Thursday, June 14, 2018

Firing Line With William F. Buckley Jr: The Equal Rights Amendment- Phyllis Schlafly Debates Ann Scott (1973)

Source:Firing Line With William F Buckley- Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly.
"Episode S0089, Recorded on March 30, 1973. Guests: Phyllis Schlafly, Ann Scott, Judith Areen, Father Edmund G. Ryan, Brenda Eddy. For more information about this program, see:Hoover Institution  


"The Equal Rights Amendment was on its way to ratification, when a funny thing happened: one of the states (to be followed by others) that had ratified it rescinded its ratification. The rescission had been mobilized, as WFB puts it, not "by sexist males but by women, many of whom on second blush are discovering in the amendment implications they regard as inimical to the best interests of American women." Like what? Like, replies Mrs. Schlafly, the draft. Wait a minute, says Ms. Scott: "if women are to be citizens and citizens are to be subject to the draft, then women should take the responsibilities as well as the rights of citizenship." Swords flash as we move from the draft to employment opportunities to child support. Whether or not our two guests will ever agree on anything, we do learn where the battle lines are drawn." 

Source: Firing Line With William F. Buckley- William F. Buckley, Ann Scott & Phyllis Schlafly. 
From the Hoover Institution

My issues with the Equal Rights Amendment is that everything that so-called feminists (who are really radical feminists, but people who view women as superior to men) what they want with the ERA is already in the U.S. Constitution and under Federal U.S. law. What they want which is for women and men to be treated equally which is what mainstream feminists really want, is already part of the U.S. Constitution and under Federal statue under the Equal Protection Clause and under our civil rights law. 

Before 1973 even, it was illegal for women to be discriminated against based on gender. Or for men to be discriminated against based on their gender, or for either gender to be rewarded based on their gender. So what radical feminists were fighting for in the 1970s, they already had.

My issues with radical feminism which is just a form of socialism and part of the broader socialist movement in America and outside of America, is that they believe that women are superior to men and therefor should be treated better than men. That it's not equal rights for women that they are seeking, since they already had those under the U.S. Constitution and under our civil rights  laws. But they want women to be treated better than men not just in the culture, but under law. 

Radial feminists want women to be the boss in general instead of women or men just becoming the boss based on their education, skills, and production, but just be treated better than men and having more power than men simply because they're women. Not because they earned that right simply because of their intelligence, qualifications, and productivity. 

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Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Joseph Sanders: 'Gloria Loring- The Facts of Life: Full Song'

Source:Joseph Sanders- Welcome to The Facts of Life.


“The Facts of Life. For more songs and song lyrics Check out the Gloria Loring site I created:Gloria Loring.

I must apologize to a few, I could have sworn I had gone though the description and corrected my errors about the video, but apparently (another error of mine) I had only posted it in a replied comment.

PLEASE NOTE. THE PHOTO OF MELISSA ETHERIDGE WAS INADVERTENTLY PUT IN WHERE A PHOTO OF LISA WELCHEL WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE GONE. I DID NOT NOTICE THE ERROR UNTIL IT WAS POINTED OUT TO ME BY A VIEWER, BY THIS TIME THE VIDEO HAD MANY VIEWS AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO MUCH WORK TO ENTIRELY REMAKE THIS VIDEO BECAUSE OF THE ERROR. I MEANT TO NOTE THAT HERE IN THE DESCRIPTION BUT I MUST HAVE ONLY NOTED IN A COMMENT REPLY. SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION AND MY ERROR.”

From Jospeh Sanders

Source: New York Daily News- The Facts of Life cast 
I have to start this piece off on a personal note, because without it I'm not writing this today.

Source: The Mental Floss- The Facts of Life cast 
About a year ago perhaps a year ago exactly it was in early June last year, I wasn’t feeling well one night and I couldn’t sleep and decided to just get up at that point until I felt well enough to go to bead. Which I’m sure sounds strange, because why would someone have to feel well enough to go to bed. People generally go to bed because they’re sick and aren’t well enough to be up and around, but I’m lying in bed and I can’t sleep and I feel like I have a bug ( not a bedbug ) and I get up to try to feel better.

Source: Like Totally 80s- The Facts of Life cast 
I’m still in my room and I go to my couch and turn the TV on ( it’s a big room ) and find a Facts of Life marathon on and for you Facts of Life junkies it was the series of shows that were in France or took place there.

The Facts of Life in a lot of ways if not most ways is about Generation X. I grew up with The Facts of Life being born in the mid 1970s and this show is about my generation in many ways if not most ways. People going to high school and college in the 1980s The girls on this show are all born in the 1960s, so they’re a bit older than me, but same generation and they would be my older sisters or first cousins if we were related, except I would be about a foot taller than all of them, but so what.

But I hadn’t watched this show even the reruns of it in I don’t know 20 years. I caught the theme song on YouTube a couple of years ago but this not a show that I kept up with at all since I’ve been an adult at least. Seeing this marathon one very late night early morning when I wasn’t feeling well brought this show back to me.

As far as theme songs, is there a better 1980s theme song than The Facts of Life ( by Gloria Loring ) at least a song with lyrics? Growing Pains was great, not sure it's better. Cheers was great, not sure it was better. Different Strokes was great and might be as good or better. The show is not as good but that might up for debate. The Family Ties theme song is a great but not as good. The Unknown Stuntman theme song that was actually delivered by Lee Majors himself, might be better than The Facts of Life. But when your'e talking about lyrics and delivery I think The Facts of Life might be the best sitcom theme song ever.

Source: Genius

"You take the good
You take the bad
You take them both and there you have
The facts of life
The facts of life

When the world never seems
To be living up to your dreams
Then suddenly you're finding out
The facts of life are all about you

When there's someone that you care about
It really isn't fair
They're out to slow you up
When you're growing up

When you let them flirt
And then you hurt
A waiting when your date is late in showing up
Then you're growin' up

When it's more than just the birds and the bees
You need someone telling you please
There's only one conclusion
There will always be confusion over you
It takes a lot to get 'em right
When you're learning the facts of life"

It’s not just a beautifully written, commonsensical, well-delivered song, but it’s so spot on. That without The Facts of Life, we’re really nothing. Forget about freedom and how great that is, because without The Facts of Life, we’re just a bunch of idiots going through the motions, because we don’t have the information that we need to make the right decisions for ourselves and live a great life.

“You take the good, you take the bad, there you and there you have.” That life is neither heaven or hell but it’s real and that sometimes life will be great and sometimes life can really suck and really test you to see if you’re worthy of moving on and strong enough to get through the deep valleys of life and work your way back to the top. That: “it takes a lot to get life right when you’re learning The Facts of Life.”

That is what I get out of this great beautiful theme song and a lot of what this show is about which is teaching these teenage girls in the 1980s about what life was really about. And that the best way you learn is though experience and actually doing things and not just reading about them and hearing what others have to say about it, but physically experiencing those experiences yourself.

That if anything you get more out of life from bad experiences, from losses, from mistakes. Because those are tools that people need in order to get better and prevent us from thinking too much of ourselves and that life is just one great stop on top of a hill where we never get knocked down. That is what The Facts of Life represents to me.

You can also see this on WordPress. 

You can also see this post at FreeState Now, on Blogger. 

You can also see this post at FreeState Now, on WordPress.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Mariah Carey: Make it Happen- Tribute To The NHL 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals

Source: ISportsWeb- Your 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals-
“Music video by Mariah Carey performing Make It Happen. YouTube view counts pre-VEVO: 21,232 (C) 1991 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT”

Source:Mariah Carey- The voice of a generation 
From Mariah Carey

I was in eighth grade and for you non-math and school wizards that would be junior high back in 1990 when Mariah Carey first broke onto the scene and I still hadn't heard of her at that point. It wasn't until a year later ( when I was a freshman in high school, which would be ninth grade ) when I first saw her video Someday that I actually heard of her and thought she has a great voice and is also great looking and everything else and started becoming a big fan of her.
Source: Wikipedia- Mariah Carey's Make it Happen 
When I think of the voice of my generation and I'm now 42 years old and at the tail end of Generation X, I only think of two people. Whitney Houston, ( who tragically died at 48 in 2012, RIP ) and Mariah Carey who if anything is now more popular at the age of 48 today then she was even 20 years ago. And if you look and listen to her, what has she missed?
Source: Mari Angels- Mariah Carey's Make it Happen 
Nothing, she might be curvier now but in a good way. Not saying she's even cuter now, but has she lost anything in that department? She's still this hot, sexy, baby-face adorable goddess, who can still come off as a kid with those big beautiful adorable eyes, cheeks, and smile, and yet she still has not a great voice, but she still has the voice. Which is beyond great, because she has the voice that other singers are measured to. Are you as good as Mariah Carey or not.

And maybe Beyonce Knowles will replace her at some point and not be the voice of Generation X, because's she's not a Gen-Xer, but be not just the voice of her generation but the voice that everyone is measured by regardless of age and generation. Sort of how Frank Sinatra is viewed as the voice at least for male singers regardless of their age and what generation they're from.

I mention all this to just completely waste your time. Actually, there's a more substantive reason for that which goes to Make it Happen from Mariah Carey which now 26 years later and yes I was still in high school when it came out is still a great inspirational song. A great spiritual or even religious song as well and if there were more preachers who talked this way and chose to inspire people, instead of divide people based on lifestyle and sexuality, I might attend church now and then, because I would really get something out of even though I'm Agnostic.

Source: Mariah Carey

"If you believe in yourself enough
And know what you want
You're gonna make it happen
(Make it happen)
And if you get down on your knees at night
And pray to the Lord
He's gonna make it happen
(Make it happen)
You're gonna make it happen, oh yeah
I know life can be so tough
And you feel like giving up
But you must be strong
Baby just hold on
You'll never…"

Again, I'm Agnostic so I don't believe in getting on my knees and praying to whatever Lord there may or not be, but the basic message of this song is right. That if you believe in yourself enough and know what you want, you're going to make it happen. It's obviously not that simple and you need to have more than self-confidence because your self-confidence has to be justifiable. You have to be as good as you believe you are when you're confident and not just believe in yourself, but know that you're good at what you do and then execute those skills to accomplish your goals.

As well as know what you're up against and what they're capable of and what they might do to try to stop you. And then be at your best when you have to be in order to accomplish your goals. Be as good as you possibly can be and not just believe in yourself, but know yourself as well as possible and then execute those skills when the time comes.
Source: Getty Images- The Great Eight, finally hoisting the Stanley Cup 
And yes this is about the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Champion Capitals and no, I'm not a sportswriter and don't have beat, so take this piece about Capitals and NHL hockey in general for what it's worth. But pre-2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Capitals didn't make it happen. This is a club that every season under Barry Trotz which now goes back to the 2015 season, had exceptions of winning the Stanley Cup. Which at any point would've been their first Stanley Cup ever. This for a franchise that has won just one conference championship ( 1998 ) and played in one Stanley Cups Finals, also in 1998. And until 2018 have even only played in two conference finals and yet a good season for the Capitals during the last ten years or so was to get to the 2nd round of the playoffs which would be semifinals.
Source: NBC Sports- Alex Ovechkin & Nick Backstrom 
The Capitals would traditionally enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs at least as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference Finals, or at least get there and for several seasons to win the Stanley Cup Finals and yet pre-Barry Trotz would generally be eliminated in the quarterfinals. ( The 1st round ) Because again they didn't make it happen, because they were either overconfidence or overrated. They would get bad goaltending when they needed good goaltending the most. Or their offense would simply not show up and would get shut out during an elimination game. Which happened to them both to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Lightning in the last few years during the playoffs.

The 2018 NHL season was different for the Capitals. They were no longer expected to win it all and probably for several reasons. They hadn't done it yet or even advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with the current crew and head coach. They were getting older and the Penguins and Lightning were still there to beat them.

Like I said, 2018 was different for the Capitals than 2015-17 when they were eliminated in the semifinals in each season by either Pittsburgh or Tampa. They played the Penguins in the 2nd round and the Lightning in the EC Finals and beat both clubs. Eliminated the Penguins in six games, instead of losing in seven or being swept. They beat the Lightning in seven games, including winning the final two games by shutouts. And then beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights ( a 2018 NHL expansion team ) in five games where really only two of those games were close. The first and last game and the Capitals could've easily won the first game as well and swept Las Vegas.

The 2018 Capitals not only believed in themselves and knew what they want, but knew how to get what they want. To quote the former great pro wrestler Ric Flair, to be the man, you have to beat the man. Which means you have to become the man and not just be your best when it matters most , but be better than your opposition when it matters most. Be better than the man when it matters the most. Winning a playoff game here or there and even playing your best in those games, is certainly and accomplishment and something to feel good about. But it means nothing if you don't even show up when it matters the most. When you're playing an elimination game and not just an elimination game, but a championship elimination game.

The Capitals could've lost the next two games against Las Vegas and still have won the Stanley Cup, but had the Cup in their sights and simply just took it by winning game 5 and beating the Golden Knights for the 4th straight time in that series. They made it happen by being their best when it mattered the most which was good enough to win the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. And head Barry Trotz and the whole Washington Capitals organization, deserves a lot of credit for that. 

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Saturday, June 9, 2018

Inside Edition: Ali Rosen- 'Legendary Chef and Traveler Anthony Bourdain Dies At 61'

Source: Inside Edition- Legendary chef and traveler Anthony Bourdain.
“Anthony Bourdain, an American chef and television personality, has been found dead of an apparent suicide. He was 61. His body was found in a French hotel room by close friend and chef Éric Ripert, according to CNN. The pair had been traveling together for the filming of Bourdain’s CNN show, “Parts Unknown.” As part of his Emmy Award-winning program, which premiered in 2013, Bourdain traveled the world, uncovering lesser-known cuisines.”

From Inside Edition

Source: USA Today- Legendary chef and traveler Anthony Bourdain 
When I first heard about Anthony Bourdain's show Parts Unknown coming to CNN in 2013 or 14, I thought this was another one of those so-called reality TV shows where the lead character is some loudmouth who makes an asshole out of himself ( to be frank ) in order to gain ratings. I'm not a fan of what's called reality TV generally, except for what's actually reality TV which are documentary programs even documentaries about Hollywood, so I was thinking Parts Unknown is not something I'm going to be interested in.

Source: The Chive- One of Anthony Bourdain's best quotes 
But so-called reality TV is wasn't Tony Bourdain's show and what he wanted to communicate to people. He was a food and cultural documentarian who traveled the world to show people what other people eat and how they live. Who brought people together over good meals and got to learn about them by experiencing them, what they eat, the sites and sounds of their countries. And then he would show everyone else what he learned about Vietnam, Italy, Ecuador, Cuba, and wherever else he would travel to.

In a country and world where we're so divided mainly on political and cultural grounds and now unfortunately even by race, ethnicity, and class, Bourdain brought different together with food and cultural. And showed millions of Americans and people outside of America, that even with all of our differences that we can still share a great meal together, get to know each other and realize we're not that strange from one another after all.

I'm not a cook and all I know about food and cooking is that food can taste really good, it can taste really bad, and generally somewhere in between, in less you what you're doing or where to eat and have the resources to eat great food on a regular basis. But I know what I like and how to cook for myself and what I got from Bourdain was that not all good food has to taste alike and look alike. That good food comes in all different forms made from all different types of people in different countries.

The other thing that I got from Bourdain which I already knew, but hopefully now millions of other Americans and people outside of America hopefully also know, is that it isn't okay to be yourself, but that being yourself is the only person you should be. Because you're the only person you know really well. When you try to be someone other than yourself especially a famous celebrity that you look up to, all you're doing is acting. And I realize some people do that for a living and even do it on so-called reality TV. But the non-reality actors are professional actors. And when everyone else tries to be someone other than them self, they're not only not just actors, but now they're amateurs and amateurs actors.

In a country and world where so many people especially young people feel the need to be like their favorite celebrity and in many cases reality star, Tony Bourdain taught so many people how to be themselves and why they should always be them self. He taught us about individualism and how to be an individual. I think Ayn Rand would've loved Anthony Bourdain even if was just for that reason. And if you don't like yourself, maybe it's because you have character issues, or you suffer from low self-esteem, which is something that perhaps Bourdain also had issues with.

But that we're the only person we know really well and the only person where we always know what we're thinking and what we know. And when we try to be someone other than ourself, we're just pretending. Anthony Bourdain's belief in individualism and his ability to bring different people together with food and culture, is what I'm going to miss about him.

You can also see this post at The Daily View, on WordPress.

Friday, June 8, 2018

Vanity Fair: Julie Miller- Is Reality TV To Blame For President Donald Trump? Yes!

Source: Vanity Fair- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at The White House reality TV show-
Source: Vanity Fair: Julie Miller- Is Reality TV To Blame For President Donald Trump?

You can't blame reality TV for everything that is wrong with America, ( trust me, I've tried ) but without this facts don't matter, everything is relative, what you can get away with to accomplish whatever your goals are celebrity culture that we're living in, Donald Trump is the king of that. No one uses that lifestyle and culture to his advantage better than The Donald Trump.
Source: Vanity Fair- President The Donald Trump 
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at The White House, is the biggest reality TV show in the history of universe. It's on 24 hours a day even when most people in country ( except for your addicted insomniacs are asleep ) and it's like one of those TV's that don't have an off button and even a mute button and to get away from it you have to be in a different room on a different floor. You can't turn it off, but simply try to get away with it. Like turning your i-phone off while in search for a life outside of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at The White House.
Source: Vanity Fair- The Donald 
It's not that we live in a reality TV universe, but that we live in Donald Trump's reality TV universe. Where he's the king of it and where they're no rules at least that govern him. Where he never has to ever worry about being kicked off his own show ( unless Congressional Republicans grow a set off balls, or Democrats win back Congress ) because it is his own show. Unlike a reality TV show when the ratings start to slip and they believe that has to do with one character or several characters, those people are simply fired.

Firing the President of the United States, is about as easy as landing a 747 plane blindfolded without landing wheels, or pushing an elephant up the hill with just your arms and legs. Those things can only happen in extreme cases. And knowing this and the fact that The Donald has so little knowledge or respect for how American government works ( perhaps his father arranged for his son to not have to take social studies or American history in order to graduate ) The Donald views himself as a king or dictator even who can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants to without any real consequences.

Why not? He's got a 90% approval rating inside of the so-called Republican Party and a Republican Congress that by enlarge doesn't have the balls to hold him accountable for the most part, with a handful of Republicans Senators ( the last few Republicans who are actually still alive being the exception to this rule. Even though privately Congressional Republicans will tell you off the record that they know how irresponsible President Trump and his behavior is.

You can't blame reality TV for anything and again I know because I've tried, but reality TV does has a lot to do with what's wrong with America which is a subject for a future blog post. Personal responsibility with people taking the time to figure out the differences between what's not reality TV but celebrity life TV where perception is more important than actual reality, has to be imaged here by every American especially the fans of celebrity life TV. But that's the life that Donald Trump lives in and uses it to the max to advance his career goals like becoming President of the United States and being President. With 60 plus million Americans voting for him with about 90% of those voters still with him even with his low approval rating for a first term president.
Source: The Film Theorists: Film Theory- How Donald Trump is Winning With Reality TV- Donald Trump, meet Uncle Sam 

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Economic Policy Journal: Veronique De Rugy- 'Stop Calling The GOP The Party of Small Government'

Source:MSNBC- Donald Trump's GOP.
"There was a time when GOP lawmakers called for the elimination of entire federal agencies. Today, milquetoast promises to pursue smaller government are followed by votes for ever bigger government."

Source:Economic Policy Journal

"David Stockman- Spend, Cut & Borrow: The GOP is Heading to Fiscal Calamity"

Source: Special Reports- Former Reagan Administration OMB Director David Stockman.
Listening to Republicans today talk about the need for limited government and limiting the size as well as growth of government, is like talking and listening to a 400 pound man ( perhaps in New Jersey, to use Donald Trump's reference ) talk about the need for diet and exercise. It's hard to listen to it with a straight face, because they're only speaking from bad experience. Sort of like hearing a parent tell their kids not to do exactly what they did when they were the exact same sage. Like staying out late, eating too much junk food, playing video games, etc.
Source: Democratic Underground- The King of Debt Donald Trump 
When I want to hear advice, I want to hear advice from someone who knows what they're talking about. I know, that sounds crazy and perhaps next you might say that I would only jump out of an airplane with a parachute or when I'm completely drunk, but I want to hear advice from people who know what they're doing. Who can say, "you should look at doing this, because this is what I did and it worked out very well from me." Instead of someone saying, "don't screw up like me. Trust me, it doesn't work because that's exactly what I did. "
Source: The Nation Magazine- Vice President Mike Pence & the House GOP Leadership: Fiscal responsibility, LOL!
The Republican Party, is no more the party of limited government and fiscal responsibility, as they're the party of individual freedom and federalism. They believe in freedom for the individual, if that person lives like them and shares their same cultural and religious values. They're the party of federalism, if states and localities are doing exactly what they want them to do. This case with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and immigration, with so-called sanctuary cities is a great example of that. Marijuana where the Trump Administration, wants to interfere with state marijuana laws and say that the states can't have their own marijuana laws, is another example of that.

And perhaps more important than anything else because it affects our economy with things like interest rates and banking, the Republican Party is the party of fiscal responsibility, only when Democrats are in power and deficits are high. Once Republicans retake the White House again and have a Republican Congress as well, they act like fiscal responsibility is something they've never heard of. Or deficits and debt are no longer major concerns, because they're back in power and know how to manage those things. Or as Vice President Dick Cheney said back in 2003 on Meet The Press, "deficits don't matter." Or as Donald Trump has said, he's the king of debt and knows how to manage it.

This Republican Congress hasn't done much in how the year in a half that they've been in power. But they did manage to pass three big spending bill with big spending being the two key words. I guess Republican would be another key word as well, but they passed a gigantic federal budget, a gigantic spending bill with both of those bills only making the most obese person in the world happy with how they big and porky they are. With Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration essentially saying that, "why should we be worried about the national debt and deficit, when we're not going to be the people who have to pay for it?" And of course the so-called tax reform bill, which is another way of saying borrow two-trillion-dollars to pay for tax cuts, so we can tell the Republican voters that we actually did something while we're in power.

Vice President Joe Biden, back in 2010 while he was campaigning for Congressional Democrats on the campaign trail, said in a speech, "that this is not your father's GOP." Meaning this is not the same Republican Party that he worked with in Congress as a Senator for 36 years, or the party he saw while growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. The Republican Party today is not even the Republican Party of 2010, 2011, 2012, that actually believed in fiscal responsibility. They're now the Donald Republican reality TV show party that only seems to be in the business of trying to stay in power. Where the only principal is winning elections and defeating Democrats. And as a result they by themselves are killing fiscal conservatism and fiscal responsibility. Which is a shame, because it means that everyone else gets to pay for borrow and spend big government.

Friday, June 1, 2018

Vanity Fair: Nick Bolton Interviewing Amanda Carpenter: 'The Conservative Case Against Donald Trump'

Source:Vanity Fair- Donald J. Trump (Republican, Florida) 45th President of the United States. Thank God, there's only one.

"Donald Trump has always been a blatant liar, making up stories about everything from his net worth to how many people were at his inauguration, but do people actually like it when Trump lies to them? Amanda Carpenter, author of a new book, Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us, joins Nick Bilton to talk about why Republicans, and evangelicals, still love Trump, even after all these lies; how Trump actually pulls off these outright deceptions; and why they are only going to get worse in 2020 as Trump does everything possible to try to maintain control of the White House." 

From Vanity Fair

The conservative case against Donald Trump is pretty clear I believe as a non-Conservative, but the conservative case against Donald Trump might not be the Republican case against him or even a Republican case against him. As Amanda Carpenter ( CNN conservative political analyst ) would agree with me here, Conservative and Republican aren't the same things. What Republican Party was at least pre-Trump was, was a vehicle to promote conservative values and policies.
But not all Republicans are Conservatives ( Donald Trump for example ) and believe in the same things. And as Amanda Carpenter would also agree she's a Conservative first and a Republican second. Just like I'm a Liberal first and at best now an Independent-Democrat second. I'm not a big fan of the Democratic Party right now, which is the subject for perhaps a future blog article.

A Conservative to me at least in the political sense, is someone who believes in the U.S. Constitution and bases their politics around that and sees it as their job to conserve the Constitution and our individual rights and freedom. And not just some of them and try to pretend others don't exist or are not important.

A Conservative is someone who believes in a strong national defense but is conservative in how to use it and bases their national security policy on what's best for America and our allies. Not looking to invade countries simply because they have a bad authoritarian government and are bad to their people. ( Like the 2003 Iraq War ) Who believes in economic freedom, property rights, low taxation and regulation, fiscal responsibility, federalism which is a way of saying that government closest to home is the best government once you move out of national security and foreign affairs.

Donald Trump is pretty much the opposite of all of those things. He wants a large national defense and for us to spend a lot of money on it as a country, but isn't very clear in when we should use it when we're not under attack. Ran as a Nationalist in 2016 but hit the Syrian Assad Regime with missile strikes last year and again this year, when they gassed their own people. Sure, he believes in lower taxes and regulations, but so does the furthest Left Republican in the entire country believes in low taxation and regulation across the board as well.

What Donald Trump represents and what goes against American conservatism, is this Joe McCarthy/George Wallace faction in American politics that claims to be the real Americans and everyone else are just foreigners or traitors, or the Un-Americans, not deserving of the same rights and respect as their tribe. He represents nationalist-tribalism in America and in some cases racism and racists, as well as ethnic bigots and bigotry. He at the very least represents the people who hold racist and other bigoted views towards certain ethnic groups in America like Jewish-American. Whether he's personally a racist or bigot himself, is the topic of a different debate. But those are the people he represents.

What Donald Trump is, is the anti-Conservative Republican President of the United States. Who sees his job as to protect himself and and his political interests. Even if it means doing things that aren't conservative. Like attacking the American intelligence community and our law enforcement. Or attacking military veterans and their families simply because they don't support him. Pardoning people who've already have admitted to committing the crimes that they were charged with, which is the latest examples with his pardons yesterday.

If President Trump thinks it will benefit him politically and personally, he'll do it whether it's conservative, progressive, nationalist, authoritarian, or anything else. He's not just a political opportunist, but the most successful political opportunist that we've ever seen in this country which makes him very dangerous. A man without a core and center, is a man that can always be exposed, because he has nothing protecting and guiding him other than his short-term political and personal interests. Which is what you get with President Donald Trump. 

You can also see this post at The Daily Times, on Blogger.

John F. Kennedy Liberal Democrat

John F. Kennedy Liberal Democrat
Source: U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960