Yaron Brook: PATHETIC!! Leftists HATE Your Jeans!! Sydney Sweeney & American Eagle

"American Eagle is維standing firm behind its controversial campaign starring Sydney Sweeney, which features advertisements with the slogan: “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The campaign plays on a pun of “great genes,” sparking widespread leftist outrage online as woke leftists accuse the brand of celebrating Sweeney’s white heritage and slender physique." 

Source:Yaron Brook is damn right.

From Yaron Brook

Before I say what I really want to say here, I must confess to something. American Eagle is probably my favorite clothing company. It's not just their denim jeans, which are very comfortable and beautiful... even their indigo skinny jeans that are even very comfortable in the summer and look great with black shirts, belts, and boots. So if I sound bias at all here, that's why. 

So my broader point here and Yaron Brook got into it as well... this is really just about race and color with the "WOKE-Left". If the model here was African, or Asian-American, even Spanish-Latino (that leftists don't consider to be white) and the model was saying that she has great jeans, (jeans with a J) no one is freaking out about this. That's the point that I would add to what Yaron said. But the woman with light hair, sort of light in complexion, light build, looks like she could be some preppy girl from the suburbs, someone the far-left would call "white privileged", they freak out over this commercial. 

And I guess my past point here is, as unpopular as Donald Trump and "MAGA" are today, the far-left seems to be addicted to reminding voters why the Democratic Party is unpopular as well. They seem to have this uncontrollable desire to remind voters: 

"Hey, you might hate the Republican Party right now, but before you go to the voting booth, don't forget to remember how much we suck as well and how crazy and out-of-touch we are with you. Do you really want a political party like us even in-charge of a local fruit stand, let lone running part of the Federal Government right now?"

But if that's not bad enough, when they take these crazy positions, they seem to feel the need to try to get their friendly voices in the media to stand behind them, whether it's on MSNBC, or CNN, or even freakin Stephen Colbert who lost his job on CBS, because he's seen as too friendly with "WOKE-Left" in America.

So American Eagle is standing by their commercial and so is Sydney Sweeney. Why? Because they haven't done anything wrong here and apparently their commercial and these long, baggy, denim pants (that some people call jeans) that have been in style in America this entire decade, are popular. Which is how private enterprise in a liberal democracy, is supposed to work.  

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Robert Reich: So Much for Socialism

"The Trump regime is using the specter of socialism to make America even more authoritarian. The regime will lose.

When Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem unleashed her ICE shock troops on Los Angeles last month, she said: “We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist” leaders.

Minutes later, California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from the press conference and put in handcuffs.

The specter of socialism is being used by Trump and his goons to make America even more authoritarian.

Trump even threatens to “run” New York City if its voters choose Zohran Mamdani — a Muslim of Indian descent and avowed democratic socialist — as their next mayor. “We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to,” says Trump, warning that he might step in and take control if New Yorkers elect Mamdani.

Trump is using the word “socialism” to slam everything the public needs and to justify cruel cuts in the nation’s safety net.

Trump’s just-enacted Big Ugly Bill will push more than 11 million Americans off Medicaid. Another 2 million Americans will lose food stamps. The savings will help finance a big tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.

But the next time they’re up for election, Republican lawmakers may be shocked to discover how many Americans prefer the “socialism” of Medicaid and food stamps to the socialism-for-the-rich tax cuts in the Big Ugly.

Medicaid alone has 83 percent favorability. Among Republicans, it’s a remarkable 74 percent.

Trump and his lackeys are living in another century if they think they can use “socialism” as a cudgel.

As early as 2011, the Pew Research Center found that almost as many voters under the age of 30 held a positive view of socialism as of capitalism.

During the 2016 Democratic primaries and then again in 2020, young people all over America wore buttons reading “feel the Bern” in honor of democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.

Whether it’s called socialism, democratic socialism, or enlightened capitalism, societies need to pool resources for the common good... 

Source:Robert Reich talking about something he knows very well, but has never officially embraced as his own philosophy.

From Robert Reich

Since I originally started blogging back in 2009, during the early days of the Great Recession, first on Free State MD (both on Blogger and WordPress) I've been interested in socialism (both democratic and otherwise) and have been writing about it (off and on) for the last 16 years. 

The classical definition of a Socialist, is someone who believes in: 

"The common ownership of the means of production and the idea of a post-capitalist society. It involves a move away from private ownership of factories, land, and other resources, towards social or collective ownership, often with the goal of achieving greater equality and social justice." 

And to a certain extent (CNN anchor Abby Phillip is the perfect example of that) that's still the mainstream media's definition of who is a Socialist. Which is why closeted Socialists like the Robert Reich's and others, are able to hide behind "Progressive" and in some cases, but fewer cases today, "Liberal". 

But outside of the Communist Republic of Korea, almost no one in the world anymore, believes in eliminating property rights and private enterprise, all together. Regulating those things, even taxing them heavily, sure. If you are what the rest of the developed world calls a Social Democrat, or even a Socialist. 

And this blog talks about classical liberalism and versus what some people call "modern liberalism"... The problem there, is what's called "modern liberalism", is essentially the opposite of liberalism. I mean "modern liberalism" has as much in common with liberalism (or what some people call "classical liberalism", as what socialism has in common with conservatism. 1 philosophy is about protecting the collective and using government to do that. The other philosophy is about the individual and conserving the individual's, individual rights. 

I mean if you want to call today's Socialists "Modern Socialists", thats fine. But what the Robert Reich's of the world and many others on the left-wing in America talk about, when they're talking about their own political philosophy, it's what the rest of the world calls social democracy, or even just a democratic form of socialism. Mr. Reich made that clear his blog post about socialism, when he said: 

"Whether it’s called socialism, democratic socialism, or enlightened capitalism, societies need to pool resources for the common good... 

Before Alexandria O. Cortez and her Socialist Squad and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, leading the fight with their political fists in the air, there was Ted Kennedy, at least to a certain extent in the 1980s and 90s, as well as Jesse Jackson from those 2 decades, George McGovern in the 1970s, there was Norman Thomas, who from 1928-48, was the Socialist Party's nominee for President an amazing 6 times. His approach to socialism was: 

"Norman Thomas advocated for a democratic socialist approach, distinct from Marxist or Leninist models. He emphasized achieving socialism through gradual, democratic reforms within the existing political system, rather than revolution. He believed in public ownership of key industries and economic planning, but also championed individual liberty and civil rights, making his vision a democratic and evolutionary one." 

However, his vision for a socialist society did not necessarily exclude all forms of private enterprise. In 1944, a report on his book, "What Is Our Destiny?", mentioned that he advocated for a mix of "private enterprise and consumers' cooperatives side by side with public ownership of land and natural resources, money and credit and the great monopolies, including public utilities,". 

From The New York Times in 1944. 

When I think of a Liberal, I think of someone who believes in liberal democracy and all the individual rights, responsibilities, and checks and balances that comes with liberal democracy. That's literally where "liberal democrat" comes from: someone who believes in liberal democracy.

When I think of a Progressive, I think of someone who believes in progress through limited government action. Not someone who thinks government should dominate society and try to manage people's lives for them... like let's say a Communist. (Just to use as an example) 

And when I think of Socialist, (in the democratic sense) I think of someone who believes in social democracy, including the checks and balances that come with democracy, including the rule of law and separation of powers. But someone who wants a national government big enough to make sure that no one ever has to go without the basic necessities of life. And using government to make sure that no individual becomes so powerful, that others have to suffer as a result. 

But even with the modern definition of "socialist" and "socialism", we still have have closeted Socialists in America, including Robert Reich, even when their ideological leaders and heroes, have already embraced the socialist label, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, to go along with Bernie Sanders and the so-called Squad in the House, led by Alex Cortez and others. Even though "socialist" and "socialism", perhaps have never been more popular in America today, especially with young people. 

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Matt Lewis: Mike Murphy On 'Donald Trump's Lame Duck Era'

"Join Matt Lewis and veteran political strategist Mike Murphy, co-host of Hacks on Tap, as they dive into the latest political firestorm! 

From Trump's economic tariffs sparking market uncertainty to new developments in the Epstein files, they unpack the chaos surrounding the former president. 

Murphy shares his take on Trump's fading "Maga magic," the cultural war traps hurting Democrats, and why 2028 could see JD Vance vs. AOC. Plus, insights on pop culture's grip on politics and a nostalgic nod to Michigan's music legends. 

Don’t miss this candid, no-holds-barred discussion!   Subscribe for more political deep dives!

 Check out Mike Murphy’s Substack: Howling at the Moon and visit evpolitics.org... 

Source:Matt Lewis talking to political pollster & strategist Mike Murphy.

From Matt Lewis

I saw this conversation over the weekend and it was very good. Mike Murphy is always very interesting, intelligent, great sense of humor and comedic timing, as well as 1 of the last of the true Conservatives in or outside of the "Republican Party" right now. And so is Matt Lewis for that matter. Which is why I listen to both men here. But there was 1 point that Mr. Murphy made in the 11th minute of this video that I think is the key point that he made in this conversation. And that's what I'm going to talk about today. 

So, back in 1976, sort of the mid point of the Great Deflation in America, not just economically, but politically as well, when the country was trying to move past and recover from the Vietnam War and the Watergate era, being a politician, especially a Republican politician who had anything to do with Richard Nixon, was about as popular as a Kanye West performance at a KKK rally. Or, a meat lovers buffet at a hippie farm... tuxedoes and trench coats on a nude beach. Perhaps you get the point by now. And because of all of this, peanut brain, (perhaps a bad joke) I mean peanut farmer Jimmy Carter, from Plains Georgia, wins the presidency in 1976. 

So how did then Governor Carter when the presidential election in 1976? You could just say "because, he got more votes then President Gerald Ford and won the Electoral College". And of course that would be true. But how he did that, is the real question here. 

So during Governor Carter's 1976 Democratic National Convention acceptance speech, there was this key line from that speech: 

"We want a government as good as the American people. We can have an American government that has turned away from scandal and corruption and official cynicism and is once again as decent and competent as our people."

To translate what Governor Carter was saying at Madison Square Garden, in Manhattan, New York, back in the sumner of 1976: "I want the government to be as good as the American people". 

So when Mike Murphy in talking about the Jeffrey Epstein story, says: 

"We've turned politics into a reality show, the fact that the pandering, underage, sex trafficker, billionaire buddy of Trump secret file might have Trump's name in it, is far more important... You know, politics is pop culture now, to our great harm. So it's a much more entertaining story. That's 1 of the big problems that we have, politics doesn't seem in people's mind to have high stakes anymore. It's all this entertainment and cheep conflict. You know in the old days, you vote wrong, your kid might wear olive grab in the jungle somewhere. Or, you might have a great depression... people took it more seriously. "What am I'm going to watch mow: Real Housewives From Hell, or White House Follies With Donald Trump... 

My point here is that Jimmy Carter's vision as far as what type of government we should have when it comes to morality and character, is here now. It's been here at least since Donald Trump's 1st presidency and you could perhaps go back to the 1990s with Bill Clinton. And I'm sure Mr. Carter didn't have this in mind where everything in America, including our own damn government and politics, is nothing more and no more serious than a tabloid celebrity culture newscast, or "reality TV show". 

When you vote for unserious, unqualified people to do serious jobs, they appoint unserious and unqualified people, people who are only the most loyal to the person who won the election, to work for them. And bad shit happens. (To be frank) But since we're still a democracy, even a liberal democracy, (unless Donald Trump is able to destroy those things) the voters who now don't like our government and our politicians, but voted for those politicians who've gave us this style of governing, only have the people that they see in the mirror to blame for this. 

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Eric Schnurer: Decline & Fall

"Never-Trump strategist Rick Wilson recently told an interviewer that whether Trump or J.D. Vance is president is irrelevant because, “It’s two separate pathways of Hell.”

My last post, The World Turned Upside Down, argued, however, that the “different constituencies of the Trumpist movement” include:

(1) fundamentalist nostalgists, (2) outright illiberal authoritarians, (3) seemingly-libertarian post-liberal techno-futurists who might better be described as “crypto-fascists,” and (4) the forces of chaos.

So, it’s actually four “separate pathways of Hell.”

Vance represents the third of these, Trump the fourth. This post will tackle the first: the challenge of the “fundamentalist nostalgists,” those who insist – as have others throughout history – that our society is in a moral rot and the only solution is to turn the clock back to a supposed former era of conservative political, moral, and religious orthodoxy.

Assuming there is indeed a dire need to Make America Great Again (as opposed simply to, say, keeping it that way), is this the way to do it? History suggests otherwise...

Source:Governing Magazine columnist Eric Schnurer.

From Eric Schnurer

I think I mostly agree with Eric Schnurer's post here. I guess I would just add 1 faction to it. 

If you know anything about Donald John Trump, you know that the only 2 things that he believes in, are himself and absolute power for himself. He's not interested in political philosophy and doesn't really practice any particular political philosophy. I've made this point before but if he thought acing and talking like a Socialist... hell, a Communist, would guarantee himself absolute power over anyone who even tries to confront him and challenge his power, that's what he would talk and act like. 

Donald Trump chose American, Anglo-Saxon nationalism, 10 years ago, because he saw a group of Americans who thought America wasn't just going to hell (to paraphrase Eric Schnurer) but has been there at least since the civil rights movement of the 1960s. 

And DJT rightly calculated that if he became their leader, (cult hero or icon, god even, would be more accurate) he could use these people (which is exactly what he's been doing) to not just become President of the United States, (which is something he thought about doing since his early 40s) but obtain absolute power for himself and be untouchable for the rest of his life. If you think about it, his "MAGA" movement, is the best con he's ever pulled and probably the best political con ever pulled in American history, as far as how successful he's been with it politically. 

So I guess where I slightly disagree with Eric Schuner is how about many factions of the so-called MAGA movement there are in America: 

The main core of "MAGA", are the religious (perhaps far-right cult would be more accurate) and cultural fundamentalists, who see themselves, as the "real Americans", because their families have been in America since the 1600s and they are Northern European ethnically. But that's not Donald Trump's wing of this movement. 

Donald Trump and I would argue J.D. Vance, are part of the oligarchic wing of this movement. And these are people... the Elon Musk's, the Kevin O'Leary's, the Peter Thiel's,  who are very wealthy and believe that the rich should and do own America and everyone else are essentially just guests in their country. Including lower-educated, hard-working, small town, blue-collar  Americans, who couldn't be more loyal to Donald Trump, if he was the only person allowed to ever run for President and every American was required by law to vote for President, or go to jail for not voting. 

But then you have this very unserious, reality TV, Donald Trump wannabe wing of "MAGA", that just like their cult hero, are only in politics at all, to obtain absolute power for themselves. All these former and current "reality TV stars" who are in bed with Donald Trump (perhaps not just politically) and see themselves as Donald Trump. Todd and Julie Chrisley, who 2-3 months ago were still in prison, but they got pardoned by President Trump, simply because they support the President politically. And the Chrisley's would just be 1 example of that. And these are people who essentially believe that as long as they support Donald Trump 100% of the time, they'll never be in trouble for anything.

So 10 years ago, anyone who wasn't "MAGA", was referring to this movement as Nationalists, or Christian Nationalists. But I'm done with that. To be a Nationalist: 

"A person who strongly identifies with their own nation and vigorously supports its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations".

From the Oxford Dictionary. 

And these folks don't love America. They love their own people, their own corner of the store, their own neck of the woods  (So to speak) When you think your country has been in hell for the last 60-65 years, when most if not all the available evidence is to the contrary, you are not much of a patriot, or nationalist. Are you? 

Whatever you want to call MAGA... they just represent what can happen to a country when it's own people take their own democracy for granted and in a lot of cases don't even bother to vote, or perhaps even worst... don't even know who they're voting for before they vote. And we get stuck with the most unintelligent, unserious people, who think American democracy is nothing more than the latest "reality TV show", running our country for us, because we didn't do what needed to protect our country from people who should be in Hollywood, or some place, instead of trying to run our government for us. 

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Kasie Hunt: Iran Launches Retaliatory Strikes Against Israel

"Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel, according to state media, in response to Israel’s unprecedented strikes. CNN heard explosions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem." 

Source:CNN with a look at Tel Aviv, Israel.

From CNN

So what is this Israeli-Iranian confrontation about? I'm not breaking any news when I say that the Islamic Republic of Iran wants to not just be a nuclear power, (they might already be there) but they want nuclear weapons as well, to guarantee the security of their Islamic State and regime. Sure, they might put some of that nuclear power in their economy, but this is about guaranteeing their indefinite survival of their Islamist government. Just like with North Korea that has nuclear weapons simply to preserve the indefinite survival of their Marxist-Communist State. 

And the State of Israel, along with the European Union and the United States, simply do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, for obvious reasons: Iran is an Islamist terrorist state already. You allow them to have nuclear weapons and they become a much larger problem. 

But my main point here and I'm probably going to sound pretty partisan here, but the words and policies of every politician, especially the President of the United States, really matter... and when you promise "world peace", and claim to be the "peace candidate" and there won't be any wars on your watch, and you promise to end the Russian War in Ukraine on day 1 of becoming President and if anything that war has been escalated and Ukraine might even have the advantage now... all these things are really bad not just for Donald Trump, but his presidency, as well as the credibility of America. 

The President saying he can guarantee "world peace" and if anything there are more military conflicts on his watch. Plus, Ukraine which is an ally of America, not even sharing the fact that they were going to bomb Russia, inside of Russia and The White House not knowing about that until after the fact. All these military conflicts, make President Trump look very weak and out-of-touch, as far as what's going on in the world right now. Which is bad for America, not just him. 

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Ben Meiselas: Republican CROSS EXAM of Dem Govs BACKFIRES in HEARING

"MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the disastrous Republican cross examination  of Democratic Governors they subpoenaed to a hearing to distract from their disastrous budget bill." 

Source:Meidas Touch with a look at U.S. Representative Marjorie T. Greene (MAGA, Georgia) & Governor Tim (please don't run for reelection) Walz (Democrat, Minnesota)

From the Meidas Touch

Just to clean up the record as far as what Ben Meiselas said and add to the record as far as what he left out, first and then I'll get into what I really want to talk about here. And hopefully I won't put too many people in a coma from reading what I have to say, first. (Ha, ha)

So these Democratic governors (Kathy Hochul, J.B. Pritzker, Tim Walz) were all in front of the House Governor Reform and Oversight Committee. All you got from Ben Meiselas was that they were testifying in front of "members of Congress", or "Congress members". But "member of Congress" or "Congress member", is a very broad term. You know, 535 members of Congress between the House and Senate and maybe 45 Congressional committees between both chambers. 

The Left likes to talk about all the time about how dumb MAGA members are when it comes to government, but if you listened to how leftists talked about our government, you would think we were in United Kingdom, India... some country that has a unicameral legislature, where the members of Congress or Parliament, only come from 1 chamber.

I mean, I learned in junior high school, if not before that, because my parents have always been pretty political, that the United States has always had a bicameral Congress, with a House of Representatives and Senate. And not only that, the Senate has always been the upper chamber. Which is 1 of the reasons why the Senate is a much harder place to get elected to, especially if it's a big, swing state, like Wisconsin, or Michigan. It's a lot harder than the House, where in most cases you probably just have to win your party's primary, to get elected to the U.S. House. But the Left talks like they don't seem to understand our form of government, while lecturing everyone else about how stupid MAGA is.

And if anyone is still awake after reading my little social studies lecture, I'll tell you what I really think about this House Oversight Committee hearing today. If not, I hope this is the best sleep that you've gotten in a long time. (Ha, ha)

So I again, talking about my generation: if you remember the 1990s, you remember the daytime, trash talk TV genre, which were all supposed daytime, syndicated talk shows. The Jerry Springer's, the Jenny Jones's, even Geraldo Rivera who was more serious than the others, but he would have segments and guests like that. 

So the show would bring on a bunch people, none of them were experts on anything, other than how to look and sound pissed off and piss other people off and they would be up there to talk about their problems and problems they're having with other people, on live, national TV. It was sort of like daytime soap opera, but in real life, where the acting was better and the shows were funnier. That's what a House MAGA committee hearing for me is... at least when the "witnesses" (who really just there for MAGA verbal target practice) are Democrats. 

So when you are a member of 1 of these Congressional committees and you are literally asking your own witness: "Are you laughing at me?" you know you are not making your point. Unless you are just there to gin up some social media views for yourself with your MAGA audience. 

I'm sure Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (MAGA, Georgia) wanted her "question time" to remembered as her telling Governor Kathy Hochul (Democrat, New York) how horrible of a person that she thinks she is. But when you interrupt yourself, to ask your own damn witness: "Are you laughing at me?" that's not the impression that you want to leave even with your own audience, or the broader audience. 

And the Nancy Mace thing: 

@Representative Nancy Mace: to Gov. Tim Walz aggressively grill Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: "You guys are the party of violence and you're the party erasing women. You don't respect us. You' don't respect us. You're a bigot. You're a misogynist. You're a sexist."

@Kire Schneider: Nancy Mace is the party of 1... herself.

From C-SPAN

So again, MAGA is not in the business of Congressional oversight, or government oversight in general. When they do these hearings, they simply want their own base and constituents to know for damn sure, how much they hate Democrats. Not to inform anyone about what government is doing with their tax dollars, by asking real questions and getting real documents from government agencies, or from state officials, like governors. That's all we saw today. But they are very good at political "reality TV"... at least as far as entertaining the broader audience, including their own witnesses. 

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Austin Bragg & Andrew Heaton: Washington Parade Fail

"The federal government's parade route becomes a parade rout.

Starring Austin Bragg and Andrew Heaton.

Parade footage generated by VideoGen from Envato." 

Source:Yahoo News giving us Reason to look at.

From Reason Magazine

So in case anyone who is just waking up from a coma, just as they're reading this, (talk about luck) or this is literally your first day in America, (perhaps you literally were born not yesterday, but today) the President of the United States is going to have a parade in Washington celebrating... (any guesses?) himself on Saturday. 

The Trump parade is advertised as a military parade, but it's really going to be a North Korean and Russian style parade honoring the dictator. Or in this case... the wannabe dictator. And with any luck, there will be enough rain in Washington on Saturday, not just to wash this authoritarian parade away, but Donald John Trump's world class, gigantic ego. We can always hope and pray. 

But this is not what this Reason video is about. From looking at that, this is about Social Security and Federal entitlement programs in general. The premise being that they're all headed for bankruptcy, unless Congress and the Administration prevents that. And they do that by showing all these different parade boats that are headed for lamp posts, if nothing is done to prevent those bankruptcies from happening. 

This Reason video is kind of funny, but the premise is hard to see, unless you are not already familiar with libertarian humor and Federal entitlements. Which tells me that the only audience that Reason Magazine (which has been around since 1968) still has, are just Libertarians, who are still 1 of the smallest voting blocs in America. 

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