A Watauga Conservative

" A new study finds that commuters with access to free public transportation don’t drive any less — but they do take more leisure and shopping trips than those who have to pay a fare, which could help provide local economies with the cash they need to provide more social services." The economic concept of induced demand  (i.e., "build it and they will come") is fully illustrated here. And although increased access to public transit did not reduce miles-driven, it did increase revenue to local small businesses! 

The former president seems unable to reckon with the failures of his presidency and diagnose the Republican Party’s incurable nihilism. What Obama doesn’t acknowledge outright here is that denials of this reality—the insistence, for instance, that Joe Biden’s personal relationship with McConnell means something—are coming from Biden himself. In a speech Monday, Biden dismissed doubts about a return to bipartisanship under his administration. “The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not due to some mysterious force beyond our control,” he said. “It’s a conscious decision. It’s a choice that we make. If we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate. I believe this is part of the mandate from the American people—part of the mandate they gave us. They want us to cooperate. They want us to deliver results. And the choice that Kamala and I will make is that we’re going to do that.”

One American News Network (OAN) is, well, kinda dangerous.  In the wake of Trump's all-out war against true journalism, OAN has emerged as his - and his blind followers - news outlet du jour.  OAN has reported that a North Carolina lab created the coronavirus. YouTube has had to take action against OAN, suspending their account after the "news network" pushed charlatan cures for COVID-19. If one were to search for "fake news", we'd have to look no further.  Trump has frequently lavished praise upon the otherwise unknown "news network" while they have, in turn, lavished praise upon him .  Trump has treated FoxNews like a first-wife - quickly leaving and publicly courting his mistress, OAN. And the lackeys have followed rank-in-file.  The media company was launched by Robert Herring, a Los Angeles pet store owner. Herring started his media conglomerate with  WealthTV .

As a real estate magnate, Trump is accustomed to leveraging assets in order to fund new ventures . Only this time, the "asset" is the United States of America. In short - we're being played.  Trump's business acumen does not translate to governance, as the US is not an apartment building to be leveraged. Yet, we know that his campaign is soliciting money that would go directly to him and his personal interests .  We also know that Giuliani is charging the American tax payer upwards of $20,000 per day to "challenge" election results.  AND, we know that Trump is planning a new Trump-branded media outlet while he lambasts FoxNews (his most ardent media support) in his final days as President.  Trump's goal was never governance. It was self-enrichment. With a long history of scams, his last days as President are simply bringing this truth to the forefront. 

  Happy Thanksgiving to all! 

This blog is Conservative, not stupid. No matter how we slice it, the Trump presidency was one of unabashed and flagrant  nepotism , autocracy , and authoritarianism .  The national debt ballooned . (Despite the promise to eliminate it) The stock market sagg ed. (Despite the promise of the best "business man")  Gun rights have been restricted . (Despite the promise to fully support the 2nd Amendment) The pandemic highlighted non-existent leadership ability . (Despite claims of unfaltering leadership acumen)  Civil unrest protesting against frequent uses of unnecessary force was met with even greater shows of force .  We are losing international allies while cozying-up to despots . The level of basic and coherent discourse is at an all-time low.  

At 85, the libertarian tycoon who spent decades funding conservative causes says he wants a final act building bridges across the political divide.  Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud and Trump seems to agree:   "...what a wonderful job the Trump Administration did in making 2020 the most secure election ever. Actually this is true"  Despite his public admission of unprecedented electoral security, Trump continues his authoritarian parallel claim that the electoral results are fraudulent .  Are the elections results valid? Yes.  Is Trump playing authoritarian by claiming both positions and attempting to manipulate the GOP base? Also yes. 

What if DC and Puerto Rico were granted statehood? Both jurisdictions have been asking (voting) for this for decades, yet Congress has failed on the issue.  Political experts posit both Puerto Rico and DC as swing states - with a leaning towards Republican. Yet, even after the House passed a statehood measure, the Senate refused to vote .  As an open question: Who is afraid of a voice for all Americans? Puerto Ricans ( who have no Congressional voting representatives and cannot vote for President ) and DC'ers are as American as you or me, yet lack full electoral power on a federal level. 

Thanks for your patience! After a week of vetting new blog authors, we thank every single one of you who were interested. We have three new authors! All authors will use the name "Admin" here on this blog. Our authors are: A PhD in Political Science A local (WNC) business owner An (WNC) elected official Additionally, comment moderation has now been removed! In the first week of this new format we received far too many comments with racial/ethnic epithets and other untoward language - thus the need to moderate. We are happy that these horrid comments have ceased and that we can return to open commenting! 

The "Proud Boys" group....those who Trump told to " stand back and stand by "....has taken a new turn. Kyle Chapman, the leader of the "Proud Boys Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights", has declared himself the de facto leader and voice of this group, stating : "We will no longer cuck to the left by appointing token negroes as our leaders. We will no longer allow homosexuals or other 'undesirables' into our ranks. We will confront the Zionist criminals who wish to destroy our civilization. We recognize that the West was built by the White Race alone and we owe nothing to any other race." This is the base of Trump-ism. This is not political conservatism. This is outright racism, fascism, and authoritarianism.

Trump continues his " no concession " campaign. This is yet another apparent fascist tactic to undermine our democracy. There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud and Trump's own  voting integrity commission found no such voter fraud in the 2016 election either.  Same (false) story. Different year. And all meant to maintain autocratic power. 

We should make a point to say that this blog has not been "stolen" (as Guy commented).  Blogger has retired and he turned the administrative and authorship responsibilities over to others. As such, we are revamping the voice and look of the blog - all for the better. Take a look at the first (post-retirement) post to review our newly minted tenets. 

Following the retirement of Blogger and a return to reality, we're looking for enthusiastic contributors! If you'd like to author some blog posts and drive the future of A Watauga Conservative , please comment with your info: (all comments with info will be seen by the admin but not shared publicly on the blog) Name Email  Background/Résumé Areas of interest/specialty Why you want to contribute Thank you to all in advance! 

  Echoing this blog's "he won, get over it" message from 2016 -- Joe Biden has won the popular and electoral college vote.  We concede that Biden won the election and do not support Trump's attempts to undermine legal votes and the voice of the people.