Tag: News

SubscribeStar Saturday: Systemic Wokeism

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

If the assassination of Charlie Kirk highlighted anything, it was the systemic nature of woke Cultural Marxist ideology in our institutions.  Most everyone knew of that sinister influence already—even and especially the Cultural Marxists—but Kirk’s assassination cast the lethal extent of this brainwashing into sharp relief.

There are demonic forces at work in the United States and the West that seek to promote confusion about sex, biology, faith, and Truth.  The reigning mantra of the institutions is to “speak your truth,” “your truth” being whatever subjective set of assumptions and experiences cobble together into a narrowly solipsistic worldview.

It’s the mantra of unmarried women with overpaid jobs that are essentially daycare for grownups.  That’s fitting:  if you’re trying to build a worldview that just encourages people to consume until they die, it makes sense to frame it in the language of advertising and target it towards the demographic that spends the most money.

And in an increasingly feminized world, it’s the sales pitch of a lifetime:  do and be whatever you want, as long as you’re not a mean old conservative.  Worship whatever you want, especially yourself—just don’t worship Jesus Christ, because He Has Rules that might limit “your truth.”  Consume as much as you want—just don’t get your hopes up about buying a house.  Make your family look like whatever you want—just so long as you have god-like powers over slaying unborn children and snipping off your toddler’s wangdoodle when he starts playing with Barbies at his cousin’s house.

There is big money in transgenderism; just ask the Pritzkers, the bizarre family of overweight, moon-faced dwarves investing heavily in gender-altering surgeries.  All of it, it seems, is in service to a devilishly Gnostic belief that technology will allow humans to transcend life and death—that we will truly be our own gods.

The price for these elite fantasies of apotheosis is the price that is always paid to make the waking nightmares of empty people come true:  death and degradation for everyone else.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Legion

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

“And he answered, saying, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.'” – Matthew 5:9b

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:12

Charles James “Charlie” Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday, 10 September 2025, while holding an open, civil debate.  Coupled with the (racially motivated) murder of Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte light rail, my heart has been heavy.

I saw the Zarutska surveillance footage on Telegram before I even knew the story.  When I first saw it, I thought she’d been punched violently in the throat—until I noticed her bleeding out.  I watched it a second time and realized with horror that I had just seen a woman die.  The look of utter fear and confusion on her face still haunts me, and will for some time.

I’ve been on that light rail.  The murder occurred very close to where Dr. Fiancée purchased her wedding dress.  It is a good, generally safe part of the city.  But evil goes where it wants, and it took the train that night.

So far I’ve avoided the close-up footage of Kirk’s assassination, but I’ve seen long-range footage.  From the commentary I’ve heard, as well as Dr. Fiancée’s medical expertise, it is likely that he died instantly, or at least very quickly.  He may not have felt it before he went into the loving arms of Jesus.

Yours portly was never a big Charlie Kirk listener, but I certainly knew of his impact.  He was a bog standard conservative Christian, very much like most people I know and love.  He might have been a bit milquetoast on some policy positions, but he was an incredibly effective speaker, debater, and organizer.  His organization, Turning Point USA, did real yeoman’s work to reach out to people that historically have not found a ready place in the modern Republican Party:  young people, blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals, etc.  Kirk’s efforts likely won Pennsylvania and other key States for President Trump in 2024.

Kirk was also openly and unapologetically a Christian.  He spoke boldly about his faith in Christ, and urged Americans not to be afraid, but to find strength and peace in a saving knowledge of Christ.  He never, it seems, brandished his faith as a way to gain cheap political points, but espoused it sincerely, forcefully, and effectively.

His effectiveness is, likely, one part of why he was murdered.  I believe that his faith had an even larger role to play.

Satan is powerful.  He will lose in the end, yes—and that is why he tries to drag so many souls to Hell with him.  Satan can only be in one place at a time, but his demons are many—and manifest.

His favorite tool right now seems to be the inherently atheistic, nihilistic, life-hating, angry doctrine of Cultural Marxism.  Masquerading in a cloak of compassion and understanding, this woke ideology demonizes anyone that is not in complete lockstep with its ever-changing orthodoxies.  Just like Satan, this ideology twists good concepts like compassion, sympathy, and health and applies them to the most wicked of goals:  abortion, assisted suicide, catch-and-release policies, racial division, and on and on.

The modern Left is demonic.  It promises that every person can be their own god, but all it produces is misery, emptiness, corruption, and death.

When the bullet ripped through Kirk’s neck, I am sure that Hell was rejoicing.  But Christ, not Satan, Is King, and He Uses even horrible acts of evil for His Glory.

Turn away from this wicked ideology and embrace Jesus.  Please—please!

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“American” Trucking

The Portly Politico8 Comments

It seems that lately there is an endless parade of evidence showing illegal immigrants behaving badly—or, at the very least, with lethal incompetence.  The latest example is the infamous Indian Sikh truck driver who made an unsignaled, last-minute U-turn, causing a family of three to crash into his trailer, killing them instantly.

An ex-girlfriend’s dad was a trucker for many years, and I remember him telling me that the state of the industry has really declined.  Instead of unionized drivers with rigorous training and employment protections, there are loads of young, hastily-trained, immigrant men driving recklessly.  As we saw with the Indian driver, many of these immigrants are here illegally, and come from cultures that do not hold human life sacred to the same extent as Western cultures.

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The End of NPR

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Well, they’ve finally done it—Republicans have defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the congressionally-funded non-profit that operates the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio.  Note that this defunding is not a temporary executive order, one which a future Democratic President could undo with the stroke of a pen:  it’s part of Congress’s budget cutting, and the House holds the power of the purse.

Sure, it could all be undone, but it would require a Democratic President (or a RINO) and a Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate.  Those both might return someday, but for now, conservatives and champions of limited and small(er) government can relish this accomplishment.

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TBT: We Are All Deplorables Now

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

It’s wild to consider that, about a year ago, President Trump survived a public assassination attempt.  It was a turning point in the election, and had the president not turned to look at a chart at the precise moment the bullet flew, it likely would have been a dire turning point for the nation as a whole.

Fortunately, the bullet missed.  What is crazy to consider is that, a year on, this entire event seems to be forgotten—or, at least, not discussed very much.  I suppose that is the way of things—who talks about the various assassinations of European nobility and royalty in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?  Other than an Austrian archduke, we don’t.

I still shudder to think of how differently things might have been had the bullet struck.  I suspect we’d have a J.D. Vance presidency—if the election had happened at all.  Civil war would have been a likely outcome; the government cracking down and/or cancelling the election on grounds of “public safety” could have been another.  Biden’s cancerous shell might still be marionetting around the White House.

Well, thank God the would-be assassin missed, but let us keep fighting on.

With that, here is 15 July 2025’s “We Are All Deplorables Now“:

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TBT: Mystery in the Blogosphere

The Portly Politico7 Comments

It was almost exactly a year ago that legendary Trinidadian blogger Renard, formerly of Renard’s World, disappeared—or, at least, his blog disappeared.  To my knowledge, no one knows anything about the once-ubiquitous blogger or his whereabouts.

In searching for his blog, I found two different blog titles from his site, which still shows up in search results even though the site has been deleted:  “Renard Is Not Overly Attached to His Blog,” dated 5 February 2024; and “Nothing Ever Gets Between Me and Blogging,” dated 12 April 2024.  It seems Renard was sending mixed messages in the final months of his blogging journey.

The blog Geek Mamas ran a post on 30 May 2024, “What Happened to Renard’s World?“; it asks all the questions we in the WordPress blogosphere were asking at the time, and noted many of the similar themes:  the change in Renard’s tone; the possible use of AI to generate images and/or to write his posts; the total and sudden disappearance of the blog.  I can’t find much more (although, to be honest, I didn’t dig that deeply), and this may simply remain one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Internet.

Why speculate?  Well, let’s be honest—it’s interesting.  To understand how huge Renard’s sudden disappearance was, this guy was everywhere—every blogger on WordPress followed Renard, even if we didn’t always read him, and he seemed to follow everyone else.  He even liked a few of my posts on occasion, which isn’t a brag so much as a kind of surprise, because the guy was all over the place.

Anyway, it seems the weeks of speculation died down, and I had not thought of old Renard until casting about for some old blog posts to repost for TBT.  Now I have to wonder again:  what happened to him and his site?  Does anyone have any additional information?

Perhaps one day we’ll know, but I suspect that the mystery will endure.

With that, here is 15 May 2024’s “Mystery in the Blogosphere“:

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Tariffs: Worth It

The Portly Politico2 Comments

There’s been a great deal of bellyaching this week about the tariffs that President Trump has slapped on countries all over the world, friend and foe alike.  Indeed, even yours portly winced at the drop in his various retirement accounts.

But the pain is worth it—and, we must remember, temporary.  What is often forgotten in the discussion about tariffs is that we have been the suckers, often dropping our trade barriers while other countries—even allies!—have kept their trade barriers in place.  The net result is that our manufacturing base has been stripped away since the end of the Second World War, and we have shifted into a consumer economy.

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MAGA Monday: Zelensky Gets Zapped

The Portly Politico15 Comments

A quick note:  apologies to SubscribeStar readers; apparently, Saturday’s post, which was scheduled to pop at 6:30 AM EST that morning, never popped!  I posted it manually yesterday.  —TPP

Yours portly is once again playing catch-up, so I’m sharing the full meeting/press conference between President Trump and the little twerp from the Ukraine, President Zelensky:

To be clear, I don’t think Russia is good; their attempted conquest of the Ukraine has been incredibly disruptive to the lives of the Ukrainian people (to put it mildly) and to global order.  But that doesn’t make Ukraine and Zelensky saints, nor does it mean the United States should be getting involved in what is essentially a border conflict between similar peoples in a distant part of the globe.

Zelensky is perhaps the most entitled and disrespectful world leader I’ve ever seen.  He’s jetted around the globe cosplaying as some kind of freedom fighter.  He doesn’t even have the decency or respect to wear a coat and tie when begging us for money.  Even someone looking to get a bank loan to open up a mechanic’s shop changes out of coveralls and into a suit when asking the banker for money.

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Lazy Sunday CCXCVII: Golden Age II

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

It’s been another week of Trumptastic victories, so I figured it would be worthwhile to continue to bask in the sunny glow of America’s golden age:

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

  1. Lazy Sunday – APR Pieces
  2. Lazy Sunday II – Lincoln Posts
  3. Lazy Sunday III – Historical Moments
  4. Lazy Sunday IV – Christianity
  5. Lazy Sunday V – Progressivism, Part I
  6. Lazy Sunday VI – Progressivism, Part II
  7. Lazy Sunday VII – Deep State
  8. Lazy Sunday VIII – Conservatism
  9. Lazy Sunday IX – Economics, Part I
  10. Lazy Sunday X – Economics, Part II
  11. Lazy Sunday XI – Walls
  12. Lazy Sunday XII – Space
  13. Lazy Sunday XIII – Immigration
  14. Lazy Sunday XIV – Gay Stuff
  15. Lazy Sunday XV – Work
  16. Lazy Sunday XVI – #MAGAWeek2018
  17. Lazy Sunday XVII – #MAGAWeek2019
  18. Lazy Sunday XVIII – SubscribeStar Posts
  19. Lazy Sunday XIX – Music
  20. Lazy Sunday XX – The Laziest Sunday
  21. Lazy Sunday XXI – Travel
  22. Lazy Sunday XXII – Reading
  23. Lazy Sunday XXIII – Richard Weaver
  24. Lazy Sunday XXIV – Education
  25. Lazy Sunday XXV – Techno-Weirdos
  26. Lazy Sunday XXVI – Small Town Living
  27. Lazy Sunday XXVII – Bric-a-Brac
  28. Lazy Sunday XXVIII – World History
  29. Lazy Sunday XXIX – The New Criterion
  30. Lazy Sunday XXX – Trump, Part I
  31. Lazy Sunday XXXI – Trump, Part II
  32. Lazy Sunday XXXII – Festivals
  33. Lazy Sunday XXXIII – Virtue Signalling
  34. Lazy Sunday XXXIV – The Desperate Search for Meaning Series
  35. Lazy Sunday XXXV – Corporate Grind
  36. Lazy Sunday XXXVI – Best of the Reblogs, Part I
  37. Lazy Sunday XXXVII – Best of the Reblogs, Part II
  38. Lazy Sunday XXXVIII – Best of the Reblogs, Part III
  39. Lazy Sunday XXXIX – A Very Dokken Christmas Series
  40. Lazy Sunday XL – Christmas Carols
  41. Lazy Sunday XLI – Food
  42. Lazy Sunday XLII – 2019’s Top Five Posts
  43. Lazy Sunday XLIII – Music, Part II: More Music
  44. Lazy Sunday XLIV – SubscribeStar Saturday Posts, Part II: The Search for More Money
  45. Lazy Sunday XLV – Techno-Weirdos II
  46. Lazy Sunday XLVI – Man Time
  47. Lazy Sunday XLVII – Winning
  48. Lazy Sunday XLVIII – Culture
  49. Lazy Sunday XLIX – Family
  50. Lazy Sunday L – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  51. Lazy Sunday LI – Just for Fun
  52. Lazy Sunday LII – Democratic Candidates, Part I
  53. Lazy Sunday LIII – Democratic Candidates, Part II
  54. Lazy Sunday LIV – Coronavirus
  55. Lazy Sunday LV – Animals
  56. Lazy Sunday LVI – Movies
  57. Lazy Sunday LVII – Christianity, Part II
  58. Lazy Sunday LVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap
  59. Lazy Sunday LIX – The God Pill Series
  60. Lazy Sunday LX – Music, Part II: Gigging
  61. Lazy Sunday LXI – The Tuck
  62. Lazy Sunday LXII – The South
  63. Lazy Sunday LXIII – Holidays
  64. Lazy Sunday LXIV – Grab Bag
  65. Lazy Sunday LXV – Rioting
  66. Lazy Sunday LXVI – Video Games
  67. Lazy Sunday LXVII – Phone it in Fridays, Part I
  68. Lazy Sunday LXVIII – Phone it in Fridays, Part II
  69. Lazy Sunday LXIX – Phone it in Fridays, Part III
  70. Lazy Sunday LXX – Phone it in Friday, Part IV
  71. Lazy Sunday LXXI – Road Trips
  72. Lazy Sunday LXXII – Forgotten Posts, Volume I
  73. Lazy Sunday LXXIII – Forgotten Posts, Volume II
  74. Lazy Sunday LXXIV – Forgotten Posts, Volume III
  75. Lazy Sunday LXXV – Forgotten Posts, Volume IV
  76. Lazy Sunday LXXVI – Forgotten Posts, Volume V
  77. Lazy Sunday LXXVII – Rural America
  78. Lazy Sunday LXXVIII – Space, Part II
  79. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – SCOTUS
  80. Lazy Sunday LXXX – Big Ideas
  81. Lazy Sunday LXXXI – Education, Part II
  82. Lazy Sunday LXXXII – Universal Studios
  83. Lazy Sunday LXXXIII – The Mountains
  84. Lazy Sunday LXXXIV – Halloween Hijinks
  85. Lazy Sunday LXXXV – Elections
  86. Lazy Sunday LXXXVI – Questions, Part I
  87. Lazy Sunday LXXXVII – Questions, Part II
  88. Lazy Sunday LXXXVIII – Questions, Part III
  89. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – 100 Week Review
  90. Lazy Sunday XC – Questions, Part IV
  91. Lazy Sunday XCI – Questions, Part V
  92. Lazy Sunday XCII – Christmas
  93. Lazy Sunday XCIII – 2020’s Top Five Posts
  94. Lazy Sunday XCIV – My Favorite Things
  95. Lazy Sunday XCV – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  96. Lazy Sunday XCVI – More Movies: Movie Reviews, Part I
  97. Lazy Sunday XCVII – More Movies II: Movie Reviews, Part II
  98. Lazy Sunday XCVIII – More Movies III: Movie Reviews, Part III
  99. Lazy Sunday XCIX – Romantic Music
  100. Lazy Sunday C – Valentine’s Day
  101. Lazy Sunday CI – Obituaries, Part I
  102. Lazy Sunday CII – Obituaries, Part II
  103. Lazy Sunday CIII – Begging
  104. Lazy Sunday CIV – Time
  105. Lazy Sunday CV – Grab Bag II
  106. Lazy Sunday CVI – Adventures
  107. Lazy Sunday CVII – Easter
  108. Lazy Sunday CVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2021 Recap
  109. Lazy Sunday CIX – Pillow Talk
  110. Lazy Sunday CX – Inspector Gerard Reviews
  111. Lazy Sunday CXI – Bric-a-Brac II
  112. Lazy Sunday CXII – Responsibility
  113. Lazy Sunday CXIII – Short Stories
  114. Lazy Sunday CXIV – More Movies IV: Movie Reviews, Part IV
  115. Lazy Sunday CXV – Memorable Mondays
  116. Lazy Sunday CXVI – Delays
  117. Lazy Sunday CXVII – More Movies V – Movie Reviews, Part V
  118. Lazy Sunday CXVIII – More Movies VI – Movie Reviews, Part VI
  119. Lazy Sunday CXIX – Summer Camps
  120. Lazy Sunday CXX – Animals, Part II
  121. Lazy Sunday CXXI – MAGAWeek2021 Posts
  122. Lazy Sunday CXXII – MAGAWeek2020 Posts
  123. Lazy Sunday CXXIII – Murphy
  124. Lazy Sunday CXXIV – Bible Posts
  125. Lazy Sunday CXXV – More Movies VII – Movie Reviews, Part VII
  126. Lazy Sunday CXXVI – Joy, Part I
  127. Lazy Sunday CXXVII – Joy, Part II – Music
  128. Lazy Sunday CXXVIII – Civilization
  129. Lazy Sunday CXXIX – Friends, Part I
  130. Lazy Sunday CXXX – Friends, Part II
  131. Lazy Sunday CXXXI – Friends, Part III
  132. Lazy Sunday CXXXII – Milestones
  133. Lazy Sunday CXXXIII – Inspector Gerard
  134. Lazy Sunday CXXXIV – Friends, Part IV
  135. Lazy Sunday CXXXV – More Movies VIII – Movie Reviews, Part VIII
  136. Lazy Sunday CXXXVI – More Movies IX – Movie Reviews, Part IX
  137. Lazy Sunday CXXXVII – More Halloween Hijinks
  138. Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII – Friends, Part V
  139. Lazy Sunday CXXXIX – More Movies, Part X – Movie Reviews, Part X
  140. Lazy Sunday CXL – More Movies, Part XI – Movie Reviews, Part XI
  141. Lazy Sunday CXLI – Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)
  142. Lazy Sunday CXLII – More Movies, Part XII – Movie Reviews, Part XII
  143. Lazy Sunday CXLIII – More Movies, Part XIII – Movie Reviews, Part XIII
  144. Lazy Sunday CXLIV – More Christmas Carols
  145. Lazy Sunday CXLV – Christmas Cheer
  146. Lazy Sunday CXLVI – 2021’s Top Five Posts
  147. Lazy Sunday CXLVII – More Movies, Part XIV – Movie Reviews, Part XIV
  148. Lazy Sunday CXLVIII – The Gemini Sonnets #1 and #2
  149. Lazy Sunday CXLIX – The Gemini Sonnets #3 and #4
  150. Lazy Sunday CL – The Gemini Sonnets #5 and #6
  151. Lazy Sunday CLI – More Movies, Part XV – Movies Reviews, Part XV
  152. Lazy Sunday CLII – Romance
  153. Lazy Sunday CLIII – Behind the Songs, Part I
  154. Lazy Sunday CLIV – Behind the Songs, Part II
  155. Lazy Sunday CLV – Péchés d’âge moyen Posts
  156. Lazy Sunday CLVI – More Son of Sonnet
  157. Lazy Sunday CLVII – Ponty’s Posts, Part I
  158. Lazy Sunday CLVIII – Ponty’s Posts, Part II
  159. Lazy Sunday CLIX – Scrambie Eggs
  160. Lazy Sunday CLX: Fine Arts Festival
  161. Lazy Sunday CLXI: Easter II
  162. Lazy Sunday CLXII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap 2022
  163. Lazy Sunday CLXIII: Friends, Part VI
  164. Lazy Sunday CLXIV: Friends, Part VII
  165. Lazy Sunday CLXV: Friends, Part VIII
  166. Lazy Sunday CLXVI: Friends, Part IX
  167. Lazy Sunday CLXVII: Friends, Part X
  168. Lazy Sunday CLXVIII: More Movies, Part XVI: Movie Reviews, Part XVI
  169. Lazy Sunday CLXIX: More Movies, Part XVII: Movie Reviews, Part XVII
  170. Lazy Sunday CLXX: More Movies, Part XVIII: Movie Reviews, Part XVIII
  171. Lazy Sunday CLXXI: Frederick Ingram, Part I
  172. Lazy Sunday CLXXII: Frederick Ingram, Part II
  173. Lazy Sunday CLXXIII: MAGAWeek2022
  174. Lazy Sunday CLXXIV: More Movies, Part XIX: Movie Reviews, Part XIX
  175. Lazy Sunday CLXXV: More Movies, Part XX: Movie Reviews, Part XX
  176. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: More Movies, Part XXI: Movie Reviews, Part XXI
  177. Lazy Sunday CLXXVII: School, Part I
  178. Lazy Sunday CLXXVIII: School, Part II
  179. Lazy Sunday CLXXIX: More Movies, Part XXII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part I
  180. Lazy Sunday CLXXX: More Movies, Part XXIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part I
  181. Lazy Sunday CLXXXI: More Movies, Part XXIV: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part II
  182. Lazy Sunday CLXXXII: More Movies, Part XXV: Portly’s Worst Films, Part II
  183. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIII: More Movies, Part XXVII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part III
  184. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIV: More Movies, Part XXVIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part III
  185. Lazy Sunday CLXXXV: More Movies, Part XXIX: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Worst Films
  186. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVI: More Movies, Part XXX: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part I
  187. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVII: More Movies, Part XXXI: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part II
  188. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVIII: Video Games II: Ponty’s Picks
  189. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIX: Even More Halloween Hijinks: The Musical
  190. Lazy Sunday CXC: Cozy Time
  191. Lazy Sunday CXCI: Veterans Day Posts
  192. Lazy Sunday CXCII: Myersvision, Part I
  193. Lazy Sunday CXCIII: Thanksgiving Week Posts
  194. Lazy Sunday CXCIV: Solo Cover EP, Part I
  195. Lazy Sunday CXCV: Solo Cover EP, Part II
  196. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: 2022’s Top Three
  197. Lazy Sunday CXCVII: Review[s] of A Christmas Carol (1951)
  198. Lazy Sunday CXCVIII: The Worst of 2022
  199. Lazy Sunday CXCIX: More Movies XXXII: Portly’s Best Films, Part I
  200. Lazy Sunday CC: More Movies XXXIII: Ponty’s Best Films, Part I
  201. Lazy Sunday CCI: More Movies XXXIV: Portly’s Best Films, Part II
  202. Lazy Sunday CCII: More Movies XXXV: Ponty’s Best Films, Part II
  203. Lazy Sunday CCIII: P​é​ch​é​s d​’​â​ge moyen Picks
  204. Lazy Sunday CCIV: Arizonan Sojourn, Part I
  205. Lazy Sunday CCV: Portly’s Best Films, Part III
  206. Lazy Sunday CCVI: Ponty’s Best Films, Part III
  207. Lazy Sunday CCVII: The Beach
  208. Lazy Sunday CCVIII: Walks
  209. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Paintings
  210. Lazy Sunday CCX: Arizonan Sojourn, Part II
  211. Lazy Sunday CCXI: Hono[u]rable Mentions
  212. Lazy Sunday CCXII: Easter III
  213. Lazy Sunday CCXIII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2023
  214. Lazy Sunday CCXIV: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Picks
  215. Lazy Sunday CCXV: Myersvision, Part II
  216. Lazy Sunday CCXVI: Myersvision, Part III
  217. Lazy Sunday CCXVII: Myersvision, Part IV
  218. Lazy Sunday CCXVIII: Myersvision, Part V
  219. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Myersvision, Part VI
  220. Lazy Sunday CCXX: Myersvision, Part VII
  221. Lazy Sunday CCXXI: Intergalactic Nonsense
  222. Lazy Sunday CCXXII: Stories
  223. Lazy Sunday CCXXIII: Original Music, Part I
  224. Lazy Sunday CCXXIV: Original Music, Part II
  225. Lazy Sunday CCXXV: MAGAWeek2023 Posts
  226. Lazy Sunday CCXXVI: Greatest Hits Recap
  227. Lazy Sunday CCXXVII: Ponty Week 2023
  228. Lazy Sunday CCXXVIII: D.C., Part I
  229. Lazy Sunday CCXXIX: D.C., Part II
  230. Lazy Sunday CCXXX: TJC Deep Cuts
  231. Lazy Sunday CCXXXI: Weird Piano Music
  232. Lazy Sunday CCXXXII: Cinema
  233. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIII: Monarchy
  234. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIV: Sandwiches
  235. Lazy Sunday CCXXXV: Skeletons
  236. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVI: Myersvision, Part VIII
  237. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVII: Myersvision, Part IX
  238. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVIII: Festivals II
  239. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIX: Two Cryptid Tunes
  240. Lazy Sunday CCXL: Ghostly Doings
  241. Lazy Sunday CCXLI: Veterans Day Posts II
  242. Lazy Sunday CCXLII: Indie Musician Rants
  243. Lazy Sunday CCXLIII: 2023 Releases
  244. Lazy Sunday CCXLIV: Civilization Series
  245. Lazy Sunday CCXLV: Chapel Lessons, Part I
  246. Lazy Sunday CCXLVI: Chapel Lessons, Part II
  247. Lazy Sunday CCXLVII: Christmas Concert Reviews
  248. Lazy Sunday CCXLVIII: The Best of 2023
  249. Lazy Sunday CCXLIX: Best Ponty Posts of 2023
  250. Lazy Sunday CCL: Best Myersvision Posts of 2023
  251. Lazy Sunday CCLI: YouTube Roundup Roundup I
  252. Lazy Sunday CCLII: YouTube Roundup Roundup II
  253. Lazy Sunday CCLIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I
  254. Lazy Sunday CCLIV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part II
  255. Lazy Sunday CCLV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part III
  256. Lazy Sunday CCLVI: Days Off
  257. Lazy Sunday CCLVII: Murphy Vids, Part I
  258. Lazy Sunday CCLVIII: Food II
  259. Lazy Sunday CCLIX: Four Mages, Part I
  260. Lazy Sunday CCLX: Murphy Vids, Part II
  261. Lazy Sunday CCLXI: Ultra Laziness
  262. Lazy Sunday CCLXII: Mothers
  263. Lazy Sunday CCLXIII: Four Mages, Part II
  264. Lazy Sunday CCLXIV: End of School Events
  265. Lazy Sunday CCLXV: Disco Elysium Reviews
  266. Lazy Sunday CCLXVI: Political Stuff, Part I
  267. Lazy Sunday CCLXVII: Political Stuff, Part II
  268. Lazy Sunday CCLXVIII: Milestones II
  269. Lazy Sunday CCLXIX: Cryptid Epistemology Mini-Series
  270. Lazy Sunday CCLXX: TJC Deep Cuts II
  271. Lazy Sunday CCLXXI: Trump Stuff
  272. Lazy Sunday CCLXXII: Harris Stuff
  273. Lazy Sunday CCLXXIII: Heptadic Structure Tracks, Part I
  274. Lazy Sunday CCLXXIV: More Movies XXXVI: Movie Reviews, Part XXII: Reviews for Audre
  275. Lazy Sunday CCLXXV: Singing to Murphy
  276. Lazy Sunday CCLXXVI: Music Stuff
  277. Lazy Sunday CCLXXVII: Reviews of Video Games After Only Playing a Tiny Bit of Them
  278. Lazy Sunday CCLXXVIII: Composing Antiquity
  279. Lazy Sunday CCLXXIX: Ancient History
  280. Lazy Sunday CCLXXX: Mel Brooks Films
  281. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXI: Smooth Brass Tunes
  282. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXII: Spooky Season Prep
  283. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIII: Spooky Season Prep II
  284. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIV: Spooky Season Prep III
  285. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXV: Post-Spooky Season Blues
  286. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVI: GEOTUS
  287. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVII: Vague Updates
  288. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVIII: Thanksgiving Follies
  289. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIX: Christmas Cheer
  290. Lazy Sunday CCXC: Christmas Cheer II
  291. Lazy Sunday CCXCI: Christmas Cheer III
  292. Lazy Sunday CCXCII: The Best of 2024
  293. Lazy Sunday CCXCIII: Life Stuff
  294. Lazy Sunday CCXCIV: Stop Motion Animation
  295. Lazy Sunday CCXCV: The Bitter, Wretched Cold
  296. Lazy Sunday CCXCVI: Golden Age

SubscribeStar Saturday: Tariffs Work

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Amid a flurry of big news this week—which seems to be the norm now that Trump is back in office—one of the major stories was the president of Colombia backing down once Trump slapped some tariffs on his country for refusing to accept deportation flights from the United States.  That the Colombian government didn’t even want their own people back tells you everything you need to know about the quality of these immigrants.

But I digress.  Trump is wielding tariffs like a serious foreign policy weapon, which works exceptionally well when you’re the most powerful and productive economy on the Earth.  Yes, the United States has struggled economically in recent years, but we’re still on top.  Tariffs will only help with that goal, by bringing back manufacturing; ending America’s reliance on the financialization of everything as the driver of our economic growth; and forcing recalcitrant nations to play ball.

It is remarkable that we are returning, after the long fever trade of unbridled free trade—even at our own expense—to the age of William McKinley, a president that is often forgotten, but who has enjoyed renewed cache in recent years.  President Trump explicitly mentioned McKinley in his Inaugural Address, and the former president’s legacy is experiencing a renaissance of sorts.

Today (Saturday, 1 February 2025), Canada, Mexico, and China will face new tariffs on their goods.  Each of these nations have exploited America’s good will by flooding our nation with illegal fentanyl and immigrants.  It is about dang time.

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