Mark Twain on Being Informed

Clarence Thomas on Political Correctness

In his nearly quarter century serving on the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has developed a reputation of rarely speaking in public.

However, Justice Thomas recently gave the commencement address at Hillsdale College in which he offered encouragement to graduates of a true Liberal Arts program.

Carl Jung on Thinking

Harry S. Truman on Law

Many do not realize that the first prototypes of the Great Seal of the United States featured Moses, who rebelled against tyrants to follow God and promulgate His law. 

Cesar Milan on Leadership

Anthony Burgess on Life

Coco Chanel on Life

Mother Angelica on Looking Back

Maria Schriver on Life

Booker T. Washington on Associations

Cardinal Robert Sarah on Gender Ideologies

Thomas Sowell on the Minimum Wage

Over the last several years, labor union activists have tried to organize service sector workers to unionize under the banner of "Fight for Fifteen".  Some progressive patches of America, such as Seattle and Los Angeles, have passed legislation which will eventually force employers to raises the minimum wage to a "living wage" of $15 an hour.  Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump has mused that the minimum wage should be increased: “I mean you have to something that you can live on."

But as economist Thomas Sowell opined, the real minimum wage is zero.  Businesses are preparing for forced wages in the minimum wage by reducing reliance on unskilled labor.  For instance, Wendy's is rolling out automated ordering kiosks for its franchisees which will reduce the number of workers at their restaurants who will ask: "Would you like fries with that?" 



Such a reaction makes one wonder if "Fight for Fifteen" was really to help low skilled workers eek out a living wage, or if it was a union tactic to grow outside of the government sector as well as to force across the board wage increases at the cost of many entry level workers. 

On Sheilas and Bruces

Bruce "Call Me Caitlyn" Jenner is the sextagenerian poster "child" for gender dysphoria. Jenner managed to have a reality show revolve around the "transition", prominently appeared on awards shows and even managed a slot an upcoming Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.

But reports are that now 66 year old Jenner is very unhappy about the challenges of transitioning from male to female and is miserable.  Jenner remains attracted to women but is said to be tormented as his Christian faith holds that same sex relationships are sinful.  

Some insiders allege that they would not be surprised if Jenner does detransition in the next couple of years, which would be facilitated as Jenner has not undergone the genital surgery yet.

As Denmark has become the first nation where gender dysphoria is no longer classified as a mental disorder, there is vexing at the cultural vellity of gender fluidity from a scientific perspective.

Dr. Paul McHugh, the former psychiatrist in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, has reasserted that "transgenderism" is a mental disorder and that sex change is biologically impossible. Johns Hopkins stopped doing gender reassignment surgery under his tenure in part because suicide rates among transgendered patients is 20 times higher than the general populace. The push to accommodate children who express feelings of gender dysphoria does not recognize that 70-80% of the kids "spontaneously lose those feelings over time".

President Barack Obama has made accommodating transgenders to use whichever bathroom they would like at a given time as a top priority in the last year of his Administration.  Attorney General Loretta Lynch is suing North Carolina for their bathroom bill to protect the traditional use of public rest rooms.  Lynch equates accommodating 0.3% of the population's "right" to use an opposite sex bathroom as the equivalent of 1960s civil rights protests.  Moreover, the Department of Education is enforcing an understanding of Title IX to force all schools to allow gender fluid individuals to use any bathroom or lose federal funding. The problem most likely is not with those afflicted with gender dysphoria but the open invitation to any male to share in the other half's locker room .

Pope Francis has lost some luster among liberal seculars as he expressed skepticism about gender theory. Imagine a Pope defending Catholicism noting that we are created in God's image, male and female and the our Creator does not make mistakes. 

May Jenner find personal solace but his case illustrates the perils of too eagerly embracing an esoteric, non-scientific enthusiasm such as gender fluidity, gender dysphoria and transgenderism. The broader question is:What is the real animus for the cultural shift? A dadaistic repudiation of cultural norms? A nihilistic approach to standards?  Or to be generous, strive to accommodate a niche minority by challenging the welfare of the majority?

William F. Buckley on Conservatism

Winnie the Pooh on Poetry and Hums

Trump Attacks Washington Post as Bezo's Antitrust Toy for Amazon

Donald Trump used his regular Fox News platform with Sean Hannity to attack a media bete noir -- The Washington Post -- with convoluted antitrust charges. Even though Bezos personally bought the Washington Post for $250 million in 2013, Trump claims that it was to give Amazon favorable tax treatment.


This accusation comes on the heels of news that the Washington Post has assigned twenty reporters to investigate everything about Donald Trump. The Washington Post has long earned its liberal reputation and an eagerness to take down threatening Republicans.   It is laughable to think such investigations are to protect Amazon's tax treatment.

 It would seem that Trump does not buy Bezo's explanation that having an owner who championed disruptive business models using the internet would save the struggling newspaper.

On the face of it, $250 million in personal cash is an expensive way to retain favorable tax treatment. Surely, maximizing contributions to key members of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and some leadership PACs would have been a thriftier option to "buy favorable treatment".

It fits into Trump's pattern of behavior of obliquely raising  outrageous charges against opponents to garner headlines and smear the threat. Guess that "John Miller" would not be successful at planting stories at the Washington Post.

What is instructive is Trump's blowhard blurtations about how he perceives that a Trump Administration would administer justice. Trump's attack against Bezos and the Washington Post contributes to the perception that Trump would have an enemies list, and it would be highlighted by journalists who do not kiss Trump's...ring.  Ask Megyn Kelly.

Secondly, Trump's premise is that he would direct the Department of Justice to go against specific targets who are adversely affecting his "business", be it personal or political.  This reinforces an understanding that government and business would work hand in hand or there would be a problem. There's a definition for that, and it's like a bundle of sticks.

Thirdly, Trump's claim exposes his ignorance of the political process.  Notwithstanding the cost ineffectiveness of personally buying a sink hole media entity for a quarter of a billion dollars to help a public company, it hints that Trump thinks that he dictates tax policy.  Maybe Trump needs more meetings with Speaker Ryan, who has nurtured a pet project as Chair of the Ways and Means and Budget Committee, to eventually overhaul the tax system.  Presidents propose budgets but the House really creates and passes them in regular order.

Trump's Convention Chair Paul Manafort claims that in Phase One of the campaign, Trump put on a show to project an image but that in Phase Two we would see a really different side. Really?  The nomination fight on the Republican side is effectively over. Trump has signaled that he wants to unify people around him.  Conservatives have no love lost for the (Com)Post. But making outrageous accusations against the paper of record in  District of Calamity, and effectively threatening them with legal retribution is a signal for fellow Republicans to come on board is not sound strategy. It's flirting with disaster.

When someone tells you who they are, believe them. If this is phase two, the GOP should think about phase out.

Palin Pans Ryan-Trump Pow-Wow

After the highly anticipated meeting between presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, there were positive notes emanating from Capitol Hill.



Alas, not all in the Trump campaign cohort got the message that The Donald is making motions to unify the party. Sarah Palin put out a blistering post on Facebook panning the Ryan-Trump Pow-Wow.

Palin's perjuice peaked last week, when she claimed that Speaker Ryan would be "Cantored".  Currently, Rep. Ryan is 64 points above his challenger in the Wisconsin 1st Congressional district.  Oops. But Palin has a spotty success ratio on her endorsements.

Perhaps Palin has forgotten Civics 101 in which the Legislative Branch must pass laws which the Executive Branch approves (or vetoes) and then enforces. So if Trump does win the White House, he needs a party to pass legislation, and the cooperative House of Representatives to begin a budget.  Speaker Ryan did win the backing of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, so it is strange to think that Ryan is the epitome of the establishment.

Palin's post epitomizes a troll tone which wants to stick it to the establishment, without having concrete goals or a realistic plan.  It's like the Sex Pistol's anarchy ode  from 1976 "Don't know what we want but we know how to get it. I want to destroy the passerby. 'Cause I want to be anarchy." The expression of anger may energize those in the circle but it makes it impossible to expand the outreach and ultimately to get things done.

The Trump campaign has a penchant for pointing to polls to validate their "yuuuge" presumed victory.  Well, polling is premised on having an accurate turn-out model. If conservatives do not pull the level for a Manhattan Mogul who slashes and burns anyone in his own party who does not immediately jump on Trump Train, such surveys may be worth less than the paper that it is printed in.

Palin has the reputation of being a pit bull hockey mom, which may have helped during a contentious primary campaign. But those sharp elbows hinder efforts at inspiring party unity. Does Palin think that her presumed gravitas will garner an emolument in a hypothetical Trump Administration?  Or is it just an orchestrated celebutard campaign to keep her name in the spotlight prior to her "Judge Judy" like syndicated TV stint" 

Doug Larson on Illogical Language

Senator Mike Lee on Donald Trump

Bill Gates on Learning

Pondering Donald Trump's Present Pro-Life Pitch

 Fox New's  Bill O'Reilly used a viewer submitted question to press his personal friend Donald Trump about to name one specific thing Trump would do to protect the sanctity of life
Trump as the the presumptive Republican nominee proffered the so called No Spin Zone some soothing sentiments to pro-life partisans by claiming that he would appoint pro-life judges, but not necessarily commiting to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973).  Huh? How does that work?

Of course, the Trump's unequivocal utterance does not square well  with Trump's track record, even during this Presidential campaign.  Trump made headlines in late March when he mused that women having abortions should be punished.  Of course, this was one of only four different abortion utterances in one day, which eventually extended to changing the GOP party platform to allow more exceptions. Moreover, how does Trump's latest claim comport with his repeated assertions that Planned Parenthood does great things for women's health.





Trump spun the sanctity of life question into picking pro-life justices for Supreme Court nomination.  It would seem that made Trump's earlier idea of appointing his abortion rights sister who is a judge to the nation's highest court inoperative. If O'Reilly really did not want to be spun, he should have followed up on Trump's vetting process for appointing "conservative, pro-life judges", especially since Trump waffled on overturning Roe v. Wade.  To legally drill down, clarification is necessary to discern if there is a right to privacy embedded in the Bill of Rights and applied to the states.

In prior pressers, Trump opined that same-sex marriage is the "Law of the Land".  Well, Justice Kennedy's opinion on the same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)  is premised on a newly concocted "right to dignity" that reads things into the Bill of Rights via the 14th Amendment. As Trump was squishy about overturning Roe v. Wade which enshrined the judicial activist practice of forcing federal will upon states concerning matters of prior state jurisdiction, the same-sex marriage case law is directly relevant.

From a culture war standpoint, it is easy to see Trump's flip-flop on the Transgendered (well, actually transvestites or those claiming gender fluidity at a given moment) to use the opposite sex bathroom. The Trump Town Hall pronouncement is that North Carolina's bathroom bill hurt business and ought to be rescinded.  As Attorney General Loretta Lynch made clear in suing the State of North Carolina for respecting traditional public facility proprieties, Transgendered Bathrooms has been elevated into a civil rights issue, reading gender dysphoria into the 1965 Civil Rights Act. Once again, understanding the judicial philosophy of a hypothetical Trump Administration's judicial vetting would be instructive. Otherwise, voters are just being played and the Deal Maker in Chief could bargain with his cronies.

First Lady Senator Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has made clear that she wants to strengthen pro-abortion rights under the guise of women's health.  Trump's laurels to Planned Parenthood, his penchant to flip-flop, his eagerness to cut deals and populist proclivities informed by New York Values really does not give comfort that Trump's pro-life rhetoric will become reality.

While it is quixotic to be a one issue voter, especially on anti-abortion issues.  But Trump's word seems to be worth little on fundamental issues.  Moreover, when Trump was asked what he would do specifically, he relied on labels "I'd appoint conservative, pro life judges" but won't bother with the details of reversing Roe v. Wade.  

Donald Trump on Same-Sex Marriage

H.P. Lovecraft on Life

P.J. O'Rourke's POTUS Endorsement

Is this a joke or is the 2016 Presidential Election?

Catherine the Great on Knowledge

Friedrich Hayek on Fascism

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus on Socialism

Sigmund Freud on Thought

Adlai Stevenson on Communism

Frank Zappa on Socialism

Shouting It Aloud: The 2016 National Day of Prayer

The theme for the 65th annual National Day of Prayer is Isaiah 58 - a call to prayer and fasting for our peoples' transgressions.

In a nation that not only continues to countenance Planned Parenthood kill unborning children but profiting from the sale of baby body parts, such a call is apt. To add injury to insult, some governments are prosecuting the whistle blowers in lieu of the abortionists who are engaged in prima facia illegal practices. 

The Supreme Court broke with 5,000 years of human civilization and legalized same sex so called marriage, but forced it upon all states with a dubious application of the 14th Amendment and a fuzzy "Right to Dignity".

And over the last year, progressive LGBTQQ? activists have been fighting to break down privacy barriers to allow people claiming gender dysphoria to use bathrooms opposite to their biological designation, which opens the door for perverts (non-transvestites citing gender fluidity) easy access to public facilities.  But if one points out that there are only two sexes (as shown through chromosomes), social justice warriors will unmercifully attack and isolate the individual not speaking the politically correct shibboleth.

Thus is seems apt to focus on asking the Lord for forgiveness and seeking to fast.

Alas, even fasting is a facet for this culture to mock.  Recently, Glenn Beck called for his audience to fast for America as it was on the precipice of choosing the major party candidates for press.  Yet even some right wing media outlets like Breitbart and the Drudge Report (both of which have been heavily skewed for supporting Donald Trump), found this clarion call a moment for mockery.

Some may cynically question if a call to prayer will matter. Bible believers should recall the walls came tumbling down in Jericho by those humbling themselves and following divine will.  Many attribute the stop of Islamic incursions into Europe during the 16th century in the Battle of Lepanto because of the call by Pope Pius V to pray the Rosary via the intervention of Our Lady of Victory (now called Our Lady of the Rosary).  The American Revolution was bolstered by the first Great Revival and the prayful action of the Black Robe Regiment.

The 2016 National Day of Prayer will have 47,000 separate events. This is the time to shout it out loud. 

Christopher Hitchens on Socialism

Thomas Sowell on Socialism

George Bernard Shaw on Socialism

Bloody Hell: PC ESPN Goes 1984 on Red Sox Nation History

In George Orwell's prophetic novel Nineteen-Eight Four (1948), the protagonist Winston Smith slaves away at the Ministry of Truth (MiniTrue) erasing all sorts of inconvenient truths that deviate from the powers that be's current line.  Essentially, the novel anticipated historical revisionism for the purposes of political correctness.

2004 World Series Championship Ring

Sadly, the same process can be seen at ESPN. Curt Schilling, a former Major League Baseball player who gained notoriety for his heroic bloody sock pitching performance of game six in the 2004 World Series.  Schilling's clutch performance pitching on a bad knee set up the Boston Red Sox to break the nearly century old Curse of the Bambino, coming from a 3-0 deficit to win the MLB World Championship over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Five years ago, ESPN produced an hour retrospective of this incredible come from behind playoff rally titled "Four Days in October".  Schilling's performance was prominently featured.





However,  ESPN recently fired Curt Schilling from his on-air job because of  personal social media commentary concerning transvestites and those citing gender dysphoria from using whichever bathroom he/she/zhe prefers at that moment.  Subsequently, less than a week later, when ESPN 2 reran "Four Days in October", the chronicle of Schilling's crucial play (and the bloody sock) was strangely missing. In this case, one ought to call the channel "The Deuce" with good reason.

All week, Schilling has been proclaiming the unchecked political progressivism at his former employer, as well as noting that more than a few have displayed overt racism.  But because Schilling violated today's shibboleth of "transgender" acceptable, it seems his memory must be erased at what is purportedly a sports channel.


So know that Disney/ESPN is not only spewing liberal commentary within their sports coverage, they also have taken it upon themselves to rewrite history.  Perhaps one of the 1984 IngSoc mantras will become more poignant "Ignorance is strength". 

Ronald Reagan on Communists

Vladimir Lenin on Socialism

Fulton Sheen on Culture

Ayn Rand on Communism and Socialism