August 29, 2020
There is an interesting discussion on Facebook I'm involved with; Richard Cronin brought up the plantation system and how it failed and there were some good responses.
Richard said:
In the American Civil War, Gettysburg has come to be known as the high point of the Confederacy. If you haven’t visited the park, you should. Noble men on both sides, never really understanding the totality of their struggles.
One superior economic system overmatching another. The plantation system was a failed economic system. It really wasn’t about treating people nicely. It was about achieving economic supremacy. It’s all about the money. Always has been.
The plantation system, like the USSR, are in the dust bins of history.
I replied:
Most commodities can be purchased from other sources. The main thing the South had was cotton (King Cotton), and they were relying on cotton to drive European powers (principally Britain and France of course) to intervene.
But the Union had all the ships and the factories to build them, and could blockade the South. Britain wasn't happy through much of the war, especially when the Union seized a British ship (The Trent Affair) and Lincoln cut the telegraph lines in order to avoid having to answer furious questions from Her Majesty's government. (Telegraphs were the North's secret weapon; they laid more lines during the war and had a telegraph corps. The South did not have the cables to string and saw her internal communications degrade as the war progressed.) The British, despite wishing the Union ill, wasn't prepared to extend a helping hand to the slave-holding south.
Robert E. Lee said of slavery "it's like holding a wolf by the ears; you don't like it but are afraid to let go". This was true of the antiquated plantation system in general. It was much easier for the North to industrialize, since they always had small farm holdings and plenty of free people to work. Oh, and the collapse of the Rum industry in the North when the French finally figured out they could make it on the sugar islands themselves was a powerful impetus. The South suffered from the cheap labor problem; a plantation could only be competitive if it had free labor aka slaves, which put poor whites and free blacks out of work. Slavery is horribly inefficient, but nobody could figure a way to be economically viable in a slave/plantation market. But what do you do? Go bankrupt trying to change?
The abolitionists were adamant about there being no programs to help the plantation/slave holders, too. Britain was quite sensible about how it banned slavery, compensating slave holders (slaves were worth a LOT of money) and helping the economy transition. In America, though, the abolitionists wanted to PUNISH the South, and without a deal the move away from the plantation system was not economically viable.
So the Southern plantation owners did the only thing they could; planted more, doubled down, which dropped the prices of cotton and tobacco and the like. The end result was it became harder and harder to survive. It was a machine that eventually swallowed up the plantation system.
The plantation system was a trap. It was unproductive, which forced the plantation owners to double down on what they were doing. America was on it's way to becoming a plantation economy with illegal immigrants taking the role (albeit paid) of the slaves, and with outsourcing to China and Mexico and whatnot taking the place of Southern outsourcing of manufacturing in the antebellum South. I wrote about the similarities between the two at American Thinker back in 2006. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2006/04/plantation_america.html
A fellow named Dallas aka Bubba made an interesting point:
T'was the north that wanted the war to preserve itself, not the south who simply wanted a divorce. Follow the money.
Badda bing, although it wasn't "the north" per se, it was the Whigs / Republican power brokers in the north that did that, not the northern people who were more than willing to see the south secede. No different than today. Tis always those with the money & power that are willing to do anything to maintain the status quo.
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The power of the media is not just in what they report or how they report it but in what they choose to leave out - or not report at all. Lying by omission is still lying.
Dr. Roy Spencer tells this tale:
My wife and I just had a discussion about the biased news media, which has burned me a number of times over the years. The last major meeting I was at, a mainstream news crew was there and wanted to interview me on camera. I asked someone (I think it was Jim Lakely, not sure) to record the conversation on his phone, and I was very open with the reporterette about why I was doing that and why I did not trust their network to report fairly. She acted sympathetic to my views. The people around us (and especially one of her cameramen) seemed really interested in what I was saying. (He and I talked for another 20 minutes or so, which irritated her).
As far as I know, none of my interview was used in her reporting.
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August 28, 2020
A very good idea, one that Trump has floated before. Everyone you meet in Washington DC either works for the government, once worked for it, or has close family members who work for it. And Dems want to make DC the 51st state! Richard Grenell gave an excellent talk at the Republican National Convention, too.
Tims 2p:
Washington delende est! Nothing will change in America as long as all of the power and money is concentrated in that limited space. And ignoring all else, at a minimum Washington is dominated by the Democrats in terms of social life and respect. That has to stop. I support a very limited session of Congress actually meeting; most of their work could be done from each Congressman's district. (BTW, Our old Congressman here in St. Louis was William Clay Sr. and he listed the Mayfair Hotel as his residence; never spent any time in his district.)
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The Problem of Whiteness in White Wine
Wine isn't "diverse enough"?
Nobody is stopping black people from getting into the wine industry, or stopping them from drinking it. It's their choice.
But these days choice is immaterial; it's always white racism. Yeah; all those Klansmen sat around sipping chardonnay before burning their crosses!
Hew boy!
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At this time of division it's good to see people do the right thing. First, some prisoners saved the life of one of their guards.
https://tampa.cbslocal.com/2020/08/27/gwinnett-inmates-help-save-deputys-life-2/
God bless them! They had little reason to care about such a guy. Also, a black Christian man saved a cop who was trapped in a burning car.
In this terrible drought of human kindness we are seeing a few shoots of goodness.
More good news! U.S. Marshalls rescued 39 missing children in Georgia in what they titled "Operation Not Forgotten"
Thank you dear God, for rescuing these children and reuniting them with their loved ones!
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Senator Rand Paul was attacked by a violent mob after President Trump's acceptance speech last night.
Paul called for investigations and prosecutions:
Are we really cool with a sitting U.S. Senator being attacked by a mob of thugs because of his political party? Is this the America we want to live in?
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PEW Research: Majority of BLM Protesters are White Democrats
Thanks Anthony Watts!
"They are driven by young white Americans with college degrees."
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As I've grown bored with detailing the given convention speakers, I am simply going to say last night was terrific! Every speaker was excellent, with the exception of Ivanka Trump, who gave a remarkably good speech for a Democratic Convenention but one that pretty well stunk it up for a Republican. She spouted off about all the great stuff government can and will do for everyone, spending my tax dollars without my permission. And the causes she champions are rather dubious. She had no business being on that stage.
I thought Trump did well but he did drag on a bit too long. He was a bit too restrained too; they had probably over-prepped him so he wouldn't go off script. I understand; they are appealing to the undecided right now. But Trump is best when he ad-libs and goes after the media. I had hoped he would point to the cameras and say "there they are..."
The news folks at PBS and CBS were not happy at all. That alone tells us this convention made a big splash.
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Powerline dissects the Kinosha shooting.
From the article:
That said, there appears to be a decent case that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Who says this? Sit down for the answer: a team of reporters from the New York Times.I’m starting to think someone from Fox News has spiked the water at the Times, as this story makes two sensible news stories in one day from the Times. Or maybe the panic is that high at DNC headquarters.
Here are key excerpts from the story, "Tracking the Suspect in the Fatal Kenosha Shootings,†in which Times reporters stitch together a timeline from several videos, and with my highlights:
In most of the footage The Times has reviewed from before the shootings, Mr. Rittenhouse is around this area. He also offers medical assistance to protesters.
About 15 minutes before the first shooting, police officers drive past Mr. Rittenhouse, and the other armed civilians who claim to be protecting the dealership, and offer water out of appreciation.
Mr. Rittenhouse walks up to a police vehicle carrying his rifle and talks with the officers.
He eventually leaves the dealership and is barred by the police from returning. Six minutes later footage shows Mr. Rittenhouse being chased by an unknown group of people into the parking lot of another dealership several blocks away.
While Mr. Rittenhouse is being pursued by the group, an unknown gunman fires into the air, though it’s unclear why. The weapon’s muzzle flash appears in footage filmed at the scene.
Mr. Rittenhouse turns toward the sound of gunfire as another pursuer lunges toward him from the same direction. Mr. Rittenhouse then fires four times, and appears to shoot the man in the head. . .
As Mr. Rittenhouse is running, he trips and falls to the ground. He fires four shots as three people rush toward him. One person appears to be hit in the chest and falls to the ground. Another, who is carrying a handgun, is hit in the arm and runs away.
Mr. Rittenhouse’s gunfire is mixed in with the sound of at least 16 other gunshots that ring out during this time.
As this happens, police vehicles just one block away remain stationary during the gunfire.
Mr. Rittenhouse walks with his hands up toward the police vehicles. Bystanders call out to the officers that he had just shot people.
The police drive by him without stopping, on their way to assist the victims.
The left is making a big deal about the supposed "white privilege†of Rittenhouse because the police initially drove past him even though he had his hands up. But as this story makes clear, the police were heading to aid victims, which is surely sound police procedure, not yet knowing that Rittenhouse was the shooter.
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As the FACTS come out, we learn that career criminal George Floyd actually died of an overdose of fentanyl with no tissue damage to his neck and no signs of asphyxiation (after resisting arrest several times). Career criminal Jacob Blake wrestled with police officers and was armed with a knife when he was shot. 30 pages of evidence just released show that Breonna Taylor wasn't just some innocent EMT that was shot and killed by police executing a search warrant. She was knee deep in the drug dealing that led to the search warrant and was only shot after her boyfriend shot police as they lawfully entered the apartment. I wish one person would explain to me how these situations were racially motivated and required the destruction of American cities, the demonizing of police officers nationwide and the defunding of police departments. 🤔
FACTS don't matter anymore. Investigations don't matter. Due process doesn't matter. Mob justice and anarchy is the only option and it's encouraged by the BLM terror group, the Democratic Party, the leftwing propaganda machine and their idiot millionaire athlete mouthpieces. Guilty until proven innocent is part of their "reimagining" for America. What an embarrassment
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Modern/
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Protest In Large Groups, Police Give A Pass - Small Groups Cops Send In The Pit Bulls
Back in June the Victorian Police Commissioner effectively promoted the Black Lives Matter protest for organisers by announcing ahead of time, the police would not enforce Covid-19 regulations. Two months later police are violently arresting small groups walking through their suburbs.
Victoria Police decided to refuse to issue fines, caution, detain, or disperse protesters in relation to the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne on 6 June 2020. The BLM protests were founded on false claims about black deaths in custody and systemic racism and oppression in Australia.
That 'hands-off' approach by police has had a remarkable turnaround over the last couple of months when it comes to protesters who are protesting against very real oppression.
Victoria has stripped citizens and businesses of basic human rights in applying a mass lockdown to fight a disease which has very specific areas of concern among Aged Care centres, and the elderly and those suffering existing morbidity health problems.
For most of the population Covid-19 represents a mortality risk 2 to 5 times greater than seasonal influenza. But for young children under 15 seasonal influenza is between 4 to 9 times more deadly than Covid-19. Yet we've never had children locked-down down during flu season.
https://freopp.org/estimating-the-risk-of-death-from-covid-19-vs-influenza-or-pneumonia-by-age-630aea3ae5a9
Totalitarian Response To Anti- Lock-down Protesters
In contrast to the kid-gloves approach to BLM protesters, Victorian Police seem to have taken a page from the Chinese Communist Party protest crackdown playbook. Perhaps Dan Andrews got a free copy as part of his Belts and Roads deal?
A few days ago,two men accused of planning an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne had their homes raided and were arrested.
Under Stage Four restrictions Melbourne residents can only leave their homes for four reasons, to buy essential items like groceries, for care or to give care, exercise and work.
There is also a nightly curfew from 8pm until 5am!
So tough luck if you want to walk your dog at 8.05pm in the suburbs, because that represents an unacceptable Covid-19 risk!
Victoria Police have said it wouldn't hesitate to hand out $1652 on-the-spot fines or arrest to those who breach these ridiculous, unnecessary and Draconian regulations.
Melbourne's COVID rebellion:
To demonstrate their opposition to these rules, hundreds of residents fed up with Stage 4 lockdown deliberately exercise at the same time.
This is what has caused the violent clashes with cops who pepper spray them and hand out $15,000 in fines.
https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/dandenong-protest-police-vow-to-arrest-and-fine-antilockdown-marchers/news-story/45a40149e608da0f0241c027d3cd7b4d
The Police Chief said:
"This is a completely blatant breach of the chief health officer's directions and puts Victorian lives at risk,"
"I understand that people may be acting out of a sense of frustration with the current lockdown, but I urge them all to exercise, if they must, in complete compliance with the current restrictions in place.
"We must all accept that we are in this together and that we will only maintain the positive improvements that have been achieved by Victorians, if we all adhere to the restrictions.
Victoria Police chief Shane Patton vowed to deploy more resources to stopping the daily protests.
'There are some who may be legitimately attempting to protest but there are others using the situation to get up to no good,' he told 3AW.
'Either way, they just can't be there, they can't do it.
'I've instructed this morning ... to do absolutely everything we can to stop it and hold them to account.'
Premier Daniel Andrews also slammed the protests.
'Protests are not lawful, protests are not safe, protests are not something that should be happening - no matter what the purpose,' he told reporters on Thursday.
How can the Premier and Police not be totally embarrassed by their hypocrisy when dealing with BLM protesters versus anti-lockdown protesters?
Why is the media not having a field day with this blatant hypocrisy?
Of course we know the answer. The BLM 'protests' founded on lies, suits the purposes of the Left. The narrative that Western Civilization, capitalism, is to blame for societies ills which can only be resolved by tearing down society as we know it. By the socialist agenda of redistributing wealth and income.
The Covid-19 Lock-down measures are helping achieve the same socialist aim. More businesses fail as the lockdown continues. Federal and State Governments have ramped up the redistribution of wealth and income. More people will be reliant on government hand-outs. It all plays well into the hands of the Left.
What I don't understand is how the so-called conservative Federal government can be so supportive of the authoritarian State governments.
The world has clearly gone mad, and I'm surrounded by morons!
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August 27, 2020
If you speak the truth you will be canceled.
Woman fired from literary agency for tweeting that trans-identified males aren't women
Sasha White, a literary agency assistant was fired from her job at The Tobias Literary Agency following her retweet of a social media comment that read: "TW [trans women] being vulnerable to male violence does not make you women," the Daily Mail reports.
The
Tobias Literary Agency, which has offices in Boston, New York City and
Nashville, acknowledged in a now-deleted tweet that White had indeed
been terminated.
"We do not have any room for anti-Trans sentiments at TLA. Period. Thus we have parted ways with Sasha," the tweet said.
TLA also announced that it made a donation to a black trans charity after White's termination.
"The Twitter mob came for me and my employer and my employer immediately terminated me. If you've been through something similar please reach out," White subsequently posted on Twitter.
As a result of her firing, the hashtag #Istandwithsashawhite trended on Twitter Tuesday, as supportive users on the platform linked White's situation with #istandwithJKRowling from earlier this summer.
This is totalitarianism. And it will only get worse.
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You can't leave the plantation with them sending bounty hunters after you.
Liberal Media Trashes Pro-Life Senator Tim Scott, Calls Him "Trump's Coon Squadâ€.
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"Freedom is Slavery"..."War
Galloway Speaks at Missouri State to Present a Covid 19 Plan
These are today's Democrats.
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China just fired a missile to threaten American aircraft in international waters in the South China Sea.
From the article:
The missiles were launched towards the Paracel Islands and the south-east of the Hainan province to the south of the Chinese mainland.
A source told the South China Morning Post: "This is China’s response to the potential risks brought by the increasingly frequent incoming US warplanes and military vessels in the South China Sea.
"China doesn’t want the neighbouring countries to misunderstand Beijing’s goals.â€
It is also understood the missiles were aimed at showcasing China's ability to deny any force entering the South China Sea.
The article continues:
A DF-26 missile can be used for nuclear or conventional strikes against naval or ground targets.
The second missile was a DF-21, which many have stated is the world's first anti-ship missile.
Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military commentator said: "The US continues to test China’s bottom line in Taiwan and South China Sea issues, and this pushed China to showcase its military strength to let Washington know that even US aircraft carriers cannot flex their full muscle near China’s coast."
Both China and the US have increased their presence in the region in recent months.
The sad thing is there was no reason for China to become a competitor or superpower. We gave them that ability by our idiotic policies. They would still be test firing suboribital rockets were it not for our help. (Anyone remember Loral Aerospace and Bill Clinton?)
In other international news the Russians sideswiped an American vehicle, injury four troopers in Syria.
One official said Russian vehicles sideswiped a light-armored U.S. military vehicle, injuring four Americans. The official said two Russian helicopters flew above the Americans, and one of the aircraft was within about 70 feet the vehicle.
National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement that a Russian vehicle struck the American vehicle near Dayrick, in northeast Syria.
"To deescalate the situation, the coalition patrol departed the area,†Ullyot said. "Unsafe and unprofessional actions like this represent a breach of deconfliction protocols, committed to by the United States and Russia in December 2019.â€
Strange behavior for Russians who should be busy trying to help Trump get re-elected and not causing trouble before the American People vote.All of this is happening because we are distracted by rioting, viruses, and the endless Democratic/media hate fest.
But it could wind up escalating.
I've always said it's not what you think will get you but what you don't see coming. Let's hope that's not the case here.
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On Facebook Michael Mckee reposted a meme from one Chris Dolan saying "THERE NEEDS TO BE CAMERAS IN EVERY CLASSROOM SO PARENTS CAN SEE LIVE ON THE INTERNET EXACTLY WHAT THEIR CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT".
Amen to that! I would point out that there has been a movement for some time to require police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras so we can analyze how they behave while making traffic stops and arrests. Why do we do that?
Because we want to know if the cops are misbehaving.
But nobody says a word about misbehaving school teachers. Why is that?
It should be a requirement that teachers wear body cameras and have desk--top cams, just like the police. We have entrusted them with the safety and security of our children, our most precious commodity. Shouldn't teachers be held to the same standards as police officers?
The fact is, they have been fighting this since we've gone to internet schooling.One school district in Tennessee actually forbade parents from listening to what their children were being taught - and demanded they sign a pledge not to listen. At the same time, many schools are taking the opportunity to spy on the kids and even sent the police to a house because they could see a bb gun in the kid's room. So it's o.k. for teachers to spy on parents (and intervene where they have no business) but it's not o.k. for parents to monitor what their children are being taught by teachers who are paid through their property taxes?
We live in an Alice-in-Wonderland world.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/burning-cities/
Out of 24 American cities with riots listed in this article, 23 (Bakersfield, CA, the only exception) have Democratic mayors.
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"Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist.â€
- J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism
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Much worse than we've been told.
Department of Corrections Building Burned to the Ground in Kenosha Unrest
Uh, it's called a RIOT, not "unrest".
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