Belated SubscribeStar Saturday: A Little American History – And Some Reflections on Teaching It

This past weekend’s SubscribeStar Saturday post was delayed until Sunday evening.  The end of the first week of school, followed by a very late night/early morning drive, with that followed up by a long day of family events, meant that my perfect attendance record for Saturday posts had to suffer.

But you can read that post—which went up last night—with a subscription to my SubscribeStar page!

Here’s a sneak peek:

Robert Kennedy was a strong contender for the Democratic Party primary in 1968, especially among the progressive wing, before Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian terrorist, shot him. His death left Vice President Hubert Humphrey as the only viable candidate. Remember, LBJ declined to run for reelection in 1968 because the Vietnam War was so deeply unpopular among antiwar Democrats, many of whom were radicals who were exerting greater control over their party (sound familiar?).

The Democratic National Convention devolved into riots and chaos, with Humphrey nearly succumbing to tear gas in his Chicago hotel room. Humphrey managed to close the gap with Nixon, but it was a three-way race (with segregationist George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, running as a third party candidate), and Nixon won on a law and order platform.

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TBT: Progressivism and Political Violence II: Candace Owens Attack and the Deficiency of Decorum

About a year ago I wrote about the Leftist attack on Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk while they were attempting to enjoy breakfast.  Last summer, all the rage was for Leftist activists to harass conservatives and Trump administration officials while they were trying to dine.

Fast forward one year and we have conservative journalists getting smashed over their heads with concrete-filled milkshakes and guys in MAGA hats assaulted in the streets.  Nevertheless, the ranks of Conservatism, Inc., stubbornly insist on taking the high road, ruthlessly policing any threats to their Right, while shrugging helplessly—perhaps accompanied by a schoolmarmish finger wagging—as the Left ratchets up its wanton, unabashed violence.

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Phone it in Friday III: Video Killed the Blogging Star

I’m heading up to Wilmington, North Carolina tonight to play a gigI played the same joint exactly a year ago, while I was living in a sleazy motel after my old place was flooded.  If you’re in the area, come on by, or check out my tour dates.

Regardless, your daily chum will continue in the vein of last Friday’s post, but with even less loving care.  In essence, I’m going to let you watch two talented individuals say important, insightful things.

It’s the blogging equivalent of pulling out that old media cart at school.  Everyone gets excited when the usual windbag kicks back and that tiny CRT television gets rolled out, its blue screen promising an hour of a grainy VHS tape.

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TBT: Democrats Show Their True Colors

Even after the rapid cultural changes I’ve witnessed since the Bush II administration, I’m always amazed how quickly our national debate changes.  We’re accelerating towards something, and fast.

One bit of evidence—when I wrote “Democrats Show Their True Colors” eleven months ago, it was still somewhat rare for Democrats to openly call themselves socialists.  Now, they’re all clamoring to assume the mantle of big government spendthrifts.

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Box Wine Aunties for Williamson

Yesterday I wrote of a “New Great Awakening,” an awakening of the fast swath of forgotten men and women to the realities of the progressive Left’s destructive ideology.  Blogger photog at Orion’s Cold Fire inspired the post with his piece “The Great Awakening,” which brought to mind a key point about our national debates:  our concerns are primarily theological, not political, in nature.

I’ve written quite a bit about Americans’ desperate search for meaning (also here), for a deeper spiritual Truth that motivates our culture and our lives.  Increasingly, Americans are abandoning traditional Christian faith, embracing instead alternative forms of spirituality, from the mundane and trite —“living your best life”—to sinister, like witchcraft.

It’s no surprise, then, that the dark horse—or, perhaps, the black cat—candidate in the Democratic presidential primaries is self-help guru and author Marianne Williamson.  Williamson made waves during the first set of debates with her “Love is a Battlefield” pronouncement, and has become something of an Internet meme.

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Trump Up in Polls

Yesterday’s post looked at blogger photog’s musings about the radical implosion of the Democratic Party.  photog surmised that either the Democrats will tone down their ultra-progressive rhetoric, or they will continue to double-down on—and let President Trump bait them into—their death’s embrace with socialism.  My money is on the latter.

Shortly after that post went to press, I read a National Review blurb about Trump’s record-high approval ratings.  Trump has hovered around 35-40% in most approval polls, with a solid base of support.  Democrats and Never Trumpers have been banking on Trump not gaining substantially beyond 40% approval ratings (never mind that the 2016 polling was egregiously far off).  If we figure that some poll respondents simply aren’t confessing that they like the president or will vote for him, we could probably add 3-5% to that support.

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Photog’s Prognostications

Fellow blogger and e-friend photog of Orion’s Cold Fire has a piece up today about some of the events percolating in the long 2020 presidential election season (as well as a little Brexit shout-out to Boris Johnson, the odds-on favorite for Prime Minister).

According to photog, a recent New York Times piece from popular Leftist economist Thomas Friedman suggests that slightly-less-radical progressives are getting worried by the antics of certifiably-crazy-radical progressives, for fear that those antics will cost Democrats the 2020 election.  Much of the op-ed is Leftist boiler plate talk about mortgaging the environment for quick growth now, along with some baseless claims of racism, but there is an acknowledgment that giving free healthcare to illegal immigrants and eliminating our borders is a tad unrealistic.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Controlling Spending

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.

It’s been a crazy week, with President Trump successfully maneuvering the ultra-progressive “Squad” of Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley as the faces of the entire Democratic Party.

Lost in the shuffle—indeed, what seems to be an afterthought for most politicians and Americans now—is excessive government spending.  Virtually all of the major Democratic candidates for president in 2020 endorse policies like Medicare for All that would balloon an already-engorged federal deficit (around $22 trillion, I believe).  President Trump, for all of his successes with deregulation and trimming bureaucratic fat, has not done much to cut the budget substantially—indeed, he didn’t even campaign on cutting entitlement spending.

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Lazy Sunday XVIII: SubscribeStar Posts

For the past few weeks I’ve been pushing my SubscribeStar page more regularly, as readers have no-doubt noticed.  I’ve picked up one subscriber; naturally, I hope more will sign up!

Here’s the pitch:  I post a new, original essay exclusively to my SubscribeStar page every Saturday.  I also made #MAGAWeek2019 a SubscribeStar exclusive—that’s four posts about people or ideas that made America great (this year’s listJohn Adams, Alexander Hamilton, President Trump’s Independence Day Speech, and fast food).  For just $1/month, you get access to these essays.

To put that in perspective:  I’ll probably buy a pizza today for $12.  That’s what a one-year subscription to my SubscribeStar page will cost.  That’s at least fifty-two (52) original pieces, not including bonus content and current and future posts.

Even if you can’t read them on the Saturday they’re released, they will always be there!  And with new content every week, your subscription gains value with each post.  Right now there are ten SubscribeStar exclusive posts, including the #MAGAWeek2019 ones, and that number will continue to grow.

I’ll also post additional special content from time-to-time, in the vein of the #MAGAWeek2019 posts.  The long-contemplated Portly Politico Podcast, should it ever launch, will also be exclusive to SubscribeStar.

With all that said, this week’s edition of Lazy Sunday is dedicated to looking at the great SubscribeStar Saturday posts that are already on the site (excluding the #MAGAWeek2019 posts, which were the subject of last week’s Lazy Sunday).

  • The Portly Politico Summer Reading List 2019” – The long-awaited successor to “The Portly Politico Summer Reading List 2016,” this list of recommended summer reads will give you plenty of conservative brain food to feed your mind and your soul.  I give detailed reviews of my four recommendations.
  • Asserting Conservatism” – This essay argues for defining conservatism in positive—that is, on its own—terms, rather than as merely against the Left.  Standing athwart history, shouting “STOP” was a necessary step in the Buckleyite days of old-school National Review, when international Communism threatened to infiltrate and topple our institutions.  Culture Marxists have accomplished what Soviet Marxists could not, and it’s time to push back, not merely stem the tide.  Doing so will require a vigorous articulation and defense of conservatism—and a willingness to fight against Leftists.
  • Christians Protect Other Faiths” – Christianity gets a bad shake, considering it built Western civilization (with an alley-oop from ancient Greece, Rome, and Israel).  The tolerance Christianity teaches is a boon to believers of other faiths, as Christ teaches conversion through persuasion, and the basic dignity of all people, Jew and Gentile.
  • Immigration and Drugs” – This piece pulls from a couple of posts at VDARE.com, which linked illegal immigration from south of the United States border to the opioid crisis.  One solution from the author:  bomb the poppy fields in Mexico, not just Afghanistan.
  • Mid-Atlantic Musings” – During #MAGAWeek2019, I was in New Jersey.  This post is a reflection of my visit (spoiler alert:  I very much enjoyed it).  It also details my one-day trip to Coney Island, which is basically Myrtle Beach in Brooklyn.
  • The Real Color of Environmentalism is Red, Not Green” – Yesterday’s post, in which I compare Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ludicrous Green New Deal to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s original New Deal.  Both rely on excessive federal and executive power, and the Green will ruin the economy and our nation just the way the original one did.

So, there you have it!  There’s a lot of great material, with more coming every Saturday.  Please consider subscribing to my SubscribeStar page for just $1 (or more!) per month to gain access to these and other essays.

Happy (and Lazy!) Sunday!

–TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

SubscribeStar Saturday: The Real Color of Environmentalism is Red, Not Green

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.

Environmentalism is an easy target for the Right, but radical environmentalists are dogmatic and effective at advancing their anti-humanity agenda. “Climate change”—and before that, “global warming” and “global cooling”—have been tools for advancing Marxism and statism for over fifty years.

Environmentalism is one of the many gods in the polytheistic pantheon of pagan progressivism. It fits in nicely with some of the other deities in Leftism’s cosmology, such as Abortion and Open Borders: “don’t procreate because babies use up too many resources and there are starving children in Guatemala—bring them in instead!”

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