Farewell 2020

The best way to end 2020 is with a column by Victor Davis Hanson.

Listen to me, I agree with experts

View social media and you see the conflict bubbling up.
"I saw people not following the guidelines."
"Don't they care?"
Then come the responses.
"The government doesn't have a right to control what I do in my house."
And the counters.
"It's not okay to be a mass murderer. Don't you see gathering during COVID is the same thing.?
And so on and so on.
And it's going to get worse into January.
It's all a matter of trust.
We don't have any in each other.
If you support the lockdowns, you use government action to try and enforce your way.
If you don't, and want to continue living life somewhat as you did in the past, you point to Florida and other areas where people are trying to do that.
We don't trust others to act thoughtfully.
Instead, each action outside our comfort zone becomes a threat.
Either a threat to our way of life.
Or a threat to our life.
When there's speculation - "your actions could harm me" - versus reality - "I missed my family members final days because of your rules." - who holds the upper hand?
In an ideal world, we would trust our neighbors to be making good decisions and let them following their reasons.
Instead of watching them out our window, and tattling.

Climategate Carol

Our neighborhood held a contest over the weekend to see who had the best light display. 

The Green New Deal crew won't be pleased. 

Al Gore speaks, no one's listening 

In the lane, lights are glistening 

Oh what a sight 

With houses really bright

Seeing all the Christmas lights are on 

 Gone away is good science 

Here to stay, blind allegiance 

We're singing our song 

Yet lights come on 

Look how all the Christmas lights are on 

On computers we can cook some data 

then pretend that it is warmer now 

They'll ask: Are you sure? 

We'll say: You know, man 

And here's the hockey stick that we have found 

 Later on, we'll conspire, 

With warnings, that are dire 

Make the people afraid 

We'll pass cap and trade 

No more seeing Christmas lights turned on 

 On computers we can cook some data 

And say skeptics are just circus clowns 

We'll have lots of fun with our bad data 

Until our own emails knock us down. 

 When we speak, ain't it thrilling 

People's hearts, they are chilling 

We'll frolic and play, the socialist way, 

No more seeing Christmas lights turned on

Wanted - three ghosts

Can we get some ghosts to visit Democratic governors this Christmas season? 

California and New York top the list. 

Pennsylvania has lots of offices needing to see the ghosts.

Bad news for Democrats

It's always nice to remind Democrats they failed at a major mission this year - winning state legislature races. 

This year, Democrats targeted a dozen state legislative chambers where Republicans held tenuous majorities, including in Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and Minnesota. Their goal was to check the power of Republicans to redraw congressional and legislative districts in 2021, and to curb the rightward drift of policies from abortion to gun safety to voting rights. 

In all cases, Democrats came up short. None of their targeted legislative chambers flipped, even though Biden carried many of the districts that down-ballot Democrats did not. It could make it harder for Democrats to retain a House majority in 2022.

Now, it's two years until Demcrats get neutered.

Ain't that a kick in the head?

Jason Whitlock wasn't impressed with the pooch kick heralded by ESPN as an historic milestone.
Sarah Fuller received a standing ovation for kicking the ball 30 yards or so and high-tailing it to the sidelines to be greeted by the winless head coach using her to save his job.
This wasn’t Jackie Robinson 2.0. It was Make A Wish.

Saturday song

A free weekend of SiriusXM gives you a chance to hear long lost songs, like this one from LeBlanc and Carr.

Release the Kraken

Looks like noon Thursday is the time. 

You want proof? 

You can't handle the proof.

Looks like they are going to get it.

The big question for Biden

Joe Biden - there's 70 million Americans who think you're an incompetent old fool with crazy friends.

How to do unify us?

Today's question

 Does Bidencare cover premature celebration?

Stick together with your friends

Legal Insurrection made its blog debut in October 2008, two weeks before I started. 

He remembers the rough days of 2009 and offers hope. 

Yet this is not 2008. One of the benefits of having been at this at Legal Insurrection since October 12, 2008, is that we’ve been through several cycles. Unlike Obama’s victory in 2008, we are starting out in a much better position in the House, and in state legislatures and statehouses that will influence redistricting. The massive red wave of 2010 could be replicated in 2022. The Senate will depend on the two Georgia runoffs on January 5, 2021 — if Republicans win at least one of them, the Senate is secure at least as a blocking mechanism against leftism. There are risks of defections and wobbliness, but no one knows how to use a slim majority to advantage as much as Mitch McConnell.

No shame

The left has moved onto wanting to shame President Trump. 

Don't they realize that doesn't work? 

Ask Bill and Hillary.

60 days until Cocaine Mitchmas

It looks like control of the Senate will boil down to the two Senate runoff elections in Georgia Jan. 5.
Democrats may think they have an advantage, but they forget their liabilities.
By then, at least some of Biden's Cabinet picks will be known.
Who's going to be Energy Secretary?
After spending the campaign offering platitudes and no specifics, his direction will begin coming into focus...
Instead of anti-Trump thoughts motivating Democrats, they'll have to join candidates with ideas that may not follow the electorate.
Plus, there's history.
In 1992, after George W. Bush lost, Republicans won a runoff for Georgia's Senate seat. That started the momentum to winning the House and Senate in 1994.

I'm sure McConnell remembers.

So much for privacy

The best story of the day - Democratic House members blistering each other in their private call.
Which was immediately leaked to reporters.

They are through in '22.

Election Day song for Democrats

They want just a little more time - to create the needed votes.

Ready for a 13th year

 My blogging has dropped greatly this year.

What more can be said about coronavirus and Trump?

Besides, I'm not thrilled with our posts look with the latest Wordpress upgrade.

But Tuesday marks the end of our 2020 nightmare.

What nightmare awaits in 2021?

We'll know soon enough.

What's the news?

Facebook and Twitter want to contain news about Hunter Biden's emails.
Too bad
Is there anyone on the right side who is not

1. Posting it on Facebook
2. Talking about it on Twitter.
3. Posting in their blog?

Sorry Hunter.

You're no Beau, that's for sure.

I gotta get out of this place

Cheers to President Trump for getting out of his hospital suite to wave at the supporters outside Walter Reed Army Hospital.
The better he feels, the worse the media feels.

Trust the Monster accountant

Confused about President Trump's taxes.
Larry Correia can help.

Living in Joe's world

Rod Dreher finds a better use for his time on the radio than listening to NPR - the Joe Rogan Experience.
It feels like every time I get in the car and turn on the radio, I don’t have to wait long before I hear a story that highlights in some new way what a racist country America is, or how hard illegal immigrants have it in America, or how put-upon sexual minorities are, and so forth. I don’t know if NPR’s liberalism has always been like this, or if it has gotten worse — or if I have simply become thin-skinned about these issues. I have always known NPR was liberal, but that didn’t stop me from being a big fan, and even a contributing member. I feel that my NPR — the NPR that I cherished, even though it was liberal and I am conservative — has gone away, and I don’t know why. I used to love listening to it in the car, and not conservative talk radio, because I don’t want to have a voice on the radio rubbing my nose into some political narrative. NPR used to stand out because it proposed new ways of seeing the world, or at least ways that seemed new to me as a conservative. Now listening to NPR is giving oneself over to hosts who seek to impose a worldview that constantly says, about people who don’t fit the progressive narrative, that you aren’t worthy of our consideration or attention. That you are what’s wrong with America.
I switched over to Spotify to listen to Joe Rogan’s September 17 podcast episode with Douglas Murray, on the advice of a friend. It was excellent! Murray is more conservative than Rogan, but still, he’s a gay secular Briton, and Rogan is a pro-drug, pro-gay marriage, comedian and MMA commentator who has some conservative beliefs (or at least instincts), but who, above all, seems curious about the world. On paper, neither of these guys has a lot in common with me, but I hated for their conversation to be over, because they sounded like people I either know, or would like to know. They talked for a while about how bonkers the left has become, but neither one sounded like right-wing zealots, not in the least. What they sounded like was real people who were broadcasting from the real world, not from an aerie in the thin, cold air high atop Mount Progressive. Joe Rogan is profane, but when I listen to him, it feels like I’m listening to an actual person I might meet, and with whom I might enjoy a robust discussion, like people used to have. With NPR, it’s like listening to the Vatican Radio of the Religion Of Secular Progressivism, and you get the idea that if you met one of its young reporters, you would feel like a pot dealer who wandered into a Police Benevolent Association fundraiser.

Lots of knowledge, little wisdom

Daily Wire features a sermon from John MacArthur on our society's current problem.

You might assume the average person today knows more and understands more than all his ancestors because of the vast wealth of information on the Internet. That’s an illusion. It’s true that almost any tidbit of data you want can be called up instantly by a search engine. Wikipedia will give you a marginally reliable crowdsourced overview of practically any topic in summary form (with large headings that facilitate speed-reading). Thus without any real intellectual effort, you can appear to know far more than you truly understand.

Such a casual, superficial approach to learning feeds the worst tendencies of a pragmatic culture. People see no need to master any field of knowledge or remember specific facts. Old-style education seems a waste of time for a generation weaned on smartphones. Why study mathematics — or anything, for that matter — when you can get speedy answers to almost any question on a hand-held device?

Undefeated team watch

Through two weeks, 11 teams won both games.
This weekend, there's two matchups between 2-0 teams - the Rams at Buffalo and the Monday Night matchup between Baltimore and Kansas City.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins are watching.

Booger

From the debut of WKRP in Cincinnati.

Saturday song

A reminder to Democrats today - you can't always get what you want.

Let my people go

I have friends and family in Pennsylvania.
Trapped by their governor under burdensome lockdowns.
Not in the future.
While those restrictions were "well-intentioned," wrote U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, "good intentions toward a laudable end are not alone enough to uphold governmental action against a constitutional challenge. Indeed, the greatest threats to our system of constitutional liberties may arise when the ends are laudable and the intent is good—especially in time of emergency."

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most

Try searching "Does Joe Biden have dementia?"
Or "Joe Biden dementia"
Google is not very helpful.
Maybe Google has dementia.
If you persist, you can find information on the topic.

Boos and more

 You may have heard fans in Kansas City boo the "unity" moment between the teams.
Did you catch them doing the "Tomahawk chop" right after that?
The players want to be heard about their concerns.
So do fans.

Tale of two brothers

Joe Biden has two sons.
One he talks about - Beau.
One Republicans talk about - Hunter.
Both sons fit the narrative each side wants to tell.
Joe hides behind Beau, now deceased.
Republicans highlight Hunter as what a Biden presidency will offer.

Shave and a haircut, two bits

Who had the most famous visit to a hair salon in 2020?
Nancy Pelosi appears to top the list.
A clean win for President Trump in this story.

Saturday song

It's summer of 2020. Can anybody say this?