Posse Incitatus

Pandemic without End

Perhaps the most demoralizing aspect of the COVID pandemic is the way public health officials and political leaders have not just botched the science, but taken it out, beaten it, run over it, beaten it some more and then paraded the disintegrating corpse in an Iron Maiden.

The whole point of science is learning from observation, yet here we are, eight months into the outbreak and most public health figures are still acting like there is zero progress in treatment for the disease and instead we have to resort to medieval tactics like quarantine and societal shut down.

Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of people are dying from other causes.  Just last week we learned that the several hundred thousand Americans receiving chemotherapy had their treatment interrupted, which will likely prove lethal for many of them who otherwise might have beaten the disease.

The same is true for those with heart conditions, depression, addiction, and a host of other maladies.

The notion that society can 'wait out' an easily communicable disease is completely without any scientific basis, and yet health department officials and their political masters have the gall to accuse anyone who questions their bizarre (and often contradictory) pronouncements as being "anti-science."

Another aspect is the constant fear-mongering by medical officials, who keep warning of "cases rising."  This is a monumental deception.  The increase in positive tests is the inevitable result of increased testing, not disease spread.  It's like anything else - if you look for something you have a better chance of finding than if you don't look at all.

The tests are imprecise, and don't always indicate whether one is still contagious or even suffering any ill effects. 

Last week Michigan was rocked by the news that hospitalizations are up 80 percent.  Oh no!  Lock it down!!!!

But wait, 80 percent of what?  If there were only five patients and you get four more, that is in fact an 80 percent increase but not enough to justify massive societal disruption.

None of the hospitals are even close to capacity.  Ingham County, for example, has been locking down dorms and frat houses with wild abandon, yet as I write this there is a single patient in hospital.

I'm sure some wag will say:  "SEE, the lockdowns are working!" but far from containing the spread of the disease, these tactics virtually ensure everyone in the confined area will get it. 

The president is right - COVID is something we have to live with, just we humanity lived with smallpox, cholera, and influenza.  Hiding in one's basement until it goes away is a recipe for far greater harm.

It will conclude by noting that the stout resistance of the governors who allowed the disease to spread through nursing homes is also profoundly anti-science.  Essentially they want to protect themselves from political embarrassment - and the also protect the professional reputations of their medical advisors.

This is also a blatant assault on good medical practices and it should not be allowed to stand.  I'm sure they hope that such inquiry as does eventually happen will be soft-pedaled and reduced to "things were done, events happened" and be quietly ignored by an incurious media.

That's how 'science' works these days.

Trump Kicks Tail; CNN & MSNBC Full of Long Faces

I guess I expected President Donald Trump to be agitated, angry, frustrated. I thought last night's debate would be as ugly a scrum as the Sept. 29 fiasco in which disgraceful Chris Wallace performed poorly as moderator.

However, partly due to moderator Kristen Welker of NBC, last night's debate was a much more civil affair. Most important, the Trumpster was disciplined. For the most part, he stayed on message, and managed to hammer O'Biden (yes, that was intentional) on numerous key points.

In the "unforced errors" department, Biden started off by foolishly bringing up the issue of Hunter Biden's laptop. He tried to conflate what appears to be solid evidence that Joe & Hunter Biden were on the take with Chinese officials with recent intelligence information about Russian and Iranian efforts to meddle in the U.S. presidential election. Biden and his camp claim that the laptop (the emails of which have been verified as authentic, and which also includes sordid pictures of a compromised Hunter) is just part of a big Russian disinformation campaign.

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced a couple days ago that there is zero evidence the Hunter Biden laptop is part of a Russian disinformation campaign. Yet "RUSSIA!" is the automatic default of the left after it's caught with its fingers in the till.

Another stupid mistake made by Sleepy Joe was when he denied having said he will do away with hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking. Trump said something to the effect of, "We have you on tape saying you would."

Biden's retort: "Put it on your website!"

Trump replied, "We will!" He also reminded voters in fracking states such as Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Texas what's at stake in terms of tens of thousands of jobs.

Sure enough, not long after the debate was over, Republican operatives had quickly put together a devastating commercial showing Biden contradicting himself numerous times on fracking.

While Biden warned "we're about to go into a dark winter" regarding Coronavirus, Trump sounded an optimistic theme, noting that vaccines are only a few weeks away, the mortality rate is way down, and the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is behind us.

Trump hammered Biden on Biden's job-killing proposals including a nationwide, $15 per hour minimum wage, and the elimination of fossil fuels. The president also chided Biden for opposing Trump's decision to ban flights from China, an action he took back in January. Trump also reminded his audience of Biden's close alliance with radical leftists such as Bernie Sanders and the Squad.

Biden often seemed defensive and rattled by Trump's attacks. Frankly, he looked old, feeble and weak. It was not a good look, and a few people in pollster Frank Luntz's focus group even said they had planned on voting for Biden but couldn't after seeing last night's performance.

Welker, for her part, did interrupt Trump more often than she did Biden. It's not a good idea to put a mute button into the hands of a partisan moderator. Still, she kept control much better than the snake Wallace, and did not badger the president as Wallace did a few weeks ago.

Last night went about as well as could be expected for the Trumpster. Now, as we head into the final 10 days before Election Day, Trump and his surrogates will be barnstorming the swing states to scare up more votes. Trump has been conducting several rallies a day, and will appear here in Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

I still think it's going to be close, and because of the multiple court cases and questionable incidents involving mail-in and absentee ballots, could well drag out for weeks. 

Brace for landing.

Automated Moderator, Por Favor

There is no doubt that NBC reporter Kristen Welker, another in a long line of liberal moderators who favor Democrats, will use the mute button more often against President Donald Trump than against challenger Joe Biden during tonight's presidential debate.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, which chooses moderators and organizes debates, has been thoroughly discredited. It either needs to clean up its act, or presidential debates will become a thing of the past.

I would propose that all presidential debates be pre-programmed and automated. There will be no human moderator, but there will be computerized notifications (including a "play clock" to use a sports analogy) for each candidate. He or she will know in advance how many minutes of speaking time will be allowed, how many segments, and how much mute time there will be between "live mic" speaking opportunities.

Perhaps artificial intelligence could be employed if necessary (Siri & Alexa, are either of you game?). This may sound Orwellian, but it beats the shit out of the current farcical arrangement, which is so blatantly biased against the GOP, it's a joke. I dare say the Commission on Presidential Debates has been as debased and worthless as the United Nations. (Drunk slug at the bar: "HEY, THEM'S FIGHTING WORDS!)

Let's get on with it. And if Orange Julius gets so disgusted with loaded questions and frequent mutes that he decides to snarl about the rigged process and storm off the stage in a huff, so be it. It really wouldn't move the needle in either direction. It would be just more par for the course.

Now, where'd I leave that fifth of Henessy?

 

The Brazenness of the Left

In the past few years, we have been bombarded with the brazen, outrageous lies, political chicanery and actions of the progressive left.

The Russian collusion hoax followed by the impeachment charade, the Democrats' asinine claim that voter fraud exists only in Republicans' imaginations, plus flagrantly idiotic claims (e.g., riots are "peaceful protests" and right-wing militia nuts are the true urban anarchists), as well as shameful character assassination (e.g., Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings). These are vicious people, and they play for keeps.

Now, just days before the presidential election, Big Tech has joined the legacy media in practicing censorship while also sweeping things under the rug. We've known for decades that intolerance of other viewpoints is a staple of universities, as conservatives frequently are disinvited from speaking at commencements and other occasions, or shouted down should they attempt to speak. It's been apparent for a long time that the left doesn't tolerate dissent -- and this goes for individuals as well as institutions.

Try having a civil conversation with a leftist about issues on which you disagree. Usually, it's tough to do so, because condescension, name calling and the inevitable rolling of eyeballs take place. These people are immersed in imagery, emotion, idealism and feelings. Facts, history and rational thinking to them are like cold water poured on a person who's sound asleep underneath a warm blanket.

Several years ago, I remarked in one of my Posse postings that the tactics of leftist journalists had changed since way back in my younger days. It used to be they would slant stories with loaded language, and quote unbalanced sources presenting mostly one side of the story. Still, they were at least acknowledging there was another side to the story, even if they treated it dismissively.

But eventually, it got to the point where the press would totally ignore stories that didn't fit their narrative, while at the same time blowing minor things out of proportion and also reporting as fact unsubstantiated B.S. attributed to the ubiquitous "anonymous sources." Anyone with half a brain knows that the anonymous sources are either partisan hacks with an ax to grind, or (more likely) nonexistent -- a cover for fabricated bullshit.

Increasingly, major social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook, have become more strident in censoring conservatives and  conservative news stories. For the past few days, the platforms were prohibiting tweets and posts linking to a New York Post story alleging Hunter Biden and his father were on the take with Chinese and Russian politicians. Twitter locked the accounts of the New York Post and several White House staff members including Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

For years, Twitter and Instagram have employed a practice known as "shadow banning" in which the platform blocks a user's content without the user even being aware that his tweet or post is not getting out to a wide audience. Twitter has also been accused of taking away followers from popular accounts.

Republican senators are considering ways to rein in the platforms, including possibly repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields social-media platforms from liability for user content. Many conservatives believe the Big Tech firms have hidden behind Section 230 as they censor conservative viewpoints.

And wouldn't you know, the Biden campaign, Democrats and even some in the media are claiming the New York Post story, which included sordid video of Hunter Biden using drugs and engaging in a sex act, is all a Russian disinformation campaign. Pathetic, but entirely predictable, as their obsession with RUSSIA!!! continues.

A little over a century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt (aka the "Trustbuster") dealt with oligarchs such as John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan. Standard Oil, plus the railroad industry and Wall Street financiers clashed with Roosevelt. Today, the oligarchs are in Silicon Valley. The danger they pose is not so much financial, but totalitarian in nature.

If, Heaven forbid, Joe Biden wins the presidency, and the Democrats take control of the Senate, the massive progressive makeover will have been completed. Conservative talk radio will be shut down because it's supposedly "hate speech," and Big Tech will join newspapers and TV News as the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party.

Once Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia become states and four more Democrat senators are added, it's katy-bar-the-door. Open up the floodgates to third world immigrants (millions of whom will vote for Democrats in future elections); abolish the Electoral College (thereby disenfranchising over 100 million people); pack the U.S. Supreme Court with leftist justices so that SCOTUS serves as a rubber stamp for any and all legislation passed by a progressive Congress; and then get to work on shredding the U.S. Constitution.

The First Amendment will be first to go, because totalitarians do not tolerate dissent and generally are scornful and contemptuous toward religion. Then comes the Second Amendment. Heavy annual fees will be levied on owners of firearms (how does $500 per gun sound?), and the IRS will cow people into submission. I don't think these folks are stupid enough to attempt actual door-to-door confiscation, but one never knows.

These next few weeks and months are the hinges upon which the future of western civilization swings. If I sound alarmist, or you think I'm a kooky nut job, you haven't been paying attention.

Random Thoughts on the Fast-Approaching Election

The conventional "wisdom" among the political chattering class is that Joe Biden is a shoo-in to be the next President of the United States. He's leading in most national polls, and some even have him up by double digits.

Of course, this is a very similar situation to 2016, when Hillary was estimated to have about a 95 percent chance of winning, and led Trump by double digits in early October. However, many Democrat partisans say things are a lot different this time around, and that Trump supporters should not take solace in 2016's results. For starters, Biden isn't the thoroughly unlikeable character Hillary was, and although he's somewhat corrupt, he's a saint compared to Hillary. Also, the Biden camp believes Trump removed all doubt with tens of millions of people that he's a toxic, obnoxious ass. They want him gone. Yesterday.

There also do not appear to be as many undecided voters in the final few weeks of the campaign as was the case in 2016, when the majority of them broke for Trump in the final days. Too, Trump has lost support among senior citizens, one of his key constituencies.

All of these may be valid points, but there are also plenty of bright spots for the Trumpster this time around. For starters, the Republicans have registered far more new voters nationwide than the Democrats have. Team Trump has had a much stronger ground game -- i.e., literally knocking on doors and talking to voters -- than has Team Biden.

Additionally, support from Hispanics and blacks seems to be much higher for Trump now than it was in 2016, AND Trump has a nearly four-year track record with a great deal of success to run on. The economy was incredibly strong before the pandemic struck; NATO nations are now stepping up and paying their fair share for defense; Trump has cut taxes and regulations, rebuilt the military, faced down long-time bully China, negotiated peace agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, brought about criminal justice reform for African Americans, improved administration of the Veterans Affairs hospitals, crushed ISIS, stopped the disgraceful boot licking of pariah nations such as Iran and Venezuela, and called out the obscenely corrupt news media for what it is.

Perhaps a huge reason why support for the president is higher among non-Caucasians is the horrendous anarchy, violence and destruction that have destroyed cities from coast to coast since early summer. This, in conjunction with a "defund the police" movement that includes lenient prosecutors who sometimes go after victims rather than criminals, and no bail policies for suspects who are arrested and jailed, makes voters leery of Democrats. Many of the Hispanics and blacks who support Trump could be small business owners and/or residents of cities that have been wracked by rioting.

Another factor the Democrat camp doesn't seem to acknowledge is that the Democrat Party has gone completely bonkers since Hillary was the nominee just four years ago. Its plans include raising taxes, packing the Supreme Court, abolishing the Electoral College, allowing Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to be states (thus adding four reliably Democrat Senators), and the unrealistic and destructive Green New Deal.

Realists have observed Joe Biden's spineless, rudderless behavior for decades and realize that if he gets elected, he'll be a puppet of the left and may well step aside for a President Harris within a few months. Maybe Hillary and the 2016 Democrats weren't such a horrendous possibility compared to the 2020 version.

Twitter's disgraceful censoring of conservatives also provides a scary preview of the free speech suppression that a Biden administration would bring -- from the federal government itself, Big Tech, Hollywood, academia, and probably the corporate world. Liberals simply don't tolerate dissent, nor do they respect the First and Second Amendments.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons Trump may prevail is the recent Gallup poll that found 56 percent of Americans -- a clear majority -- say they're personally better off now than they were four years ago when Joe Biden was vice president. The number is down from 61 percent pre-coronavirus, but is still the highest number in the history of Gallup asking: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" This number has got to be causing sleepless nights in the Biden camp.

Finally, I'd like to call your attention to a prognostication by Dr. Helmut Norpoth, a political scientist from Stony Brook University. He foresees a big Trump victory (see graphic). Dr. Norpoth has been correct in five of the past six presidential elections, and when his methodology is applied to elections all the way back to Kennedy vs. Nixon in 1960, he's correct in 25 of 27 presidential elections.

 

 

 

Where Are the Hutaree When You Need Them?

By now, the whole world has heard about the harebrained plot by a bunch of militia rubes calling themselves the "Wolverine Watchmen" to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and either put her on trial for treason or possibly execute her. A total of 13 men have been arrested and face various federal and state charges that will send them away for many years.

The media has reported various versions, including one in which an army of 200 would storm the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing and take hostages. Another version discussed attacking the Governor's vacation home in northern Michigan (something that would make a law enforcement response more difficult due to the remoteness of the home, limited highway access, and possibly cover of darkness).

First of all, these guys are not all that bright if they thought this ridiculous plan had a ghost of a chance of succeeding. That, and they have no common sense, AND many of them could be mentally ill. These yahoos do not fit the mold of conservative political ideology. They typically are anti-government AND anti-police -- and that includes a federal government with a Republican president. Rumor has it that one of the organizers had demonstrated with Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

It's possible a few of them might have voted for Trump, worn MAGA hats and/or have a Trump sign in front of their home or a Trump bumper sticker on their vehicle. It's also possible that thousands of mischievous partisans on the left may have used Photoshop to doctor up photos of these guys, putting a Trump banner on the wall behind them, or a MAGA cap on someone's head, then tweeted out the pictures and posted them on Facebook.

It is outrageous for Gov. Whitmer to blame President Trump and Michigan Republican lawmakers for the actions of these nut jobs. But she just can't help herself. She is partisan, arrogant and condescending. There's no doubt she despises Trump's supporters as much as she loathes the President himself. She will continue to overplay her hand as she heads into the second half of her four-year term, and it may well make her a one-term governor.

The stupidity of these clowns may have made it more difficult for Michigan gun owners to exercise their Second Amendment rights in the months and years to come. Don't put it past Whitmer or militant leftist Attorney General Dana Nessel to make things more difficult for gun owners -- especially those with semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15, which sends shivers down the spines of liberals.

Oh, and expect this incident to strengthen the corrupt media's distorted perception of rural guys who own guns and pickup trucks, wear camouflage outfits, despise liberalism and JUST MIGHT believe in Jesus Christ. For our newer readers, today's headline is a reference to just such hysteria, and an unwarranted two-year investigation by authorities back in 2010, addressed by my co-blogger. Not all militias are created equal.