Category: Politics

Trying not to start the public floggings

Alliances And Such

Politics

I see that the French government has collapsed, for what seems the umpteenth time.  Coming hard on the heels of the German government’s problems, there is of course a common thread:  both were coalition governments, where two (of the many) political parties — some with diametrically-opposed platforms — decided to create an alliance to govern the country.  Both, of course, were doomed to fail, especially, as in the case with the Frogs, that the opposition party, the much-reviled Front National (or National Front, in English) was almost as large as either of the two melded parties, so the non-confidence vote brought by the FN needed only the support of one of the coalition parties to topple the government.  (The fact that the coalition, cobbled together simply to prevent the FN from assuming power, was always doomed to fail except in the minds of the idiots with the anti-FN mindset.)

I’ve often spoken with Americans who think that our two-party system is flawed, in that each party is often riven by various key issues which actually find favor with a small (or large) proportion of the other one.  Abortion, for example, is one such issue:  where there may be a small minority of pro-abortion politicians in the Republican Party whose ideology thereof is closer to a majority of abortion supporters over on the Evil Side of the room.  The problem, of course, is that these are generally single issues, around which it would be impossible to form, say, a Pro-Abortion Party to be pitted against an Anti-Abortion Party.  Ditto the Greens, ditto guns, ditto Trump, etc. etc.

Honestly, while our current two-party system is not ideal, it sure is better than the European multi-party.  Small, contained chaos around single issues is, I think, far preferable to the systemic instability of a multi-party system, almost without regard to the relative merits of their various  positions.

I should also point out that a fragmented polity is generally vulnerable to external threats or danger — witness the chaos of the French Third Republic in the 1930s, which in no small part enabled France’s crushing defeat by Nazi Germany in 1940.  (A sizeable proportion of Frenchmen, and their parties, actually welcomed the prospect of a strong national government on the lines of Hitler’s Nazi Germany or Mussolini’s Fascist Italy, simply because they were sick of dealing with the decades-long chaos of multi-party politics and weakness.)

In passing, imagine there was a single-issue party named, oh, the Anyone But Trump Party in our polity (composed of both Democrats and Republicans), and toss that into the standard Democrat/Republican mix.

Ugh.  If you can see only chaos resulting from that little political soup, then you’ll understand the European situation.

Commies Gonna Commie

Marxists

Needless to say, the Left is following their usual modus operandi  when something happens they disagree with:

Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted with dangerous threats over the last 24 hours, the Trump team announced on Wednesday.

“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them. These attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting.’ In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Apparently, Law Enforcement is all over this one.

“The FBI is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners,” the bureau said. “We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”

Uh huh.  I’ll believe it when I see a few perp walks.  Sorry, Fibbies, but your standing with people like me is lower than shark shit.  [200 reasons omitted for brevity]

And Custer’s Having Problems

Eco-Crap, Mocking Furriners, Watermelons

Some days the wind blows strongly, some days softly, and other days not at all.  This is not a suggestion, nor yet a theory, but a statement of fact based upon… oh, century upon century of daily observation and measurement.

So why would you want to base your energy supply upon so changeable a source?

Well to most of us, the answer is simple:  you shouldn’t.  Unfortunately, there are others — some in positions of great authority and power — who see the whole thing differently.  And some in that latter group are now getting bitten in the ass:

“At the beginning of this month, Germany’s power supply reached its limits,” Dr. Markus Krebber wrote on LinkedIn.

Citing Nov. 6 as an example, Krebber bemoaned extreme high energy prices and “shortage of supply.” He also warned that the “same situation would not have been manageable on another day with a higher peak load.”

In other words, Europe’s over-reliance on wind power means that when wind speeds slow, energy producers sometimes cannot meet demand.

This state of affairs suppressed energy supply and raised prices in the UK, Germany and elsewhere in northern Europe earlier this month.

You don’t say.

Of course, British government officials have learned all the wrong lessons from “Dunkelflaute.”

For instance, Chris Stark, appointed in July to head the government’s new clean energy-focused Mission Control, doubled down on renewables.

“Even small amounts of low-carbon flex can displace a lot of gas. We’ll also need to support the build of a lot of new renewable generation – of all types, but especially offshore wind,” Stark said on Nov. 5.

Indeed.  When foolishness proves not to work, what you need is… MOAR FOOLISHNESS.  So if the wind isn’t blowing at all, more wind generators will solve the problem.  Does he even realize how stupid he sounds?

As with all Socialism, when the facts do not conform to the theory, the theory is still paramount.

Unbelievable.

Why They Lost

Elections, Good Stuff

Mostly, furrin commentators get things wrong when they analyze political events outside their own borders, and most especially when it comes to the U.S.  (I remember one Brit idiot on TV saying “President Obama should just abolish the Second Amendment!” and all the other panelists just sat there and nodded their heads, showing that none of them had the faintest clue about how our Constitution actually works.)

However, this little piece is absolutely spot on in terms of a realistic overview of the recent electoral fiasco (for the Democrat Socialists, of course).

And by the way, Rita Panahi’s channel is probably one of the better conservative ones out there (despite her rather annoying Strine accent), and Douglas Murray one of the more clear-headed no-nonsense political commentators.

Enjoy.

Incidentally, here are Mike Rowe and Victor Davis Hanson talking about the world — the podcast was made before the recent election — and it’s still more relevant than ever.

What Did Anyone Expect?

Africa, Men & Women, Politics

Reader Tony H. sent me this most excellent example of political (literally) fuckery:

A legend has been born in Central Africa. The story started when the head of the tiny Spanish-speaking nation of Equatorial Guinea’s anti-corruption office, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, known as Bello for his good looks, was himself recently arrested for corruption. That itself would have been routine enough on the continent, but upon searching the office the agents found around four hundred CDs containing videos of Baltasar having sex with seemingly every prominent woman in the country — including the wife of the Police Chief, the wife of the Attorney General, the President’s younger sister, and the wives of around 20 cabinet members. Some are calling him Africa’s King Solomon. The videos soon began to be uploaded to the internet one at a time by an unknown party, and if the information is accurate, must have been clearly labeled because it seems as if he recorded himself having sex with almost every woman he has met, and many of them are not famous. The videos are with women of all types, in every position, and in every imaginable location, including government offices, outdoors, public bathrooms, hotels, private bedrooms, and the hospital.

One may think that I would regard this as Just Another African Story, except of course that it isn’t:  throughout history, powerful men on any continent have always had access to willingly-shared pudenda pretty much upon request or demand.  What makes this serial conquest remarkable is the fact that it was captured on tape, so to speak.

What makes the article all the more interesting is the brief history told of Equatorial Guinea, which even by African standards seems to be an absolute armpit of a place.

As for our African Lothario, I have only one word of comment:

¡Formidable!

Flight

Freaks & Loonies, Marketing / Advertising, Marxists

I love capitalism.  Why?  No sooner had the ink dried on the fraudulent-but-ultimately pointless counterfeit ballots in Pennsylvania. Michigan etc. when (courtesy of Reader Mike L.) I learned that the Smart Marketing Guys have got going:

US cruise company offering four-year escape during Trump presidency

A Florida-based cruise company is offering disgruntled US voters the chance to escape by traveling the world during Donald Trump’s upcoming four years in office.

Villa Vie Residences has capitalized on the election results by offering Americans a four-year escape – the length of a presidential term – starting at around $160,000 per person, taking guests to more than 425 ports in 140 countries. [more details at the link]

My only requirement is that the trip is non-refundable after the ship has left port — in other words, if the travelers are suddenly overcome with buyer’s regret or whatever, they don’t get any money back, and they have to make their own way home from whatever country they happen to be in. And if the poor regretful souls, having spent all their savings on this 4-year escape, are unable to afford the cost of a flight back to the U.S., I’m sure the newly-revitalized U.S. Air Force would be only too willing to set up refugee flights and help them get out of wherever they are…


…if you see what I mean.