Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Feminist Mission to Undermine Heterosexuality

The Feminist Mission to Undermine Heterosexuality
EXCERPT: Well, it’s official: the worst aspects of feminism are winning: not the let’s all play nice kind that actually wanted equal, not special, rights and opportunities for everyone, but the crazed we’ve-got-to-destroy-men kind; the kind that saw feminism as a zero-sum game and composed fantasies of worlds without men, or with only enough men to keep the species going until even that problem was resolved; the kind that forgot how awful junior high school girls can be to one another (and grown women too, now that I think of it), and pretended only boys cause suffering and problems. Like other noxious concepts arising out of politics run amok, “toxic masculinity” has finally become not a slur but a mere description. But who built the world in which these crazed females can so run amok?

What Will It Take To Make You Understand And Accept That They Hate You?

What Will It Take To Make You Understand And Accept That They Hate You?
Dr. Sowell once said that the thing about the Right and the Left is that people on the Right think those on the Left are mistaken in some of their beliefs, but people on the Left just believe that those on the Right are evil. I don't think that's true of everyone on the Left (both Right and Left are broad terms that cover a range of mentalities), but it clearly is true of more than a few of them. Which is both sad and dangerous, and it is true that we need to understand and accept that this is the case. We should not descend to that level of emotion and nastiness, but we do need to stand up strong and clear for what we believe, and counter the false and biased reports every chance we get. --Del

Maybe We Could Use a Civic Hippocratic Oath.

Maybe We Could Use a Civic Hippocratic Oath. By Victor Davis Hanson| November 15th, 2018

The NHS's Winter Crisis Is a Red Flag for Americans Enticed by Single-Payer

The NHS's Winter Crisis Is a Red Flag for Americans Enticed by Single-Payer
Excerpt: The winter flu season has plunged Britain's government-run National Health Service into a full-blown crisis. Medical professionals are struggling to cope with an influx of patients. One doctor described his workplace as "an absolute war zone" and the "worst hospital conditions in my memory." This is hardly the first time that flu season -- an utterly predictable event -- has pushed the 70-year-old NHS to the brink of collapse. The chronic failures of Britain's state-run system should disabuse Americans of the notion that more government control is the answer to our healthcare problems. Long waits are inherent in any healthcare system dominated by the state. When governments make care "free," they remove any financial incentive for patients to moderate their consumption of care. To keep a lid on costs, governments restrict the supply of care -- by limiting funding for the construction and maintenance of clinics, restricting access to cutting-edge treatment and technology, and skimping on staff.

When America Was Really Polarized

When America Was Really Polarized by Bradley J. Birzer https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2018/10/america-polarized-bradley-birzer.html

WE WILL SHOUT "DEATH TO AMERICA" UNTIL WE TURN THE WHITE HOUSE INTO A SHIITE ISLAMIC CENTER

AYATOLLAH LOTFOLLAH DEZHKHAM, KHAMENEI'S REPRESENTATIVE IN FARS PROVINCE: WE WILL SHOUT "DEATH TO AMERICA" UNTIL WE TURN THE WHITE HOUSE INTO A SHIITE ISLAMIC CENTER

Scrap the Pledge?

Calif. board of trustees scraps Pledge of Allegiance over 'white nationalism' history (UPDATED)
Another Califoria politician has gone full PC-nuts, and says the Pledge is just chock full of bad stuff. Well, it IS about nationalism, but I keep going over every word and don't see the faintest hint of race appearing anywhere. Respect, affection, even devotion to the ideals of the nation (which is what the Pledge spells out) has total zero to do with anything about skin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or anything else. Those feelings towards the nation come from the mind and hearts of people, no matter what body they are housed in. This is incredible idiocy and a form of mental aberration to think like this. Welcome to California politics and heads filled with nonsense but burning with righteousness. --Del

Kamala Harris’s History of Jailing Parents of Truants

Kamala Harris’s History of Jailing Parents of Truants
Excerpt: Kamala Harris 2020: You Can’t Keep Your Plan, Your Car Is Banned, and If Your Kids Miss Class I’m Sending You to Jail Last night, presidential candidate Kamala Harris participated in a town hall with CNN and announced that she wanted a Medicare-for-all plan that would eliminate all forms of private insurance. (If you like your plan . . . you can’t keep your plan.) She said she supports the Green New Deal — no follow up questions on banning private ownership of cars, banning internal-combustion engines entirely, and cutting the military in half. Also last night, Twitter started buzzing about an old video of Harris talking about her decision to start prosecuting parents for the truancy of their children.

The Comedy Counter-Counterculture

The Comedy Counter-Counterculture
Excerpt: No one gets into comedy because he has a burning desire to get up in front of an audience and say, “Respect authority.” The conventional wisdom is wise! If something seems off, accept it unthinkingly! Hence comedy must get pulled to the right. Once, the medium prided itself on being countercultural, but today the former counterculture is the culture. Comedy, to remain oppositional, must become the counter-counterculture. For comics of the left, the sense that they’re being drawn in the wrong direction must be causing a lot of internal anguish. Any sentient observer of the cultural scene cannot help noticing the truth-denial, cant, hysteria, and absurdity that infect progressivism today, but if you’re a progressive, calling attention to any of this feels like lobbing grenades into your own trench.

Elizabeth Warren wants a ‘wealth tax.’ It might backfire.

Elizabeth Warren wants a ‘wealth tax.’ It might backfire.
Excerpt: DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) plans to propose an annual 2 percent federal tax on individual fortunes of more than $50 million and 3 percent on those greater than $1 billion, according to economists advising her campaign. A lot has to happen before anything like this could ever become law: Ms. Warren would have to (a) get elected; (b) win 60 votes in the Senate; and (c) overcome a likely constitutional challenge. (Depending on how it’s structured, a wealth tax might run afoul of the Constitution’s ban on “direct” taxes that are not levied in proportion to the population of each state.) Such political and legal obstacles aside, would it be a good idea?

Howard Schultz Could Actually Win the Presidency

Howard Schultz Could Actually Win the Presidency
Excerpt: "Schultz's policies would end up being much closer to Trump's than to the Democratic opposition. He would want to increase taxes, but only a smidge, so as not to disrupt the economy. He opposes Medicare for all as far too expensive. He would be for a strong defense, at least relatively. He would be middle-of-the-road on immigration, where many Americans are. He would be Trump-lite, a palatable Donald that many of the media could swallow because he wouldn't insult them for being liars (even though they are) or say outrageous (though often accurate) things for them to deliberately misinterpret." (Probably not, but maybe a stronger case than one would think, --Bill)

Hang the Gays!

IRAN PUBLICLY HANGS MAN ON HOMOSEXUALITY CHARGES

Obama’s FBI Ignored Lead That CHINA Had CLINTON EMAILS

Obama’s FBI Ignored Lead That CHINA Had CLINTON EMAILS
An Epoch Times report confirmed information first revealed by the Daily Caller and Fox News that the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) told the “FBI in 2015 that a forensic review of Hillary Clinton’s emails unearthed anomalies in the metadata of the messages. The evidence in the metadata suggested that a copy of every email Hillary Clinton sent during her tenure as the secretary of state was forwarded to a foreign third party.” Evidence proved the third party was China. (So, how many US assets were assassinated/revealed because of HRC? Why is the Intelligence community backing the former regime's politicization agendas despite this blow? Why is Feinstein's involvement with an entrenched mole as a driver not being investigated? Oh, it's CHINA not Russia. Wrong red flag..... The whole Mueller thing is a bunch of BO/HRC/GS smoke screen to get Trump and overturn the 2016 election--a coup. Why is this woman free and even being considered as running for POTUS in 2020? She was collapsing into vans, falling down stairs all over the world, being given injections and neuro checks on the street and using doubles to cover..... Get a grip. -Barb)

Post-Birth Abortion

‘Safe and Rare’ Also Means ‘Post-Birth Abortion’
Excerpt: When President Bill Clinton said that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare” in 1996, he staked out what looked like something of a middle ground on the single most passion-stirring issue in American politics. In the eyes of one group of Americans, Roe v. Wade had finally ensured that no woman would face life with an unwanted pregnancy and child; in the eyes of the other, the American government had legalized the murder of children as long as the child was on one side of the birth canal — and later, in defenses of partial-birth abortion, as long as some part of the child was still in the birth canal. ... Northam then elaborated on a scenario where the infant would be born alive, and then not resuscitated if the child was not wanted: “If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

The Curious Case of Jussie Smollett

The Curious Case of Jussie Smollett

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Religious Oppression in Viet Nam

Religious Oppression in Viet Nam
Excerpt: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report on Viet Nam. USCIRF's recommendations have been routinely ignored by our State Dept. It is nice that they supplied the report in both English and Vietnamese. It's not just that freedom is limited in Viet Nam, it's that actual oppression is rampant. Along with rampant corruption. But antiwar people still want to believe they helped bring "liberation and justice" to the South. Sure they did. --Del

Kamala Harris Is Already Backtracking on Health Care

Kamala Harris Is Already Backtracking on Health Care

$840M in gold bars prepared for loading onto Russian jet at Venezuelan airport: report

$840M in gold bars prepared for loading onto Russian jet at Venezuelan airport: report

'Kamala the Cop' is the perfect prosecutor for a bloodthirsty base

'Kamala the Cop' is the perfect prosecutor for a bloodthirsty base
Excerpt: "Brown's assessment of her, “always a prosecutor,” and “out for blood,” explains why she leads the early Democratic presidential field. While an ideological sliver on the Left objects to her zealous prosecution of those she perceives as enemies of “the people,” her record as a punisher is music to the ears of the largest part of the Democratic base. Kamala is out for blood, just like they are."

Texas Town Goes Green, Now Residents Have to Cowboy Up for Big Electric Bills

Texas Town Goes Green, Now Residents Have to Cowboy Up for Big Electric Bills

The Biggest Danger for the GOP in 2020

The Biggest Danger for the GOP in 2020
Excerpt: If you haven’t been paying attention, the President starts the quest for 2020 behind. Georgia and even Texas are showing swing state signs. The reliably Republican suburbs of Oklahoma went Democrat with turnout close to Presidential levels. The President won in 2016 because of 70,000 votes in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, all of which flipped decisively to the Democrats in 2018 with turnout comparable to a Presidential election year. But you are reading all of this saying, “You thought Hillary was going to win in 2016.” And you would be right. Just about every pundit and analyst in America thought so. And you’re probably muttering as well that the polls were wrong. Except they weren’t. The polling showed Clinton winning, and she did win the popular vote. The polls were national in scope and not swing state focused. The media will not make that mistake again. Clinton’s campaign was inept, and she ignored several areas in which she needed to campaign. Had she gone to Wisconsin, the results of 2016 could have been different.

Northam: GOP Critics of Late-Term-Abortion Bill ‘Playing Politics with Women’s Health’

Northam: GOP Critics of Late-Term-Abortion Bill ‘Playing Politics with Women’s Health’
Excerpt: “No woman seeks a third trimester abortion except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances . . . and the governor’s comments were limited to the actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor,” the statement continued. “Attempts to extrapolate these comments otherwise is in bad faith and underscores exactly why the governor believes physicians and women, not legislators, should make these difficult and deeply personal medical decisions.” Northam, who worked as a pediatrician before entering politics, was asked during a Wednesday radio interview whether he supported Democratic delegate Kathy Tran’s late-term-abortion bill, which, she admitted during a Monday committee hearing, would allow doctors to perform an abortion up until the point of birth. “This is why decisions such as this should be made by providers, physicians, and the mothers and fathers that are involved,” Northam said. “When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physician — more than one physician, by the way — and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that’s non-viable.

Death Spiral for BuzzFeed, the Millennial Reader’s Digest

Death Spiral for BuzzFeed, the Millennial Reader’s Digest

Lesbian Activist Faces Leftist Fury After 'Misgendering' a Male Rapist

Lesbian Activist Faces Leftist Fury After 'Misgendering' a Male Rapist
Excerpt: The LGBT community can't even escape the fury that comes with the incorrect use of gender pronouns. Julia Beck, a lesbian activist and former member of the LGBTQ Commission for the mayor of Baltimore, got in a “little trouble” after she called a male rapist “he” when "he" actually considered himself a transgendered woman. During a conservative discussion panel at the Heritage Foundation on Monday, Beck told the story she described as “unbelievable and absurd as it is common place. “I got kicked off of the Baltimore mayor’s LGBTQ Commission as the only lesbian, simply for stating biological facts,” she said. “After a months long witch hunt I was found guilty of ‘violence.’ My crime? Using male pronouns to talk about a convicted male rapist who identifies as transgender and prefers female pronouns.” Beck went on to expose the foolishness of the Baltimore LGBTQ commission for their concern of using correct gender pronouns as opposed to their concern for a male rapist infiltrating a female prison based on how he identifies. “It doesn’t matter that he sexually assaulted two women in a women’s prison after being transferred there on account of his ‘gender identity,’ she continued. “Oh no, it is far more criminal for me to call a male rapist “he” than it is for him to rape.”
(you can't make this stuff up. --Del)

Global Warming Poem


I do not like this global warming
It’s minus 24 this morning.
Minus 12 the high today
And minus thirty tonight they say.
One thing that I want for sure…
A carbon footprint large as Gore’s!

Sunday, January 27, 2019

The Power of Shared Mission in High-Performing Teams

This is my former boss at the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. She was at Mayo, not a dept. head at Yale. She rowed in the Olympics. ~Bob
Title IX to Health Equity: The Power of Shared Mission in High-Performing Teams

'I was raped, starved and kept as a prisoner'.

'I was raped, starved and kept as a prisoner': How an Australian woman, 30, travelled to Pakistan to meet the man of her dreams... only for him to lock her up, force Islam upon her and abuse her daily

Identity Politics Is Devouring Itself.

Identity Politics Is Devouring Itself. By Jeffrey A. Tucker
Excerpt: I’m writing on the train leaving Washington, D.C. following a normal weekend in the nation’s capital which hosted tens of thousands of activists who interrupted traffic flows and traipsed around town shouting slogans at no one in particular under the mistaken impression that their actions would somehow cause the narrative of history to turn in their favor. They traveled here. They made signs. They walked and walked. They screamed and yelled. They gave speeches to each other. But so far as I could tell this morning, nothing changed because of their efforts. Only the hotels and restaurants benefited in the end. And good for them: under the free enterprise system that the activists seem determined to hobble and overthrow, customers are always welcome. What’s striking about the Women’s March, if the New York Times is right, is that there is one more result: the organizers hate each other now more than ever before. In fact, there were two separate marches in most cities, one being the original under a new name because the founder was kicked out and the other being the break-off march that is protesting not only the patriarchy and every other imagined evil in the world but also the ruling class of the march itself, which the dissidents regard as being dominated by the wrong demographic.

Gun Control

Why do so many Americans conflate “gun control” with “gun bans”? by Matt Pickering
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-Americans-conflate-gun-control-with-gun-bans/answer/Matt-Pickering-3?ch=99&share=19c3c990&srid=YBN0

Vietnam today

Police shut down disabled Vietnam veterans' get-together
Redemptorists running charitable program say Hanoi unlikely to win friends by disrespecting elderly ex-servicemen
Can you be nice at all to sick, old, disabled men who once fought for South Viet Nam? No, not while the dictators in Hanoi are in charge. 44 years after the war ended, they still want to punish everyone that was ever a part of the resistance to their conquest. How tragic and cruel this is. --Del

Time has changed you

Black & White - Faded and Torn
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xfn7n0zoKpQ

Leftist Jew Hatred Has Come to America.

Leftist Jew Hatred Has Come to America. By Karin McQuillan
https://amgreatness.com/2019/01/23/leftist-jew-hatred-has-come-to-america/

The Government Can

The Government Can

Debunking the equality illusion.

Debunking the equality illusion. By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
Excerpt: Our slide toward cultural mediocrity is accelerating day by day. We should already know how this ends "The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. If you haven't read Kurt Vonnegut's little dystopian masterpiece, "Harrison Bergeron" read it. If you've read it, read it again. At 2000 words, it's about a seven-minute read. And it explains much of what's wrong with Western Civilization. "Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General."

Life Lessons

Short Life Lessons

Saturday, January 26, 2019

The Democrats’ Growing Anti-Semitism Problem. By Abe Greenwall

The Democrats’ Growing Anti-Semitism Problem. By Abe Greenwall

A Cure For Future Government Shutdowns

A Cure For Future Government Shutdowns

Taking a Knee

Taking a Knee by Stanislaus Drew (Correction)

Take a little trip to Valley Forge in January. Hold a musket ball in your Fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle, so Just wait your turn. Take your cleats and socks off to get a real Experience.
Then, take a knee on the beach in Normandy where man after American man Stormed the beach, even as the one in front of him was shot to pieces, the Very sea stained with American blood. The only blockers most had were the Dead bodies in front of them, riddled with bullets from enemy fire.
Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. From Khe Sanh to Saigon, anywhere will do. Americans died in all those jungles. There was no Playbook that told them what was next, but they knew what flag they Represented. When they came home, they were protested as well, and spit on for reasons only cowards know.
Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat. Wear your Kevlar helmet and battle dress. Your number won't be printed on it unless your number is up! You'll need to stay hydrated but There won't be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. You're on your Own.
There are a lot of places to take a knee where Americans have given their Lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought As a source for your displeasure, you dishonor the memories of those who Bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It Represents the blood of those who spilled a sea of it defending your Liberty.
While you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on a Manicured lawn striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of Ground taken, but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering Forests and bitter cold mountains, every inch marked by an American life Lost serving that flag you protest.
No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans, just American men and Women, delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us, Blazing a path so you would have the right to "take a knee." You haven't Any inkling of what it took to get you where you are, but your "protest" is
Duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation of real heroes, it Serves the purpose of pointing to your ingratitude for those who chose to Defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your jersey is Retired.
If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for Preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for our Ingratitude for all He has provided us. We'll appeal to Him for Understanding and wisdom. We'll pray for liberty and justice for all, Because He is the one who provides those things. But there will be no
Protest. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His Continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the Brave. It goes like this, GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Former NFL player beats up man accused of peeping into daughter’s bedroom

Former NFL player beats up man accused of peeping into daughter’s bedroom

How Refusing To Direct Kids’ Sexuality And Aggression Fuels Identity Politics

How Refusing To Direct Kids’ Sexuality And Aggression Fuels Identity Politics

Get Ready: California-Style Elections Are Coming to Your State

Get Ready: California-Style Elections Are Coming to Your State
Excerpt: If you thought the 2018 elections in California were a mess, you were right. Dangerous new election laws and lax practices contributed to that mess, and now they want the rest of the nation to suffer the way Californians do. First, the mess. Election Integrity Project, California (EIPCa), a group of concerned citizens in California, has been documenting problems in the state’s election system for years. We have done the hard, messy work on the ground to catalog the problems. California election officials and legislators have turned our elections into a free-for-all, with few safeguards, all in the name of “voter access." Recent initiatives include “top two” primary elections, automatic voter registration, allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, allowing mail ballots to arrive after Election Day, rejecting voter ID, removing restrictions on who can handle and return mail ballots (aka ballot “harvesting”), same-day registration and voting, allowing voters to “cure” their mail ballot signature mismatches via the honor system and, in 2020, providing all registrants with mail ballots.

‘PROBABLE CAUSE’ FOUND THAT ANDREW GILLUM VIOLATED STATE ETHICS LAWS

‘PROBABLE CAUSE’ FOUND THAT ANDREW GILLUM VIOLATED STATE ETHICS LAWS
Best news of the day. --Barb

BuzzFeed and HuffPo Just Got Hit with the Karma Stick and We Are HERE for It

BuzzFeed and HuffPo Just Got Hit with the Karma Stick and We Are HERE for It
Excerpt: BuzzFeed has announced that it plans to lay off 15 percent of its overall workforce next week. In a message to employees on Wednesday, CEO Jonah Peretti explained that although revenue has grown rapidly, "unfortunately, revenue growth by itself isn't enough to be successful in the long run..."
BuzzFeed says it employs about 1,450 people and has offices in 18 cities around the world. More than 200 people across the company are expected to lose their jobs in the coming round of layoffs — just over a year after another restructuring effort resulted in about 100 lost jobs, mostly on the business side of its operations. The Huffington Post is also laying off a bunch of people, as is the Gannett newspaper chain. Even DC Comics is laying people off this week. It's a tough time for the publishing industry ... A Catholic school in Kentucky had to shut down this week due to hundreds of death threats, because a bunch of self-described journalists spread a disgusting smear that they were too lazy to check out for themselves. Pardon me if I don't weep for those guardians of truth less than a week later, as they pack up their desks. ... There you are just minding your own business, rage-mobbing a group of children, and 48 hours later you're out on your ass. No good deed goes unpunished, huh? Sorry to pick on that guy, but... damn. If that were me, if my karma were that instant, I might take some time to think about the life decisions that brought me to that point.... I guess that's where I draw the line, attacking kids for the red hats they bought that same day and dared to wear in public. If you saw the hats and instantly knew everything you needed to know about those boys, maybe you're a lousy journalist and you need to find a new job anyway... I have no love for Trump. But attacking a bunch of kids just for daring to put on his hats? What the hell is wrong with these parasites?

Denied asylum, Iraqi charged with rape and murder in Germany's 'Susanna case'

Denied asylum, Iraqi charged with rape and murder in Germany's 'Susanna case'
Excerpt: German prosecutors Wednesday announced child rape and murder charges against a rejected Iraqi asylum-seeker in a case that fueled a heated debate about immigrant crime. The accused in the “Susanna case,” 21-year-old Ali Bashar, had fled Germany after the crime for northern Iraq but was extradited in a mission joined personally by federal police chief Dieter Romann. Bashar is accused of beating, raping and then strangling schoolgirl Susanna Maria Feldman, 14, in a wooded area near his refugee shelter in the city of Wiesbaden last May 23. Earlier he had also allegedly twice raped an 11-year-old girl — once in April 2018 after locking her in his room, and again near a supermarket parking area the following month.

Worth Reading: Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence

Worth Reading: Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence
Excerpt: Until recently, my wife Jackie­—Dr. Jacqueline Berenson—was a senior psychiatrist there. Many of Mid-Hudson’s 300 patients are killers and arsonists. At least one is a cannibal. Most have been diagnosed with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia that provoked them to violence against family members or strangers. A couple of years ago, Jackie was telling me about a patient. In passing, she said something like, Of course he’d been smoking pot his whole life. Of course? I said. Yes, they all smoke.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Was the USA ever truly great?

Was the USA ever truly great?
Recently someone I like and respect said to me that from a certain point of view, this country was never great. Initially I was taken aback, but then I thought about it, and of course he was correct. And that's something that has to be recognized as a solid fact.
From the day Columbus landed, from the day the first British colonists landed, it was never "great" for everyone, in the sense of perfect equality for all, perfect justice for all. First off, it wasn't so great for the colonists who starved and froze to death while still trying to adapt to actual life here. And once colonization really got started, shipload after shipload of the petty criminals and others sentenced to be indentured servants arrived, whose status was only a couple of steps higher than a slave's. Life wasn't great for them, nor in fact for many of the people in the lower classes, and certainly not for the slaves who started to arrive as well. It was not great then for all women, or gays, or Jews, or a wide variety of minor groups, including Catholics. It sure as hell wasn't great for the innocent people accused of being witches, who were murdered by the craziness of that time.
Later on as more people immigrated in, it wasn't always great for all of them, in fact pretty much everyone faced discrimination at various levels, from the Germans to the Irish and later the Italians, on through group after group, the Japanese, the Poles, etc. Italians were actually also the victims of racially motivated lynchings in Louisiana, but of course fewer than lynchings of Blacks.
The list of injustices goes on nonstop for every day, month, year of our history, and in fact continues today, as we see in the news every time we tune in.
But if the only way a nation is "great" is if it achieves perfect
equality for all, perfect justice for all, then there is no great nation today and there never was one. Nor do I believe there will ever be one.
However, I submit that to not be "great" in that sense does not mean the nation is not good, overall, and in life, most of us learn fast that demanding perfection is just silly, but looking for and finding good is what makes life worthwhile. And this is, in my estimation and experience, a good nation, one worthy of respect, affection, even love and devotion. (OK, OK, I'm guilty as charged, one of those damned patriots!)
Personally, I do think the USA is a great nation, for starters, prior to 1776 no society had ever started out with a ideal that all people are created equal, with God-given rights. Yes, it's an ideal that wasn't lived up to perfectly then, or since, but it was and is the American ideal, that we have made progress towards, slowly in fits and starts, ever since. Our history has myriad examples of bad things, starting of course with slavery, exploitation, breaking Indian treaties, and so many more. It is not an excuse at all to note that many of these actions were not remotely special in their time. Slavery existed all over the globe for millennia, and even if we narrow down to Western nations, the USA was still neither the first to have it nor the last to abandon it. The huge bulk of human societies have been patriarchal, and the great majority
were homophobic.
I look not so much at how bad we were, but at how far we've come. Often through tremendous effort and sacrifice by both the oppressed and also others who belonged to the upper parts of society. We instituted various social programs to help people earlier than some other nations, e.g., our legislation to help disabled people was the first of its kind in the world. EPA and OSHA were also first set up here. We give more aid to the rest of the world both as a nation and in private charities than all the rest of the world combined.
We still have very substantial problems that need to be worked on. For me, both rejoicing in how good we have become while still committed to further progress is a reasonable and positive way to be. My heroes are the Black Union soldiers, paid less, with White officers, inferior equipment, and guaranteed to be executed if ever taken prisoner, who volunteered anyhow to defend the nation where they were defined as second class citizens. Because they believed in the long term good. Just like the 442nd Regimental Combat team of WW2, make up entirely of Nisei men, half of whose families were in interment camps in the USA. They also fought and laid down their lives for the good of the future.
And that is what really makes America great. The men and women who will struggle, suffer, sacrifice for the long term good of their nation. We have been blessed with enough of them in the past, and must pray we always have enough. God Bless America.--Del

Putting the Roger Stone Indictment in Context

Putting the Roger Stone Indictment in Context