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This site is full of ideas. Some of them might make you cringe. They may not align with your worldview, perspectives, or experiences. That’s a great thing.

Critical thinking: the first step toward conservatism

I was recently looking at a picture on a photography site. The picture was nowhere near as intriguing to me as the statement that accompanied it: “Ever since my first encounters with many of the great photographers who inspired me, I became aware of the value of turning my attention away from the main event. So often, the temptation is to look where everyone else is looking. But, time after time, I have chosen to observe what’s going on by looking in the other direction – before, or after, or at the edges of the main attraction. There, I…

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Conservatives believe in the power of stigma

A few years ago, Congressman Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, was caught sending lurid videos of himself to several women while he was still married to his second wife. Many were quick to point out the hypocrisy of his pro-family values stance. But they did this not to attack the character of the person for what they did, but to attack the original belief they espoused. In this case, it’s not that the Congressman was of questionable character for attempting an affair, but who was he to judge others in the first place? To some, all conservatives are…

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Impeachment irony

Before the Ukraine phone call, we had more than two years of investigation into Trump trying to affect the 2016 election by colluding with Russia. This just yielded conclusive proof that there is no proof. It didn’t happen. With that having failed, Democrats tried to use the “perfect phone call” to the Ukraine as evidence President Trump was trying not to affect the 2016 election, but now the upcoming 2020 election. Nevermind that there’s clearly abuse of government power, bragged about by Vice President Joe Biden, that coincidentally(?) ended up awarding an extremely high-paying job to Hunter Biden (yes,…

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Turns out, people are pretty similar

In 1990, I visited the Soviet Union (Russia, specifically). Instead of taking any tours or just seeing popular sites, I strayed from the beaten path and went into the neighborhoods. I wanted to see how people were really living. Important context: I grew up during the tail end of the cold war. The Soviet Union was “the evil empire,” and communism was oppressive and deadly. I had never been out of the United States, and I had no idea what to expect. But I wanted to see it for myself. No surprise, I learned a great deal from my…

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Half empty

America is the greatest nation on the earth. And if you don’t believe that, the rate of immigration to this country – and the great lengths to which people will go to get here – should be proof enough. The story of how America achieved what it has is also nothing short of remarkable. The storms we’ve weathered and the issues we’ve overcome are amazing. No other nation’s history rivals it. However, when many elementary schools and colleges tell America’s history, it turns very quickly from a story of strength, courage and brilliance to one of hypocrisy, plunder, injustice,…

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Conservatives inspire

During the 2008 election, Barack Obama purchased 30 minutes of commercial television time. During that time, he introduced the country to four families who were having a difficult time making ends meet. He gave them the airtime to share with us their problems and challenges and remind us of how tough the economic times in our country are. This seemed very in step with the approach of liberal politicians – always lamenting the worst. Given the same 30 minutes of airtime, I would have used that time to introduce the country to four families who, despite the challenges we’re…

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I don’t usually use this forum to simply repeat someone else, but…

You probably either saw this live or have already heard about it, but just in case you missed it, Ricky Gervais had this to say to the Golden Globe audience of actors and actresses last night about how they should accept their awards: “So if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a political platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything, you know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your…

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How do Democrats attract voters?

Have you ever seen a happy Democrat? What brings a Democrat joy? When I hear Democrats speak, I only hear about how horrible at least some of us are, how bad things are, how angry they are, how outraged we should be, and how we’re never going to stop fighting. To be a Democrat is to be permanently aggrieved. It’s to be permanently angered. Consider how Democrats have positioned themselves. As long as I’ve been following politics, good news like lowering unemployment, more jobs, or domestic peace have all been bad news for Democrats. Whatever seems good for the…

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Illegal immigration and terrorist sleeper cells

One of the aspects of critical thinking that is very important is being able to connect seemingly unrelated events and take a holistic view of the information around you. After President Trump decided to take out Iranian General Soleimani, the media was full of fear and concern about Iran’s retaliation. Many Democrat opponents expressed worry about Iran activating sleeper cells. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was one such Democrat who warned against the activation of sleeper cells. Senator Menendez has voted in favor of sanctuary cities housing illegal immigrants and criticized President Trump for categorizing illegal immigrants with DUIs…

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Hiring Day still serving to hold back blacks

I’ve been following politics closely since 1985. That’s 35 years of New Years Days. In all those years, I’d never heard of “Hiring Day” until this year. But I’m not surprised at the effort to make it a story in this political environment. “Hiring Day,” in the days before the Civil War, was the day that slave contracts expired and/or were renewed. (Think of it like the start of free agency in the NFL, NBA, or MLB.) On this day, slaves would either be traded to another owner or renewed with their current owner. Aside from the already horrific…

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