Absolutely nothing.
No new government programs. No societal commitment to green energy. Not even a Prius in every solar-powered garage. Just more of the same that’s been going on since 2006 and before.
In fact, you could count on Captain Hook’s, well, hook the number of times Gore’s predictions have been correct and still have the ability to hail a cab. But that hasn’t stopped the former Vice President from claiming his predictions have come to pass. Which brings us back to the original logical problem: if Gore was right all along, where is the ecological disaster we were promised?
That’s the beauty of Gore’s scam…I mean activism: it doesn’t have an expiration date because science keeps evolving. Back in the 1970s, we were told the world would freeze. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, the planet was burning up because “the science is better now than it was then.” And in another 10-20 years when this year’s climate change fear porn doesn’t happen, the same asshats who told us the world would be experiencing climate disasters out of Irwin Allen’s fever dreams will tell us the predictions they made today were wrong, but the ones they’re making later are the right ones. Just trust the science!
Provided the science isn’t full of bullshit, that is.
Since I’ve been following the climate change debate in the early 1990s, I’ve noticed the Left has been bastardizing and lionizing science simultaneously. Since science when done properly follows a logical and consistent set of events, Leftists can’t feel their way to a correct answer. So, when the facts don’t fit the narrative, change the facts so they do! The Scientific Method be damned if it doesn’t come up with the results we need to force more government down our throats!
Meanwhile, the Left also makes it impossible to disagree with the science (that they’re rewriting on the fly) by appealing to the human need for community and acceptance within it. How many times have we heard “the science is settled” and just so happens to coincide with what the Left claims is happening? Well, I don’t know how to put this, but…that’s not how science works. Every hypothesis and theory is subject to testing and revision to see if the established conclusion is still valid. In other words, science is rarely, if ever, settled, and anyone who says differently is a fucking idiot.
Or they’re trying to sell you something, namely the “fact” of climate change.
Of course, they have a bit of a problem with their sales pitch: they’ve been wrong. Consistently. I’m talking make-your-local-weather-forecaster-look-like-Nostra-fucking-damas wrong.
With a track record of failure that long and spectacular, even the most ardent climate change worrier would pause to reconsider. Or they would if they were being honest, which the global climate change cult cannot allow for fear of being exposed as the frauds they are. To keep the gravy train of sweet fear porn cash coming, the narrative must be protected, even at the expense of the credibility of those pushing it.
Then again, it can be argued Al Gore has no credibility to lose…
The only tipping point we’re at right now is whether we will continue to believe the climate change bullshit we’ve been fed since the first Earth Day. I’ve long advocated for an honest discussion on the science behind climate change and to call out the bad actors on both sides so we get a clear picture of what we face, if anything at all. That won’t happen in today’s climate (see what I did there?) because there are too many people with a vested interest in maintaining the facade.
Such as a former Vice President whose two movies on the subject have made him a lot of money in spite of the fact he’s not a scientist, nor did he stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Take it from me. Someone truly concerned about rising tides due to climate change doesn’t buy up beachfront property.
Category: Humor
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Remember when Bill Maher was Leftist Jesus..you know if they actually believed in Jesus? During Republican Administrations, Maher would consistently rail against what he saw were Republican mistakes and idiocy, and Leftists cheered. Then, when Joe Biden became President and Maher started railing against what he saw were Democrat mistakes and idiocy, the Left no longer found him to be a voice of truth. But they did find him to be a traitor.
Welcome to the party, Bill. Go grab some punch and a cookie.
The reason I brought up Bill Maher (something I try not to do much for the sake of my sanity) is he recently introduced a Leftist term I hadn’t heard before: presentism. Apparently, Leftists are applying this whenever they discuss history, and it may be coming to a history discussion near you.
presentism
What the Left thinks it means – framing historical figures and events with modern sensibilities
What it really means – holding the past up to present standards to establish modern superiority
There’s an old saying, “History is written by the victors.” Although, these days, it could be written by the Victor/Victorias, but that’s not important right now. The saying refers to how some aspects of history get ignored or forgotten because people tend only to think in terms of winners and losers. Leftists have seized upon this tendency to push for what they call a more comprehensive view of history, i.e. downplaying the “white” view of history in favor of the histories of marginalized people.
And that’s how we get Post-Modern Native American Albino Lesbian Literary History degrees.
It’s all a part of the Left’s intellectual (stop laughing!) approach to all academic fields called intersectionality. Although this could be a Leftist Lexicon entry in and of itself, the long and the short of it is every form of oppression overlaps with others, like racism and sexism. By recognizing it, Leftists hope to undo the damage by…well, they haven’t figured that part out yet, but it has lead to some interesting discussions on who is considered more oppressed in a country where they’re allowed to drive, vote, and dress like Miley Cyrus during a performance at a strip club. Or, as she calls it, Tuesday.
By framing everything in terms of oppression, the Left has created a hellscape where just about everyone is oppressed to some degree. Unless, of course, you’re a straight white male. Then, you’re everybody’s asshole. Of course, I already have a lot of Leftists think I’m an asshole, so it’s nothing new.
Presentism plays into this framework by allowing Leftists to dictate the standards by which figures of the past (i.e. straight white males) are to be held without those figures even knowing it. Because, you know, they’re dead. That gives the Left all the power to frame the past with none of the piddly little details that add a little something the Left has a love/hate relationship with called context.
When I was in college back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, Leftists at the time were up in arms over Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of the book’s use of the n-word. I won’t give the whole word for a number of reasons, not the least of which being I want to save Chris the headache of having to answer more angry emails about me than he usually gets. In their attempt to virtue signal before such a thing was a thing, they ignored a lot of context, namely the historical backdrop for the story and how Huck became the voice of those who wanted to treat blacks like everyone else. If it weren’t for people who actually read the book for comprehension rather than to find naughty words, there might be a generation that wouldn’t even know who Huck Finn was long before YouTube turned their brains into tapioca pudding.
On the other hand, it prepared them in case they ever got elected to be President of the United States.
The same attitude the Left used over Huck Finn is the same drawback presentism faces today: the lack of context. I’ll be the first one to admit human history is rife with events and attitudes that elicit shame and disappointment (like when Gary Cherone took over singing duties in Van Halen). Having said that, the people then didn’t have the advantage we have of being able to look back at the historical record. In more than a few of these dark periods of history, what happened was unprecedented because it had literally never happened before with the circumstances they had to work with. It’s like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle in the dark blindfolded while strapped to a ticking time bomb. You’re going to make mistakes, and the results won’t always be good.
Then, there’s human nature to consider. Contrary to Leftist belief, yet completely consistent with their actions and thoughts concerning others who disagree with them, humans are assholes. We will consistently choose evil over good for whatever reason we can justify in our own heads. Hatred, lust, greed, convenience, having to listen to “Baby Shark” on repeat because your child loves it, and so on. It is only through work, thought, and determination that we overcome our base nature to be better, and you can’t regulate your way to that end.
Can you say “War on Drugs,” kids? I knew you could.
In spite of those dark periods, there are points of light that Leftists will likely overlook or disregard because of the race, gender, and sexual orientation of the ones responsible for them. Take William Wilberforce, for example. During the British slave trade, Wilberforce worked to end it at great personal expense and against the prevailing attitudes of the time. But given the Left’s current prevailing attitudes towards white men (especially Christian white men like Wilberforce), I’m guessing he’s going to be mentioned well after someone like Cardi B.
Which is to say probably never because, well, Cardi B.
The big issue with presentism for me is how easily it can be manipulated for ideological gain. And by “can be” I mean “will be.” With Leftists controlling academia, they have all the power and, since they’re around other Leftists, none of the accountability. Combine the two and you have the perfect storm of academic and historical malpractice through the revision of history in real time. It will be like Wikipedia, but with more academics signing off on it.
Of course, nothing bad will come from academics signing off on bad ideas just to fit in, right? That reminds me, how is Michael Mann’s “hockey stick graph” holding up these days?
The worst thing we can do right now is to overlook how far-reaching presentism is. We’ve seen how Common Core has fucked up math and English, and presentism will wind up no differently from where I sit. And as George Santayana once wrote, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Or was it my high school history teacher threatening summer school if I didn’t get my grades up?
Either way, we will have to be on our toes and make sure what is being presented as historical fact meshes with actual historical facts. Yes, that will require us to be honest about our past, even the dingy corners of it, because that is the only way we will have the intellectual high ground. Opting for a version of history that just so happens to fit our beliefs doesn’t achieve this. We have to be above board because we know the Left won’t be.
So, Bill Maher was good for at least one thing. Yay…I guess?
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
I know the event that inspired this week’s Lexicon occurred last week, but the real impact of it is still being felt this week. Besides, the Lexicon self-identifies as timely, so if you disagree you’re a bigot!
Anyway, President Joe Biden gave an address to the nation last week. To say the optics were a little on the horrible side would be understating it quite a bit. Yet, the speech being called The Red Speech was just the kind of red (speech) meat the Left wanted. Leftists fought for column inches and TV time to praise the speech, even though they pretty much said the same things…
Anyway, let’s take a closer look at The Red Speech.
The Red Speech
What the Left thinks it means – an awesome speech preaching of uniting against the greatest threat to America in history
What it really means – a disjointed speech that only appeals to the Left’s totalitarian nature
So I don’t get accused of taking Biden’s words out of context, here are the text and video of the speech in question. Of course, that won’t stop Leftists from making the accusations because…reasons.
I was going to do a thorough analysis of the speech going over the various elements from the lighting to the location to the verbiage used. Then, I remembered it’s a Joe Biden speech. They typically have the intellectual rigor of a completed Sudoku puzzle. The speech itself isn’t as important as the Left’s reaction to it.
To put it mildly, they loved it so much, they smoked a cigarette (or a joint) or vaped or whatever it is they do afterwards. To them, it was a combination of a call to action, an affirmation of American (i.e. Leftist) values, and a shot over the bow of “MAGA Republicans” letting them know they weren’t going to take it anymore. It was, if you’ll pardon the expression (and even if you don’t), red meat for the Left. I’m not sure how the vegans on the Left felt, though…
Regardless, there were a lot of threads to tie together into one speech. Outside of the Leftist hivemind, the reaction was pretty much universal: the Red Speech sucked ass, and not in the fun way. Not only were the positive elements overpowered by the negative ones, but the visuals and vocal tone didn’t help matters either. It came off as loud, hateful, and generally tone-deaf. So, like an episode of The Young Turks.
You can tell how badly The Red Speech was received by how quickly the Biden Administration walked it back. Literally, within hours of giving it, kids. Now, I’m no Presidential speechwriter, but to me good speeches don’t have to be retracted, respun, and revised less than 24 hours after they were given.
And given President Biden’s track record of being less honest than tobacco companies in the 50s, it’s hard to tell whether the speech or the post-speech spin reflects his true feelings. That allows political opponents to assume the worst and express it, thus making a bad situation even worse for Biden. And guess what? The longer the outrage, real or manufactured, keeps The Red Speech in people’s minds, the more it will impact the midterms. You know, the ones where Democrats are hoping to hold the House and get at least 2 seats in the Senate? Yeah, try being a pro-Biden Democrat running on the “MAGA Republicans are the greatest threat to democracy right now…until they aren’t” message. That prospect is scarier than day-old sushi sold at Food Poisoning Emporium.
What should be even scarier for Leftists is the fact The Red Speech sounded and felt a lot like a speech from Donald Trump. All you would need to do is change a few words. Remember when we were told Joe Biden would be a better President because he wasn’t Trump? Almost two years and several clusterfucks later, the current President is sounding more and more like the former President and the Left doesn’t even see it.
Doubt me? Let’s check.
– The “otherization” of political opponents? Check.
– Blaming these “others” for problems Americans face? Check.
– Appealing to America’s greatness and resilience? Check.
– Promising to take action against those who threaten us? Check.
– Use of patriotic imagery as a backdrop? Check.
– Appeals to our emotions? Check.
– Cheers from audience members? Check.
– Rallying supporters to support party ideals and candidates? Check.
You get the idea. Leftists might not, but you do.
At this point, we should answer the lingering question why the Left slobbered over each other to praise The Red Speech. Aside from being full of the policy positions they love so much, it was also full of a lot of the stuff Leftists have been talking about in private being uttered in public. Normally, this would scare Leftists more than letting Biden go off-script, but in this case it’s exactly what they wanted because it makes those ideas seem plausible, possible, and inevitable. The Left has been talking about the possibility of civil war for a while now, either to criticize the Right or to pump up the Left’s egos to make them think they could win such a war easily. Even the President recently pooh-poohed the idea the Right could successfully beat the US military.
You know, the same MAGA Republicans who almost overthrew the government on January 6th, according to the Left?
I don’t understand the logic, either, kids.
What I do understand, though, is how The Red Speech fits into the Left’s totalitarian nature. They need to be in control of as much of our lives as possible, and post-COVID they’re looking for another hit of that sweet totalitarian shit. What better way to get people to run to the Left for protection than to overstate the threat the MAGA movement is to the country?
I’m not a MAGA guy, but I recognize some common traits in the members of the movement. Aside from being super-pro-Trump, that is. Most of the people being labeled as domestic terrorists by the Left are just regular people who just want to be left alone by government and for America to thrive. If you believe the Left, that’s what they want, too. They just have a different road to achieve it.
That road, of course, being letting them rule over everything and make all the important decisions because they’re so much smarter than we are. (Just ask them.) Since those pesky MAGA Republicans don’t agree with them, the Left has to resort to coercion and even force to get people to agree with them. Hence, the reason the midterms are so important to them and then the 2024 Presidential election.
Which makes The Red Speech seem like a much bigger fuck-up than I initially thought. Once you say the quiet part out loud, you’re kinda stuck with it. You can’t memory wipe the world…or can you?…no, no, you can’t. People are going to remember your words and hold you accountable to/for them.
Including people outside of your ideological sphere.
Conventional political wisdom says you have to try to attract the middle (i.e. the un-or-disenfranchised) to win elections. It’s easy to get voters if they already agree with your ideas, but it takes a bit of effort to expand that base to include people who may only agree with some of your ideas. And the more radical you appear, the less likely these possible voters will vote for you.
After The Red Speech, there are already Democrats trying to keep the stench off them in the hopes of still getting elected. And we’re not talking about no-name Democrats running for dog catcher, either. There are a few big name candidates ranging from Tim Ryan in Ohio to Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Although it can be argued they’re keeping their distance for reasons other than The Red Speech, it cannot be argued the speech itself makes it harder for red state Democrats to appeal to the middle, especially if they agree even a little bit with the MAGA Republicans.
Spoiler Alert, Leftists: It’s not just Republicans who support MAGA. There are more than a few people from your side who are getting turned off by the overheated bullshit and the lack of attention to more “kitchen table” issues that can make or break a candidate’s campaign. But, tell us again how buying an electric car will help when you practically need to take out a fourth mortgage just to get groceries.
The Red Speech won’t go down as one of the best speeches ever, but it certainly has lived down to its potential as one of the most infamous.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week – Special Edition!
By the time you read this, we will be celebrating or will have just celebrated a pivotal holiday in America. It’s a day to remember the sacrifices of so many to make our country a better place. I’m speaking, of course, of the start of college football.
Oh, and there’s also Labor Day.
Labor Day was established to celebrate the contributions of working Americans, and as you might expect, Leftists are quick to champion those working Americans. Or do they?
working Americans
What the Left thinks it means – the backbone of this country, people who constantly get fucked over by the corrupt rich and corporations
What it really means – a wide swath of Americans who constantly get fucked over by the corrupt Left
If you listen to Leftists (and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a stiff drink or five), the only ones fighting for the working men and women are Leftists. They work so hard to get middle class tax cuts, only to be thwarted at every turn by those evil Republicans who are in the back pockets of the greedy rich. It’s all they can do for the people we rely on so much to make the country run as smoothly as possible.
Which is complete bullshit.
Oh, I know there are hard-working Americans out there because I am one. But the Left’s fawning over folks like us is phonier than a Karine Jean-Pierre excuse for why the country is on proverbial fire right now. Leftists have a healthy contempt for working folks, and no matter how many flannel shirts, blue jeans, and hard hats they wear, they can’t escape their attitudes or looking like a member of the Village People.
As frequent readers know or have figured out on their own, the Left hates anyone who isn’t them. Meaning, rich white Leftists. Everyone else is treated like pawns to be moved across the political chessboard as the elites see fit. Granted, the Right does this as well, but not to the extent and levels of deception the Left does. And when it comes to the game, the Left is Garry Kasparov.
The way Leftists deceive…I mean persuade people of their pro-worker stance is by playing into their emotions, namely greed and jealousy. After all, if working people are struggling, it has to be because someone is stealing from them and living the high life. It can’t possibly be any other reason!
Wellllll…except that it can, and a lot of times it’s because of what the Left proposes to “help” people. More on that later.
By playing into our natural negative emotions and setting up a nameless, faceless villain, the Left sets itself up to be our white knights. And although they profess to be fighting for all of us, they actually don’t. They like working folks who belong to labor unions and consistently vote for Leftists, even if it winds up shooting themselves in the foot with a Gatling gun.
Personally, I’ve seen this contempt for working Americans for a couple of decades, but it’s only recently that the contempt has been more overt, provided you know what to look for. And there is no better textbook on this than Thomas Frank’s What’s the Matter with Kansas? Fortunately, I read it so you don’t have to because, dammit, I care! (Actually, it was because I was curious to see what Frank had to say about conservatives in the Midwest, but I still care.)
I can summarize Frank’s entire book in one sentence: Conservatives have conned working people, and only Leftists can save them.
There. I saved you time, money, and emergency room visits for blunt head trauma from hitting your head against a wall repeatedly.
Frank’s attitude towards people living in the state he came from, merely for voting for Republicans, drips off each and every page. Although he does blame Democrats for sounding and acting fiscally conservative in order to win elections, he saves the bulk of his venom for conservatives who he felt corrupted politics in the state to work against the best interests of the voters.
The reason Frank’s screed…I mean book is a great example of the Left’s hatred of working Americans is because it exposes the rift between what the Left knows about working Americans and what working Americans actually are. What Frank attributes to conservatives convincing people to ignore their best interests is actually conservatives listening to working people and proposing ideas that they might actually like.
And judging from how well the Left has been dealing with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, they still haven’t figured it out. While the Trump Administration wasn’t exactly the best and brightest, they did get quite a few things right, including cutting taxes for working Americans. And contrary to what Leftists want us to believe, those tax cuts weren’t just for the wealthy. According to the IRS, middle class and working class people benefited the most from Trump’s tax cuts.
Then, Joe Biden rolled into town and undid all of that. Yay?
Of course, the Administration had answers for just about every concern we had about rising costs and how to address them. A lot of them involved, surprise surprise, initiatives the Biden Administration and Leftists want. Worried about rising gas prices? Get an electric car! And if you’re still concerned, just laugh! Having trouble paying for groceries? It’s Russia’s fault! Supply chain problems? Spend more on infrastructure! Unemployed? Support green energy!
I haven’t seen anyone this tone deaf since William Hung, and we’re being run by several of these assclowns. But, hey, no mean tweets, amirite?
Yet, for all of the answers the Left seem to have, few of them actually apply to working Americans. The only thing preventing Republicans from getting more working class voters is they’re incompetent when it comes to closing the sale. For all of his faults, Donald Trump at least made an attempt, which is more than a previous Republican Presidential candidate and rich guy, Mitt Romney, did in 2012. Guess what? It fucking worked!
Right now the door is wide open for Republicans and conservatives to make the sale they might be better for working Americans than the Left is. The Left is too busy focusing on social issues that turn off many Americans and finding new ways to fuck up the country to bother with Joe Sixpack’s problems. Trump gave the GOP a blueprint, much to the chagrin of people like Romney, whose version of a Republican President is as exciting as mayonnaise.
While Republicans try to figure out how to attract working Americans and Leftist try to find new ways to screw them, the working class are left with financial problems, rising costs, and more broken promises than a treaty with Native Americans in the 1800s. And the only way that changes is if working Americans are open to change their thinking. Many of them are locked into voting for Democrats because it’s what they and their families have always done. It’s like a rite of passage, only with more bureaucracy. As Donald Trump said in 2016 when asked why working people should vote for him, “What have you got to lose?”
Given how expensive things are now, we can’t do any worse.
Let’s Go Dark Brandon?
It really shouldn’t amaze me the Left isn’t all that original, but even this one had me shaking my head. There’s a new hero on the Left, one of mythical proportions, a man (but I’m not a biologist) who kicks ass, takes names, and looks damn good doing it. His name is…Dark Brandon.
What started out as a way to try to spin out of a “Fuck Joe Biden” chant at a NASCAR event became a cultural phenomenon extending well beyond the political realm. So much so the Left had to co-opt it after spending months decrying the phrase. You know, just like they did with Err…I’m sorry, Air America during the height of conservative talk radio.
You know, I wonder what happened to those plucky progressives trying to give people an alternative to Rush Limbaugh. Oh, yeah, they closed their doors in 2010. But I’m sure they won’t make the same mistake by co-opting a chant from the Right, right?
Not so much.
Although I wasn’t keen on “Let’s Go Brandon,” I could understand the appeal. After all, more than a few people think Joe Biden should go fuck himself especially after everything he’s done to fuck us. And in the aftermath of 4 years of Donald Trump and his supporters feeling empowered to shout back at the Left, old habits die hard…in Minecraft.
The chants still go on, albeit less frequently than when it first became part of the political lexicon (see what I did there!). So, what better time than when the fad is starting to die down (in Minecraft) to start reframing it?
What the Left lacks in timeliness they make up for in lame ideas. And if Dark Brandon were a horse, it would already be glue (in Minecraft).
Leftists have power fantasies that would make Sigmund Freud go to therapy. They need to control as much as possible, including people. Naturally, that means they tend to gravitate towards people and ideas they see as powerful and expect the sheer force of that power to silence opposition. More often than not, the perception of force is enough to make people back down, which feeds their egos and makes them believe they are as powerful as they think they are. When that doesn’t work, they pull out all the stops to flex on you, including whining to social media platforms about how you’re a meanie-head.
Ultimately, though, when they can’t get what they want, Leftists will find a way to scratch that control freak itch, even if they have to create an alternate reality to make it happen. That’s where the Dark Brandon persona comes into play. Leftists haven’t been happy with the way Joe Biden hasn’t gone after Republicans (at least, not until recently) and have suggested he’s too polite. After getting pissed at “Let’s Go Brandon” (and the President getting more than a little confused about who this Brandon guy is), the Left started leaning into it a bit more.
Thus, Dark Brandon was born.
Dark Brandon is everything Joe Biden isn’t. He’s decisive, aggressive towards his political enemies, tells it like it is, and lost all semblance of giving a fuck a long time ago. And Leftists are eating it up. But here’s the kicker. Dark Brandon isn’t a dark alternative version of Joe Biden; he’s a Leftist Donald Trump. And just like with Err America, the progressive copy is vastly inferior to the original.
As much as the Left wants the President to go on the offensive, they’re only making the argument why Donald Trump should get a second term as President. (That, and the economy being so far in the shitter, you’ll need to go spelunking to find the bottom.) Make no mistake, though. The Left was never against mean tweets, just mean tweets about them. They’re perfectly willing to go lower than a snake’s cock ring when it suits them.
But here’s the part I’m not sure the Left understands yet, if they ever will. By creating Dark Brandon and fawning over him and what he represents, Leftists are admitting the Biden Administration has been a failure. They’ll say it’s because Biden doesn’t go far enough Left, but it’s really because he’s truly not capable of leading a one-person parade, let alone the United States. Of course, this was obvious to anyone who paid attention to his career as a politician, but no one expects the Left to stay informed on current events, or events over 45 years, for that matter.
Either way, the Left embracing Dark Brandon right now encapsulates the problems they face right now right before the midterm elections. Not only will they have to defend Biden’s record, but they’ll have to figure out how to reconcile the fantasy they’ve created and the reality of how bad Biden’s done so far.
Good luck with that.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
When you think about it (and I have because I don’t have a life), the Internet is a once-in-a-lifetime invention, and it has radically changed the way the world does things. Sorry, Paul Krugman.
Among the many elements of modern life affected by Al Gore’s invention, the way we communicate has changed. Not only do we have the ability to send images and videos around the world (which is useful to the Internet porn industry…not that I know anything about that, mind you), but it’s created a culture where its users share aspects of their lives, whether it be major events or the BLT you had for lunch.
And, as with anything that gets shared, some people aren’t going to like what is being shared. Enter one of the relatively new players in global Internet culture, LibsOfTikTok. Within the past few weeks, this one Internet account has been linked to anti-gay, anti-trans, and pro-Russia sentiments according to the Left. Are they right…errr correct? Let’s find out!
LibsOfTikTok
What the Left thinks it means – a dangerous Internet presence that has become a new weapon against the Left
What it really means – a dangerous Internet account to the Left because it exposes them and what they believe when they think no one is watching
Politicians in general, but Leftists especially, operate in secrecy as much as they can to prevent others from finding out how the ideological sausage is made. Before the advent of the Internet, it was a lot easier to show a public face and a private face. To her credit, Hillary Clinton is a master of this, and Leftists justify it no matter how dishonest it makes her look.
With the Internet and the way it’s affected how we interact with each other, it’s a lot more difficult because there are cameras everywhere (and I’m not just talking about the NSA’s cameras, either). All it takes is someone with a cell phone and an opportunity and a politician can look like the two-faced rat bastard he or she truly is.
But that same principle applies to other non-political figures, like public school teachers. With Leftists dominating the education system like the Harlem Globetrotters dominate the Washington Generals, the classroom has become the new ideological battleground where they have the high ground, the low ground, the middle ground, and pretty much any ground that isn’t already owned by the federal government. With that nigh-uniformity comes a sense of invincibility, which leads to a level of confidence and comfort that only the best hugboxes provide.
But I’m sure oversharing online while feeling untouchable would never end badly, right?
Enter Chaya Raichik, former real estate professional and current Leftist boogieman…errrr boogiewoman…errr boogieperson? Fuck it! We’re going with boogieman just to piss off the Left even more than they already are. Raichik started sharing videos Leftists made and put on social media willingly, but would make them look like raging assholes to anyone outside the Leftist hivemind. Whether it was teachers attempting to indoctrinate students to be more accepting of gay and trans people (a decent enough goal, but one that the parents should at least be in on) or quoting what hospital employees say about giving “gender affirming” medical procedures to children, she kicked a hornets’ nest, leaving Leftists to spin events so much the estate of Enrico Fermi is consulting lawyers to see what their legal options are.
With the Leftist dominance of social media, it wasn’t too long before platforms started to a) be filled with Leftist outrage over being exposed as creeps, and b) find ways to try to limit access to Raichik’s accounts. Why, it’s almost as though they had something to hide…
Missing in all of the outrage is a bit of perspective. Well, that, and self-respect, shame, and common sense, but you get the picture. Raichik wasn’t posting videos edited in a way to make the subjects look bad. She left that to the mainstream media since they’ve had much more experience. All she did was find the videos and post them.
And, not to put too fine a point on this, these videos Raichik posted were put up by the people themselves. Voluntarily. As in they made a conscious decision to post these videos. All she did was expand the reach through circulating them (and providing commentary at times so no one could doubt where she stood on the shit being posted).
For that, LibsofTikTok became public enemy number one with Leftists. Although they’ve succeeded in getting her social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram suspended, usually it’s been temporary. (Funny how these things seem to happen to conservatives primarily…oh, well. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.) This, of course, pisses off Leftists to no end. How can they attempt to subvert America with everybody pulling up a lawn chair and watching?
If there’s anyone who can identify closely with what Raichik is going through it’s James O’Keefe of Project Veritas. O’Keefe has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous Leftist propaganda for doing what LibsofTikTok is doing. Granted, O’Keefe has shot himself in the foot a couple of times, which helps the Left paint him as untrustworthy, but far more often than not he has the goods. That makes him effective, which is why the Left have to try to destroy him however they can.
Thus, we have the gameplan going forward with LibsofTikTok. The thing that LibsofTikTok has in her favor, though, is the current state of communication these days. The Internet is the ultimate grapevine where you can hear gossip, news, and people complaining about gossip and news. While the Left holds onto social media tighter than Al Gore’s asshole, people of like minds still have a way to make their thoughts known using the very tools the Left controls. Email is still a thing, too, but it’s supplemented by YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and any number of means. Hell, even TikTok is reaching people. After all, there wouldn’t be a LibsofTikTok account without there being a TikTok to begin with. Now if only I could get my LibsofAmericaOnLine idea off the ground…
Regardless of how you feel about the person behind the account, it’s pretty fucked up to go after a person for posting what other people say online, and it’s being done with the express purpose of silencing dissent. I guess dissent is only patriotic when the Left is out of power. And to make matters worse, these folks are playing the victim when they advocate for bizarre and potentially deviant behavior and get caught. So, it’s okay to suggest adult/child sex isn’t wrong, but don’t you dare call attention to it because…reasons?
It would be a stretch to call what LibsofTikTok does as investigative journalism, mainly because I wouldn’t want to taint her with the connection to journalism right now. But the spirit is still there, and just like in the days when reporters would track down a story and be relentless in finding the truth, the powerful want to silence her. Ironically, it’s the nature of social media that makes those silencing attempts not only futile, but amplified to the point of saturation. And far be of me to disagree with the opinions of the journalistic giant that is Vice, but LibsofTikTok isn’t a threat to anyone except Leftists who want to keep their deeds kept undercover.
However, I have an idea that will get the Left to either bugger off or make their heads explode (so, a win-win). Just say LibsofTikTok identifies as Media Matters.
In the Meme Time
I know this is one of Chris’ features, but I figured I’d give it a try. And boy do I have a doozy!
Leftists have been circulating the following meme to attack Republicans who opposed President Biden’s Executive Order to forgive $10,000 of student loan debt.
On the surface, this looks like a slam dunk for the Left, but as you might expect, there’s a little more context to the situation.
Due to a little thing the kids like to call COVID-19, businesses were hurting with many struggling to meet payroll for their employees. As a result, the government passed the Paycheck Protection Program which offered loans for business owners to keep their doors open and hire back employees. Built into this program was a way for these loans to be forgiven, provided certain criteria were met. Keep this in mind because it will become very important later.
Now, for the list. I’ve done a bit of research into the names and figures and found some…interesting facts the meme doesn’t mention. I apologize in advance for some of the Leftist sources I had to link for information.
Matt Gaetz – I was unable to locate where he received a PPP loan, but a business his father is involved with received between $350,000 and $1 million in PPP loans. The only connection is the fact the Congressman owns stocks in the company.
Marjorie Taylor Greene – Taylor Greene did receive a PPP loan…for a construction company her husband and she own.
Greg Pence – Pence received a PPP loan…for a family business.
Vern Buchanan – Buchanan received a PPP loan…for three car dealerships he owns.
Kevin Hern – Hern received a PPP loan…for a company held in a family trust that controls 5 McDonalds franchises.
Roger Williams – Williams received a PPP loan…for a car dealership he owns.
Brett Guthrie – Guthrie was a director of a manufacturing company that received a PPP loan.
Ralph Norman – I don’t have firm data on this, but it’s my belief Norman received a PPP loan for a family business where he was a real estate developer.
Ralph Abraham – Abraham received a PPP loan…for two businesses he owns.
Mike Kelly – Kelly received a PPP loan…also for car dealerships.
Vicki Hartzler – Hartzler received a PPP loan…for farms and equipment supplier businesses her family own.
Markwayne Mullin – Mullin received a PPP loan…for plumbing and contracting firms he was tied to.
Carol Miller – Miller’s husband received a PPP loan for, you guessed it, car dealerships.
Although these Republicans or their family members had PPP loans forgiven, they voluntarily requested the loans and received them. Now, remember when I said earlier that PPP loans could be forgiven if certain criteria were met? Well, there’s a problem with the logic suggesting the aforementioned Republicans are hypocrites.
Federal student loans typically don’t come with forgiveness terms. The only exceptions to this prior to President Biden’s Executive Order were death or disablement. Granted, willingly going after a degree in some of the shit Leftist students major in these days would make a pretty convincing argument they are disabled, but I’m not sure the federal government would sign off on it.
Put simply, the expectation prior to the Executive Order was students taking out federal student loans was…they paid them back. There was no “pay it back unless an elderly President decides he needs votes to help his party during the midterm elections” clause in the loan documents that would make it okay. You either paid it back or you didn’t.
As a result, comparing PPP loans to federal student loans is like comparing horse shit to dog shit. Yes, they’re both piles of animal shit, but that’s where the similarities begin and end. To try to equate the two on the basis of one point of commonality is an example of intellectual dishonesty that has become the norm with political memes like the one I posted at the beginning of this piece.
And now you know, and as any kid of the 80s will tell you, knowing is half the battle.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
The big news this week involved President Joe Biden finally making good on a campaign promise to forgive at least some student loan debt. Many Leftists were overjoyed (mainly because I’m sure a number of them would be the beneficiaries of the President’s generosity), but there are more than a few people who are expressing concern about whether the student loan forgiveness initiative would be as effective and as expensive as promised.
Regardless of the boondoggle…I mean efforts to address student loan debt, there are a lot of questions to be asked. And I’m just the killjoy asshole to ask them.
student loan forgiveness
What the Left thinks it means – a compassionate move that will help college students and the economy at the same time
What it really means – the start of a lot of economic, Constitutional, and legal chaos with the stroke of a pen
On paper, student loan forgiveness sounds good. By forgiving up to $10,000 of loan debt, debtors and former debtors would have more money at their disposal, which could then be recirculated into the economy in all sorts of ways. And 10 grand will buy a lot of Starbucks and avocado toast!
Which some of these students complaining about the amount of loan debt they have to pay off are already buying in the first place, but we’re not supposed to know that…
Although the thought of more money going towards iPhones and gaming consoles is tantalizing to the capitalist in me, the long term implications are scarier than having Bill Clinton show up at your doorstep to pick up your daughter for a date. (Hey, at least it’s not Charlie Sheen!) And knowing how our friends on the Left aren’t known for planning any further out than the length of a TikTok video, you can bet few, if any, of the loudest proponents have given much thought to what I’m about to lay out for you.
Then again, it might be because I’m a weirdo. Either way, here goes!
– The Constitution may not grant the President the powers necessary to make this happen. President Biden’s actions came to pass because of an Executive Order, which is pretty much the President saying, “Do this because, fuck you, I’m the President.” Well, the Executive Order isn’t exactly a one-and-done situation because it can be challenged Constitutionally. And that brings us to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress “to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States…” Now, last time I checked, President Biden was no longer in Congress, even though he spent most of my life in it. That means unless Congress signs off on it, it ain’t happening for long before the Supreme Court gets involved. And with the current makeup of the High Court, you can bet Biden’s Executive Order will get smacked down harder than Mike Tyson beating up Richard Simmons.
– It has the potential to fuck up contract law. A loan is a contact between a lender and a borrower. With student loans, the lender is often the government. And, we all know how fiscally responsible it is, amirite? Anyway, forgiving even a portion of the debt affects the existing contract. Even though the government is one of the particulars of the loan in this case, it has the potential to set precedent once a court gets involved. Get the right judge in the right court to rule in a certain way and before you can say “habeas corpus” the government has the authority to alter any contract it wants, possibly even if it’s not a party to the original agreement. Welcome to Legal Chaos Land, population…well, us.
– The economic impact isn’t as cut and dried as we’ve been told. It seems intuitive that if you give people more money they will spend it. That’s been borne out with tax cuts and credit cards for decades, although the Left still isn’t convinced of the former. Now, add in a little thing called inflation, which all of us are enduring right now. If you have to take out a third mortgage to get groceries, no amount of money from the forgiving of existing student debt will help for very long.
– It doesn’t fix the underlying problems. There are a few reasons why student loan debt is so high. Part of it is the rising tuition costs. Since 1980, average tuition costs have risen by 1200%. And, no, that’s not a typo. And since tuitions have gotten higher than Willie Nelson on 4/20, the federal government has had to lend more money to students. And that includes interest with rates and conditions that make payday loan sharks look legit. Of course, once colleges and universities know the government will keep forking over the money, they will find reasons to keep raising tuition, and the cycle begins anew. And there is no incentive for either party to change that dynamic after some of the loans are forgiven. The college/university still gets its money, and the government gets to look like it cares about people. They don’t, of course…
– Once you get a bite of the apple, you’ll want more. By nature, humans tend to be greedy, self-serving, and always looking to push the limits to see what they can get away with. Right now, it’s only $10,000 that will get forgiven, but does it end there? Judging from recent government boondoggles…I mean programs like TARP and PPP, it’s likely there will be more demands for other and more financial assistance. Next, it will be $20,000, then $50,000, then it will be because free range artesian goat cheese costs have gone up, and before you know it, just about every whim will come with a federal grant. You know, like the National Endowment for the Arts?
There are others drawbacks, but I think you get the idea. Now, if you could explain it to the Left, we might be getting somewhere.
Right now, the Left is counting on the compassion card to get us not to think about the nagging questions of the wisdom of student loan forgiveness. For most of the population, it works. We don’t want to see people suffer, but there are also limits. If people suffer as a result of dumb decisions, our compassion tends to go the way of David Duke Appreciation Night at the Apollo. It’s the old “hand up, not hand out” mentality, and it still works today. I’m all for giving people a chance to apply themselves and earn some scratch from the sweat of their brows. Being allowed to have a chunk of your student loan that you’ve accumulated by studying Post Modern Albino Inuit Gender-Queer Photography in 16th Century Burma without even chipping a nail? Not so much.
And it’s not because I want college students to suffer under excessive debt. It’s because I want them to understand the feeling of earning something instead of just being granted it. Yes, not everybody will win a trophy under this mindset, but it will mean more when you do because you learn what you’re made of and what you’re worth. Platitudes and payoffs don’t teach you anything but how to whine until you get your way. That doesn’t make you anything but an asshole with the potential to be a Karen when you grow up.
And God knows we have enough of those as it stands.
Anatomy of a Freakout
You may have heard the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocated $80 billion over the next 10 years to the Internal Revenue Service. By itself, this sounds expensive, but not all that alarming. After all, we know the IRS is full of professionals who don’t try to turn people’s lives into a living hell of lawyers, tax returns, and audits more invasive than a TSA agent who moonlights as an OBGYN.
Then, a video started circulating showing what purported to be IRS agents training with firearms. From there, people on the Right began to freak out and spread this idea far and wide, or as far and wide as the Interwebs will allow. Several fact checks later, the story itself was debunked, but the damage was already done. High profile conservatives echoed the sentiment, sounded the warning sirens, and whipped up their followers into a froth that would make a Starbucks barista jealous.
Of course, this reaction is understandable, given the IRS’s recent history regarding conservatives. Lois Lerner and her happy band of IRS agents made quite a splash by discriminating against conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status because…I shudder to think about it…they had words like “patriot” and “TEA Party” in their names! Oh, sure, they went after Leftist groups, too, but the predominant victims were the conservative groups.
I will admit I have more faith in Mexican water quality than I do the IRS playing straight with us, but I have to offer a meager defense of the IRS here. The Right overreacted with their initial “OHMYGODTHEIRSISGONNASHOOTUS!” response because there is a plausible explanation. For one, we don’t even know how many IRS agents are going to be hired, let alone armed. And, yes, there is a fraction of the IRS that does need to be armed as part of the job, but they are in the vast minority.
Having said all of that, the IRS does bear some responsibility in adding fuel to the conspiratorial fires with their ineptitude. When they initially posted ads for openings as a Criminal Investigation Special Agent, there was a requirement to “Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.” After an IRS employee deleted the requirement because…he or she thought the verbiage shouldn’t be there, the Right, who was already fired up about the potential of armed IRS agents, jumped to conclusions again. The delay in acknowledging and addressing the issue didn’t help, either. When dealing with conspiracy hypotheses, whenever there is silence by a government figure or entity, that silence will get filled with wild ass speculation.
And that’s where Leftists get ammunition to discredit both the well-grounded and the batshit crazy criticisms the Right levies. One thing the Right doesn’t understand about the Left is no matter how well-sourced and factual your argument is, the Left will never accept it as truth because they disagree with it and you. Although this makes people like Joe Rogan look like Nostradamus, Leftists will continue to perpetuate the ideas they pulled out of their collectivist asses to avoid admitting they were wrong.
However, when the Right pushes a narrative that is full of holes, the Left doesn’t have to work that hard to discredit it. They simply mock its inconsistencies, make sweeping generalizations about how dumb the Right is, and move on with their days. That’s why it’s important not to jump to conclusions. Sure, Leftists won’t admit it, but others may be paying attention, looking for information or facts to help them make sense of things. Coming off like a slightly more coherent Gary Busey doesn’t help.
Instead, it’s okay to do a bit of digging to make the right call the first time. Sure, Leftists will get the early advantage, but when they sound batshit crazy from the jump, does letting them keep talking really hurt?
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Leftists had a bad week due in large part to a Republican (and one not named Donald Trump for a change!). In an election result that surprised almost no one who isn’t in a coma, or who watches MSNBC which is pretty much the same thing, Wyoming Congresscritter Liz “Not Dick” Cheney lost in the Republican primary for her seat. And by “lost,” I mean ass-blasted.
In an unrelated story, former campaign staffers for the Michael Dukakis campaign sent Rep. Cheney a helmet and a ticket for a tank ride.
The reason Leftists were upset at Cheney’s loss, aside from the fact she was one of the few Republicans in office trying to hold Donald Trump accountable for…well, being Donald Trump, was because she put didn’t put her party ahead of the country. You see, Leftists says Republicans, especially of the Trump fan variety, have done that, and apparently that’s bad. I’m always up for a good party, and I don’t mind if it’s out in the country, but I’m guessing that’s not what they mean. Let’s see if we can figure it out together.
party before country
What the Left thinks it means – putting political and ideological goals ahead of the betterment of America
What it really means – Republicans not doing what Leftists want
Liz Cheney’s not the first Republican to gain the love of Leftists, just one of the latest. Remember John McCain? He was one of the best-known “country before party” types, although he preferred a different term for his fair-weather friendship with the GOP, “maverick.” Leftists loved to praise McCain for bucking his party and painted him as the kind of Republican that could unite the country and even persuade Democrats to vote for him.
Then, he ran for President in 2008. Those adoring Leftists who couldn’t say enough good things about him? Yeah, they called every vile name in the book. He went from being a “good Republican” in Leftist circles to the second coming of Hitler, Stalin, and Leo Sayer all rolled into one. Huh…who could have seen the Left’s love affair with McCain go south as soon as he ran for President against a Democrat?
I mean, aside from Ray Charles.
And here’s the thing: it keeps happening. When Liz Cheney ran for the House, she was vilified for, well, being related to Dick Cheney. Once she got there, she voted with what Donald Trump wanted 93% of the time. So, what changed?
Her vocal opposition to Trump.
Since then, the same Leftists who treated her like dog shit suddenly admired her courage for standing up against her party and the President. If Leftist Twitter (a redundancy, I know) is any indication, there are a lot of people who say they’d vote for Cheney if she ran for President in 2024 because of her brave stance.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure those Leftists will “forget” their promises as soon as a Leftist throws his/her/its/zer/whatever made-up pronoun the candidate uses this millisecond hat into the ring. Then, all those alleged potential voters will abandon Cheney like Joe Biden abandoned Afghanistan, only with a lot less military hardware being left behind.
The same thing that McCain experienced will happen to Cheney. Leftists won’t give her a second glance when running for President (all while praising her and then slamming her), Republicans won’t give her a first look because of her betrayal of the party, and Independents won’t care because she’s a member of one of the two major political parties that keep fucking shit up. Great strategy there, Liz. Maybe you can get a job with The Lincoln Project. Apparently, they have a soft spot for anti-Trump pseudo-Republicans/conservatives. Oh, and little boys, too.
Too soon? Naaaaaaaah!
Cheney isn’t the only squishy Republican out there. Depending on the issue and circumstances, there are more than a few, especially in the Senate, who will cross the aisle. Marco Rubio, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell to name a few. And no matter how many times they stab the GOP in the back, Leftists will never accept them.
But they will unfailingly cheer them on when they do pull a Julius Caesar on the GOP.
Of course, when it’s one of their own pulling a “maverick,” Leftists aren’t as keen on it. Just ask Tulsi Gabbard, who has been the subject of numerous slanders and vitriolic comments because she dares to hold the Left accountable for the shitty things they do and support. And, surprise surprise, that’s by design. To the Left, it’s okay for Republicans to sell out, but not for Democrats to do so because Leftists believe they represent the people. So, by daring to step out of line, honest Democrats like Gabbard betray the people, which Leftists can’t abide by…unless they’re the ones doing it.
Funny how that works, isn’t it?
While Leftists treat the “party before country” standard as a one-way street, it’s very much a two-way main thoroughfare with buses and commuter trains running at regular intervals to and from its epicenter. Take the recent Inflation Creation…I mean Reduction Act. It was billed (see what I did there) as a way to combat current inflation woes, but a deeper dive into what the bill actually proposed shows a lot of spending on items that don’t exactly fight inflation.
– a minimum tax on corporations to fight climate change and assist with health care initiatives
– allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices for certain drugs…in 2026
– more money to the IRS for enforcement (yay?)
– spending money to investigate the causes of current drought conditions, especially in the western United States (insert Sam Kinneson comments about living in a desert here)
– extending financial assistance for the Affordable Care Act
– tax credits for buying a handful of electric cars
Well, around the time it was passed, the focus changed from reducing inflation to “a major climate, health and tax bill.” What happened? I would hope it was the fact the media got the memo that government spending a lot of money doesn’t actually reduce inflation, but that memo would have to be accompanied by a TikTok video with puppets, so it’s unlikely. Instead, I think it was to provide the necessary cover for Leftists to load down a bill with items on their wish lists while pretending it’s supposed to address a current concern for most Americans.
But it’s Republicans who put party before country?
While we watch prices go so high we can’t even pay attention without taking out a second mortgage, we should take a moment to realize the game being played on all of us right now. While we may not always agree on which major political party is doing the most for Americans right now (spoiler alert: it’s neither), to have Leftists proclaim one side is guilty of it while they’re constantly screwing over the country to achieve ideological goals is both frustrating and impressive. It’s frustrating because Republicans tend to roll over and take it, and impressive because of the sheer lack of self-awareness necessary to pull off such a feat.
And the best part of it all? The Founding Fathers urged us not to have political parties for this very reason. These men, who Leftists dismiss as backwards racists who couldn’t possibly imagine what life would be like in 2022, had the foresight to warn us that politicians would put personal and political ambitions above the good of the people they allegedly represent. Good thing Leftists are so forward-thinking and civic-minded so that doesn’t happen.
Oh, wait.