I have a new neighbor here at the condos. He’s about thirty, very nice looking, pays $3700 a month to RENT the 2 bedrm/3 bath unit (HOW MUCH??) and drives a mean, new BMW, so he does very well in the billboard business (owning and renting, not painting, apparently them!).
Thursday, we met in front of our units and chatted. He said he liked my car and pointed to my Wounded Warrior small bumper sticker on the….um..bumper!, and I dared ask, having seen that he admires soldiers, “Are you a Conservative?” Gulp.
He kind of stammered and I prodded… “Go ahead, give me some hope!” laughingly.
He said “I was a liberal, but the more I hear, the more conservative I’m getting. I have some Conservative values…like sanctuary cities are nuts….and while I used to be 70% liberal, now I can’t listen to them talk, and I think I’m 10% liberal and 60% Conservative”…..( I don’t know if he’s 30% Communist or he’s just really bad at math, but it WAS hopeful!!)
I had to share that because IT GIVES ME HOPE! He’s still at the point where he doesn’t like Trump, insists he present his tax returns, and I could tell he’s a tad nervous about admitting he’s turning Conservative, an idea made deplorable and disgusting by the Left. Republicans MUST start to shove HARD against….
This hesitation, this embarrassment to say he’s Conservative is what we need to see CHANGE. Republicans MUST start to shove HARD against….If there is ONE THING before this election we MUST CHANGE, it is that……..make people proud to be Conservative again. It could be done. I’m afraid a LOT of people do not like identifying with Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric. I’m writing a speech for him and will publish it tomorrow: very humble me believes my speech could help in the direction I’m going here 🙂
So, do any of YOU know someone who was liberal but is getting FED UP!? TELL US!!! What do you think of my neighbor Zach’s opinion? (Yes, two Z’s living next to each other…and his last name starts with Z, too!)
THIS MORNING’S ADDITION: I paid my mortgage on line a week or so ago and accidentally gave a wrong bank account number so I had to call this morning and straighten it out. It was clear that who I was talking to, “Danielle,” was really nice and a Black American. After we were through, I said “Did you have a nice Easter?” (gulp)…She said ‘I really did, I hope you did, too”….I said “I can always tell a Christian over the phone..” She told me she could, too, and added..”You know what? This year I found many more Christians calling in, wishing Happy Easter, and talking about faith!” Huh! A good sign?
Z
geeez2014
GeeeZ .... 
Interesting swing of the social pendulum, this “walkaway” trend. And one I could spend a lotta time and energy writin about. But I ain’t a’gonna. I’ll just say this:
As a young guy back in the 50s, I was purty danged lib’ral. Champion of the oppressed, rooter for the underdog, quick to join the war on injustice and inequality.
And that behavior dovetails with a piece of sage wisdom I picked up way back in the 60s watchin hippies protestin wealth and technology and rules and regs but offering nothing substantive or practical as an alternative . . . just ragged clothing, dirty bodies, and far-out realities thru THC or LSD or PCP:
He who is not a liberal in his 20s has no heart; he who is not a conservative in his 40s has no brain.
What happened to me, I b’lieve, is that I managed to keep an open mind and look at both sides of a situation before deciding which way I wuz gonna come down on it.
Applying that to what we see today amongst younger liberals, we might see GREAT attitudinal shifts if they’d just consider the points offered by young conservatives such as Candace Owens or Ben Shapiro or Paul Watson. If they’d just go somewhere quiet and read Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter or Brit Hume without Maddows and Toobins and Stelters chanting anti-trump mantras in their ears.
Seems to me the chasm is as wide and bottomless as it is because people refusing to even acknowledge the other side except as some kind of mortal enemy. And that goes both ways . . . libs AND conservatives.
Libs condemn FoxNews without ever watching it. Why? Because some persuasive leftiste agitprop told them to, loudly, repeatedly, insistently NOT to.
They don’t have to actually watch or listen to Shapiro; in fact, I advise against it. But instead READ his logic, his data, his points. He annoys the hell outta me with his voice, his condescension, his dismissive tone. But I tend to agree with nearly everything he says.
Ditto for Coulter. And Malkin (of whom I’ve always been quite fond but am disappointed with because she got too big for her britches). And Breitbart. And Baier. And even to some degree O’Reilly.
READ ‘em. THINK about what they’re telling you. Then consider what the left has to offer, which amounts to little more than increased taxation, increased debt, increased dependency, and increased division.
Yeah, unicorns and pixie dust and castles in the air sound great in speeches, but they don’t feed the bulldog. Socialized government-funded health care sounds vundabar until you look at the facts, chief amongst which is that it ain’t workin in Britain or Canada (as you’ve been led to believe) and all those Scandinavian socialist utopias have for years been backing off from that system because they found that it’s unsupportable, unworkable, and unfeasible, not to mention wasteful, exorbitant, and inhumane.
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I’ve never met a communist (Aka – lberal, progressive) that changed their spots. I suspect people moving away from the democrats are more independents.
Then again, elections are all about independents. No one is ever going to get me to vote against democrats and I’m sure that’s true for dem voters against repubs, so the people we’re interested in spend 97% of their time focusing on sports and parties then listen to a couple debates a few weeks ahead of the elections in order to make an ‘informed decision’.
So, independents moving away from the dems is a good thing.
I noticed the other day that Ann Coulter said she’d be solidly in Bernie’s camp if he changed his position on immigration. Bye Bye Ann.
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Seesh, “get me to Not vote against democrats”
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I just follow what station people at the Gym have on as I walk about….. way too much CNN….too little Fox… but brave soul that I am, I do switch my channel to Fox……..so far so good! Thats my counter for how the wind is blowing.
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Would your neighbor like to be treated in the same way the Democrats are treating Trump? Would he like to see Congress demand ALL his financial records over the past 20 years? It’s okay to suggest that Trump should turn over his tax records, but he has no obligation to do that–and why should he? Why should any American?
McCain was a Republican, but he was never more than 10% conservative. That 10% only came into play when he was fingered during the Keating Scandal. Conservative or progressive isn’t so much about how you vote; it’s about what you believe. I worry that any “conservative” can think it is okay to harass or intimidate someone by screaming into their face “I demand your financial records!” Real Americans won’t put up with a bully.
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At least two of my family members — lifelong Democrats — have now converted to libertarianism and become strong Trumpers. The immigration issue was the major factor for them.
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On the other hand, a least two of my friends, previously center liberals, have become avid members of the Cult of Obama and are pro any Dem candidate. Sheesh.
Oh, and one of these former moderate liberals is in his 70s!
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I had a friend I worked with years ago.
Very liberal, union activist.
A couple years ago, I saw his name attached to a comment on a local conservative Facebook page. It was him.
Now he occasionally co hosts with me.
He said, “You reach a point in life where ya gotta grow up.”.
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Ed, you kit the nail on the head. Its about growing up, isn’t it? Z, your new neighbor Z.Z. is the rare exception by admitting he is switching. Most folks that switch parties are hesitant (embarrassed) to admit it. As for his paying $3,700/month for 2 br, 3 bath unit, I read recently that a 1 bedroom unit in San Francisco now goes for $4,000/month. Zillow.com shows our old house in Newport Beach, a 2,100 sq, ft. 4 Br. 3 Bath home would rent for $4,250/moth. Its nuts! (I paid $38,500 for it in 1971).
Rents ares high in all the major west coast cities. Nothing like that here in Vegas, though.
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PLEASE READ MY ADDITION TO MY POST THIS MORNING….SOMETHING JUST HAPPENED 5 MINUTES AGO ON THE PHONE AND IT IS GOOD, TOO.
Great input, thanks.
AOW, your acquaintances just balanced out of what seemed like a good equation..DARN!
Bocopro…good rant! Actually, CNN was slamming FOX BEFORE IT WENT ON THE AIR. I distinctly remember hearing someone say “And there will be a new conservative cable channel…” and proceeding it to slam it so hard (I knew NOTHING of FOX at the time) that I LITERALLY thought to myself “This thing isn’t even ON air and you’re already insulting it?” It was PURE Alinsky … kill it first. And I agree about Malkin…used to like her, now she’s a ‘star’ in her own mind.
Churchill’s quote used to work better than it does now…we have aged hippies still voting left, don’t we!!
Kid, This guy fits ALL the LIBERAL CALIFORNIA COOL GUY Criterion…and isn’t anymore…at least not as much, so he’s definitely changed SOME spots, for sure. Ann’s statement about Bernie showed me what I’ve always said about her is true: SHE LAUGHS ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK. There is NO WAY she’s for HEALTHCARE FOR ALL, there is NO WAY…etc, BUT she is REALLY IN EARNEST ABOUT THE WALL AND NOT HAPPY WITH THE SLOWNESS OF ACTION. Lucky her…$$$$
Bunkerville….I used to cower and now I ask for FOX to be turned on. I was in a big conference room recently waiting for 2 business people to come in…….the TV at the end wall of the room had CNN on …The recept. came in and asked if I’d like coffee, I said I would and “Do you always have CNN on? I like FOX because I get so bored with only one point of view and they have ALL points of view on….” She looked like I’d smacked her across the face, I swear….and I continued “Ya, I think FOX has at least 10 liberals on a day and CNN has maybe 3 a week…I’m the type who likes to hear it all, I don’t want one channel telling me what to think..(big smile here)…you know?” 🙂
I just sat here now wondering if she might have spit in my coffee before delivering 🙂 ha!!
Mustang, I did say to him that nobody sees MY tax returns but me, my accountant, and the IRS….why should Trump? He told me even members of congress have to present them to run….and all presidents have….I said I didn’t think so, but I don’t see the point. I just have to add that Trump is an even harder sell than other Cons. people when hoping someone changes his liberal spots….not giving his tax returns IS a block for some since most do ……..There’s the “If he has nothing to hide, why NOT?” adage does ring credible…….I said “Do you think if there’re a lot of illegalities in his tax returns it’s HE who’d go to jail or HIS ACCOUNTANT!?” HA!!! I mentioned this because there are stumbling blocks and this is one of my neighbor’s…toward accepting Trump.
He said he didn’t like his language much, either. I don’t, either, of course.
Ed….good for your friend!
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Wonderful! We are all Maranos in this culture. I think the woman was who helped me with my last phone call to a credit card company over our address problem. It was a difficult call (hr. # 61 spent on the issue) with Mr. B shouting and pounding the table, bullying me and I just broke down crying. She could hear enough before I hit the mute switch, and was a great comfort. (“I used to work in a nursing home. I know what it’s like, but I could leave at the end of my shift. I can’t imagine it being your own husband.” – thank you Lord for her!)
$3,700 for the condo isn’t that far-fetched. A totally re-done 1-bed 1-bath next door to my brother (kind of in your neighborhood) rented 3 years ago for $3,500; a friend rents her 2-bed, 1-bath (with glorious redone bath) for $3,200; and the 2-bed 1-bath tiny house across the street from me (they have a whole lot to themselves and a storage trailer) is $3,900. Not my rents! but should I rent my house it’s pushing into that range.)
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Mal and Baysider, for my building, this is a pretty steep price and all of us who own here are delighted. The unit is far more updated than most of ours, but it’s all good!
This guy is apparently QUITE successful….you can see it in his dress, his car, his demeanor…and he’s not stupid…I was really happy to hear his turn-around.
I have to admit I think he’d be more gung-ho were it not Trump because this guy is not enamored by him, that’s for sure. It’s a hard sell for me, but I TRY!
The Dems will have to nominate a very moderate Democrat if they want to soundly beat Trump/….that’s why they’re stupid not to support Biden; they’re too naive to understand that. No, Biden is not moderate, but in comparison to 90% of the whack jobs, he IS.
Warren now wants to cancel all student loans………..”not just loans, but books and child care and maybe they’d like to live in the DORM!~” she added all cutesy as if “that’s a fun idea!” WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS? So funny!
The more the Left says “FREE FREE FREE,!” I believe even some Dems will start asking “HOW? HOW? HOW?” and NOT vote for them because they are SO stinkin’ stupid!
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This is a small sign of things to come. All the while that President Trump’s
approval ratings have seemed anemic, his numbers are going up with what
used to be reliable Democrat constituencies. In 1992, I predicted that
if the Democrats lost say 5-10 percent in their top five racial or social
factions, it would be an extinction level event for the Democrat party. I
correctly predicted that union members would be the first to bail on the
party. Trump carried 40 percent of union households.
Support among black Americans is now about 30 percent, and Hispanics are
above 40 percent. Since Trump was elected, we now have the Walk Away
movement. Blacks are fleeing the Donks in something called the Blexit
Movement. The hard new-new-left is now alienating Jewish voters and the
Jexodus movement was born. Legal Hispanics are aware that illegal
immigration drives down their wages, and the union voters finally see
that the environmental left has cost America tens of millions of high
paying blue color jobs.
The left is even losing a good chunk of the Millennial vote. If you live
by the faction, you will die by the faction. The victim classes are at
each other’s throats to get to the top of the Bandini Mountain of
the oppressed. The Democrat party as it stands now has bought
into the BS they have been spreading for decades. The “Young
Turks” of the new-new-left should be given megaphones and all
the air time they want.
If these useless idiots are hell-bent on digging themselves into a
hole, I say throw them shovels!
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Z, Free schooling, Reparations, Medicare for All = buying, or attempting to buy votes.
As long as we have a Republican senate, none of that is going anywhere,
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Between the mental case adam schiff, the militant moron AOC, the terrorist chick omar, and rashida who probably personally inspired the burka, not to mention infanticide, the disgust with planned abortions, they have quite a voice for our side.
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Thats just what I was thinking, Kid. Its all about gettin’ the votes……..then worry about how to pay for it, esp. when you are trailing like Elizabeth Warren.
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Hi, Mr. Jones….I agree 100%…..I’m getting shovels! I knew Blexit was getting powerful when ol’ Bernie suddenly, instead of downplaying reparations, suddenly changed his mind and is willing to look at it. Ya, YOU BET! Frankly, I don’t believe Republicans would EVER EVER get Black Americans who would take reparations. But the huge preponderance I believe would NOT will not vote for anybody suggesting it…fingers crossed by ME!
Kid, it won’t fly but if we lose the 2020 election, we’d probably lose whatever Republicans in the senate who will be up for reelection, too,…so there’s that, no?
They have ‘quite a voice for our side’ ONLY if OUR SIDE FINDS ITS VOICE.
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..which reminds me to get my Trump speech finished………….it went nowhere yesterday; wasn’t able to spend enough time and ran out of steam on it, too….wanted to go down rabbit holes and this has to be broader than that.
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OFF TOPIC: (sort of?) I BELIEVE THE ELECTION OF A COMEDIAN IN UKRAINE IS A HORRIBLE HARBINGER FOR OUR WHOLE WORLD. HE WON BY 74% AND IS YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCE AND HAS RUSSIA NIPPING AT HIS HEELS…THIS GUY’S ALL FOR ‘PEACE,’ ..FUNNY, I THINK RUSSIA IS, TOO, AS LONG AS UKRAINE DOES ITS BIDDING.
I THINK THIS MAN , THE COMEDIAN, IS NOT FAR FROM AOC OR SOME OF THE DEMOCRAT CLOWNS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. LET’S HOPE AMERICANS ARE SMART ENOUGH NOT TO GO HERE.
(WHAT AM I THINKING?)!!!
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Had to share this; there were little boys “playing war” with little soldiers in front of her daughter’s apartment building; her granddaughter was watching them so my sis stopped and watched, too. She sent me a picture and the boys appear to be about six years old and she said they were fighting over who got to be American! HALLELUJAH!!!
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Z, Yes. Here’s another data point. The Alabamaa House voted 101 – 0 to make it mandatory that grades 1 – 12 begin the day with the Pledge of Allegiance.
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KID! THAT IS GREAT NEWS…very recently?!
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All schools in every U.S. state should recite the pledge of allegiance . We use to when I was in school. Why did it stop?
As for questioning anyones taxes, simply ask the IRS if everything is properly filed. Thats all anyone should be entitled to ask. Its nobody else’s business but the IRS.
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And a residual Soetoro magistrate declares it unconstitutional in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . . .
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Z, I read it for the first time today. So, VERY recently.
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Boco, you are SO RIGHT….UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS! Wait for it. Why NOT these days?
My response: (cover your ears
#$(&*(#$*&#W($*&#($**&#(*$&#(&#(*&$(&*$(*&#$(*&(*&(&#$(&($*&*(&(*#& etc
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No doubt bocopro, but We Will Prevail !
Imagine the judges DJT will put in place over the next 5-6 years.
It was interesting a judge ruled that we could keep asylum seekers in Mexico just a week or so after some tool judge said we couldn’t. And I think it was also a 9th circuit. It’s something.
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Z, I haven’t heard language like that since I was involved in a minor car accident in Russia….
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”You know what? This year I found many more Christians calling in, wishing Happy Easter, and talking about faith!” Huh! A good sign?
THAT is one of the best things I’ve read in a long, long time. A good sign, yes yes yes !
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DAVE!!!!! YOU MADE MY DAY..thanks for telling us that.
You know, it almost makes me teary when I see the faith you guys who comment here have….it inspires me so much…thank you! And yes, a VERY VERY good sign.
How interesting that you, too, felt more Christians called about Easter…….hurrah! A VERY GOOD SIGN!
KID!! you are right, I remember hearing that was a 9th circuit judge and practically fell off my chair!!! (I didn’t know you went to Russia! :-))
Mal, why DID it stop?
EVERYBODY …I HONESTLY BELIEVE WE ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY ON THE PLANET MANY OF WHOSE CITIZENS HATE IT….
yes, Germans were not allowed to sing their national anthem after WWII, understandably, and I have friends older than I who were raised feeling SO guilty about the holocaust, tho they’d had ZIP to do with it, they were young children at the time….but that’s different
AMERICA HAS NO REASON TO HATE ITSELF!
WAIT TILL YOU READ TOMORROW’S POST! 🙂
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Some fodder for a post on patriotism:
Among the core courses mandatory for eligibility to get a teacher’s license in Florida are some psychology and sociology courses. A fairly intelligent but entirely lefty loony lady ran one of them, and due to scheduling, I ran into it; it was taught only once/semester, and she was the only one who taught it.
One day she got on the subject of values and how it’s not really the teacher’s job to promote them actively or overtly in the classroom, but rather to focus on the course objectives published by the school board and approved by the principal. She then led us through several topics which she said we should never get involved in during class discussions.
Among those topics were religion, birth control, Welfare, and several others, including patriotism. Her point was that once you get off the subject, you throw away your life preserver (your approved curriculum lesson plan) and are subject to all sorts of arguments, accusations, and even lawsuits from students and their parents.
She chose patriotism as an example of dangerously opposed extreme beliefs and how taking a particular stance on it one way or the other would most certainly alienate at least some of the students in the class. Then to prove her point, she launched an open discussion on the subject.
And she was ready for it, too. She trotted out all sorts of philosophers on both sides of the issue, both pro and con, and was prepared for just about anything we might say (the class was an auditorium style setup with about 80 students). One of the sources she used was Einstein, and she had a quote from him on one of those roll-up banners above the chalkboard:
He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is. I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.
She also trotted out Santayana, who said, “how dreadful and pointless to have one’s soul controlled by something so unhuman as geography.”
Maupassant, who said, “Patriotism is the egg from which war is hatched.”
And a whole bunch more, from Voltaire to Bertrand Russell (whom she absolutely adored). One of ‘em said (can’t remember which one) that patriotism is that mistaken belief that your nation is superior to all others simply because you were born in it. Another said, “How silly are the criteria that a nation is united by such things as its ancestry and a common hatred of its neighbors.”
Now this lady actually liked me and respected my having served nearly a quarter century in the military while raising 4 kids and remaining married to the same woman for all that time. Knowing I’d have some strong feelings and was comfortable speaking to large groups, she asked me to come down front and share my personal views on patriotism as a sort of counterpoint to her approach (this was after she’d shown all her criticisms of it).
Coincidentally, I had just recently written a short paper for a 5000 level philosophy class and had some ideas still fresh in my mind. Here’s basically what I said (and she tape recorded it and used it as one of her displays in later classes):
As with all intangible motivators, myths, and abstract concepts, patriotism has its defenders and its detractors. And when millions of people are involved, it’s foolish to expect them all to have the same attitude towards it.
But a nation isn’t simply a bunch of real estate with pretty lakes and mountains and forests and natural resources. A culture isn’t merely everybody having dinner at the same time and watching the same sitcoms while they eat it. And patriotism isn’t just something like fluoride that you get in your water supply.
Patriotism is a feeling. It’s a sense of belonging, a commitment to something bigger than yourself, an awareness, a willingness to share and protect common interests and values. True, if you’re born in India, you’ll likely be Hindu. If you’re born in Italy, you’ll probably be Catholic.
But you have to stand for something in your life, or as the song says, you’ll fall anything. You have to have principles, and those principles have to be rooted in something permanent, something intrinsically good, something sound, something reliable, and that something may as well be a feeling of loyalty to the land of your ancestors and your birth. It’s certainly better than basing your principles on TV game shows or soap operas or the cold and unfeeling hard sciences such as math or nuclear physics.
People need social interaction (remember, this was a sociological foundations 4-hour course). Without it, they’re very likely to be isolated, lonely, and somewhat paranoid. They have no anchor or reference point except themselves, and when they are wrong about something, they have no fallback position.
People who share common fundamentals in language, customs, purpose, and principles are much more likely to be well-adjusted, reliable citizens. Their need for social interaction is met because their friends and neighbors share at least some of their feelings, so they get that sense of belonging, of loyalty to something other than self, of purpose toward a greater concept.
Patriotism can be a good thing, but like all emotional things, it needs to be tailored to the situation and not taken to extremes unnecessarily. It’s like religion in that sense, a good thing until someone comes along and smacks you on the head with his Bible for not knowing the answer to some obscure question he asks you about Job, or Saul, or Enoch.
I definitely caught her completely off guard by being able to deliver an extemporaneous defense of an abstract with no apparent warning or time to prepare. Incidentally, I got an A in that class.
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Late last night I amused myself by watching podcasts. Prager University has me in their email list, and I picked up on a link to Candace Owen’s podcast where she interviews Larry Elder. Wow! What a crew. Candace is smart, of course, but Larry Elder is super sharp. I have only seen him on Fox News as a source and know very little about him. I have to see more of him and maybe find a way to get his radio show.
It’s a beautiful spring day in Atlanta, and if I can tolerate the pollen I will try to get some things done outside.
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Hi, Bob! Elder’s been on Los Angeles radio for years and I’ve met him at functions several times…he’s a good guy, you’re right. Particularly that he speaks for a Black community which isn’t always heard; conservative Blacks!
Bocopro…great job! Personally, I’d like to see patriotism taken ‘to extremes’ around here lately! What seems to have become one “extreme” is demanding voters are citizens or pointing out the absolutely ridiculous situation of sanctuary cities or allowing illegals to even come in, etc.
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I certainly agree your thoughts on Patriotism.
Patriotism in America to me also is The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. There is not a lot of lock step in these founding documents. They are a declaration that freedom, liberty, and justice for all are paramount.
Impossible to do but the tracks have to be laid down somewhere.
And if some kids are alienated by the pledge so be it.
The ACLU and the courts will probably kill it though anyway.
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Z, as to the comedian in the Ukraine running for office, how about Breakfast with Bongo Reagan? Sometimes you find a pearl in an oyster.
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