The hit dog barks

An article appeared at Breitbart on Tuesday about the National Review deigning to do a review of rural Virginian Oliver Anthony’s very popular “Rich Man North of Richmond” song attacking almost everything beloved of the political and media establishment.

Dear. Oh, dear. The screed, even secondhand, immediately triggered memories of a saying shared by both my grandfathers. “The hit dog barks.” The increasingly Woke media and political powers that be understood clearly that the song wasn’t talking about Fredricksburg or Manassas – or even the soon-to-be former Fort A. P. Hill.

That elite who deem themselves masters of our States (and the world) seem very thin-skinned at times, don’t they? Or do they just rightly fear almost anything can escalate into a version of France 1789?

But it wasn’t just about DC either: NYC and Philadelphia and Boston, among others, are all north of Richmond. And filled with rich men. Far too many of them seem to have become incredibly wealthy as “civil servants” and serving in elected office. The elite, or as some put it, the technocrats.

The entire article is worth reading. And the song is worth listening to as well, if you can put up with the raw, foul language of this redheaded, redbearded hillbilly singer. (Meanwhile, expect to be “entertained” by a deluge of factoids about this guy, his family, his foibles, his community and background – and anything they can find that he has ever typed, written, said, or “liked.” Cancel culture in action.)

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Trial? We don’t need no stinkin’ trial.

So a pair of “conservative legal scholars” seem to be stating clearly according to a recent MSN article, These august gentlemen argue that there is “abundant evidence” that Trump engaged in an insurrection, citing his efforts to change vote counts through threats and intimidation and urging his supporters to march on the Capitol.

So “abundant evidence” negates the need for silly things like trials and guilty verdicts – no appeal except maybe (they claim) to Congress – and see, The Donald is a nasty, evil, mean guy which the 14th Amendment “automatically” bars from office.

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Is Sacramento channeling Benedict Arnold?

The most famous traitor in American history is probably Major General Benedict Arnold, a rising star in the Continental Army who switched sides and joined the Loyalist forces fighting for King George III and the Brits in the American War of Independence.

While the Dems and many Republicans in DC and elsewhere are touting how The Donald is guilty (note, no trial yet) of insurrection (and therefore a traitor) and busy changing the names of dozens of military installations to erase the names of Confederate “traitors” from history, this story comes courtesy of a reader of TPOL:

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Wicked witches of the West

Now everyone knows that The Donald is not a nice guy, He can be cruel, mean, blunt, and outspoken. (As Caitlin Johnstone has pointed out, Trump is a criminal, not because of the things he’s been indicted for, but because he did the same things as president that every POTUS including Uncle Joe have done: “legal” but criminal violations of moral law and essential/basic principles of liberty.)

And Uncle Joe? A mob boss, however senile he is now: a genuine Godfather with his family/clan at the center of a massively profitable criminal enterprise operating for decades. A serial liar, and increasingly under the control of various handlers and whomever it is that pulls his strings. Who seems to daily add to his criminal record for past and present deeds.

But…

In Congress, we have a pair that are even more evil. Aged and steeped in evil, and dishing it out every day. Did Frank Baum or the scriptwriters of the movie version of “The Wizard of Oz” somehow use a time machine to use these women as models for the villain?

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Culture war expanded by MSM #1

Many of us probably use “culture war” too frequently. It is a broad term, easily misinterpreted, and designed to rile people up. SAnd it is hard sometimes to think of another term to describe the efforts by many people and groups to tear down the foundations of society and institutions of great importance. Flawed as all these institutions are, they are often – even mostly – far better than what their enemies wish to substitute for them.

Consider this example. Browsing online, I ran across an “opinion piece” in Newsweek, which I believe is both “Mainstream Media” (MSM) and strictly on-line these days. See below for further discussion of this “news magazine.”

The meat of the piece: “Facing a largely ineffective Congress, an overstepping Supreme Court, the rising threat of authoritarianism, and a government seemingly unable to address many of our most pressing problems, a small but growing number of liberal scholars and commentators have been making a strong case against a previously sacred cow: the U.S. Constitution.

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Trigger warning

A cute, funny picture, right? Unless you were also to launch a screed against certain people or institutions, that is.

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We don’t need or want conscription

A couple of weeks back, Ron Paul’s Liberty Report featured this op-ed in the Military Times. Freedom’s Phoenix repostedDr. Paul’s (staff) charges with the headline “DC Swamp calls for a draft.”

Big credit to both Dr. Paul and the Hancocks for finding this. Just a couple of problems and blessings: first, Dr. Paul should know that the Military Times is NOT “Pro-Pentagon” (I understand the folks at Freedom’s Phoenix, not being military, may not realize that.) Military Times is frequently critical of the brass hats at the Pentagon, both civilian and military. The publication still seems to have some remnant of the old press ethics and are neutral or even negative to the DoD and armed services in general. Second, it is not the Military Times that wrote or even encouraged this opinion piece: it is a retired USMC Lieutenant Colonel (O-5) (and former Pentagon denizen) that wrote it. The Times makes that clear.

LTC (R) Plenzler is wrong – very, very wrong. And even if he were right about needing a “limited” conscription, that would only address the symptoms of our military “crisis,” for failure to meet recruiting goals is definitely the responsibility of Congress and the political appointees of Uncle Joe’s mob. Yes, he does place the blame on the FedGov political leadership, but again, symptoms and not causes. Yet he expects political decisions about how to get soldiers, sailors, and airmen to be any good? The problem is far deeper than a draft can solve. His proposal will not work. Not just because it is evil, but because it does not change why people don’t want to serve.

Here is the op-ed:

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“Will no one rid me of this mettlesome priest?”

This is a quote attributed to Henry II of England that preceded the death of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. The king’s words were “misinterpreted” as an order, prompting four knights from Normandy to travel to Canterbury and murder Becket. Right there in the cathedral.

The phrase implies that a leader’s desire may be taken as an order by his or her officials. It is frequently used in contemporary settings to convey the idea that a ruler’s wish might be interpreted as a command by his or her subordinates. Is this what is going on today in DC?

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The life and pending death of San Francisco

We here at TPOL were able to generate some discussion a few weeks ago about the current state and decline of San Francisco. Including a discussion on whose and what data do we believe when it comes to understanding conditions in a place like the Jewel of the Pacific Coast. The saga continues, but San Francisco is not alone by any means.

It appears that same discussion is taking place in many venues. Here are a few examples.

Zero Hedge recently republished an article stating that all Americans should be concerned about the trauma, the fight for survival, and impending demise of San Francisco.

In June, Newsweek bemoaned the homelessness, drug calamity, exploding crime, and business closures that are dragging San Francisco down. The leftist mag proclaimed that the city’s decline is not just a matter of concern but a warning to other American cities. The business collapse and exodus has just continued more in the past two months.

Even The Atlantic tells us how San Francisco became a “failed city” because of the pandemic. The Washington Examiner tells us that downtown San Francisco’s collapse reflects the city’s decay, although the WaPo claims that the city “isn’t destined to be the next Detroit.” But back in April even the SF Chronicle itself stated that the city could be on the verge of collapse. (But they wanted to know what California should do about it, and noted that the city’s population loss was slowing!)

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How many battalions does the Supreme Court have?

Once again we are reading stories that Uncle Joe’s regime is being urged to (and plans to) defy the US Supreme Court, refusing to obey their decisions. Which means that the FedGov bureaucrats will continue to do things the Nine Nazgul have determined to be unconstitutional. And in some cases, refuse to do things which are the obligation of the Executive Branch to do according to the Constitution.

At the same time, the usual demands to “reform” the Supremes seem to be increasing in number and loudness. Not even looking at general attacks on the US Constitution, we see cries for packing the Court (as attempted by FDR), for “codes of conduct” and term limits, and other tampering with SCOTUS. The intent seems to be pushing multiple objectives. First, they want to take away more of the little independence that the courts – particularly SCOTUS – has from the other two official branches of government. First at the Fedgov and no doubt then in the States. Second, they want to ensure that the court will be permanently slanted to a “liberal” (Woke, regressive) majority. So that these people would still win even if they cannot reduce (or eliminate) the courts’ independence (ala most European “democracies”). Third, they want to discredit the courts to win popular support for the current (and future) regimes ignoring the courts. And finally, it is clear that these people – the Woke and regressivists and totalitarians – want to intimidate the courts: if not the justices and judges themselves, then their supporting staff.

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