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	Dangers of Democracy Pt. 1
	OCTOBER 19, 2022
	by ThinkingWest

     The word “democracy” appears exactly zero times in the United
 States Constitution. And yet, no form of government is celebrated
 with the same fervency as democracy. Recently, the phrase “Our
 Democracy” has been co-opted by nearly every politician as an
 attempt to appeal to the populace’s supposedly unshakeable faith
 in the voting process. Appeals to the fragility of “Our Democracy”
 are commonly made by political figures hoping to discredit rivals; 
 rivals they unhesitatingly accuse of threatening that ancient 
 Athenians inheritance. A keen extraterrestrial might conclude that
 conclude that many of the developed nations of the world embrace
 democracy as religion.
	But is this unquestioning reverence for a form of political
 governance healthy, reasonable, desirable? Does such reverence 
 blind us to the shortcomings that democracy may possess relative
 to other political arrangements and lure us into complacent, even 
 dangerous, self-satisfaction?
	Let’s review a few of the major issues that beset democracies.
 The aim is not to condemn democracy as a form of governance, but
 to critique it such that we may be better informed of its imper-
 fections. After all, politics of any form must involve human 
 beings and human beings, despite their best intentions, are far 
 from perfect.

    1.) Democracy is only as Noble and Reasonable as its Voting
  Citizens
	The first critique of democracy concerns the responsibility
 that citizens have to exhibit character in daily life and to stay
 well informed about the issues for which they vote. It does not
 matter how passionately a citizen may feel about a particular
 issue; if that passion is not tempered by objective investigation
 and the application of
 reason to the issue at hand,  the voter abdicates a central re-
 sponsibility as a citizen. No degree of passion is a substitute
 for clear-headed thinking. Understanding well the tendency that
 democratic citizens have towards this failure, Winston Churchill 
 once quipped,
 “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation
 with the average voter.” Unfortunately, many citizens of modern
 democracies fall prey to emotional pleas and assume that heartfelt
 emotion is sufficient to guide ones voting decisions.  The media,
 with that oh-so-dangerous self-satisfaction, appeals to the smug
 assuredness of over-confident voters through emotionally manipu-
 lative means.
 The voters are constantly reassured that their viewpoint is the
 only reasonable one.
	Democracy has yet to find a solution to the Dunning-Kruger ef-
 fect, the phenomenon where the less a person knows about an issue,
 the more confident a person is in their knowledge about the issue.
 A 2018 study by Ian G Anson published in the journal Political
 Psychology investigated how the Dunning-Kruger effect affects citi-
 zens’ perceptions of their political knowledge. Anson examined over
 two thousand American adults via two online surveys which quizzed
 the participants on basic political knowledge. Most participants
 of the study performed poorly and those who performed poorest
 were more likely to be confident in their knowledge of politics 
 than those that performed well.
	The Dunning-Kruger effect, combined with patronizing and pander-
 ing from politicians and the press, results in a poorly informed,
 but highly opinionated public. A hyper-emotional public is incap-
 able of cool-headed, rational debate and is, instead, prone to 
 political provocation and manipulation by media and power-hungry 
 politicians.
	A successful democracy requires citizens to continuously revisit
 and revise their understanding of core issues in a level-headed man-
 ner. Such revision is best embarked upon with temperance and reason.
	Source: Wikipedia

    2.) Democracy Makes Neighbors Political Adversaries and Makes All
 Issues Political
	A less considered shortcoming is the tendency for democracies to
 create adversity between citizens who hold differing political opin-
 ions. In the United States, this adversity has become so intense be-
 tween Republicans and Democrats that distrust between members of op-
 posing parties extends far beyond just political issues. Nearly
 every issue brought to the public eye, whether science, sports,
 movies, or music becomes irreversibly burdened with political 
 interpretation, intention, and influence. Ideas and concerns sub-
 mitted by one side of the political aisle are a priority rejected
 and condemned by the other
 side before the slightest consideration of the idea’s merits. This
 effect may be particularly amplified in a democratic political
 system where there are only two major parties. Then, nearly every
 political issue inherits a kind of adversity that is more likely
 to be absent when the number of available choices exceeds two.
	The recent COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the need to be aware of
 the tendency people have to view apolitical issues through partisan
 lenses. As thoughtful citizens we should be cognizant of this ten-
 dency when evaluating actions to take to solve these issues. A June
 2020 article from FiveThirtyEight detailed the divergence of exper-
 iences between Republicans and Democrats during that time. Republi-
 cans generally exhibited less concern about the pandemic while Demo-
 crats exhibited greater concern about it. The intent of this article
 is not to determine which political party was correct or incorrect
 about the pandemic, but to demonstrate how partisan politics played
 a crucial role in shaping people’s viewpoints about a major issue.
 One would presume that the pandemic should never have been a poli-
 tical issue. Instead, the pandemic and its mitigation efforts should
 have been matters of public health and science.
	Source: FiveThirtyEight.com

	Ideally, an open scientific investigation and discussion should
 have been facilitated to find the best solutions to counter the pan-
 demic while maintaining the minimum possible obstruction of freedoms
 upon citizens. Instead, political parties championed separate causes
 and blamed the opposition for any and all Covid-19 deaths. This
 turned the opposing party into literal “murderers” while one’s own
 party used these deaths to lobby for votes.
	This is not to say that there were no valid issues that were
 brought up during the political chaos. Examples of valid points of
 disagreement included masking policies, vaccination mandates, lock-
 downs, and experimental drug treatments. However, actual open scien-
 tific debate on these issues was rarely carried out.
    The COVID-19 pandemic response is just one example of where the
 political divide contaminates problem-solving and leads to further
 distrust between those that share different political opinions. As
 the political divide in America (and across the West) widens, more
 and more aspects of society become political, from sports to music
 to education. Nearly every aspect of life now contains political
 undertones, which only divides us further and makes cordial politi-
 cal dialogue near impossible. The U.S.’s current circumstance stands
 as an example of the tendency for democracies to politicize every-
 thing and divide its citizenry.	
	I will continue this in Part 2 to further explain how we as a
 nation seem to lack the ability to separate current events from our
 political views.
	May God save our nation.

   Conservatively,
   John

Inconvenient Facts About Electric Cars
	John Stossel / November 02, 2022

	Electric cars sales are up 66% this year.
	President Joe Biden promotes them, saying things like, “The
great American road trip is going to be fully electrified,” and,
"There's no turning back.”
 	To make sure we have no choice in the matter, some left leaning
states have moved to ban gas-powered cars altogether.
	California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order banning
them by 2035. Oregon, Massachusetts, and New York copied California.
Washington state’s politicians said they’d make it happen even
faster, by 2030.
	Thirty countries also say they’ll phase out gas-powered cars.
	But this is just dumb. It won't happen. It’s magical thinking.
	In my new video, I point out some “inconvenient” facts about 
electric cars, simple truths that politicians and green activists
just don’t seem to understand.
	“Electric cars are amazing,” says physicist Mark Mills of the 
Manhattan Institute. “But they won’t change the future in any signi-
ficant way (as far as) oil use or carbon dioxide emissions.”
	Inconvenient fact 1: Selling more electric cars won’t reduce oil
use very much.
   “The world has 15, 18 million electric vehicles now,” says Mills.
“If we [somehow] get to 500 million, that would reduce world oil
consumption by about 10%. That’s not nothing, but it doesn’t end the
use of oil.”
	Most of the world’s oil is used by things like “airplanes,
buses, big trucks, and the mining equipment that gets the copper to
build the electric cars.”
	Even if all vehicles somehow did switch to electricity, there’s
another problem: Electricity isn’t very green.
	I laugh talking to friends who are all excited about their elec-
tric car, assuming it doesn’t pollute. They go silent when I ask,
“Where does your car’s electricity come from?”
	They don’t know. They haven’t even thought about it.
	Inconvenient fact 2: Although driving an electric car puts lit-
tle additional carbon into the air, producing the electricity to
charge its battery adds plenty. Most of America’s electricity is
produced by burning natural gas and coal. Just 12% comes from wind
or solar power.
	Auto companies don’t advertise that. “Electric vehicles in gen-
eral are better and more sustainable for the environment,” says
Ford’s Linda Zhang in a BBC interview.   
	“She’s a Ford engineer,” I say to Mills. “She’s not ignorant.”
	“She’s not stupid,” he replies. “But ignorance speaks to what
you know. You have to mine, somewhere on Earth, 500,000 pounds of
minerals and rock to make one battery.”
	American regulations make mining difficult, so most of it is
done elsewhere, polluting those countries. Some mining is done by
children. Some is done in places that use slave labor.
	Even if those horrors didn’t exist, mining itself adds lots of
carbon to the air.
	“If you’re worried about carbon dioxide,” says Mills, “the elec-
tric vehicle has emitted 10 to 20 tons of carbon dioxide (from the
mining, manufacturing, and shipping) before it even gets to your
driveway.”
	“Volkswagen published an honest study [in which they] point out
that the first 60,000 miles or so you’re driving an electric
vehicle, that electric vehicle will have emitted more carbon
dioxide than if you just drove a conventional vehicle.”
	You would have to drive an electric car “100,000 miles” to re-
duce emissions by just “20 or 30%, which is not nothing, but it’s
not zero.”
	No, it’s not.
	If you live in New Zealand, where there’s lots of hydro and
geothermal power, electric cars pollute less. But in America, your
“zero-emission vehicle” adds lots of greenhouse gasses to the
atmosphere.
	Politicians and electric car sellers don’t mention that. Most
probably don’t even know.
  *John Stossel*
	Now for my two cents worth. 
	It basically impossible for a country that gets 88% of its
energy from gas and oil, to reduce the carbon dioxide to even a
noticeable level.
	Like the article says, to make one battery, it will take a half
million pounds of minerals and rock. To make that one battery, 10
to 20 tons of carbon dioxide will be emitted.
	Imagine this scenario. A hurricane or severe storm with feet
of rain would require people to evacuate. When to lead vehicle's
batteries die, what will the thousands of other do? Nowhere to get
a charge, no time to wait, and no way for an electric tow truck to
get to you and the thousands of others.
	The making of a catastrophic disaster never seen before.
	People on a fixed income can't afford to even buy the car.
	This could be the dumbest plan ever fabricated and the least
affordable for the country as well as the people.
	The climate and green people border on suicidal.
	Take a minute and pray that this foolishness stop and ask God
intervene.
  Conservatively,
  John

	State of America Makes Midterm Choices Clear.
	Adriana Cohen

	During a debate with Jimmy Carter in 1980, Ronald Reagan famously
  asked, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" Which
  is a sensible and basic question that's been asked in political races
  ever since — and next week's midterm elections are no different.
	As Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, one ought to consider
  if you, your family or your business is better off today under Demo-
  crat control of one's state and one-party rule in Washington, or not.
  Unless you like paying significantly higher prices for essential items
  like food, gas, rent, heating bills and just about everything else,
  I suspect the answer is no.
	When Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the average national
  gas prices were $2.33 per gallon, according to the Energy Information
  Association. As of today, Nov. 2, the national average is $3.765, per
  AAA. And no one will forget that gas prices surged to an astronomical
  $5.02 per gallon last June, or even worse if you were in Nantucket,
  Massachusetts, where Biden will be spending Thanksgiving again this
  year, gas prices surged over $6.08 per gallon. I experienced that
  firsthand, as I was there last summer, cringing every time I filled
  my tank.
	Soaring gas prices shouldn't have come as a surprise, as Biden
  campaigned in 2020 promising "we are going to get rid of fossil
  fuels." Voters now need to ask how the president's kowtowing to spe-
  cial interest groups, campaign donors and climate fanatics — many
  who live in big houses, own gas-guzzling yachts and fly private
  jets — affect your family's budget.
	Same with sky-high inflation, which was 1.4% when Sleepy Joe took
  office in January 2021. Today, inflation is a whopping 8.3% — a
  40-year high — with elevated food prices hurting working families.
  "Grocery prices are up 13.5% compared with a year earlier, the big-
  gest 12-month jump since March 1979," reports The Wall Street Jour-
  nal. "With no relief in sight, many consumers say they are strug-
  gling to keep up."
	And for those who want a more left-leaning perspective, CNN re-
  ported in September, "Americans browsing the supermarket aisle will
  notice most food items are far more expensive than they were a year
  ago. Egg prices soared 39.8%, while flour got 23.3% more expensive.
  Milk rose 17% and the price of bread jumped 16.2%."
	These are basic necessities Americans need to survive. But sad-
  ly, under one-party Democrat rule in Washington over the past nearly
  two years, millions of Americans are being forced to choose between
  filling their gas tank to get to work, paying their rent or feeding
  their families — not a choice anyone should have to make living in
  the richest country in the world.
	Nor should parents have to scramble to find baby formula in Amer-
  ica due to the Biden administration's embarrassing failure to re-
  solve manufacturing and supply chain snafus that continue to threat-
  en the health and well-being of our nation's precious infants.
	When it comes to public safety, crime is soaring nationwide. Many
  living in major cities like New York are rightfully afraid the ride
  the subway, walk the street at night or even wear nice clothes to
  work without worrying about being assaulted. New York's Democrat Gov.
  Kathy Hochul's willful blindness that there's a palpable crime pro-
  blem in her state, as well as other soft-on-crime liberal officials
  nationwide who support cashless bail for violent criminals, make us
  less safe, diminishing our quality of life.
	And with Democrats' failed immigration policies and open borders
  controlled by dangerous drug cartels, fentanyl and other deadly
  drugs are pouring into our communities killing scores of Americans.
  Over 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, the Centers
  for Disease Control and Prevention reported last spring.
	At that rate, a vote for a Democrat means a vote for the status
  quo. That translates to thousands more Americans dying of drug over-
  doses each year — the number one killer of 18 to 45-year-olds in
  America today. If all that's acceptable to you, vote Democrat next
  week. However, if you believe that America's not on the right track
  and that we're certainly not better off than we were two years ago,
  vote for Republican candidates across the board.
	The choice is clear.
  *Adriana Cohen*

	Tomorrow we vote. Are we going to survive this disaster of the
  last nearly 2 years or are we too blind to use this opportunity to
  save America.
	Biden said at a gathering (too small to be a rally) that there
  would be NO MORE drilling in the country and he aims to shut down
  the remainder of the coal fired electricity plants.
	It has been proven that we cannot come close to supporting our
  needs using wind and solar energy. The brownouts and rolling black-
  outs are killing Americans in the heat and many places have been
  told that people who depend upon diesel will not have fuel avail-
  able to heat their homes this winter. 
	On top of that there will be no fuel for the trucking industry
  or many parts of manufacturing.
	It becomes more and more how incompetent the entire Biden ad-
  ministration are and have been since its inception.
	Please get everyone you know to get out and vote to end the
  disaster created by the evil, amoral, unethical people in our
  nation's capital.
	Pray about it and do your part. God will prevail.
  Conservatively,
  John

    Constitution Deep Dive pt. 3 - The Father of the Constitution
	September 21, 2022 by Jakob Fay

	“If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” James
 Madison famously posited in Federalist No. 51. “If angels were to
 govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government
 would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be adminis-
 tered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must
 first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next
 place oblige it to control itself.”
	In these three sentences, the Father of the Constitution encap-
 sulated the fundamental tension at the heart of any government and
 also why, to him and his fellow founders, a Constitutional Republic
 seemed to be the preferable form of government.
	By the time James Madison participated in the 1787 Constitutional
 Convention, the 36-year-old delegate from Virginia already had many
 years of political experience, having helped draft Virginia's state
 constitution in 1776 and served as the youngest member of the Conti-
 nental Congress during the Revolutionary War and a leader in the Vir-
 ginia Assembly where he often championed religious liberty.
	His frustrating years in the Assembly in particular taught Madison
 to be deeply distrustful of government–but for a different reason than
 his friend Thomas Jefferson distrusted government. Jefferson feared,
 rightfully, that the government might become unrepresentative of the
 people. Madison, on the other hand, feared the government would be too
 representative of the people.
	He knew the madness of mobs, the irrationality of a passionate
 majority, and sought to protect ideological minorities from being
 trampled by a government that became too reflective of populist poli-
 tics. “In Republics,” he warned, “the great danger is that the major-
 ity may not sufficiently respect the rights of the Minority.” In the
 Constitution, he hoped to prop up safeguards against this.
	Madison supported a relatively strong federal government. His
 Virginia Plan, presented to the Constitutional Convention by Edmund
 Randolph, proposed giving the federal government a national veto over
 state laws, an idea that (thankfully) did not make it into the final
 document. As already explained, Madison had helped draft the hugely
 influential Virginia Constitution, and many of the ideas contained in
 that document, however, found their way into the U.S. Constitution.
	Despite favoring a strong national government, the future presi-
 dent, as Federalist 51 would indicate, understood the importance of
 compelling government to “control itself.” His now-famous “ambition
 must be made to counteract ambition” quote clarified that the unheal-
 thy human drive for power should be used against itself; basically, if
 politicians in different branches were all vying for power, they
 would, theoretically, cancel each other out (ie. checks and balances).
	Although Madison’s Virginia Plan was not accepted in its entirety
 by the Convention, he embraced the new constitution and became an im-
 portant voice urging the states to ratify the document, contributing
 29 essays to the pro-constitution Federalist Papers.
	Additionally, although initially opposed to a bill of rights
 (believing it would be unnecessary), he drafted and proposed the
 amendments that would become the Bill of Rights.
	Interestingly, this was not the only thing the Father of the
 Constitution seemingly changed his mind about.
	The Madison of the 1790s was far warier of national power than
 the Madison who had called for a sweeping federal government during
 the Constitutional Convention. He had always been less of a national-
 ist than his Federalist co-author Alexander Hamilton was, but even
 Hamilton was shocked and confused when Madison vehemently opposed his
 economic proposals for building a strong central government.
	The Virginian gradually developed into an outspoken states’
 rights advocate who co-founded the Jeffersonian-Republican Party,
 which was characterized by its opposition to Hamilton’s “loose inter-
 pretation of the Constitution.” He even supported the right of states
 to stand against unconstitutional federal actions, a far cry from his
 call for a national veto over state laws.
	It may seem like James Madison radically shifted his political
 views in a relatively short span of time, and in many ways, this is
 true. But it’s better to view his evolution in light of a fierce loy-
 alty to the Constitution. Our governing document gave the national
 government an enumerated handful of powers… and nothing more. To do
 anything beyond what the federal government expressly had permission
 to do, was, in Madison’s mind, a deep betrayal of the Constitution.
	If Madison was frustrated by Hamilton’s disregard for the Con-
 stitution, we can only imagine what he would think of our government
 today. We have expanded so far beyond the original intent of the Con-
 stitution, that to say we are governed by it would almost be an insult
 to the man who fathered that blessed document.
	Nonetheless, we can thank James Madison for his extraordinary
 contributions to American history and profound political insight. Per-
 haps ambition failed to counteract ambition as he thought it would,
 but thanks to Article V of the Constitution, we don’t have to wait
 for the federal government to control itself.
	To join the Article V movement and take action to save the Con-
 stitution, sign the petition on the Constitution of States site.
  *Jakob Fay*

	For those of you that are not familiar with Article V, I would
 suggest you read it and explore the power it gives back to the people.
	Simple things like term limits are reachable by expanding the
 use of Article V.
	Maybe it is time for us ALL to wake up and take back our nation
 that God blessed us with.

 Conservatively,
 John

	Constitution Deep Dive pt. 2 - A document like no other
  Published in Blog on September 19, 2022
  by Brianna Kraemer

	What makes the U.S. Constitution so great? 
	The combination of brilliance, prudence and leadership of our
  Founding Fathers created the foundational structures of the American
  system and the self-governing way of life.
	The Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia is what
  brought about the three branches of government we have today. The
  outlined roles of the federal government were detailed within the
  seven articles of the Constitution.
	*The Constitution lays out the seven articles as follows:
  	Article I – The Legislative Branch
  With 10 sections in Article I, the roles of the legislature, the
  House and Senate are laid out in detail. The requirements to hold
  these offices are set forth. 
	Article II – The Executive Branch
  With four sections in this Article, powers are granted to the pres-
  ident, the cabinet and the military. The authority to recommend
  appointees and pardon Americans is also granted.
	Article III – The Judicial Branch
  This Article establishes the federal courts system and allows for
  lifetime appointment for federal judges. It lays out the jury system
  and trials for all criminal proceedings. 
	Article IV – The States
  With four sections in this Article, the states are expected to honor
  one another as individual entities while also existing as 50 unified
  states. The procedure to admit new states is defined. 
	Article V – Amendments 
  Article V is what Convention of States is utilizing to call a 50-
  state convention. It gives both Congress and the states the ability
  to propose amendments to the Constitution. Only the congressional
  method has been used thus far. Ratification occurs in the states.
	Article VI – Oath
  This Article codifies the Constitution as the supreme law of the
  land. It also requires all elected officials to take an oath to
  adhere to Constitution.
	Article VII – Ratification
  This Article solidified the Constitution as law upon ratification of
  nine state.*
  By Brianna Kreamer*

  On top of these articles are the 27 amendments to the Constitution,
  which we’ll cover in another Constitution Week blog.
	In their wisdom, the Founding Fathers created a federal govern-
  ment with sufficient powers while also preserving the independence
  of the people. They knew from experience that too much government
  and oversight was not a desirable way to live.
	Sadly, I have exchanged FB posts and messages with hundreds of
  liberals who seem to have NO idea what the Bill of Rights are and
  what the Amendments describe in each of the Articles.
	Not only does Article I do as the writer explains but it also
  draft and pass legislation, borrow money for the nation, the power
  to declare war, and raise a military. It also has the power of checks
  and balances of the Executive Branch and the Senate. They make laws.
	As listed, Article II the Executive Branch manages the day-to-day
  operations through federal departments and agencies, like the VA, the
  Treasury Dept., Justice Dept., the military, as well as many others.
	The president swears an oath to "faithfully execute" the responi-
  blities as president and to "preserve, protect, and defend the Con-
  stitution of the United States." The executive branch powers include
  making treaties with other nations, appointing federal judges,
  department heads, and ambassadors, and determining how to best run
  the country and military operations.
	The current occupant of this position is failing Americans more
  and more each day.
  	Article III, the Judicial Branch has much more responsibility
  than most know, such as The Supreme Court is known as the court of
  last resort. People are to be tried by a jury of their peers.
	The individual states in Article IV are expected to respect that
  ALL of the 50 states are to be a republican form of government.
  It determines how new states can join the Union while ensuring that
  ALL states remain equal to each other and respect each other's laws
  and judicial decisions made by others states courts.
  	Article V allows Americans to take power away from an abusive
  or out-of-control Congress with a 2/3rds majority of the states. The
  states band together after 34 state legislatures vote to join the
  Convention of States and ratify any law or bill they elect together
  to pass. This would become law. ie: Term limits
	Article VI discusses more than Oaths. It states the supremacy of
  the Constitution and ALL laws made from it. Whether members of the
  state legislatures, Congress, judiciary, or the executive branch,
  have to swear an oath to the Constitution.
	In Article VII the Ratification clause outlined and ratified the
  original requirement of 2/3rds of the states are required to approve
  the US Constitution and or any amendments.
	To understand the United States of America, start with the Con-
  stitution. Written over 200 years ago, when the nation was first
  being established out of the 13 British colonies, this document is
  a blueprint.
	Its seven sections (or articles) detail the core components of
  how the framers wanted the government to run the country.	
	While the number of states has grown since the constitution was
  signed, their signatures verify who signed the original document and
  that all of the interested parties witnessed it. 
	We currently have a mess in DC of people who think that it is
  their duty to change not only our Constitution but also every facet
  of American life.
 	They have worn out their welcome.
	Please pray for a decisive victory in the upcoming Nov 8 midterm
  election.
	May God take control and save our nation.

  Conservatively,
  John

 	How to put America Back on track	
	By Michael Reagan

 	Can someone please tell me where anything good is happening in
 the U.S.?
 Everywhere you look, America the Beautiful has been turned ugly, weak
 and troubled.
	The economy is on the road to a recession - or even worse.
	Inflation is stuck at over 8 percent a year with no end in sight. 
	The stock market is spiraling to Hell.
	Interest rates on mortgages have more than doubled in six months.
	Gas prices are again zooming toward $7 a gallon in California.
 The prices of lettuce, ground beef and eggs across the country have
 gone to the moon.
	In just two years, the Biden administration's fossil-fuel-haters
 have sabotaged our booming oil and gas industries and returned us to
 dependency on OPEC and the thugs running Venezuela.
	And now we're more than half a year into a brutal proxy war with
 Russia over Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
	Instead of calling for a ceasefire, hosting a summit and working
 toward a political settlement, the Biden administration and its war
 hawks are keeping the bloody conflict going by giving Ukraine tens of
 billions worth of military weaponry.
	Back on the home front, civilization is losing the fight against
 chaos and lawlessness.
	Streets and sidewalks in our greatest cities are permanent homes
 to booming populations of homeless people, drug addicts and mentally
 disturbed people.
	The "woke" criminal justice policies of Democrat mayors have
 turned even once-safe neighborhoods into lawless spaces where in-
 creasing numbers of random murders and assaults, smash-and-grab
 robberies of retail stores, and car jackings occur.
	Their cities' police departments are under-funded, understaffed
 and demoralized by irresponsible so-called "social justice" policies
 like cashless bail and early prisoner-release programs that make
 their jobs miserable and impossible.
	On a federal level, don't get me started about things like the
 border, the politicization of the Department of Justice and the FBI
 and our $31 trillion national debt.
	America has become a train wreck with 340 million casualties -
 and it's largely thanks to the addled president and the Democrats who
 control the levers of power in Washington.
	How anyone who is not a Democrat committee person or does not
 host a nightly show on MSNBC can actually be happy about the way
 things are going in America today is baffling to me.
	After two years of failures, how can any normal American who's
 buying groceries or watching the news still be supportive of Biden
 and the Democrats?
	Maybe people don't understand that their 401ks are in the stock
 market.
  	Maybe they don't realize our southern border is a freeway for
 millions of illegal immigrants or that we're on the verge of a seri-
 ous, dangerous and completely unnecessary war with Russia.
	Maybe people think personal pronouns, the pursuit of "equity"
 and saving the planet from global warming are more important topics
 for our leaders to worry about than keeping America free, safe, happy
 and prosperous.
	Whatever loyal Democrats think, it's clear America has been go-
 ing backwards under Biden, Inc.
	He is a national embarrassment, but he's not the main problem.
 He's a figurehead, a puppet.
	It's the string-pullers behind him - and the Democrats running
 Congress and the major media - who have been aiding, abetting, and
 ignoring Biden's shameful deconstruction of America.
	We're stuck with Joe as president for another two years - if his
 brain and body last that long.
	But if enough Americans wake up, which I think they will in a big
 way, on Nov. 8 we can stop the damage Biden and his crew are doing by
 humiliating the Democrats in the midterms and taking firm control of
 the House and the Senate.
	Then, following two refreshing years of political gridlock, we
 can put a Republican back in the White House.
	Then - as long as the Republicans we elect on Nov. 8 do the right
 things and we decide to re-elect them in 2024 - we'll be able to put
 America back on the track to greatness.
	*Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, is an author,
 speaker and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.*

	Another receptive Reagan hits the nail on the head.
	Now we have the Primaries behind us and things are looking up for
 Americans barring any new cheating from the Left.
	More and more evidence is being disclosed so there could be an
 even better future ahead.
	Ponder this scenario: After a successful legal election, Biden
 could be impeached for treason and failure to protect our country
 from enemies both foreign and domestic.
	Harris is impeached for failure of fulfilling her Oath of Office
 and allowing the immigration disaster she was tasked to correct.
 	Our new President will be the new Speaker of the House.
	Add into that, replacing dozens of Justice Dept. leaders, as well
 as numerous Democrats who have squandered trillions of dollars of
 our tax dollars.
	The new President rescinds dozens of Biden's horrific Executive
 Orders and cut funding to liberal wasteful spending.
	So many things will begin to return to some state of normalcy
 and we begin to heal.
	God said he would heal our nation so we owe it to Him to do all
 we can, to revive the Freedom of religion and stop the sick things
 that have been forced upon our children and "We the People".
	Maybe the United States that many of us grew up in will see a new
 revival and we really can "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" for all legal
 America citizens.
	Pray that God rescues us from our ignorance.
 Conservatively,
 John
 	I will return to Part 2 of the deep dive into the Constitution 
 next week. Until then pray for our Republic.

   Constitution Deep Dive pt. 1 - The apex of western civilization
   Published in Blog on September 19, 2022 by Jakob Fay

	When Daniel Webster boasted that the “American Constitution is
  the great memorial of the deeds of our ancestors,” he made an under-
  statement; America’s Constitution was not and is not merely a memorial
  to the brilliance of our Founders but to the greatest ideas of all
  western philosophy.
	The Founding Fathers relied heavily on the wisdom of the past.
  They represented a conglomeration of philosophies and influences
  (Mosaic Law, Athenian democracy, Christian virtue, Magna Carta, John
  Locke, Montesquieu, Enlightenment thinking, etc.) all of which com-
  bined to produce a singular governing document that could not have
  come together at any other moment in history.
	They also had personal experience. Their own run-ins with the
  crown had taught them just how easily a government could become ty-
  rannical. Despite refined political philosophy and guarantees of
  rights, a government could still turn its back on its people–just
  as Great Britain had.
	When assembling the American system of governance, the Founding
  Fathers knew they’d need not only to study great governments of the
  past but also why those governments had a fall from greatness. Creat-
  ing a good government would be one thing; saving it from human nature
  would be another altogether.
	The Founders were well acquainted with human nature and spoke of
  it often. James Madison warned that “there is a degree of depravity
  in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and dis-
  trust.” “We must take human nature as we find it,” George Washington
  agreed. “Perfection falls not to the share of mortals.”
	They knew the same human proclivities that soured England's gov-
  ernment could crop up in the hearts of politicians anywhere. The
  American system, therefore, must hold the national government back
  from becoming a threat to fundamental rights (the inevitable danger
  of a government with too much power) while at the same time giving
  it enough power to perform a few essential tasks (to avoid the ca-
  tastrophe of the Articles of Confederation).
	Finding that delicate balance seemed close to impossible, but
  thanks to their wisdom, broad frame of reference, and Divine Provi-
  dence, the Founding Fathers hit the mark. What they gave us was a
  Republic unlike any other, the apex of western civilization.
	As Americans, we are direct beneficiaries of their profound
  accomplishment. We are beneficiaries of thousands of years of wis-
  dom and experience. As Calvin Coolidge said, “to live under the
  American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was
  ever accorded to the human race."
	This week, as we take a deep dive into our exceptional governing
  document, may we appreciate how blessed we are to live in this great
  nation. May we also remember Benjamin Franklin’s words upon leaving
  the Constitutional Convention. When asked what delegates to the con-
  vention had given the American people, the doctor answered
  “a Republic… if you can keep it.”
	No matter how great the document the framers created was,
  Franklin knew there always would be an “if.” Now, it’s our genera-
  tion’s turn to “keep” the American Republic, and if we lose it, as
  our forebears have warned, “there is no place to escape to.”
	Join us in our mission to call an Article V Convention of States
  –which comes directly from the U.S. Constitution–and together, let’s
  save freedom’s last stand on earth.
  *Jakob Fay*

	There will be three parts to this explanation of how Americans
  can choose to save this country by fighting for the rights given to
  us by the Constitution.
	We have no one to blame for what finally comes of the corruption
  that is spreading over the nation and destroying all the effort put
  into its design.
	The corrupt are trying to "Fundamentally Transform America" into
  something far removed from a 'Republic'.
	We know many of who are responsible and how they have used the
  media and the failing patriotic will of the people to brainwash
  the weak minded. Those who have come here for the purpose of turning
  this country into what they were escaping and letting themselves be
  lied to and convinced that there is a free ride up right up to when
  they learn that NOTHING is life worth have is free.
	We have a group of people in DC that have so many conflicting
  agendas that all they have done since 2006 is tear the thread of our
  nation into so many shreds. The words, "We The People" has lost all
  meaning and The People's only choice will be to unite under the law
  of the Fifth Amendment and with the malitia afforded us form a Con-
  vention of States and take back what so many have fought and died to
  preserve.
	If God is willing to guide us, He will save our nation and guide
  others to restore the world to what God intended.
	The evil on this planet has lost its way and only He can open
  ALL eyes.
 	If we fail, we have nowhere else to go.

  Conservatively,
  John

	Goodbye, Cheney - not goodbye, inflation
	Michael Reagan

	The best news of the week for all Americans is that Liz Cheney
  lost. Big time.
	Her crushing demise in Wyoming's Republican primary shouldn't
  have been a surprise to anyone - and she deserved it.
	Congresswoman Cheney - despite voting with the Trump administra-
  tion more than 90 percent of the time - had come down with a politi-
  cally fatal case of the "I Hate Trump Syndrome.”
	After she sold her soul to the Democrats running the House's
  Jan. 6 show trial, the liberal media - who not-so-secretly probably
  hated her father more than they hated Saddam Hussein - had turned
  her into their favorite Republican.
	Cheney was so honored, she apparently really started believing
  what they've been saying on MSNBC and CNN about her great moral
  courage in the defense of our democracy.
	After she was rejected by the conservative Republicans of her
  very red state, she compared herself to Abraham Lincoln and hinted
  about running for president in 2024. Seriously.
	Meanwhile, as the Biden administration is taking victory laps
  around the U.S. over the passage of its fraudulent Inflation Reduc-
  tion Act, the country doesn't care about our current president.
	Everyone in the media is still talking about Donald Trump and the
  ramifications of the FBI's unprecedented and unjustified raid on his
  home, aka "The Fishing Expedition at Mar-a-Lago.”
	This latest abuse of federal power by the Democrats in their
  never-ending war to destroy Trump's future is another free topic for
  the news-and-opinion manufacturers in the liberal media industrial
  complex.
	The facts are thin and the official charges against Trump are
  still unspecified and probably unjustified. Sound familiar?
	But so what? The actual facts are always irrelevant to the anti-
  Trump media.
	The FBI raid was automatically justified - because its target
  was Donald Trump.
	Turn on CNN and MSNBC and their pundits and the gang of partisan
  former FBI and CIA hacks they've hired are already virtually saying
  Trump should be executed for treason - or at least banned from ever
  running for office again.
	Then there's Joe Biden's "historic" legislation to end inflation,
  the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act.”
	"Isn't it great?" so many people said. "No more inflation! The
  Democrats just passed a law to end inflation! God bless Joe Manchin!”
	Really? What is it in the bill that makes anyone, but Biden's
  White House economists think it will actually reduce inflation -
  which has been caused by irresponsible federal fiscal and monetary
  policies?
	The defenders of the bill claim with a straight face it will
  spend $800 billion the federal government doesn't have to reduce the
  deficit $300 billion.  Sounds like Democrat Math 101 to me.
	The Inflation Reduction Act is such a fraud that even the liberal
  media have had to admit it is not going to reduce inflation.
	The media have decided that, despite its deliberately misleading
  title, it is really a climate change, health care and tax bill.
	It's a downsized, Manchin-approved "Build Back Better" bill
  stuffed with billions of subsidies for green companies, climate
  change boondoggles and rich people who can afford to buy electric
  cars or rooftop solar panels.
	Plus, it will fund the hiring of 85,000 new IRS agents, with gun
  training, to crack down on the country's 721 billionaires, and it
  pushes the lie that families earning less than $400,000 a year will
  pay no new taxes.
	Someday all Americans are going to realize that whenever Demo-
  crats want to slip an expensive and harmful federal bill past the
  American people, they just give it a nice sounding name like the
  "Inflation Reduction Act."
	Democrats never speak the truth about the big laws they pass
  which is "Stick with us. We only want to raise your taxes, grow the
  government and limit your freedoms.”
	
  *Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, is an author,
  speaker and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.**

	Mr. Reagan nailed this one but as usual, I will add my two cents
  worth and expand on the subject of how Liz Cheney turned her back on
  the Republican Party, just like her Dad and G.W. Bush did, because
  they were too afraid of the Democrats to stand up and work for ALL
  Americans.
	Now, with the midterms on the near horizon, it is time to be
  very aware and vigilant in ensuring voter integrity and train as
  many volunteers as we can to be there even in the early voting.
	In 1982 a Carter appointed judge signed a bill that restricted
  Republicans from forming Election Integrity Groups that would allow
  more poll watchers as well as oversight at the vote compiling
  centers. 
	This bill did not expire until 2018 so this election will be much
  harder to cheat but don't think for a moment that they won't try.
	The easiest thing to do is ignore Cheney and pretend she is just
  a bad part of history.
	Now in the near future the SCOTUS will rule on the legality of
  the Constitutionality of the state legislatures making the rules that
  apply to how the elections will be run in ALL states and then no more
  liberal cheating will be tolerated.
	  What a wonderful thing to actually follow the law.
      May God restore our land.

  Conservatively,
  John 

	Beware, the Pronoun
	By: Bill O'Reilly August 28, 2022

	With sincere apologies to Jesus, there are some people I cannot
  abide by. I do believe we are all God's children, but certain folks
  I have encountered need to go to boarding school.  Forever.  So, I
  don't have to deal with them.
	UnChristian?  Certainly.  Intolerant, all day long.  I hope the
  deity forgives me.
	My judgmental attitude really kicked into gear during the late
  1960s.  That was the time when young people actually said things
  like: "It's far out, man.  Groovy, not a drag at all. Know what I'm
  sayin'?  Right on!"
	Right back. Then I disappeared faster than a muffin on a cruise
  ship.
	Cliches drive me insane but using words to fill the air with
  foolish garbage is far worse.  So, now, I would like to warn you
  about contemporary words and phrases that signal danger.
	Let's begin with "cisgender."  This word is almost always used
  by leftists who flunked biology.  It means "a person whose sense of
  identity corresponds with birth sex." So, if you're born a male you
  act like a boy and later a man.  That's cisgender.
	However, woke people object and I guess they also despise the
  Spencer Davis Group who once loudly wailed: "I'm a man, yes I am,
  and I can't help but love you so!"
	If you hear a person lamenting "cisgender" behavior, run fast.
	Next up is " empower."  This word is mostly used by folks who
  believe they are victims and want to arrange some payback.  Don't
  wait around.
	Then there are people who demand "safe spaces."  Once again,
  they are often among the victim crew who are constantly offended by
  "micro-aggressions."  If you are near someone seeking a "safe space,
  follow Paul Simon's simple philosophy: "just slip out the back,
  Jack..."
	And finally, people who object to "cultural appropriation."
	Those folks amuse me from a distance because I won't get anywhere
  near them.  There is a big list of banned Halloween costumes because
  of CA.
	Let's see.  Want to dress up as Cochise, the great Apache chief?
  Are you freakin' kidding?  Sociology students from Yale will burn
  down your house.
	How about wearing a Mexican sombrero? Uh, no.  But you can dress
  up like a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day. Can't figure that one out.
	Back to the Eve of All Hallows.  Mrs. Doubtfire?  No.  Dustin
  Hoffman as Tootsie, don't even think about it.  George Washington?
  Slaveowner.  General Patton, way too many micro-aggressions!
	Peter Pan?  Watch it.  Cinderella?  Too dependent on the prince
  and cisgender to boot.  Pinocchio, the nose might make some feel bad.
	The list of banned costumes and words is endless.  The entire
  cultural madness we are seeing is right out of "One Flew Over the
  Cuckoo's Nest".  About the only thing sane people can do is employ
  another phrase from the 1960s.
	'Beat feet'.

	*This column originally ran October 3, 2021

	I will add a little to Bill's post.
	So Liberal saw an obscure word that truthfully has NO meaning,
  "QAnon" and the left wastes no time using it although it actually
  has no definable definition. It was made up by someone who called
  himself "Q". The best definition I could find was that it was a
  completely unfounded theory used to claim Trump was waging a secret
  war against some elite Satan worshippers. But they have never found
  anyone but "Q" who's name they don't even know.
	I'll add just one more, although there are many false, fabricated
  words, I have to stop somewhere. The current occupant of the White
  in our once great nation has labeled Republican patriots and most
  supporters of our rightful president as 'Maga' Republicans.
	It is sad that Biden took this route, but it has defined who he 
  is and that his goals are not to make the US better.
	The term should be MAGA Americans. Those are citizens of this
  country who love their country and want nothing less than to try to
  "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN?
  As most of the corrupt media, Justice Dept. and nearly every liberal
  member of Congress and the Executive Branch have forgotten when they
  took their Oath of Office, it did not mean when they felt like it or
  when it was worth it to them but every day that they are in service
  of the United States.
	I take that as an upgrade from being called a "deplorable" to
  being called semi-fascists, to "a threat to the country", to now
  he called us MAGA Republicans.
	And all I can do is call him an angry old man who lived off the
  taxpayers for over 50 years, and that is truly sad.
	As with all of us, God will judge us all and deal with us all
  according to His Word.
	I pray for America and for the souls of the Left.
  Conservatively,
  John

    Biden Ups the Rhetoric Against Republicans
	Mark Hendrickson

	President Joe Biden crossed a line of sorts last week when he
  characterized the philosophy of Donald Trump and his supporters as
  “semi-fascism.”
	“Fascism,” of course, is the verbal f-bomb of politics. As it’s
  most commonly used today, it’s an inflammatory insult, a rhetorical
  flame-thrower’s delight. It’s a virtual knee to the groin, a condem-
  natory epithet, the ultimate slur, shorthand for “You are a subhuman
  cretin who is beneath contempt.”
	The word “fascism” once had a reasonably objective definition
  (more on that below) but it has been used so often as an emotive vil-
  ification that few people have a clear sense of what fascism origin-
  ally meant. In his comprehensive description of the sadistic labor
  camps in the USSR, “The Gulag Archipelago,” Alexander Solzhenitsyn
  explained the historical corruption of the word.
	Solzhenitsyn tells us that “fascist” first became a pejorative
  term in the Soviet Union. The Communist Party branded everyone a
  "fascist” who wasn’t on board with Comrade Stalin’s plan for global 
  socialism under the control of the Soviet Politiburo. This started
  with the true fascists, such as Hitler and Mussolini, who were
  condemned for favoring national socialism over global socialism,
  and for clinging to the un-communist notion of national indepen-
  dence. But then the word became a term of scorn for all the oppo-
  nents of worldwide communism, even individuals whose values and
  policies had little in common with the Fuhrer and Il Duce. Thus,
  everyone from the pope to atheists like Ayn Rand, American politi-
  cal leaders ranging from George McGovern on the left to Ronald
  Ronald Reagan on the right, and mortal enemies like the president
  of Israel and the ayatollahs of Iran, have been lumped together
  under the denunciatory label “fascist.”
	In short, “fascist” means “non-communist.” What does that say
  about Joe Biden now that he has taken to using the political f-bomb
  to malign his political opposition? Of course, Biden left himself
  some wiggle room by saying “semi-fascism.” (Maybe Hillary Clinton
  should have said “semi-deplorables” when she felt like doing some
  venting several years ago.) Now Biden can say that he didn’t really
  cal Trump’s supporters “fascists,” but I suspect he hopes that the
  stench and stigma of that ugly word will cling to Republicans.
	Now let’s look at the word fascism more objectively. Merriam-Web-
  ster defines fascism as “a political philosophy, movement, or regime
  … that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that
  stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictator-
  rial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible
  suppression of opposition.”
	Which of our two main political parties comes closer to meeting 
  this definition?
	In the ongoing battle between the collective (the “nation” as per
  Merriam-Webster) versus the individual, it has been the American pol-
  itical left—progressives and Democrats—who, in the name of “social
  justice,” push collectivist master plans like the Green New Deal (a
  blueprint for a command economy, i.e., for “severe economic and
  social regimentation”). It has been the conservatives and Republicans
  seeking to preserve the traditional individualistic ideal of a free
  market economy based on companies competing to meet the wants of the
  sovereign consumer instead of producing according to the dictates of
  a political elite.
	In regard to race, it’s the Democrats and progressives who are more
  in favor of teaching critical race theory, which exalts racial above
  individual identity. Republicans reject such blatant racism.  It has
  been mainly Democratic policies that have harmed black Americans
  while Trump’s tax reforms led to record levels of employment and
  income among black Americans.
	When it comes to a “forcible suppression of opposition,” it’s Biden
  and his party that have tried to intimidate Americans into silence
  by characterizing parents who object to public school policies as 
  "domestic terrorists.” It’s Biden’s party that has leaned on the
  social media companies to silence debate on vital issues like climate 
  change
  and COVID-19 vaccinations, and often succeeding in censoring those
  those who dissent from the progressive agenda. It’s the left that
  has sought to “cancel” conservatives and turn them into what were
  known as "non-persons” in the Soviet Union.
  	In amplifying on his charge that Republicans are fascists, and
  therefore hateful, Biden ignored the flagrantly hate-filled rhetoric
  of so many on the left. From calls to “guillotine the rich” to
  vicious comments from recent years, it’s clear that the left has not
  shunned hatred.
	In short, Biden’s attempt to verbally tar-and-feather MAGA conser-
  vatives and populists with the “fascism” slander seems to be a case
  of projecting his party’s own tendencies onto his political oppo-
  nents. I suppose one could retort to Biden’s baseless “semi-fascist”
  mudslinging by saying that since it has been communists who have led
  the way in using “fascist” as a term of disgrace and disdain for 
  their opponents, then maybe Biden is a semi-communist. But let’s not
  go there. Let’s break away from any disgusting contest to see who
  ca administer the most hurtful or damning verbal insult to politi-
  cal opponents. We need to ratchet down the corrosive emotionality
  in our political dialog.
	The way I prefer to look at the contest between Biden and pro-
  gressives on the one side and Trump and MAGA Americans on the other
  is this: The most important political question is whether government
  policies protect or suppress liberty. All anti-liberty ideologies
  and movements—communism, socialism, fascism, progressivism, environ-
  mentalism—are opposed to liberty; therefore, they are literally
  illiberal. Let’s all forswear the use (actually, the misuse) of the
  political f-bomb. Let’s have a grownup conversation about whether
  governments are protecting the rights of all impartially, or instead
  suppressing them via illiberal policies.
  Mark Hendrickson

	In recent days Biden has also referred to Conservatives as Maga-
  Republicans. The problem with that is similar to the liberal way
  they refer to ANTIFA or QAnon without a clue as to what they are 
  talking about.
	QAnon is a made-up, completely unfounded theory that Trump was
  waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshiping pedophiles in
  government. Somehow liberals got their own made-up ideas of what it
  is even though it does not exist. If true, it would be a worthy
  cause.
	ANTIFA is actually a group who originally were Charlottesville
  residents, peace advocates, Black Lives Matter activists, and self-
  styled anti-fascists who call themselves "ANTIFAS". That would
  easily be translated as Liberals or in many cases Democrats.
	Every American should be proud to call themselves MAGA supporters.
  MAGA is an American movement that simply translates exactly like its
  acronym says "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN". If Democrats want to make
  that to be a bad thing, I suggest they leave because if a citizen of
  this country opposes making us better it makes it clear that they do
  not belong here.
	So Joe is piling on the level of hatred in an effort to cover up
  his incompetence. He continues to fabricate lies to demean those of
  us that want to save the US from a total collapse of our economy.
	Only God can rescue our land from the evil, amoral, faithless,
  and unethical party that has lost total contact with honesty, truth,
  and facts that ALL of America should share.

    Conservatively,
    John