This time of year, of course, I think back on all the other Christmases in my long and not very productive life. I always remember one, in particular, about which I have written before (here) in which I as an intrepid chargé d'affaires had to deal with objections to holding a Christmas party (vice a Holiday party) and handle the outrage over the grotesque act of wishing a "Merry Christmas" without ritually listing every other religion's holiday in the mix. Anyhow, now that I am officially a retired nobody, I can wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hide behind my screen for protection from the outrage. So, Merry Christmas.
What is the Diplomad tribe doing? Well, we are currently at our house in the woods outside of Durham. My Catholic Diplowife is busy wrapping presents. I, the Grinch, am on my computer paying credit card bills, collecting tax documents, checking our stock portfolio, and doing other Fagin-light activities. Oh, and I am also thinking of heading over to the Dixie Gun Show in Raleigh to see what's on offer; I don't know if I will buy anything, but you never know. There's nothing I really need--except, of course, for world peace, and a Ford GT--but . . .
I am still awaiting delivery of a Texas-made STI Staccato I ordered a few weeks ago. A sure sign of the booming economy is the waitlist for certain high-end firearms. So I wait, but am also checking out offerings from, among others, Zev Technologies, in particular the OZ9. I haven't decided if it's a neat new gun, or just an upgraded Glock--and I am, sorry, not a huge fan of Glock, just a small one. I have a couple of Glocks, but they are rarely my choice for going to the range. We'll see what Santa decides to bring.
For the coming year? What do I really want? I want revenge.
I know that's not very Christmassy and all, but then I am an Old Testament sort of guy who wants to see my enemies smitten by a vengeful God. I wish disaster upon the world's oldest political party, the Democrat party; at a minimum, I want to see the Dem Party suffer the fate of British Labour for what it has done to America and the West. That clown show long ago ceased to be even mildly amusing.
We got very lucky in 2016: Donald Trump provided us a life boat to get away from the Democratic Titanic. We need to take advantage of that to the full.
As for the GOP: Please, no more Romneys or Ryans! No more me-too GOP.
OK. OK. Got that out of my system. I return to my finances and watching gun reviews and reading up on the latest offerings made possible by the wisdom of our Founding Fathers in writing the Second Amendment.
Sorry, another oh by the way. I just read a very interesting book called Chastise by the excellent British historian, Max Hastings--who has written some other great books which I have enjoyed. It's about the RAF's amazing 1943 Dam Buster mission. I have read a lot about that mission before, and, of course, watched the 1950's movie, but this book has some wonderful insights into how the mission was planned, the politics, the technology, and the personalities involved. It reminded me of another great book on WWII, Flames Over Tokyo, by E. Bartlett Kerr, which describes in fascinating detail how the US planned and executed the bombing campaign against Japan. Both books are excellent Xmas gifts for people who want to know how the West used to be able to do some amazing stuff, including smiting our enemies in grand style.
Anyhow, in case I don't write again before Christmas, Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Thursday, December 19, 2019
"Impeachment"
I was going to avoid adding my little bit of noise to the roar over "impeachment," but . . . couldn't resist.
OK.
Yesterday, the 18th of December, 2019, the Dem-controlled House of Representatives approved two so-called articles of "impeachment" against President Trump. Those articles are the culmination and of a piece with the sham that has comprised the whole enterprise to "get Trump" since that memorable day in November 2016 when the stunned TV networks and punditry class had to recognize that Trump had beaten their Anointed One.
As we have discussed FOREVER, the attack on Trump was among the most loathsome political exercises in the history of our Republic. It was based on lies, hoaxes, forgeries, a Third-World-type use of our First World law enforcement and intelligence capabilities, and a despicable willful blindness by those "guardians" of democracy, the Big Media. No need to go over it again. You know the whole sad story. Sigh . . .
So now they got what they "wanted."
As the old warning goes, "Be careful what you want, you might just get it." The articles of impeachment are absurd. They detail no high crimes or misdemeanors, they rely on dubious sources, and are pure political theater. The process by which these articles were drafted was a procedural abomination, pure Kafka, executed by, to be kind, morons. Now these same morons are hesitating to send the articles to the Senate where they await the fate they so richly deserve. We'll see what our somber, black-clad, prayerful Speaker has in mind, if anything.
It dawned on me that given that the Dems have made up everything in this sorry saga, from "facts" to process, if the Republicans take back the house, they should immediately rescind the impeachment. Can that be done? Can any of this be done? It has. Why not a bit more theater.
Trump 2020.
OK.
Yesterday, the 18th of December, 2019, the Dem-controlled House of Representatives approved two so-called articles of "impeachment" against President Trump. Those articles are the culmination and of a piece with the sham that has comprised the whole enterprise to "get Trump" since that memorable day in November 2016 when the stunned TV networks and punditry class had to recognize that Trump had beaten their Anointed One.
As we have discussed FOREVER, the attack on Trump was among the most loathsome political exercises in the history of our Republic. It was based on lies, hoaxes, forgeries, a Third-World-type use of our First World law enforcement and intelligence capabilities, and a despicable willful blindness by those "guardians" of democracy, the Big Media. No need to go over it again. You know the whole sad story. Sigh . . .
So now they got what they "wanted."
As the old warning goes, "Be careful what you want, you might just get it." The articles of impeachment are absurd. They detail no high crimes or misdemeanors, they rely on dubious sources, and are pure political theater. The process by which these articles were drafted was a procedural abomination, pure Kafka, executed by, to be kind, morons. Now these same morons are hesitating to send the articles to the Senate where they await the fate they so richly deserve. We'll see what our somber, black-clad, prayerful Speaker has in mind, if anything.
It dawned on me that given that the Dems have made up everything in this sorry saga, from "facts" to process, if the Republicans take back the house, they should immediately rescind the impeachment. Can that be done? Can any of this be done? It has. Why not a bit more theater.
Trump 2020.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Brexit Redux: The Dude Punches Back
The New Yorker with the wild yellow hair has done it again.
No, not that New Yorker with the wild yellow hair, the other one, the one with the funny accent, no, not that funny accent, the other funny accent. You know, the accent some folks have in exotic Olde England, you know, not the billionaire one from Celebrity Apprentice, but the one who could be in Downton Abbey as a middle class grocer. Yes, Boris Johnson has done it. He has proven himself a master politician, possessed of nerves of steel, with other key organs to match. As a New Yorker, myself, once with wild yellow hair, I like Boris "The Dude" Johnson. He and Trump renew my faith, severely tested of late, in the electorate's common sense and patriotism.
Britain's December 12 elections proved a stunner. Johnson's Conservatives have won a dominating majority in Parliament and a clear mandate to put paid to all that destructive toing-and-froing over Brexit. The message from voters was clear: Get Britain--especially England--out of the clutches and jaws of that monstrous EU swamp creature! The election also administered a huge rebuke to the Deep State, and to that desiccated and imbecilic anti-semite, the Communist Corbyn.
I am not British, and do not play a Brit on the internet or anywhere else. I have zero British ancestry; I cannot trace my roots in America back to the Mayflower, unless that sturdy vessel made a North African detour. I have visited Britain many times and always enjoyed the history, the book stores, the museums, the conversations, and even--oh blasphemy!--the food, especially the cheeses. In my overseas life and at the UN, I had many British friends and always liked their company even when they were giving me a hard time about something. As I have stated often, Britain is perhaps the most consequential nation to have existed since, well, at least since the fall of the Roman Empire. Britain and its creations, including great places such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA, have transformed the world; they are probably the best places on earth in which to live--certainly as a Jew I wouldn't live anywhere else. Those countries are still the world's repositories of freedom, that despite the ceaseless assault on the British traditions and culture which made them so.
OK, now to election night. I watched much of it unfold on the BBC. I enjoyed very much the obvious pain that the presenters on that once enviable and now execrable institution were suffering when presenting the news of the Torylanche. They tried to spin it this way and that to minimize the victory but, in the end, they couldn't. So they tried as much as possible to ignore it, focusing on the electoral triumph in Scotland of the loopy Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP and on the losses suffered by the DUP in Northern Ireland.
They, however, indirectly did hit on one thing accurately: this was a victory for England. The "Scottish" voters--more on that--decided to go with the establishment and stick with the bromides and false promises of the leftist establishment. The results might just give another fillip to the drive for Scotland's "independence," defined as trading the benevolent "rule" of London for the clammy and suffocating hands of the hideous and failing nanny-state of Brussels. I noticed that Sturgeon's victory speech, delivered in English, spent a great deal of time thanking all those from outside who have made Scotland their home. That made me think that, despite what some official records might claim, we have a significant demographic change underway in Scotland, and the SNP has decided to capitalize on it for opposition to Brexit. This is a so-called "nationalist" party which has decided, it seems, to have given up on a Scottish nationalism based on Scots, in favor of one that is a melange of outside flavors and colors, oops, colours. We'll see how well that goes. Let me know where I am wrong.
Wales went Tory. That was somewhat surprising, but again I suspect demography might have played a role there. I wonder how many Welch Welch there are in Wales. I suspect, again, don't know, that as London and other big cities have joined the growing club of unlivable Western cities, thanks to leftist policies, people from those places have decamped to Wales.
I just don't know enough about the situation in Northern Ireland to be even wrong, must less right and perceptive, so I won't try any deep or long range analysis. Having thrown out that qualifier, I, however, think voters there might have been frightened by hyperbole from the Remainers about what would happen with the Irish border and access to the Republic and, hence, to the EU. As I said, I don't know, so don't hold me to that.
Anyhow, this was a victory for common sense and patriotism. Johnson now has a clear mandate to act. It seems that he is ready to do so. I hope that's true.
Oh, one more thing.
I heard some Conservative "thinkers" dinging Johnson for not being a "true" philosophical conservative, and doing it in terms similar to what we heard here about Trump from the same sort of dilettante conservatives. I have written about this before (here, here) and noted that I just don't care that Trump is not a perfect conservative. While we wait around to find one, the country goes to hell. I will say the same thing about Johnson. Both men have tapped into the unease and discontent of average people who see their culture under assault, their values ridiculed and labelled as racist, their jobs exported, and their children taught rubbish. Both men seem to have some practical solutions that might just work in the real world. Certainly deregulation and tax cuts have done wonders for the US economy and, I suspect, they would do the same for Britain. If Scotland and N. Ireland don't want to participate, fine, that's on them. As I have said before, were I English, I would support Scottish independence--better said, I would support England's independence.
Go Dude, go!
No, not that New Yorker with the wild yellow hair, the other one, the one with the funny accent, no, not that funny accent, the other funny accent. You know, the accent some folks have in exotic Olde England, you know, not the billionaire one from Celebrity Apprentice, but the one who could be in Downton Abbey as a middle class grocer. Yes, Boris Johnson has done it. He has proven himself a master politician, possessed of nerves of steel, with other key organs to match. As a New Yorker, myself, once with wild yellow hair, I like Boris "The Dude" Johnson. He and Trump renew my faith, severely tested of late, in the electorate's common sense and patriotism.
Britain's December 12 elections proved a stunner. Johnson's Conservatives have won a dominating majority in Parliament and a clear mandate to put paid to all that destructive toing-and-froing over Brexit. The message from voters was clear: Get Britain--especially England--out of the clutches and jaws of that monstrous EU swamp creature! The election also administered a huge rebuke to the Deep State, and to that desiccated and imbecilic anti-semite, the Communist Corbyn.
I am not British, and do not play a Brit on the internet or anywhere else. I have zero British ancestry; I cannot trace my roots in America back to the Mayflower, unless that sturdy vessel made a North African detour. I have visited Britain many times and always enjoyed the history, the book stores, the museums, the conversations, and even--oh blasphemy!--the food, especially the cheeses. In my overseas life and at the UN, I had many British friends and always liked their company even when they were giving me a hard time about something. As I have stated often, Britain is perhaps the most consequential nation to have existed since, well, at least since the fall of the Roman Empire. Britain and its creations, including great places such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA, have transformed the world; they are probably the best places on earth in which to live--certainly as a Jew I wouldn't live anywhere else. Those countries are still the world's repositories of freedom, that despite the ceaseless assault on the British traditions and culture which made them so.
OK, now to election night. I watched much of it unfold on the BBC. I enjoyed very much the obvious pain that the presenters on that once enviable and now execrable institution were suffering when presenting the news of the Torylanche. They tried to spin it this way and that to minimize the victory but, in the end, they couldn't. So they tried as much as possible to ignore it, focusing on the electoral triumph in Scotland of the loopy Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP and on the losses suffered by the DUP in Northern Ireland.
They, however, indirectly did hit on one thing accurately: this was a victory for England. The "Scottish" voters--more on that--decided to go with the establishment and stick with the bromides and false promises of the leftist establishment. The results might just give another fillip to the drive for Scotland's "independence," defined as trading the benevolent "rule" of London for the clammy and suffocating hands of the hideous and failing nanny-state of Brussels. I noticed that Sturgeon's victory speech, delivered in English, spent a great deal of time thanking all those from outside who have made Scotland their home. That made me think that, despite what some official records might claim, we have a significant demographic change underway in Scotland, and the SNP has decided to capitalize on it for opposition to Brexit. This is a so-called "nationalist" party which has decided, it seems, to have given up on a Scottish nationalism based on Scots, in favor of one that is a melange of outside flavors and colors, oops, colours. We'll see how well that goes. Let me know where I am wrong.
Wales went Tory. That was somewhat surprising, but again I suspect demography might have played a role there. I wonder how many Welch Welch there are in Wales. I suspect, again, don't know, that as London and other big cities have joined the growing club of unlivable Western cities, thanks to leftist policies, people from those places have decamped to Wales.
I just don't know enough about the situation in Northern Ireland to be even wrong, must less right and perceptive, so I won't try any deep or long range analysis. Having thrown out that qualifier, I, however, think voters there might have been frightened by hyperbole from the Remainers about what would happen with the Irish border and access to the Republic and, hence, to the EU. As I said, I don't know, so don't hold me to that.
Anyhow, this was a victory for common sense and patriotism. Johnson now has a clear mandate to act. It seems that he is ready to do so. I hope that's true.
Oh, one more thing.
I heard some Conservative "thinkers" dinging Johnson for not being a "true" philosophical conservative, and doing it in terms similar to what we heard here about Trump from the same sort of dilettante conservatives. I have written about this before (here, here) and noted that I just don't care that Trump is not a perfect conservative. While we wait around to find one, the country goes to hell. I will say the same thing about Johnson. Both men have tapped into the unease and discontent of average people who see their culture under assault, their values ridiculed and labelled as racist, their jobs exported, and their children taught rubbish. Both men seem to have some practical solutions that might just work in the real world. Certainly deregulation and tax cuts have done wonders for the US economy and, I suspect, they would do the same for Britain. If Scotland and N. Ireland don't want to participate, fine, that's on them. As I have said before, were I English, I would support Scottish independence--better said, I would support England's independence.
Go Dude, go!
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
The DOJ IG Report and Senate Hearing
Well, I read it. The whole thing. Cover to cover. Also watched the Senate Judiciary hearing from gavel to gavel. Whew!
That IG report is a remarkable document. It's well worth reading despite its somewhat turgid, even lugubrious, writing style. Everybody should read it.
I found it disturbing in the extreme. It confirms what many of us had thought (see here, for example) about what has happened to the FBI in the last few years. Read it; you don't need me to tell you what the report states about how the FBI engaged in a massive criminal conspiracy (yes, conspiracy) to take down candidate and later President Trump. Forget all that media spin about the report exonerating Director Comey, and the finding that the investigation into Trump and Russia was legal and proper. Rubbish. The report is a wrecking ball; the Dems and their buddies don't know what to do about it except spin, spin, spin and shout "Impeachment!" The report, and Horowitz at the hearing, clearly stated that the FBI lied to the FISA court in order to obtain warrants on Carter Page and sent contacts, at times wired, to talk to Trump campaign personnel--obviously in hopes of entrapping them. The FBI did all sorts of inept and even criminal actions to nail Trump. It's in the report.
I am more and more impressed by Senator Graham. I had grown quite skeptical of him and his association with the increasingly weird and late John McCain. It seems that once freed of McCain's shadow, Graham has blossomed into a feisty, straight-talking and effective warrior for conservative causes, and, with Senator Cruz, one of Trump's most powerful defenders. His opening address to the Judiciary Committee today was a masterpiece. It was more powerful than anything I could have written. Watch it!
More later . . .
That IG report is a remarkable document. It's well worth reading despite its somewhat turgid, even lugubrious, writing style. Everybody should read it.
I found it disturbing in the extreme. It confirms what many of us had thought (see here, for example) about what has happened to the FBI in the last few years. Read it; you don't need me to tell you what the report states about how the FBI engaged in a massive criminal conspiracy (yes, conspiracy) to take down candidate and later President Trump. Forget all that media spin about the report exonerating Director Comey, and the finding that the investigation into Trump and Russia was legal and proper. Rubbish. The report is a wrecking ball; the Dems and their buddies don't know what to do about it except spin, spin, spin and shout "Impeachment!" The report, and Horowitz at the hearing, clearly stated that the FBI lied to the FISA court in order to obtain warrants on Carter Page and sent contacts, at times wired, to talk to Trump campaign personnel--obviously in hopes of entrapping them. The FBI did all sorts of inept and even criminal actions to nail Trump. It's in the report.
I am more and more impressed by Senator Graham. I had grown quite skeptical of him and his association with the increasingly weird and late John McCain. It seems that once freed of McCain's shadow, Graham has blossomed into a feisty, straight-talking and effective warrior for conservative causes, and, with Senator Cruz, one of Trump's most powerful defenders. His opening address to the Judiciary Committee today was a masterpiece. It was more powerful than anything I could have written. Watch it!
More later . . .
Monday, December 9, 2019
No Politics: Ford v. Ferrari
Been remiss in my blogging duties.
Life keeps getting in the way.
Still dealing with lawyers, brokers, accountants, etc., re my father's estate, and a real estate transaction of my own which I hope to undertake in the next few days. First world problems in the land where the rich are thin and the poor are fat.
OK. I am not going to discuss yet again the horrid impeachment hoax, and I only have begun to read the IG report on the FBI/DOJ actions in the Russia hoax. To be kind, so far, it seems a bit of mixed bag with a little bit for all sides of the debate. Very bureaucratic in its writing style and conclusions. More commentary to follow when I have read the whole thing without having the media tell me what's supposedly in it.
Yesterday, the Diplowife and I took two Diplosons and a Diplo-daughter-in-law to the movies. We went to one of these new-fangled cinemas that have the huge screen, reclining seats, and waiters dashing about, taking overpriced food orders, and serving you while you watch the entertainment. All good fun; I admired the waiters' physical dexterity and night vision. Nothing spilled. Amazing.
What did we see? The one movie I could find with no blatant politics, no social justice nonsense, and no absurd bad-ass lesbian detectives: yes, we went to see, Ford v. Ferrari. The two women in our little band proved a bit reluctant to see "a movie about cars" but, in the spirit of family unity, went along, as long as I kept buying drinks, popcorn, and burgers.
The movie is terrific.
It is about cars, sure, but also about something else.
It is an old fashioned bit of movie-making and story-telling celebrating physical courage, brilliant engineering, wit, commitment, hard-work, family, and all the other components of the ethos that made the West great. It has terrific direction by American James Mangold, a tight, funny, and inspirational script by an Anglo-American writing team, and great racing scenes. The two main actors, neither of whom is my personal cup of tea, Christian Bale and Matt Damon, proved quite good, and managed to put in some very credible performances as the two brilliant, high-testosterone, stubborn auto enthusiasts, British-born racer Ken Miles and iconic American car designer Carroll Shelby, who took on Ferrari and won--with several million dollars in backing from Henry Ford II.
Henry Ford's failed effort to buy Enzo Ferrari's brand led to Ford "going to war in Europe!" Ford became convinced that he had been played by Ferrari, whom he suspected never had any intention of selling his factory to Ford, and vowed revenge! He contracted Shelby, the first American to win at Lemans, to build a car that would beat Ferrari at Lemans, long the preserve of Ferrari. Shelby, in turn, contracted British ex-pat Miles, and they set about doing Henry Ford's bidding. After initially working on a car built by Ford in the UK, Shelby and Miles decided to make their own in California from the ground up--and they built arguably one of the greatest race cars ever, the Ford GT40.
I know that none of this sounds like gripping movie material, but, believe me, it is, thanks largely to the superb direction. It, needless to say, has some wonderful racing scenes and a bitter-sweet--and true--ending to the 1966 Lemans race being driven by Miles.
Go see it on a big screen.
And, by the way, the two women in our group actually enjoyed the movie.
Politics later.
Life keeps getting in the way.
Still dealing with lawyers, brokers, accountants, etc., re my father's estate, and a real estate transaction of my own which I hope to undertake in the next few days. First world problems in the land where the rich are thin and the poor are fat.
OK. I am not going to discuss yet again the horrid impeachment hoax, and I only have begun to read the IG report on the FBI/DOJ actions in the Russia hoax. To be kind, so far, it seems a bit of mixed bag with a little bit for all sides of the debate. Very bureaucratic in its writing style and conclusions. More commentary to follow when I have read the whole thing without having the media tell me what's supposedly in it.
Yesterday, the Diplowife and I took two Diplosons and a Diplo-daughter-in-law to the movies. We went to one of these new-fangled cinemas that have the huge screen, reclining seats, and waiters dashing about, taking overpriced food orders, and serving you while you watch the entertainment. All good fun; I admired the waiters' physical dexterity and night vision. Nothing spilled. Amazing.
What did we see? The one movie I could find with no blatant politics, no social justice nonsense, and no absurd bad-ass lesbian detectives: yes, we went to see, Ford v. Ferrari. The two women in our little band proved a bit reluctant to see "a movie about cars" but, in the spirit of family unity, went along, as long as I kept buying drinks, popcorn, and burgers.
The movie is terrific.
It is about cars, sure, but also about something else.
It is an old fashioned bit of movie-making and story-telling celebrating physical courage, brilliant engineering, wit, commitment, hard-work, family, and all the other components of the ethos that made the West great. It has terrific direction by American James Mangold, a tight, funny, and inspirational script by an Anglo-American writing team, and great racing scenes. The two main actors, neither of whom is my personal cup of tea, Christian Bale and Matt Damon, proved quite good, and managed to put in some very credible performances as the two brilliant, high-testosterone, stubborn auto enthusiasts, British-born racer Ken Miles and iconic American car designer Carroll Shelby, who took on Ferrari and won--with several million dollars in backing from Henry Ford II.
Henry Ford's failed effort to buy Enzo Ferrari's brand led to Ford "going to war in Europe!" Ford became convinced that he had been played by Ferrari, whom he suspected never had any intention of selling his factory to Ford, and vowed revenge! He contracted Shelby, the first American to win at Lemans, to build a car that would beat Ferrari at Lemans, long the preserve of Ferrari. Shelby, in turn, contracted British ex-pat Miles, and they set about doing Henry Ford's bidding. After initially working on a car built by Ford in the UK, Shelby and Miles decided to make their own in California from the ground up--and they built arguably one of the greatest race cars ever, the Ford GT40.
I know that none of this sounds like gripping movie material, but, believe me, it is, thanks largely to the superb direction. It, needless to say, has some wonderful racing scenes and a bitter-sweet--and true--ending to the 1966 Lemans race being driven by Miles.
Go see it on a big screen.
And, by the way, the two women in our group actually enjoyed the movie.
Politics later.
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