Category: History

A Stark Warning That Nails It!

America, Government, Headlines, History, Politics, Society & Culture

I’ve been trying to come up with words to express my cognitive and emotional revulsion at what is transpiring in our country right before our eyes. Lots of cute phrases and labels, like “banana republic” are being thrown about, but they are just headline/attention grabbers.

Now Newt Gingrich has really nailed it for me and I urge all my readers to look at the following article on Gateway Pundit: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/newt-gingrich-issues-stark-warning-trump-georgia-indictment/ which summarizes his comments on Hannity. I’ve placed the transcribed quote in the quotes section of this site to the left, but the warning is indeed stark and accurately reflects, in my opinion, the harsh reality of how bad things are.

The State of the Union Address

America, Government, Headlines, History, Media, Morality, Politics, Reason, Society & Culture, Values

I admit. I didn’t watch it. I am so disgusted by the continuing marionette show I prefered to simply review the commentary afterwards. Others far more informed than I have already pointed out all the lies and distortions that spewed forth from the mouth of the puppet-in-chief. I’m going to, rather, address the peripheral question as to whether the GOP over-reacted and/or inappropriately reacted to the deliberate, pre-meditated misrepresentations and accusations hurled at them. Should they have sat quietly shaking their heads as Kevin McCarthy did, or should they have stood and yelled, “liar”, as Marjorie Taylor Greene did?

I’ve listened to both sides of the argument. Some on the Right say that not only was it uncharacteristic of members to shout out their opposition, but unseemly at best, rude and obnoxious at worst. They suggest that having done so, the GOP descended into the mud pit and acted no better than the Democrats. “Take the high road” has more often than not been the admonition of the Right.

What good has taking the high road done? I’m all for nobility and decorum, but when your opposition elevates their game from name-calling to defamation, censorship and character assassination (not to mention threat of REAL assassination – e.g. Kavanaugh), i.e. nonsensical speech to verbal kinetics, and has destroyed all means of civil undertakings to oppose him, the decision has to be made whether to take off the gloves and fight back, or not. The Democrats have so destroyed the principles by which we as a nation have governed ourselves for over three hundred years, so twisted and perverted the vocabulary, the rules of engagement, our history, even FACTS, that we have no choice, really, but to fight fire with fire.

This does not mean that we should simply resort to the kind of perverted antics so cherished by the Alinsky/Cloward and Piven brainwashed Left. Throwing the BS flag onto the floor of the House as was done during the SOTU isn’t a duplication of their style. Rather, it was a transparent, for-all-the-world-to-see return of fire akin (but more honest) to the ripping up of Trumps SOTU speech by Pelosi.

While some on the Right have argued that we gave the MSM a golden opportunity to castigate us further, I could almost hear the unified voices of the Traditionalists and Conservatives in America joining MTG, in unison!

Just as the Chinese push and push to see how far they can go, what our limits are, the Democrats have pushed and pushed to determine how far THEY can go. And once our limit is reached, and we push back, they cry, “See, you’re pigs and fascists and racists and anti-democracy and insurrectionists and threats to America.”

This is projection of the first order! Their banal vituperations are so childish, so outlandish, so petulant, so descriptive of precisely what THEY are and what THEY do, it would be laughable if it were not so destructive.

Shouting “liar” may be rude, but it’s factual, and for many brain-addled, MSNBC/CNN/NBC/CBS/ABC-watching Americans, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen any opposition to the BS spewing forth from their “leaders”.  The MSM has so distorted and censored the truth, they have created an alternative reality that millions of our fellow Americans actually believe! They are shocked to see the Right stand and call “BS”. They are puzzled when the MSM is forced (follow the money!) to cover the Democrats’ patently obvious treachery and deceit, their attempts to hide their failures and the results of their destructive policies and actions.

Is vocal opposition such as that witnessed during the SOTU enough to turn the tide? Does it help push the pendulum back? Will the probes by Comer and Jordan and the continuing exposure by what remains of conservative media start to repair the damage done to the hearts and minds of so many Americans who have fallen for the Leftist “alternative reality”?

I fear not. As good as it felt to hear someone voice what I would have said in the House chamber that night, it’s all talk. Until the GOP uses its power to halt the idiocracy created by the Democrats, until it garners and uses every tool at its disposal to pierce the dark fog of BS with which the Democrats have filled the airwaves, until more MTG’s, Gaetz’s Jordans, Kennedys, etc. create enough headlines with truth bombs to get the lemmings to break from their rush to the precipice, we will continue to simply hurl invectives at one another and continue sliding down the slippery slope.

As I have come to conclude, it’s going to take something monumental to wake America up. Not a balloon, not the Hunter laptop, not yelling “liar”. Something truly nasty may need to happen that will cause us to apply chemotherapy combined with radiation to kill the cancer that has metastasized. The Democrats have skillfully exploited the ratchet effect to incrementally destroy our values, our principles, our country.

We need to strip the ratchet.

A Black Swan May Be The Only Thing That Will Stop This Madness

America, Economy, Emergency Preparedness, History, Society & Culture

In my previous post I concluded that it may take a cataclysmic event to restore sanity to our nation. I’m not talking about the price of eggs or gas skyrocketing, or store shelves being empty for a few days. I’m talking about something that will cause even the most dumbed-down, brain-addled, handheld-screen-addicted person to pick his or her head up and say, “Wow, maybe some things are more important than what the Kardashians are up to this week!”

I’ve long said that Economics is the dismal science, an academic exercise in futility, and while it may be fun and may earn a whole raft of propeller-heads an income, even wealth, it’s really only mental masturbation of the highest order.

Why do I say this? Because economics deals with building “models” that describe what the panoply of pulled levers have caused in the past with the hope that those models will help us predict the future. The fundamental problem with these models, however, is that they depend on two flawed assumptions: 1) the “rational man” and 2) the “absence of an outside shock”.

In case you haven’t been paying attention let me state the obvious:

First, there is no such thing as a rational man (or woman). All human beings are driven, at least in part if not entirely, by feelings, perceptions, etc., what I’d characterize as “squishy stuff”, NOT rational, analytical thought.

And, as we have all seen, “outside shocks” OCCUR ALL THE TIME! They differ in magnitude, of course, but they destroy models’ explanations of the past and their usefulness as predictors of the future.

Nevertheless, thousands of economists and bureaucrats pontificate endlessly on the overarching topics that impact our daily lives and GET PAID TO DO SO! Sometimes they’re right, more often they’re wrong, but they persevere.

In his famous book, Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines a Black Swan as an improbable event with three basic characteristics: it is unpredictable, it has massive impact, and after the fact, explanations are concocted to make it appear less random.

Examples of past Black Swan events include: the 2000 Do-Com Crash, 9-11, the Fall of Lehman Brothers, the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear Disasters, BREXIT, and most recently, COVID.

None of these were severe enough to wake people up. The effects, though severe, were not of such duration that people got serious about paying attention to things that matter.

Now we’re sufficiently far down the slippery slope, there is sufficient chaos, there is enough “information” flak in the air, that only a really BIG Black Swan of significant duration will, in my opinion, bring us back to REAL Reality!

So, what might such a Black Swan consist of?

China invading Taiwan
Israel nuking Tehran
The North Koreans launching a nuke at Japan
The San Andreas fault creating Nevada beach-front property
Tactical nukes get used in Ukraine
NATO deploys troops to Ukraine
The Stock Market crashes
The Yellowstone Volcano erupts
Biden resigns and Harris becomes President and Michele Obama becomes Vice President (threw this one in because it is such a frightening nightmare!)
A terrorist attack on the 9 key substations takes down the electrical grid for from 3 months to a year
Another, more deadly virus gets out of a lab
A coronal mass ejection REALLY hits Earth and wipes out much of what is electronic

I could conjure up more… These are just some “known unknowns”. A Black Swan is by definition an “unknown unknown”!

That one about a protracted blackout is the one that worries me the most. Three weeks without electricity and we’re in trouble. Three months without electricity and we’re in a shit-hit-the-fan, possibly even TEOTWAKI (The End of the World As We Know It) situation. I urge my readers to think about this stuff. The time to prepare for a Black Swan walking up your driveway isn’t after it’s already at your front door. It’s not as if we haven’t been forewarned and as if we don’t see how vulnerable our country and society is.

Rest In Peace Queen Elizabeth

Family, Headlines, History, Politics, Society & Culture, Values

Writers far more articulate than I are crafting tributes and condolences which pour in from across the globe. Flower bouquets are piling up at the gates of Balmoral and at Buckingham Palace. Years from now the question will be asked, “Where were you when the Queen died?” Momentous events etch indelible images and circumstances in our minds. We can all recall where we were on 9-11. Those of us who were around will recall where we were when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon.

What can I add?

She was many things, but I would characterize the life of Queen Elizabeth as the embodiment of Traditionalism. She was its archetype. While talking heads will continue the debate as to whether a monarchy, even a constitutional one, is or is not an anachronism, the fact that in 2022 it exists and is still much revered is testament to what I believe is a human longing for the Traditional.

“Modern”, “Post-Modern”, “Contemporary” and the repulsive “Progressive” are all synonyms for what I might call “Anti-Traditionalism”. I spend most of my time and writing excoriating the values and behaviors of those to whom these labels can be applied so I won’t do so here.

I have long argued, on the other hand, that there are principles, values and human norms or standards that transcend all periods of time, all epochs, all generations. They are immutable and exist whether or not they are acknowledged by some or all of the world’s population. Some are couched in religious terms. Some in political. Some in sociological.

Among these are acknowledgment that irrespective of our circumstances every human being has worth, has inalienable rights, has a soul and free will. Honor and respect for the family, meritocracy, diligent work ethics, absolute values of right and wrong, honesty in business practices, wholesomeness in leadership, respect for authority, moderation rather than excess, self-responsibility, charity, trustworthiness, loyalty, helpfulness, friendliness, courteousness, kindness and above all, reverence.

Think of Queen Elizabeth II in these terms and you will realize she exuded ALL of them!

By way of contrast, try to apply these terms to the political class and wealthy elites, the so-called “leaders” of today.

Ok, you can stop now…you won’t find too many examples of them being exhibited, especially by Leftists and the majority of Democrats but also too many on the Right. You certainly won’t find the whole array in any one person.

Queen Elizabeth was the exception. She manifested them ALL, every day, in every place, in virtually every circumstance.

The so-called “leaders” of today all occupy space on the world stage due to their positions. Yes she was a Queen, but she took up the whole stage because of who she WAS, not because of her office. The only leader in my lifetime who exhibited anything close to her in terms of allegiance to Traditional values was Ronald Reagan.

Queen Elizabeth’s entire life was and will always be a monument to Tradition, to what in my judgment are the values and principles which when espoused and practiced by mankind have resulted in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. She lived it with dignity, with class, with noblesse oblige, with grace and with honor. Kudos is due her, as are praise, gratitude and the utmost respect for her contribution to the human story.

Rest in peace Elizabeth and may God bless your family at this painful time.

“We’re Fed Up”!

America, Education, Family, Government, Headlines, History, Law and Order, Politics, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

I came across this speech by Harriet Hageman, Wyoming Republican candidate to upset Liz Cheney and couldn’t find a transcript. It was so good that I transcribed the “we’re fed up” part of it myself from a Rumble video available here. It enumerates just about everything that stinks about the Biden presidency and the current state of affairs in our country.


“We’re fed up with federal government that doesn’t seem to work for us anymore.
We’re fed up with out of control spending.
We’re fed up with the radical Biden agenda.
We’re fed up with seeing young mothers and fathers who can’t find baby formula for their newborns.
We’re fed up with $6.00 gasoline, and $6.00 diesel
We’re fed up with a shortage of fertilizer for our farmers and the supply chain that has been broken by the incompetence of our federal agencies.
In short we’re fed up with inflation and all of the related monetary policies that have threatened to turn the greatest country on earth into a third world failure.
We’re fed up with the Green New Deal and the socialists who created it.
We’re fed up with the attacks on our fossil fuel and energy industries, the good paying jobs that they support, the incredible standard of living that they provide and the clean an abundant energy that they produce.
We’re fed up with an open border, with human trafficking, with fentanyl flooding our country, and illegal immigration.
We’re fed up with people, countries and organizations who believe that we are responsible for protecting the integrity of the border of every country on earth but not our own.
We’re fed up with Critical Race Theory, with boys competing in girls’ sports, with the radical abortion industry and those extremists who are willing to destroy the Supreme Court to prevent us from being able to protect life.
We’re fed up with the liberal media, Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube for blocking conservative speech because they know the democrats cannot debate the merits of the important issues we are facing including Covid 19, law and order, the 2020 election, and even the history of this country.
We’re fed up with people who refuse to recognize that socialism, wherever practiced, has resulted in the deaths of millions of people, abject misery and the destruction of everything good.
We’re fed up with our government and universities censoring conservative thought, cancelling debate and rewriting history.
We’re fed up with the corruption in the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the CIA the NSA and the FISA court.
We’re fed up with mask mandates, vaccine mandates, the CDC, the NIH, the WHO and the misinformation campaign surrounding Covid 19.
And we’re fed up with Anthony Fauci.
We’re fed up with the politicians and elitists in D.C. who are getting rich while the middle class falls further behind every year.
We’re fed up with Joe Biden, with Nancy Pelosi, with Chuck Schumer.
We’re fed up with the democrats who want to destroy our country and take away our God-given rights as guaranteed to us by our constitution.
We’re fed up with the January 6th Commission and those people who think they can gaslight us. We’re fed up with those types of republicans who work harder to deflect the failures of the current administration than they work to protect us from it.And we’re fed up with Liz Cheney.”

June 6, 1944

History, World Affairs

Operation Overlord, i.e. the invasion of Normandy which actually began the night before on June 5th (or arguably, even before then) was akin to Gettysburg in that it marked the high water mark of the German hegemonic leviathan. Having walked the beaches and cobblestone streets of Normandy, peered over the cliff at Pointe du Hoe (aka Pointe du Hoc as it’s commonly known) navigated among steel obstacles on the beaches, and back in the 60’s spoken with numerous French resistance fighters who were there, I have a special place in my heart for the extraordinary event this was. If for some reason you have NOT seen it (Saving Private Ryan gives only part of the story) I strongly recommend the movie, now available colorized, called The Longest Day. It is based on the book by Cornelius Ryan which is one of if not the best account of what took place before during and just after the invasion. If you REALLY want to get into the details, I can also recommend the masterpiece, “Bodyguard of Lies” by Anthony Cave Brown, a 900+ page (but totally readable) story about the clandestine war of deceptions that hid the secrets of the invasion from the Wermacht and resulted in the Allied victory. In either case, June 6th is a day worth remembering just as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, etc.

The PLATINUM Jubilee

History, Society & Culture, Values

Watching the coverage this morning I am reminded that the pageantry of the Royal Jubilee encompasses all the tradition, class, honor, duty, and other noble features that we so sorely lack today. The language used by the commentators, the precision exhibited by the military, the music, the organization, the sheer complexity of the whole affair speak to the majesty and glory of TRADITION. The reason why I refer most often to the RIGHT as Traditionalists is that tradition transcends politics. One can be economically conservative, socially liberal, or something else but the VALUES and practices of Tradition cover all people in all ages of time. They are founded on the principles of Good and Evil, of Equal Opportunity vs. Equal Outcome, of Merit vs. Indolence, of Work vs. Welfare. And how, you might ask, can that apply to a privileged, entitled royal family? It applies because in all ages of time, there are those who are called to set an example, to exhibit the principles, to set the standard and remind ALL of what is right and wrong, good and evil, proper and improper.

GrumpsReport Now On GETTR

2nd Amendment, America, Economy, Education, Emergency Preparedness, Entertainment, Family, Finance and Investments, General, Government, Headlines, Health Care, History, Media, Morality, Politics, Quips & Quotes, Reason, Religion, Science, Society & Culture, Technology, Values, World Affairs

Dear Readers. Things are moving so fast (still downhill I’m afraid) that to comment and remain current on breaking news and the vast array of insanity infecting society, we have elected to (gulp) dip our toe into the mayhem of social media by establishing an account and presence on the relatively new platform called GETTR. (https://gettr.com/). Enroll and look up Grumps and/or @GrumpsActual. There you’ll see all our commentary.

As our blood pressure rises and corpuscles boil, we’re able to respond/comment/rail quickly using this medium. The jury is still out as to whether we’ll stay on this platform, or any of the others for that matter: GAB, TruthSocial, Rumble, Parler, etc. but we’ll give it a try for a while.

Let us know what you think!

And hang in there!

Grumps

A Profound Essay on Post Truth

America, History, Society & Culture, Values, World Affairs

I find it’s increasingly difficult to have a rational conversation with ANYONE! There is so much falsehood, so much unbridled emotion and so much bitterness in communication today that it’s even hard to have a civil chat with members of my own family. While there are many topics on which we agree, there are many on which we disagree depending on what media we’ve consumed or exposure we’ve had to flak in the air! Now I’ve come across someone who has articulated the reasons for the conflict. Donald Williams, PhD is a Professor Emeritus of Toccoa Falls College and I think he nails it:

“I frequently encounter people who do not seem to understand the difference between a fact and an assertion. To them, a “fact” is simply an assertion with which they agree. A “false fact” is an assertion with which they disagree. And “evidence” or “argument” mean repeating the assertion more loudly, more passionately, and/or with fancier rhetoric. These people appear on both sides of the political divide.

This kind of inability to participate in valid forensic reasoning has always been with us, of course. But I think at least two current influences are making it worse.

First, social media amplifies the idiocy. There used to be gatekeepers you had to get past to inundate the masses with your message. In so far as social media makes it easier (until it gets “community standards”) to make an end-run around the censors, it is a good thing. But the multiplication of mindlessness in public discourse is a huge downside. The old gatekeepers were not perfect, but they did as much good as harm. At their best, they did more good than harm. They helped to keep the grosser forms of illogic in public discourse to a minimum.

Second, the dominance of Post-Modern “theories” of various kinds in the academy has been an environmental factor that has caused this malady to mutate into even more virulent strains. Like social media but in a different way, this has neutralized some of the natural predators that used to keep it in check. Today’s students are constantly taught that objectivity is so impossible of attainment that it is dishonest to have it as a goal or even an aspiration. It is endlessly drummed into them that no one can escape the deterministic perspectivalism supposedly created by race, class, and gender.

Truth claims are automatically reduced in knee-jerk fashion to mere cynical attempts to assert power. It is not surprising that people come away believing that we really do live in a “post-truth” world. It should not be shocking that they will eventually act on that belief. Thus education, which used to inhibit the kind of thoughtlessness I am describing, now not only encourages it but actively foments it.“

THAT is why rational conversations are no longer possible. Call it brainwashing, call it attention deficit, call it lack of emotional energy…the madness continues.

For my part, I have buried myself in history books. I’m rereading the texts on world history I didn’t pay much attention to when in grade, high school and college. Having traveled to many places described in those texts, I’m reading them with a renewed interest and comprehension. Moreover, it’s giving me perspective. Great civilizations have been down the road we’re traveling before. All were eventually purged of evil and in context, what we’re experiencing now in 2022 is but a blip in history. The great journey of our own civilization – call it The Western World or America, its archetype, is following the course of all great civilizations: struggle to prosperity to a breakdown of traditional values to indolence to jealousy to war to chaos to demise.

We’re in the chaos stage. In the future as we look back on the turning point and what happened, I predict we’ll say that the post-World War II period of relative calm and “normalcy” gave rise to a “fat and happy” indolence which gave rise to the 60’s breakdown in traditional values which gave rise to the Korean and Vietnam wars as well as the more recent hegemonic quests to the chaos we’re now experiencing as the deterioration of values and moral relativism reach their peak and chaos prevails.

What do we have to look forward to? If we don’t learn from history and not just arrest this slide down the slippery slope but return to virtue, eternal truth and traditional values, we will see America continue its decline and eventually either be surpassed and taken over by an ascendant China, a militant Russia, or Armageddon will occur.

On the other hand, if we can wake up, grow up and pay attention to what I will for lack of a better term call “real reality” vs. “manufactured reality”, we can turn the chaos back into a better world for all.

Alas, I’m not very hopeful. I fail to see the leader or leaders who can inspire us sufficiently to turn the corner. I hope I’m wrong, for my children’s and my children’s children’s sake.

2022 Will Be Crazier Than The Last Two Years

America, Headlines, History, Media, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

What more needs to be said about how bad things were, not just in 2021 but in 2020 as well? On a positive note, the Silent Majority of grounded, traditionalist Americans started to speak up and speak out, throwing the BS flag, as it were, on the field. The Left so overreached, their stupid and destructive ideology was so exposed, we could remain silent no more! Previously quiet citizens and formerly reserved pundits took off the gloves and began to call out the idiocy and treason for what it truly was and, going into 2022, still is. Even some, albeit still a minority, of Trump-hating, head-in-the-clouds Democrats took down their Biden-Harris and Black Lives Matter virtue-signaling, lawn litter signs.

A rehash of all the moronic policies, actions and lies that saturated our lives isn’t needed here. It will be said many years from now that if in retrospect you didn’t remember 2020 and 2021, “you weren’t there”.

We must look forward and not just bemoan all that has transpired to “fundamentally transform” our country, but paint a new picture of what “could be”. The reason the Right in 1994 was successful in taking back the House after 40 years in the wilderness was The Contract With America. Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey’s positive message is what carried the day, not a continued condemnation of the destructiveness of the Left.

We need to give people one-liners and mental images of What Could Be in America. And while an old timer like me would suggest a return to what was, for my kids and grandkids the vision has to be one which takes into account the changes (some would say advances, but I question whether they were!) that have occurred over the last ten to fifteen years.

Technology, for better or for worse, has marched inexorably on, invading every aspect of our/their lives. In my opinion its impact has done more to transform our society than all the Leftist nonsense. However, it gave the Left an unprecedented platform from which to manipulate the increasingly addled minds of what have become known as “The Sheep”.

We must show how fundamental principles of honesty, self-reliance, meritocracy, thrift, traditional families, uncensored history, the Golden Rule and all the rest of the traditional norms and values that made America the greatest country the world has ever known, can and will create a more prosperous, peaceful and equitable society. Slowly, but increasingly evident, this is happening.

We need new heroes. I’ve said this many times before, but the reality is that peoples’ attitudes are shaped by pop-culture and celebrity figures. We need to draw clear distinctions between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. Pull heart strings and create gut reactions that reinforce traditional values, not seek to destroy them. The Good Guys need to expose all that’s wrong with the utopian fantasy and triumph over the encroachment of Evil represented by Leftist tyrrany. They need to be the kind of heroes who Gen Z’rs can tweet about, establish memes about, get excited about, align behind.

These heroes should NOT be politicans. Nor should they be reality show celebrities, pundits, Hollywood actors or flamethrowers. They will be more like Edward Durr, the 62 year old union truck driver who last November toppled the longest-serving Democrat Senate president in New Jersey history after spending pennies on his campaign. Or they will be like the eminently brilliant and sober Condoleeza Rice, a patriotic American woman who cannot be pigdeon-holed as a political operative. They will be John Wayne for the New Millennium. While Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and similar outspoken Republicans will still bevvery much needed to draw headlines and bring attention to the failures of the Left, a new breed of leader is needed.

They need to be worthy of celebrity status but not because they seek it. They need to be attractive, articulate, positive, strong, quick-witted, exceptionally knowledgeable, tireless, patriotic, plain-spoken…a tall order to be sure.

I’m not sure what will happen this coming November. I fear the Right is being far too cocky already – a recipe for disaster. And speaking of disasters. It’s clear the Left/Democrats will do ANYTHING for power, American values, traditions and proven successes be damned. Just wait. Perhaps it will be “The Fungus”, or something external like an actual invasion of Ukraine or Taiwan, the Iranians testing a nuke or some other crisis. The Democrats will exploit it mercilessly and without reservation. And since the ends justify the means to them, they will lie, cheat, steal, and use every vicious and deceitful tactic in their arsenal to fight for their malicious agenda.

Gird your loins traditionalists.

2022 is going to be one hell of a ride as well but if we can use technology and social media to create that positive agenda, we’ll prevail in taking our country back!

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