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Doug Smith: Nihil sub sole novum

4 Nov

(There is nothing new under the sun)

daisy

“Daisy“, sometimes known as “Daisy Girl” or “Peace, Little Girl“, was a controversial political advertisement aired on television during the 1964 United States presidential election by incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson‘s campaign. Though only aired once (by the campaign), it is considered to be an important factor in Johnson’s landslide victory over Barry Goldwater and an important turning point in political and advertising history. It remains one of the most controversial political advertisements ever made.

 

DOUG FOR FSPDoug Smith is an historian and Associate Editor at Free State Patriot

November 4th, 2018

 

I have always enjoyed history. The details of how men lived, and ate, and thought, and conducted themselves in times before my own, or even in my own childhood, when I didn’t really notice, have always fascinated me. That is only one of the things that makes me an oddity. Most, it seems, find history dreadfully boring. Who cares about Cicero’s words before the Senate, or Beckett’s opposition to his friend, Henry, or Luther’s 95 points at Wittenberg? The dual answers are very few, and you, if you live in the sphere of Western Civilization, which, if you are reading this, it is likely you do. Or at least, you should. Because where we have been and how we have travelled will be good indicators of the road on which we find ourselves.

As a lover and student of history (Mark Caserta continues to unduly flatter me with the title “Historian”, which I suppose I am, given the definition as “an expert or student of history”, but it seems presumptuous; I’m still learning.) I am somewhat amused at the shocked exclamation “We have never seen anything like this before”.  To those who are certain that this is all new and original, I say you ought to have paid more attention in school, or in life. Well, for the poor millennials, you have only lived a tiny slice of it, and while you may be dynamite with Tweets and Video Games and things that go BEEP in your hand, it takes a lot more living to be as wise and knowledgeable as you have been told you are. Be patient: if you manage to survive a few more decades, things will be a lot clearer. For now, permit me to hold up a lens:

We have Never had a billionaire, rich scion of a wealthy family with inherited money, as our President.

Meet Joe. He was a politically connected Boston Irishman, whose dealings were, let us charitably say questionable, and was worth the equivalent in today’s dollars of over 3 billion when, in 1960, he sent a telegram to his son, John, campaigning in WV, “Don’t buy another vote stop I won’t pay for a landslide stop. Dad. End” That son of a billionaire was John F Kennedy. (Yes, he did win.)

 We have Never had a crude, vulgar speaking President.

Lyndon Johnson talked like a longshoreman. He would urinate in the sink, invite people into the bathroom while he was on the pot to talk, and was known to expose himself and show off his scars casually. He bragged and stormed about Kennedy’s reputation as a womanizer, arguing that he had more paramours by accident that JFK had on purpose. He freely used racial epithets that cause people to lose their TV shows and high paying gigs today. And, (I might forgive the rest, but this?) he picked his dog up by its ears. (Odd that we never heard “He is not Presidential.)

We have never had such hatred and criticism of a GOP President (Or candidate)

I remember watching a TV ad, in black and white (Yes, I’m THAT old) run by our old Pal, Lyndon, against Barry Goldwater. It shows a little girl playing with a daisy and ends with a hydrogen bomb explosion.

You can watch it here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cwqHB6QeUw )

I remember serious journalists calling Reagan a dunce, a fool, a loose cannon who might wake up one night and nuke the Russians. Nixon’s opponents were after his head long before he handed it to them by his mis-steps in Watergate. They slammed George H.W Bush as a light weight, a weak-minded pansy who lacked the guts for the Presidency. Bush 43 “W” was a simple-minded dunce, who lacked the “gravitas” for the Presidency. (At least they did have to explore history a bit to find that word.) Yet both Bushes were trained military pilots. The elder joined the Navy on his 18th birthday, shortly after Pearl Harbor, was the youngest pilot in the Navy, flew 58 combat missions in WW2 and was shot down near Iwo Jima ( and rescued by My boys: a submarine!) He earned the DFC, an award not given away for good looks. The younger Bush graduated from Yale and Harvard, with degrees in history and an MBA. Here is a picture of Bush 41 in his Torpedo Bomber.

https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/bush_birthday5.jpg?w=1053&vm=r

 Our President needs to be, well, “Presidential”

No one has successfully explained to me just what that term is supposed to mean. I suspect that is it a holdover from the days, long past, in which we had nobility and royalty. Kings and Dukes were to act a certain way, be regal in their bearing, exercise Noblesse Oblige (being less cruel than they might), and, for our cult of Royal watchers who long for the good old colony days, when we were under the King, never incurring the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth.  But we forcefully and decidedly turned our backs on the whole idea of a Noble class, and leaned toward a meritocracy, in which a soldier, a farmer, a lawyer (we may need to rethink that one), or a haberdasher could be the fellow in charge. We also set it up so that there would be no dynasties, no passing down to lesser sons, (giving us the disastrous King John), and ceding power to the citizens, who may elect a haberdasher, then toss him out if he does a poor job.

In our representative Republic, the Chief Executive is less than we have made him, and there for just awhile, and does not have a particular “Presidential” bearing that he must display. He only needs to be a citizen, born here, and over 35. So, we have had the Texas BBQ White House of LBJ, the Faux Camelot of the Kennedy clan (who did establish a dynasty of sorts, to our detriment), the cigar smoke and whiskey of Harding, to the teetotaling Coolidge. The guy in charge is the guy in charge, and, our political and TV (half) wits notwithstanding, we only get to superimpose our ideas of behavior on him by voting for, or against his continuation in office.

One of my favorite Presidents was Calvin Coolidge, who, it is said, upon learning that he was President, went and took a nap. Now That is Presidential.

The quote at the top of this article comes from a writing somewhere between 180 and 450 BC. It was written in Hebrew, often quoted in English, but it tickled my fancy to quote it in Latin. If you got curious before reading this far, you may have searched in history for it, in which case my fancy is rewarded. For those of you to incurious or lazy to look it up, but still persistent enough to read to the end, it says

“There is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes

 

 

 

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Mark Caserta: Why do we keep electing losers to represent us?

29 Oct

via Mark Caserta: Why do we keep electing losers to represent us?

Mark Caserta: Why do we keep electing losers to represent us?

29 Oct

 

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

October 29, 2018

 

Per the most recent Gallup poll results, Congress’ approval rating is at a whopping 16 percent.  That’s the lowest it’s been since July 2016, when it hit 13 percent.

Politifact research revealed 53 percent of Americans had a higher opinion of hemorrhoids than Congress!  Admittedly, both are pains in the backside.

So, why do we keep electing these people?  Is it name recognition? Peer pressure? Do we simply love losing that much?  Or could it be most of us simply aren’t engaged enough to know better?

Sadly, many people don’t become informed or involved until it impacts them directly.  Even sadder, it’s impacting them now, even if they don’t realize it.

The good news for America, is Donald Trump is helping us win despite many being disengaged from the facts.

Donald J. Trump became the first billionaire to serve in the Oval Office when he was inaugurated in January 2017. At the time of his inauguration, his net worth was around $3.1 billion, per estimates from Forbes.

At 71 years of age, Trump certainly didn’t need the presidency.  He could have (very comfortably) chosen to enjoy the rest of his life, with a beautiful, talented wife and family, traveling and playing golf at his club in Mar a Lago, virtually unimpacted by the downward spiraling economy thrust upon Americans by Obama and his liberal minions.

But his love of country forbade that destiny.

He chose, rather, to leverage his business acumen and leadership talents to literally save our nation from becoming akin to a third-world, socialist country.  And he’s done an amazing job in returning our country to greatness midway through his first term in office.

Per the White House’s website, the Trump administration has “scored 81 major achievements in its first year,” making good on campaign promises to provide significant tax cuts, boost U.S. energy production, crack down on open borders and restore respect to the United States.  The site goes on to applaud over 100 other minor achievements, which didn’t receive much recognition.

Leadership made all the difference.  Anyone being intellectually honest would admit the Obama administration didn’t, and liberals still don’t, think much of America.  Proof you ask?  Well, the proof is in the pudding.

Look around you.  While quite cliché, are you better off now than you were 2 years ago?  By all measurable factors, we all are!  If liberal Democrats truly cared about your peace and prosperity, would they be supportive of policies that “win” for the American people?

The truth is liberal Democrats hate Donald Trump and conservatives more than they love their country.  And I challenge them to prove me wrong.

So why do we keep electing losers to represent us in office?  Why don’t more people keep track of their representative’s voting records and hold them accountable for their campaign promises? Not enough people are engaged with politics, local or national.  And sadly, we’ve reaped the dividends.

Frankly, that’s why candidates spend so much money placing their name in front of you with hundreds of election posters, photos and slogans.  They understand, many people tend to vote based on “name recognition” rather than proposed policies and voting records.

We must stop voting solely on name recognition!  Stop it now!  Would you vote for Satan just because you recognize his name?  Well, you just might!

And I’d go further to warn not to vote solely on “words”.  Actions speak much louder than words.  The next level of uninformed voter is one who votes based on “one-liners” and “slogans”.

Remember Obama’s slogan, “Fundamentally Changing America”?  Ouch!  How’d that one work out for you?

Here are simple steps to cast an informed, fact-based vote:

  • First, voting is not optional. It’s your civic duty – period.
  • Go online and search a sample ballot for your voting district.
  • Ignore the letter “R” or “D” by the name. Politicians will often change to the consonant that resonates most with their region.
  • Spend time researching candidate platforms, proposed policies and voting records if available.
  • Pray for wisdom and discernment. Ignore talking heads and political pundits on television.  Remember, many of these “experts” are simply paid contributors designed to perform a “balancing act”.
  • Decide which candidate would best serve your ideals and belief system.
  • Take a marked ballot with you to the polls when voting.
  • Confirm your vote is accurately and completely logged at your polling place.
  • Pray against voter fraud and error. Report any suspicious activity.
  • Trust God.

There will be an open, non-denominational prayer vigil, November 5th, at 6 pm. At Christ Temple Church (2400 Johnstown Road, Huntington, WV.) the evening before the mid-term election.

Feel free to join!

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Mark Caserta: November mid-terms will impact politics forever

21 Oct

NOVEMBER ELECTION

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Mark Caserta is a conservative columnist and editor for Free State Patriot.

October 21, 2018

 

 

Since the election of Barack Hussein Obama, the trend has been to vote out Democrats.

Per multiple news outlets, including the Washington Post and Fox News, since 2008, Democrats have lost over 1200 seats in state and federal Democrat posts, including congressional and state legislative seats, governorships and the presidency.

So, what’s changed that would cause this trend to turn with the November mid-term election?

Absolutely nothing.  If anything, given the wins President Trump and the GOP have had for the American people, the trend should be embedded even further.  Unemployment is at a record low for all Americans, taxes are lower, wages are higher, and the economy is thriving.  Our nation’s presence on the world stage is, once again, admired and respected.  We don’t even “hear” tales of ISIS activity or the numerous horrific attacks we witnessed during the Obama era of emboldening our enemy.  Illegal immigration is being addressed and “the wall” is under construction.

In other words, midway through his first term as president, Donald Trump has successfully placed our nation back on the path to greatness in every measurable metric.  And he did it, often opposed by members of his own party!

So, why do we keep hearing of the impending “blue wave” of Democrat victories about to sweep the nation?  I’ll tell you why.

Because Democrats and the complicit liberal media are afraid.  They’ve already seen the balance of the Supreme Court tilt to the right for generations.  They continue to see the fervor at Trump’s rallies and the excitement in the air over his presidency.  They’ve fallen victim to the ridicule brought on by their feckless behavior and fake news.

They are losing, and they know it.  Liberal Democrats and the adverse impact of their progressive policies have been exposed. And, as any animal backed into a corner, about to experience demise, they are taking a defensive posture and attacking with everything they have at their disposal – which isn’t much – except for the support of the liberal media.

Listen carefully to the Democrat political ads inundating the airwaves. What good thing happening in our country can Democrats take credit for?

They offer no promise of policies that will benefit the American people.  They want to raise your taxes, return the individual mandate of Obamacare, return government regulation that kills jobs and forces more families into the trap of supplemental aid from the government, and once again, apologize to the world for being an exceptional nation.

Democrats have been reduced to mob tactics of intimidation and fear-mongering.  While this isn’t a new strategy for them, they’ve never employed it to the degree our children are observing from their nation’s leaders, as they are now.

Recently, in an interview on CNN, Hillary Clinton told the nation that civility in America can only begin if the Democrats win back the House or Senate this fall.

“You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about,” Clinton said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength.”

Far-left fanatic, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called for her supporters to publicly confront Trump officials to condemn the President’s zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration.

“Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up,” Waters told a crowd in her home state. “If you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

This sort of irresponsible rebel-rousing from leaders of the Democrat Party has resulted in officials and their families being confronted, harassed and literally made to leave public establishments.

Are these the type of elected officials you want representing you?

This outlandish, over-the-top, behavior nearly resulted in the death of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) in 2017, when a radical leftist began firing upon members of the GOP during an annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.

Liberal Democrats know this mid-term election is a referendum on the presidency of Donald Trump, which has been extremely successful.  They know they’ve hit rock-bottom in terms of their promise of a political platform that will be better for our country than what we have now.

The only hope Democrats have in November is to convince you to stay home.

Don’t let that happen.  We can’t reward the behaviors they are leveraging during this election.  If we do, we’re telling them that it works.  At that point, it will be a strategy that will be employed forever in politics.

Is that the America you want for your children?

 

 

 

 

 

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Free State Patriot – Promoting our nation’s founding principles and exposing the progressive movement

19 Oct

These columnists don’t know the meaning of “politically correct”.  That’s why they write for FSP, the area’s fastest growing, conservative blog!

FREE STATE PATRIOTS

Bill Moore: Elected officials will leverage census mandate to favor party

19 Oct

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(Andrew Gillum: Slow Motion Destruction of Florida)

bill moore photo

Bill Moore is an author and regular contributor to Free State Patriot

October 19, 2018

 

Andrew Gillum is the Democrat candidate for Governor of the Sunshine State. (My home away from home for the past 30-something years.) Running as a Democrat he espouses the usual tax and spend rhetoric mixed with socialism that has become the party norm for Democrats. Gillum’s platform is the usual empty promises laced with generalities and feel good nonsense. Why is Gillum’s election important to anyone outside of Florida? The 2020 Constitutionally mandated census.

Florida is projected to gain 2 seats in the House of Representatives from that census and the governor of Florida has influence and approval power for the redistricting that would allow for the increased number of seats. All districts will need to be redrawn, of course, Gillum will only approve a design that favors his cronies in the less than patriotic Democratic Party. Meaning for the next 10 years the delegation of Florida would be majority Democratic members. Florida has pockets of Republicans that no amount of gerrymandering will disrupt but there are some districts that could be changed enough to allow the Democrats to win every race. Remember Florida gets 2 additional seats rest assured they will be drawn in such a manner that only Democrats could win.

I know most of the readers of this blog are proud West Virginians. I lived and worked in both Charleston and Huntington for years before heading to the beaches and Disney World. You may be thinking how does Florida impact someone from West Virginia? Unfortunately, West Virginia is losing population and will lose one seat in the House of Representatives. Imagine that seat going to a state with a Democratic governor that will make sure his party gains a seat in the House. Please if you visit our beaches or theme parks and have relatives in Florida encourage them to vote Republican. Here are some issues to prove your position while debating your family and friends.

First and foremost, Andrew Gillum is 100% bought and paid for by George Soros and proudly admits it. During an interview, he said he “deeply appreciated” the money! (https://www.breitbart.com/video/2018/09/02/andrew-gillum-deeply-appreciative-money-from-george-soros-tom-steyer/) and adding some trivial anecdote about his mom donating $20 monthly, implying his funding is majority grass roots. As with Joe Manchin of West Virginia Gillum’s out of state donations far exceed his in-state donations. You may be asking what is wrong with Soros’ money? After all Snopes, the pretend fact checking website, debunked his Nazi connection, right? No, they just ignore direct quotes. In George Soros’ own words from an interview in 1988:

Kroft: …My understanding is you went out with this protector of yours, who swore you were his adopted godson.

Soros: Yes.

Kroft: Went out, in fact, and helped in the confiscation of property from Jews.

Soros: Yes, that’s right.

(https://www.rightjournalism.com/george-soros-leaked-nazi-video/)

He goes on to state he has no remorse! He was 14 at the time and yet as an adult cannot recognize the crime in which he was a willing participant. I would think a man of his wealth would spend his waning years trying to correct the wrongs of his youth and work to make amends. George Soros would rather continue his property thieving ways by influencing elections with his ill-gotten gains. Soros supports the tax increasing positions of Andrew Gillum. Excessive taxes are just another way the government steals from the population just like little Georgie.

If Andrew Gillum was an honest and upright person, he would return the blood money of George Soros. As with most Democrats he has no morals.

Gillum on his website (https://andrewgillum.com/issue/economy-and-jobs/) talks about Florida families struggling to make ends meet. His solution is to raise corporate taxes! Citing California’s taxes as a target to stay under he wants to raise taxes from the current 5.5% to 7.75%. What will corporations do to offset a tax hike? Raise prices, lay off people and slow investments. Unemployment goes up and people that do have jobs find their dollars will not go as far. Corporations are fleeing California headed for low tax states. Gillum is a politician he has never ran a business and thus has no experience understanding the consequences of raising taxes on a business.

As a side note, Florida and California have nearly the same poverty rate (CA at 16.4% and FL at 16.6%) thus increased taxes can’t be expected to impact poverty in a positive way. Also as Mayor of Tallahassee Gillum raised property taxes FOUR times! You will see later the tax increases made no improvements in Tallahassee.

On education Gillum is frankly, uneducated. He wants to spend $1 billion on education! He doesn’t explain where the additional money will come from and he forgets that the Florida Lottery which started in 1988 was sold to the residents as a way to increase funding to our schools without raising taxes. In fact, Florida’s Lottery has generated $1 billion each of the last 16 years for schools. Florida is ranked 40th in education after spending $16 billion plus! The problem is not money (income) it is administration (spending) and he is not even addressing that. As most Democrats, he thinks throwing money at a problem is the answer.

Gillum believes in restricting the Second Amendment. Using the children of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as political fodder he pushes for more restrictions and laws designed to chip away at our rights. As with education Gillum is too blind to see the real problem. The issue is not the tool used to kill but rather the heart of perpetrator. Removing God from schools, advocating against the preciousness of life and encouraging disregard for the rule of law is the bed Democrats have made. The short-sighted answer, according to Gillum, is more useless laws rather than enforcing those on the books and holding the officials that did not follow procedures accountable in a meaningful way. The tragedy at that high school could have been prevented without a single gun restriction, Obama and the Gillum’s Democrats are 100% responsible for what happened. They set regulations in place that kept that child criminal out of jail and in situations which he should have never been. The ball on that criminal was dropped so many times it stopped bouncing. Again, Gillum is blind to the real cause of the shooting using the emotions of hurting parents and scared children to push a political agenda. I will say it again IT IS NOT A GUN PROBLEM IT IS A HEART PROBLEM.

Gillum believes Socialist Bernie Sanders has the answer for health care. (https://andrewgillum.com/issue/healthcare/) Except that estimates for Socialist Care exceeds $32.7 TRILLION. Being a career politician Bernie has no idea how business works just like Gillum. The cost of healthcare must be paid by someone, whether it be the people or businesses. The result is higher taxes for everyone. Make no mistake about that, Socialized Medicine will be paid by taxes. The politicians will give the tax some cute, warm fuzzy name avoiding the word tax but it will result in less money in your bank account or pay check.

Another downside is the restrictions on payouts for procedures. Why do you think only certain doctors accept Medicaid and Medicare? Because they can’t get paid market value for their services. What do you think would happen to doctors when they get a cut in billings? Lay off office and nursing staffs or quit the profession in favor of more money elsewhere. Socialized medicine is a failure in every country. Why do you think people come here for health care? Here is one recent example (http://www2.philly.com/philly/health/british-zac-oliver-leukemia-tcell-therapy-chop-20181017.html)

Gillum wants open borders and actively pushes the fake news narrative of children separated from parents at the border. This has been proven to false, yet it is still a talking point due to Florida’s high immigrant population. The problem would simply go away if the illegal immigrants (which means they already don’t want to follow our laws, thus making them criminals) would just become legal immigrants and help Make America Great Again rather than line up looking for a handout. Building a wall and enforcing rather than rewarding illegal activity would fix that problem. But again, as a Democrat Gillum is interested in emotional stories rather than logical solutions that help all Floridians and America in general.

Gillum has proven weak on crime. As Mayor of Tallahassee the capitol of Florida has seen its murder rate increase 52% under his “leadership”. As well as an overall increase of crime in general. (https://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2018/oct/08/ron-desantis/ron-desantis-says-tallahassee-mayor-andrew-gillum-/) Lastly Gillum’s administration is under FBI investigation. Where there is smoke, there is fire. Many of the allegations speak to the shady character of Gillum, like getting free tickets to games and the theater. I wonder if those were listed as gifts on his tax returns or just understood as bribes. (https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-andrew-gillum-tallahassee-fbi-20180904-story.html )

On the bright side, Gillum, does support Israel, Florida ratifying ERA (which is symbolic as the Amendment is well past its expiration date) and Puerto Rico (another symbolic gesture as Puerto Rico is already a US territory afforded all the rights a US citizen normally has). In other words, weak on substance strong on symbolism.

Andrew Gillum is a Socialist masquerading as a Democrat that believes himself above the law. He was bad for Tallahassee and will be worse for Florida. If you are not a resident of the Sunshine State, please help by exposing his misdeeds to your family and friends that do call Florida home. If you don’t your next beach or theme park vacation may be riddled with high fees (to pay for the taxes he will impose) or you could be a victim of crime.

Remember, West Virginia will lose a seat in the House of Representatives after 2020. Don’t allow it to become a Democratic seat that will vote against West Virginians. (https://www.insightsassociation.org/article/states-expected-gain-or-lose-congressional-seats-after-2020-census)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doug Smith: Nanny state has crippled a generation

19 Oct

 

 

doug and mark 1

Doug Smith is an author, historian and Associate editor of Free State Patriot

October 19, 2018

 

Throughout the history of civilizations, across various cultures and peoples, there have been rites of passage to adulthood. In hunter gatherer societies, a young man was required to show off his ability to provide food. Later, he might demonstrate his skill with a weapon, such as a sword or battle ax, or how to handle a boat. Among the Jews, a young man goes through his Bar Mitzvah, showing his mastery of the tenets of his faith and culture. For millennia, young men and women have taken their place alongside the adults, in the fields, in the home, on the battlefield, in the shops and forges, on ships at sea. Even Paul wrote nearly 2000 years ago, of putting aside childish things when he became a man. Adolescence; that state of not quite a child but not quite an adult, is a fairly recent development. You were either a child, dependent on others, or an adult, caring for yourself and others.

As I grew up, there were less well defined, but still evident lines of demarcation between childhood and adulthood. One of my friends went to dinner with his Dad, at which he was given $ 300, a suitcase with his clothes, and an invitation to come to dinner sometime. My own passage was a bit less brutal and personal: it began at 5 in the morning with the kicking of a 30-gallon aluminum garbage can and the loud voice of a First Class Bosun’s Mate. Welcome to the Navy. I might not be good at “adulating” yet, but adulting had found me: no one was going to pick up my socks or gently wake me up for breakfast. I was expected to listen and learn new things, strange things. Take the unfamiliar, come to terms with it, and move on and do what had to be done. Whether you like it or not, folding that T shirt and putting it in your locker is a responsibility and an important part of shipboard life. Suddenly, you ARE going to use Geometry, after all. A year ago, you may have been in marching band, but today, you are adulting in blue.

But a curious and sad phenomenon has taken place. Our cradle to grave nanny state, anxious to preserve its own usefulness, has created an entire class of crippled child-men and child-women. Oh, their bodies have grown to adult size, but their minds are still in the nursery with nanny.

‘’ Don t say such things around the children, it will upset them.”  This is a fine, and perhaps wise admonition when dealing with a 3-year-old, but not an adult. Words and ideas are out there. You are going to hear them. You are going to have to decide if the Nihilist ideas of Hegel and Nietche and their practical applications in 1930s Germany are good and wise, or if the ideals of liberty put forth by Burke and natural rights by Locke, which midwifed America, are ideals for which to strive. A functioning adult IS going to hear, and must evaluate, ideas and principles that are fine and worthy of emulation, and despicable and to be eschewed. I can appreciate my own country, but so much more if I understand her history, and why she followed the English rather than French common law. I must, at some point, read of the horrors of WW2, and understand what it is we fought against. I must read, and shudder, about police states, to understand why they are a thing to avoid. In short, adulting.

I must pay my bills, care for my loved ones, keep my promises, do my best at my work, expect to work for what I get, and learn how to live with people, whether I agree with them or not, whether I like them or not. I must learn to be polite and considerate of others, and deal with them as I would like them to deal with me. (Hey that is good. Someone should write it down. Why, its golden.) I should act with manners toward other people and expect them to return the gift.

But the large children populating our campuses and streets have never learned these truths. And so, they have never become adults. They shriek with horror at the thought that someone might say something with which they disagree or state an idea they have never heard. They think it is fine and laudable to rudely interrupt people at their meals to express their feelings. They act, in short, in ways that would, during any sane period of our history, have earned that proverbial 3-year-old a stinging swat on the behind and immediate correction.  Yet, even the supposed adults have proven unwilling to take a firm hand with these large children. Mayors permit them to have the freedom to destroy and obstruct. Afraid to offend, or to be seen as harsh. Adults understand that you can either gulp and take a hard line with bad behavior of the 3-year-old or raise a monster. Children are not born knowing good behavior, they must be taught.

Left to their own devices, they will become and remain selfish little tyrants.

One does not have to look very far to see groups of selfish, full sized, tyrants, who never learned the lessons that produce adult, yet inhabiting adult bodies, and demanding, demanding mind you, the protections of children and the privileges of adults.

Robert Heinlein writes in Starship Troopers, through the voice of a teacher, about a proposed method of training a puppy. You let him make messes wherever he wants, you clean up after him, and you never correct him. One day, noticing that he is a full-grown dog and still doing his business on the carpet, you promptly shoot him. Comment? His students agree that is the stupidest way of raising a dog they ever heard. You must teach him right away, and rub his nose in it, and make sure he knows what to do and how to behave.

Heinlein’s students had it right: it is the stupidest thing in the world.

How will it end with our current crop of large children? Badly, I am certain. But I suspect that unpleasant steps will eventually be required to restore maturity, and that even San Francisco will, at some point before they are buried in feces, needles, and a handful of wealthy enclaves, be forced by realities to take those steps that are orders of magnitude harder with large children than with small. If not, then reality, Mother Nature, red of tooth and claw, will enforce common sense and punish dam foolery, as she always has.

Just because a city is famous and has buildings and art centers does not repeal gravity.

Nor does it give immunity from typhus or cholera. The large children who deny facts and realities or were never forced to learn them in the time-honored ways of millennia, will come to grips with them at some point. Carthage, London, Sparta, all came face to face with realities. In the arrogant assurance of the child mob they are certain they will never face the inevitable consequences of their choices.

It has been said, often, and with wisdom, that those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. One might also say, those who do not learn history, are going to be shocked when they repeat it, and think it a new thing. But the clues were there all along, and they are still.

Perhaps the child mobs can still read of Robespierre and consider a different path.

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Bill Moore: Joe Manchin: Representing West Virginia? Think again

17 Oct

joe and pat

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey leads his Democratic rival Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in a new poll just released.

bill moore photo

Bill Moore is an author who spent most of his life in Appalachia and is a regular contributor to Free State Patriot.

October 17, 2018

In three weeks, we, as a nation head, to the polls in what is shaping up to be the most important election in history. The choice, as in 2016, is whether to choose the rule of law or rule by mob. Hillary Clinton embodied the Democrats morality (actually lack of morality). I won’t go over her lies, contradictions and total disconnection with real hard working Americans in this article. What I want to focus on is someone West Virginians, according to the polls, are preparing to reward with another term.

Joe Manchin III, according to https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/senate/?ex_cid=irpromo (an aggregate poll) is expected to win 52% to 44% over Patrick Morrisey. The most recent notable action Manchin did was to vote for Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation. As we all know President Trump wanted Kavanaugh on SCOTUS and Manchin’s vote helped secure that position. Manchin’s vote made no difference in the outcome as it still would have been a 49-48 victory had he voted “NO”. This was a play to secure your vote that would in no way damage his party.

Most West Virginians are wholesome, hardworking families that just want to earn a decent living. Being fair minded folks it would be disrespectful not to reward Manchin’s vote on SCOTUS with another term as he made the right choice. It would be like encouraging your child to improve their grades and when they finally get a good test score you ground them anyway. The child is confused holding a test paper with an “A” while being told they cannot attend the school dance. Your child will storm off to their room, complaining how unfair the world is. As a parent, you are concerned with the big picture of your child’s education and the whole grading period not just a single test score.

Let’s look at the whole grading period of Joe Manchin III and point out why he needs to be a private citizen again. (https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/joe-manchin-iii/) This year he has voted 17 times on the same side as Trump or 78% of the time. Not bad, a “C” on most grade scales. Except that the voters were telling Manchin in 2016 they were on completely Trump’s side. Remember he beat Hillary by 42%. That overwhelming victory should encourage better than a “C”. This is an election year and I wonder if that is influencing an apparent shift towards Trump? Let’s look at the previous grading period from 2017.

There were 57 opportunities to vote in 2017. (Yes, Congress has no real productivity) Good ole’ Joe voted against Trump 45% of the time. Even with West Virginians practically yelling at him “we are in Trump’s camp” he chooses party lines 55% of the time. Understand there are Senators that vote strictly party line 80%-90% of the time so as that goes Joe is somewhat better. Now let’s look at the votes that impacted West Virginian families.

His very first disagreement with Trump and by extension West Virginia, January 12, 2017, was voting NOT to repeal the disastrous Obamacare or Affordable Care Act as it is officially known. This is important because the proposal from the Republicans was to repeal and then replace with a more affordable insurance coverage that would use the open market to keep premiums low. Manchin said “no”. Effectively keeping money out of your pockets and maintaining the status quo of rising premiums and increased profits for the insurance companies. Joe defends his vote using the “pre-existing” condition argument. Meaning if you have an illness prior to obtaining insurance Obamacare requires the insurance to cover that illness. Imagine if your auto insurance worked the same way. You don’t buy till you have a wreck. This is a feel-good defense designed demonstrate how evil Republicans are and how caring Democrats are. Make no mistake when you are forced to purchase something by the government it is a tax no matter the name. Joe had no issues forcing people to buy insurance with Obamacare. As a side note look up the first quarter profits for insurance companies’ profits. That reveals the winner of the ACA. Certainly, it was not the voters.

If you really want health care to be affordable remove government regulations and encourage competition in a free market. Costs only spiral upward when some else is footing the bill. Do you really think aspirin would cost $16.00 a pill if insurance was not covering it? Or perhaps ask Joe about the $69,700 campaign donation from Mylan Inc. a pharmaceutical company that benefits from insurance companies paying for its drugs.

Manchin continued to fight Trump on traditionally non-partisan votes such as Cabinet positions. Thanks to Manchin and the Mob (Democrats) Trump has had more “NO” votes applied to Cabinet posts than any other President since FDR (and he had 12 years). Manchin has 4 “NO” votes on Cabinet officials.

Manchin also votes against putting more money in your wallet. Three different times he has voted against tax reform. The IRS Tax Codes are out of control and simplification is needed as well as a reduction in tax rates. Then again, a guy that lives on a $700,000 yacht while doing public service really cannot fathom the impact of an extra $20 on a weekly pay check.

One last bit of discussion on good ole’ Joe. He currently has, in individual contributions (not including PAC money), $3,186,506.00 that are from OUT OF STATE! (https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/geography?cid=N00032838&cycle=2018) 88% of his individual donations are not from West Virginia voters!!! Compare this to the total donations (PAC and individual) of Patrick Morrisey. Mr. Morrisey stands at $2,949,126.00. (https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2018&id=WVS1) Again TOTAL DONATIONS. So, who exactly do you think Joe is representing?

 

 

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Mark Caserta: President Trump really has divided America

15 Oct

But not in a bad way…

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Mark Caserta:  Free State Patriot editor

October 15, 2018

 

Yes, President Donald Trump has, indeed, divided America.  But not in a bad way.

The “Trump Factor”, which employs many successful attributes, is exacerbated by an unapologetic approach by the president to put “America first” in every decision he makes.  This lack of “political correctness” has exposed a growing dichotomy of ideology in our nation and driven people into their metaphorical corners.

In the first camp, we have patriots who love America and seek the continuation of our founding principles. These are God-fearing people who believe our nation is built on Biblical principles and our founding fathers sought direction from the Almighty in framing our U.S. Constitution.

In the second camp, we have dissenters who believe America is the problem and would fundamentally change society to align with their liberal passions.  They believe principles and morality are on a sliding scale and our Constitution is antiquated to our modern-day challenges.

Many of those who’ve lost hope in perpetuating their progressive agenda, suffer from “Trump Anxiety Disorder”, causing them to act and respond irresponsibly to even the simplest of issues.  While funny to watch, it’s disconcerting that many are so hopeless, they now advocate eliminating civility and conversation in lieu of intimidation tactics, up to and including violence.

Keep in mind, these morally depraved individuals are a minority and would be quietly whimpering in the corner in the fetal position, if it wasn’t for the liberal media giving them voice.  Trust me, when I tell you there isn’t anything progressives won’t say or do if it means convincing Americans to disavow the Trump presidency.

This so-called “fake news” is simply a reality of the world in which we live.  Understanding its existence is the first step to returning our country, state and city to greatness. But understanding its purpose, will help each of us circumvent it in our daily lives.

As a reminder, the definition of fake news is “reporting designed to disingenuously influence” rather than to genuinely inform.  The ethical principles of journalism, in stark contrast, have no place in progressive reporting.  Truth in reporting will never stand in the way of a manipulative story for liberals.

Remember, Hillary Clinton, while campaigning for president in 2008, told a story in a speech at George Washington University how she landed “under sniper fire” during a 1996 trip to Bosnia.

“There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport,” Clinton reminisced, “But instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

Too bad the Bosnia war ended in 1995.  The Washington Post debunked her claim with old news footage taken when Clinton landed.  It revealed the former first lady calmly walking away from the plane and greeting people on the tarmac, while an 8-year-old Muslim girl read her a poem.

One can see how this could easily have been mistaken for sniper fire.

How about the 2015 admission of Brian Williams, then a very popular news anchor on NBC, falsely claiming to have been on a helicopter shot down by enemy fire while on a news reporting trip to Iraq in 2003?  Williams told the story numerous times, of how his Chinook helicopter was forced down by rockets and small-arms fire.

But factually, per crew members aboard the craft, Williams and his crew landed prematurely due to an impending sandstorm about to erupt in the Iraqi desert.

Interesting how a seasoned field reporter mistook sand and wind for a ground to air attack.

In both instances, the purpose of these prevarications was to disingenuously inform and influence behaviors conducive to their success and the progressive movement.

An underlying lesson one might also extrapolate from these outright lies, is that liberals welcomed both Clinton and Williams back in their good graces.  Their assets in the progressive theater, obviously outweighed their liability as liars.

Liberals are very predictable in the use of fake news to mislead and influence marginally-informed people around us.  Frankly, without the liberal news media, far-left progressives would be virtually powerless in propagating their agenda.  The bully-pulpit lends itself to impacting the masses.

In a recent study conducted by such authors as Stephen Hawkins, Daniel Yudkin, Miriam Juan-Torres, and Tim Dixon, entitled, “Hidden Tribes: A Study of America’s Polarized Landscape,” most Americans fit outside the camps of “hard-left” liberals and “hard-right” conservatives.

However, conservatives, in the general sense of the term, far outnumber radical or even moderate liberals.  Christian conservatives continue to be the most powerful voting demographic in the country, when we bind forces.

Based on the report, 25 percent of Americans are traditionally or devoted conservatives.  Of course, that metric varies greatly, depending on geography.  But only 8 percent of Americans consider themselves progressive activists, with views far less typical than either conservatives or moderates. If that 8 percent also varies with geography, the percentage must be miniscule here in Appalachia.

How did Huntington get so lucky to have most of them set up camp downtown?  And if these numbers are accurate, why does the liberal fringe seem to have the loudest voice in the room?

2 reasons: Among the 8 percent, fall the liberal media. They leverage their venue to the fullest. Secondly, Christians are way too lazy and complacent.  In many cases, we’ve simply allowed liberals to have their warped way with our city and our families while we sit on the sidelines waiting on Jesus to return.

I believe Jesus is going to have many hard questions to ask of those who didn’t join the battle.  Our savior took 12 men and shook the world! What have you accomplished with all you’ve been provided?

Consider this colossal attempt at molding history with fake news.

How many media outlets or journalistic pundits predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election? None, but not only did they not predict his victory, they amused themselves before their audiences with the incredulity of the Donald even running for the office!

No doubt, this liberal faction was split among those to whom the possibility of a Trump presidency was so revolting, they couldn’t bring themselves to adequately assess reality, and those who truly believed the American people were so disengaged they couldn’t possibly understand how frustrated most Americans were with failing liberal policies.

Either way, the same liberal loons who assured us of a Clinton victory are the same ones promising us a “blue wave” during the November mid-terms.  Once again, liberal Democrats are attempting to leverage the progressively complicit media in convincing the American people to stay home.

Liberals know the game always must be rigged for them to achieve victory.  And trust me when I tell you, they are shameless in doing so.  All’s fair in love and politics to progressives.

Understand what’s at stake in this November election.

If liberal Democrats regain power in the House of Representatives or the Senate, the least that can happen is the Trump agenda will be slowed.  But the worst is not beyond speculation.

Liberals will work diligently to accomplish the following in a very short period of time:

  • Eliminate Trump’s tax reform and raise your taxes.
  • Seek total and lasting elimination of parameters on abortion.
  • Re-instate EPA powers of regulation over energy industries, including coal.
  • Implement Obamacare to the fullest degree, to include the individual mandate. Once this fails, expect a government orchestrated healthcare system trapping you in its socialist net.
  • Despite our thriving economy, they will work to eradicate all Trump has done to rebuild it.
  • Liberals will work hard to impeach President Trump and Justice Brett Kavanaugh – and anyone else in their way!
  • Return us to the dysfunctionality of the Obama era, to include a lack of respect for America on the global stage.

The list goes on.

Additionally, understand, this liberal agenda will be supported 100% by our liberal leaders right here in Huntington, WV. who sadly, have their priorities for our city upside down.  All one need do is drive through our historic streets to witness first-hand the heartbreaking economic decay.

And as with Washington and the liberal media, our local print media is complicit with Huntington’s progressive agenda.  The leadership of The Herald Dispatch, have caused such degradation of the paper, it’s difficult to read.  And they’re surely no supporter of President Trump’s winning strategies.

Truly the only reason to vote Democrat is if you’re simply tired of winning.

Don’t listen to the media’s fake news.  We can own this election if we get out to vote.

Let’s shock the world and liberal media, once again, by keeping America great and making Huntington great again!

 

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Doug Smith: The Perfect Man

12 Oct

Modern progressive obsession or liberal mob oppression?

 

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Doug Smith is an historian and associate editor at Free State Patriot

10.12.2018

 

Brave soul, ’twere well if all the same would say,
And artists aim their patron’s wish t’obey.
What signifies a wart, or e’en a scar?
Leave both, skilled hand, and paint us as we are.
The crowfeet paint, the wrinkles on the brow,
The hollow cheek, the form inclined to bow,
The tear-dim’d eye, the hair well streaked with gray,
The hardened hand, begrim’d with soot and clay,
And if you use the seer’s revealing glass,
Remember this, ‘
All flesh is as the grass.’

Joseph Horatio Chant

 

Winston Churchill once got into an angry argument with his butler, and they exchanged some heated words. Later, they had this exchange:

WC: “You should apologize, you were rude to me.”

Butler: “You were rude to me first.”

WC: “Yes, but I am a great man.”

I think that nicely sums up the dichotomy that was Sir Winston Churchill. Students of history, whether they admire him, as I do, or detest him, can easily agree on two salient points.

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Winston Churchill

WC was a man of many parts, some of them shocking to the sensibilities of people who did not come to maturity during the reign of Queen Victoria, and begin a political career the very year of the start of the Edwardian era. He was a man of his times and his class, which is to say his attitudes on Empire may shock modern sensibilities. FDR said of Churchill, He is not a Victorian, he is The Victorian. He grated on peers of his own time as well. He was not, in short, a collegial gent with whom you might enjoy sharing his evening cognac and cigar. He was eccentric, opinionated, a man of the 19th Century British Empire making his way in the most turbulent part of the 20th.

He was also a brilliant man, courageous and astute, and the singular indispensable man of 1930s England. He once said, “History will treat us well, for I intend to write it. “ And so he did, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. As much as it is true that absent George Washington, it is doubtful that American in her current form would exist, it is utterly certain that, absent Winston Churchill, England would have been defeated by Hitler, and the face of the 20th century world would have been very different indeed.

So I find it curious that the modern progressive leftists insist on wart-less heroes. One wonders if they have a mirror. In their quest, like some out of place, frustrated Diogenes, for the “perfect man”, no doubt to people their “perfect Utopia”, they readily toss out the memory, or the actuality, of truly great men. They are, like the lefties, and me, and, forgive me, but you as well, alloyed and flawed. But it is sometimes the case that flawed men can do exemplary things.

Progressives, who are the latest iteration of the Utopians, whose sordid, foolish, and bloody history stretches back into antiquity with the Spartans, Plato, and perhaps even the Tower of Babel, are like warped versions of Diogenes, searching the world in a futile quest for an honest man. But instead, they waste their lives, much of their energy, and as always, much that is good in the world, seeking perfection. Their idea of a perfect society, is (of course!) one in which the “best and the brightest” (always beware that term), by which they mean (of course!) themselves, will make all the decisions for the less enlightened Plebes, ( the rest of us) and usher in the Age of Aquarius, or Enlightenment, in short, Utopia. (It is worth noting that the so called Age of Enlightenment in fact coincided with the French Revolution, the Jacobins, and the Terror: mob rule which murdered 16,000 people, and brought about not a Utopia, but Napoleon and decades of war.) Despite the noble sounding words, the Utopians/progressives always bring about the result of misery, starvation, terror, and oppression. They do it with the highest of “intentions”, the ends justifying the most brutal and horrible means, but their reality Is the means. There are never “ends”. The Soviet Utopians, under Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, had control of the Russian empire for 70 years and ruled with brutality, causing some 100 million deaths, until they finally collapsed of their own weight. There was never the promised Utopia, nor was there ever going to be.

I reflected after the latest progressive mob spasm over an astronaut quoting from Winston Churchill, a truly great man, one of the greatest of the 20th century, (choke on that, snowflakes), because they disagree with some of his positions. In the progressives’ search for the perfect man, who they will never find (well, they could of course, but they would not want to look where He lived.), great achievement means nothing. Sharing their current sensibilities and beliefs is everything. This explains a great deal about the modern leftist, and why he inevitably fails. The Left celebrates correct thought (as did Stalin and Pol Pot) far above effective action. Thus Bill Clinton can say, with a hint of weeping in his voice, “I never worked so hard on anything in my life” about a failed attempt at legislation, and be celebrated. Jimmy Carter can drive the country into the doldrums that are the late 70s, and swing a hammer or give some speeches, and be thought of as a good man.

Thomas Jefferson penned the documents that began a new and unique nation and people in an 18th Century world; one that would forever change the face of the world moving forward, yet be sneered at by the Left for being a man of his times. George Washington, who is properly viewed as the Father of his country, without whom we would never have won the war, and would likely have established a new monarchy and began England all over again, is likewise reviled for being an 18th century aristocrat.

All of these men were men of their times and reflected the beliefs of the age in which they lived, but put their values and beliefs to good use and lead their nations into something better.

This is the distinction the leftist who finds his hair melting that one might quote a gem of wisdom from a man who held Victorian views, but led a successful fight against a brutal tyranny with ambitions to enslave the world. “Perfect” is always the enemy of “Better.”

Winston Churchill was not a perfect man. But he left his world a better place. He is one of my heroes. He may have believed the British Empire ought to continue to rule India, but he ensured that Hitler did not rule everything. He was not the perfect man whom the left seeks, but never finds. But he was a man of accomplishments who stands in stark contrast to the leftist who uses the “correct” terms and expresses the “right” beliefs, but oppresses speech and freedom, and ultimately, builds the Gulags. (If you are too young to know that term, read The Gulag Archipelago.) We have much to learn from imperfect men who accomplished good and thus left their mark on their world.

Unless we waste our lives vainly ignoring them while searching for the elusive “perfect man.”

For the leftist who is serious about finding the perfect man whom they may follow, don’t waste your time reading my words. Instead, try the Gospel of John.

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