A Watauga Conservative

With 40% of the world's businesses older than 100 years, Japan can teach us a few lessons in not-so-typical economics.  Nineteen Japanese businesses have existed for more than 1,000 years . So what is the secret to Japanese business longevity that your neighbor's LulaRoe operation hasn't?  To reach these heights, a business " cannot just chase profits ." Do one thing. Do it well. And don't be greedy. 

As a fair reminder, Trump tweeted dozens of times against Barack Obama's golf playing, including: Can you believe that,with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.   --Trump, Oct 13, 2014 As of November 11, Trump has played golf 285 times - costing the taxpayers $142 million. At this point in his first term, President Obama had played golf 105 times.  Well that's a hard pill to swallow for Trump loyalists. If golf was the definition of "lazy" during the Obama administration, we should highlight the 2.7-times laziness in the Trump administration. Right? 

From NPR : The widespread embrace of conspiracy and disinformation amounts to a "mass radicalization" of Americans, and increases the risk of right-wing violence...domestic terrorism analysts are raising concern about the security implications of millions of conservatives buying into baseless right-wing claims. They say the line between mainstream and fringe is vanishing, with conspiracy-minded Republicans now marching alongside armed extremists at rallies across the country. 77% of Trump loyalists believe that the election was fraudulent and that Trump did not actually lose - despite no evidence of that claim.  Violence is now expected from Trump loyalist groups.  Conservatives are being radicalized. It is in our backyard. Yet the previous administrators of this blog remain silent in regard to their blind complicity. 

The American people resoundingly rejected the GOP's platform in November ( by over 7 million votes ). Biden's electoral votes have eclipsed those of Trump's 2016 victory - which he called a landslide victory . In response, fake conservatives have shouted "voter fraud" without evidence. Interestingly, these worshipers at the false altar of Trump also shouted the same in 2016 when Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million votes.  Through all of the shouting and bombastic behavior of these fake conservatives, Americans have largely moved on from the antiquated and unintelligent GOP platform .  Instead of screaming "socialism!" at anything that makes them uncomfortable , conservatives should take a moment to self-reflect on the authoritarian path they are happily sprinting down . 

From the Washington Post : The intellectual bankruptcy and moral hypocrisy of many conservative leaders is stunning. People who claimed to favor limited government now applaud Trump’s use of the executive branch to undermine an election. A similar attempt by Barack Obama would have brought comparisons to Fidel Castro. People who talked endlessly about respecting the Constitution affirm absurd slanders against the constitutional order. People who claimed to be patriots now spread false claims about their country’s fundamental corruption. People who talked of honoring the rule of law now jerk and gyrate according to the whims of a lawless leader. These conservative leaders no longer deserve the assumption of sincerity. They are spreading conspiratorial lies so unlikely and irrational, they must know them to be lies. 

Following Presidential tradition since 1933 , the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library plan has been officially unveiled. Learn more here . 

"If you were hoping for a change of heart from Joe Biden after a decades-long career as a hawk, we've got bad news: his incoming team helped shape some of the most militaristic policies of the Obama administration." Read here

One of Trump's ongoing tantrums concerns Facebook and Twitter and their flagging his numerous claims/outbursts as patently untrue. So in revenge, Trump is proposing a full repeal of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act .  But what is Section 230?  Section 230 shields website owners/managers from legal suits arising from user posts and content. The website itself, then, is not subject to libel ligation. Websites are also afforded the right to moderate and restrict comments/content/material that they deemed, “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.” Section 230 has led to the popularity and growth of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Parler, and......blogs.  A repeal of Section 230 would open us to defamation litigation for your comments. Following Blogger's retirement, this blog has followed the constraints of a full Section 230 repeal.  Prior posts were removed: Posts portra...

" 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