Dennis Prager on “leftism” and “meaning”

image credit: drray.com

Starting off 2020 on a philosophical note. . .  Dennis Prager recently published “Greta Thunberg: A Living Explanation of the Left” at Real Clear Politics. His article considers the difference between a “liberal” and a “leftist,” and why conservative and leftists are unable to communicate with each other.  He begins:

It is not easy to understand what the left -- as opposed to liberals -- stands for. If you ask a Christian what to read to learn the basics of Christianity, you will be told the Bible. If you ask a (religious) Jew, you will be told the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud. If you ask a Mormon, you will be told the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Ask a Muslim and you will be told the Quran.

But if you ask a leftist what one or two books you should read to understand leftism, every leftist will give you a different answer -- or need some time to think it over. Few, if any, will suggest Marx's "Das Kapital" because almost no leftists have read it and because you will either not finish the book or reject it as incoherent.

So, then, how is one to understand what leftism stands for?

The truth is -- it is almost impossible. What leftist in history would have ever imagined that to be a leftist, one would have to believe that men give birth or men have periods, or that it is fair to women to have to compete in sports with biological males who identify as females?

There are two primary reasons it is so difficult, if not impossible, to define leftism. One is that it ultimately stands for chaos:

-- Open borders.

-- "Non-binary" genders.

-- Nonsensical and scatological "art."

-- "Music" without tonality, melody or harmony.

-- Drag Queen Story Hour for 5-year-olds.

-- Rejection of the concept of better or worse civilizations.

-- Rejection of the concept of better or worse art.

-- Removal of Shakespeare's picture from a university English department because he was a white male.

-- The end of all use of fossil fuels -- even in transportation (as per the recent recommendation by the head of the U.N. World Meteorological Organization).

-- The dismantling of capitalism, the economic engine that has lifted billions of people out of abject poverty.

And much more.

The other major reason it is impossible to define leftism is that it is emotion-based. Leftism consists of causes that give those who otherwise lack meaning something to cling to for meaning.

Two things about Greta Thunberg, Time magazine's 2019 person of the year, embody these explanations.

Mr. Prager goes on to illustrate the emotional need for “meaning” by examining the strange case of St. Greta.  It explains why those who employ facts and logic have little chance of persuading those whose grasp of facts and logic are subordinate to their emotional needs.  But is also helps those who employ logic and facts to understand the rantings of Robert De Niro, Bette Midler, Cher, mainstream media hosts such as Don Lemon and Joy Reid, etc.  Read the rest here.

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Happy New Year!

gif credit: pinterest.com

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Delingpole: A Few Things We Could Happily Live Without in 2020…

Who better than James Delingpole at Breitbart to ring in the New Year with a different twist and a healthy dose of political incorrectness:

Happy New Year! Here’s a few things the public sphere could probably survive without by this time in 2020…

Greta Thunberg.  Every time you thought that the cult of St Greta could not get any more insane, reality said: “Hold my beer.” After being feted across the world by everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Pope, hailed by Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood as the new Joan of Arc, St Greta achieved full apotheosis at year-end when a Swedish pastor described her as the successor of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’.

How sad it will be in 2020 when the world wakes up to the fact that this teenage school drop-out is nothing but a puppet for green crony capitalists in her native Sweden, who have choreographed every stage of her progression from ‘lonely schoolgirl protesting against climate inaction’ to Nobel-Prize-nominated superstar. No one likes being taken for a fool – and Greta the Puppet has fooled almost everyone.

Mr. Delingpole’s other please-go-away nominees:

• Princess Meghan  (I’m sorry America, but you’re going to have to take Meghan Markle back.) . . . 
• Never Trumpers
• . . .
• Bat-chomping, bird-slicing eco-crucifixes
• . . .
• Excuses for Muslim terrorism
• Sir Elton John
• George Soros
• Care Bear Commies  (Expensively educated kids from the most prosperous generation in history confidently assuring us that ‘the only problem with communism is that it has never been tried properly yet.’) . . .

. . . and more. . .

Read his New Year’s article here.

And Happy New Year!

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The menorah and “lights” in 2019

image credit: www:turbosquid.com

Tea Party readers who are not Jewish may not know the symbolism of the menorah. Rabbi Michael Barclay published a thoughtful article about “The Most Powerful Moments of Light in 2019” – one of many retrospectives on the year 2019, and he starts off:

On Hannukah, we are commanded to light a Hannukah menorah (a 9-branched candelabra [sometimes with 7-branches) and place it in our windows as a symbol of our willingness to combat evil…with each candle enlightening the dark in the world. In 2019, there has been a lot of darkness, but there have also been “candles” in the dark that have brought more light into all of our worlds. In honor of Hannukah (and the light of Christmas as well) it is good to remember some of these candles that have brought more light into this past year.

The menorah has eight specific candles and a “shamash," an all-important “helper" candle that lights each of the other lights. Below, in no particular order, are some of the powerful moments of light of 2019

•      There can be no doubt that the shamash of 2019 has been President Trump. Without the shamash helper, none of the candles could be lit. It is the spark from which each candle comes. His actions have sparked lights around the world to combat the evil and darkness of “the swamp" that has been enveloping the nation over the last number of years. Despite the many efforts to snuff out this candle, his persistence and willingness to fight the darkness has demonstrated what dedication really means.

Eight other candles of light in the darkness of 2019, in no particular order, include [and please click here to read his explanations as to why these “lights” have been chosen]

• Prager University's fight for freedom of speech. 
• The executive order regarding Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
• The election of Boris Johnson.
• Congressmen Nunes, Collins, Jordan, Stefanik, and the rest of the Republican members of the House Committees on Intelligence and Justice.
• Joe Biden.
• Kanye West.
• Father Robert Morey. 
• The American people.

. . .

May each of us celebrate Hannukah, Christmas, and all holidays of light in a way that allows the glow of our souls to enlighten the world…creating true peace and joy.

Read the full article here. 

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President Trump signed bad spending bills

image credit: business insider.com

Just before Christmas, The Swamp Creatures passed more gazillion dollar spending bills and then left town. And unfortunately, President Trump signed them. Roll Call has the details here.

Here are related tweets via Tucker Carlson and his guest Ned Ryun:

Tucker Carlson & @NedRyun Slamming America Last Spending Bill Passed by the Swamp Before Christmas

Ned Ryun: "We elected @realdonaldtrump to veto these things, not to sign them. It's immoral to continue using the American taxpayer as an ATM for the ruling class."

Agree.  It is the first major black mark, IMHO, on President Trump’s report card.  In addition, some amnesty provisions were included in some of these spending bills. See here and here. 

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Beware: Bogus fund-raising for Trump campaign

Mary Margaret Olohan at The Daily Caller reports:

Groups with no affiliation to President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign are siphoning off funds from Trump supporters under the impression that the groups are using donations to support the president.

An examination by Politico found that dark money groups, pro-Trump PACs, and Facebook advertisers copy Trump’s brand to dupe Trump supporters into donating to them. But the groups spend very little of these funds to actually support Trump, Politico reports.

The groups use Trump’s voice in robocalls asking for “an emergency contribution to the campaign” and use POTUS’ Twitter avatar on Facebook pages. 

About 20 groups with names like “Latinos for the President” and “MAGA Coalition,” groups that are structured as PACs or political nonprofits, brought in $46.7 million between January 2017 and June 2019, Politico reports. The publication adds that most of the money comes from donors who give $200 or less.

Trump officials worry that the hundreds of unofficial pro-Trump boosters are sucking up funds that would otherwise contribute to Trump’s 2020 campaign. They also confuse the Trump campaign’s messaging to the public and make it harder to accumulate donors, Trump allies told Politico.

“There’s nothing we can do to stop them,” said America First spokeswoman Kelly Sadler to Politico. America First is the only super PAC authorized by Trump, Politico reports. “This is a problem for the campaign, as well as us, as well as for the RNC.”

Read the rest here.  If you are inclined to contribute to any campaign, best to be pro-active and access the legitimate online campaign sites yourself.

And Happy Boxing Day!

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Merry Christmas

image via Norman Rockwell Museum

Merry Christmas

from

Cleveland Tea Party

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