Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain of fools…
So ran the chorus to Aretha Franklin’s 1967 hit song “Chain of Fools.”
One hundred twenty years earlier, the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels proclaimed: “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!”
The chains of Franklin’s song and those of the Marxist slogan are linked by one word: Fools. Continue reading
This is just a short little concise poem that shouldn’t require any real explanation for the average reader, I should think – that is – if they have been paying the slightest bit of attention over the past couple of decades. I always used to write with the assumption that my average reader would be somewhat intelligent enough to not require every little assertion of statement followed by paragraphs of proof, but as the years passed, well… You already know where I’m going with this.
I could have made this longer and more in depth and detailed, but I didn’t want the end product to sound beyond tedious by pointing to the Democrat Party Communists and RINOs to be the source of the problem, as the simple word “liberal” suffices, again for anyone who understands the evolution of liberalism into illiberal communism in America. Continue reading
I’m guessing that many of you have heard the saying, Thinking outside the box. For those that haven’t, what it basically means is: to explore ideas that are creative and unusual and that are not limited or controlled by rules or tradition. Those who think outside the box are not limited to, or confined by, traditional thoughts and beliefs. What I find ironic about thinking outside the box is the fact that those who are able to do it effortlessly are often praised and admired; except when it comes to politics and government. I am of the firm belief that the biggest obstacle that prevents us from solving the problems we face as a nation is our refusal to think outside the box. Continue reading
Socialism spreads like a plague. Too many countries eagerly bite on the lure of ‘free stuff.’ When people vote for socialism, freedom is quickly stripped away by permanent strongmen dictators. Trump wants to reverse this trend.
We like the idea of a “Donroe Doctrine,” where the United States stops handing over hemispheric power to China and Russia. Donald Trump is the opposite of the weakling Jimmy Carter. Communist China has been carefully playing the ‘long game.’ They’ve slowly infiltrated and gained influence in Canada, Mexico, and South American countries. They depend on Venezuelan oil. Trump has now tipped China’s game board over by making sure they no longer control the Panama Canal or have the chance to build military bases in Venezuela or Colombia. Continue reading
In a stunning turn of events, President Donald Trump has urged Republican lawmakers to “be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment which has been the bedrock protection that has shielded American taxpayers from funding the slaughter of innocent unborn children for nearly half a century. Speaking at a House Republican retreat on January 6, 2026, at the Kennedy Center, Trump casually suggested compromising this non-negotiable principle to push through healthcare legislation amid negotiations over ACA subsidies and rising premiums. [1] [2]
ACA subsidies are federal financial assistance programs designed to reduce the cost of health insurance for eligible individuals and families who purchase plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The two sides are currently at an impasse, though some bipartisan Senate negotiations are exploring a compromise. Continue reading
We fund the largest government in human history, yet for decades we’ve been told – by both parties – that competence must be rationed. One administration handles domestic policy while foreign policy implodes. The next plays global chess while Americans drown in inflation, crime, and bureaucratic neglect. We’re expected to applaud “progress” in one column while the other bleeds red ink and failure.
Being the holiday season with Christmas and the New Year are behind us and we naturally find ourselves – though perhaps not everyone – reminiscing and remembering a few of the multitude of frauds and deceptions the Left has gifted us these last few decades.
2025 was the year the government stopped pretending it was constrained by the Constitution – when executive power expanded openly and unapologetically, surveillance became ambient, dissent became dangerous, and the machinery of militarized government embedded itself into daily life.
Under Trump 2.0, the erosion of civil liberties gave way to something more brazen: the dismantling of constitutional government itself.
What made 2025 different was not any single abuse of power, but the relentless accumulation of them. The losses mounted week by week, crisis by crisis, executive order by executive order, until exhaustion itself became a political condition. Continue reading
The “Little TURD!”
It’s hard to imagine America being intimidated by a guy named “Little Turtle”. And yet, in the year 1790, he was about as terrifying as it could get.
Little Turtle was the war chief of the Miami nation, one of the Algonquian-speaking tribes in the Great Lakes region, and he had made a name for himself fighting against the United States during the Revolutionary War. Continue reading
So many of us are deeply troubled by the direction we find America following these days, and while all we want is to live free and peaceful lives, at every turn in the road, it appears that Big Government and its Big Brother agents have become ever more motivated to ensure that we can’t, as they add to our to our troubles unnecessarily so, each and every day in the name of our general well being and security – trampling and eroding our freedom and liberty every step of the way. Continue reading
Daniel Boone escorting settlers though the Cumberland Gap. Painting by George Caleb Bingham, Washington University in St. Louis, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
One morning early last spring, my younger son and I were in an argument as I drove the boys to their respective schools. The subject was (in hindsight) entirely silly and unnecessary, but we both felt passionately about our positions and weren’t backing down. The argument continued right up until he got out of the car, which meant that (to the best of my recollection) for the only time during that entire school year, we didn’t say “I love you” to each other as he got out. I spent the remainder of the day paralyzed, unable to think about anything other than the possibility of a school shooting and of that angry drop-off being our last interaction.
Guns and gun culture in America have long been fraught and contested topics, subjects that quickly and potently divide us, issues that any public American Studies scholar addresses at his or her peril. I don’t expect to convert anyone to a radically different perspective than their starting point by writing about them here. But as stories of yet another school shooting unfold, I wanted to use my Considering History column to highlight a few histories that are, at the very least, relevant to engaging in these 21st century conversations. Continue reading
In The Pines ~ Khemmis
In a world where the night has forgotten the dark and the stars have been drowned by the city’s spark, Where the hum of the wires is the lullaby sung To the old and the weary, the restless and young, There wander a people who still hear the call Of the wind in the pines and the wildness of all.
They move through the alleys of neon and chrome, Yet dream of a meadow they once called home; They walk under cameras that watch from above, Yet carry within them a stubborn love For the silence of dusk and the howl of the breeze, For the whisper of God in the rustling trees. Continue reading
Each new year brings a flurry of promised changes, usually in the form of personal commitments to modify behaviors we’ve recognized. In an attempt to stay relevant, we promise to change our ways or improve in some areas. I gave up on that crap long ago.
Mark Twain called them good intentions quickly abandoned, and Jay Leno remarked on their effectiveness by noting the continual increase in the average weight of Americans. Incidentally, the average for men today is 200 lbs., and for women, 170 lbs. Since 2000, there has been a 20 lb gain. We call this anecdotal evidence because the study is observational and draws on several sources.
That’s why I’m calling for a new year’s revolution. I am NOT necessarily calling for the overthrow of our government, although we sincerely need to address many areas; I’m suggesting the overthrow of our fundamental thought processes that have led us to our current position.
I know I just lost 80% of the readers and listeners, but thanks to those still here. Continue reading
The Mark of Zorro (1940) — directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, and Linda Darnell — stands as one of Hollywood’s most enduring classics. The film truly shines, with its charismatic cast, sharp dialogue, beautiful cinematography, blending romance and witty one-liners with cinema’s best sword fight.
Set in colonial Spanish Los Angeles around 1820, the movie takes viewers back to a conservative and traditional society, very different from LA today. Yet, like the original novel from 1919, it explores timeless themes: identity and deception, the inspiring force of heroism, the tension between individual will and societal expectations, and — to top it off — justice and political struggle. One reviewer put it well: “The Mark of Zorro emphasizes the significance of fighting against injustice and standing up for what is right, even if it means taking risks and going against societal norms.”
These social and political messages make the film highly relevant today. Strong critiques of fiscal pressure, ruling minority corruption, and government overreach, all echo the situation in current so-called “democracies.” These messages are vividly delivered in dialogue, especially between Zorro (aka Don Diego Vega), his friend, friar Felipe, and his father. Continue reading
THIS is their Plan!
The following is a bit of study and reflection on a growing problem in America that is still being facilitated and implemented within the leftist/commie regions of America to the nation’s great detriment and ultimate demise as we once knew Her to be.
Walk with me into the heart of a great city. Once it smelled of bread, coffee, and industry — of sweat and promise. Now the air is acrid with fear. Sirens sing where children once did. Needles bloom where tulips grew. The old baker’s shop is boarded; the jeweler’s glass is cracked like ice beneath a moose-hoof.
Look around at the new population of illegal alien invaders and those legal “immigrants” who no more desire to be true Americans than I desire to be Ms. Trans-America 2026, and you find the answer to these cities’ decline and demise, in fact the decline and demise of much of America today – wherever one finds Democrat Party Communists in control and any large number of immigrants, especially those from the third world countries of Latin America and the Middle East. Continue reading
If you are having a really difficult time keeping up with the rapidly rising cost of living, you are certainly not alone. This year, “affordability” was a buzzword that was constantly on the lips of politicians, economists and talking heads on television. As you will see below, Americans are being slammed by rising prices from a multitude of directions. Meanwhile, “layoffs” has been another buzzword that has been widely used in 2025. Thanks to the rise of AI and our steadily deteriorating economy, we have seen far more mass layoffs this year than we did last year. Unfortunately, one survey has found that executives are gearing up for an even larger round in 2026.
This is what happens when you flood the system with money and you go into unprecedented amounts of debt. Eventually a day of reckoning arrives. Continue reading
Self‑examination is a deeply Christian discipline. It requires humility, honesty, and the willingness to confront one’s own failures; traits that historically lead to repentance and course correction. But the modern hard‑left, and the Democratic Party increasingly shaped by it, appears fundamentally incapable of such introspection. To look inward would be to unravel the very foundations of what they have built. Continue reading
When the Framers drafted the Constitution in 1787, the first three words were “We the People.” The rest of the document repeatedly refers to “the people,” a term clearly denoting citizens of the United States, those whose rights the Constitution addressed. Additionally, the Tenth Amendment to the Bill of Rights identifies the states and “the people” as the repositories of plenary power, in contrast to the limited powers delegated to the federal government. Continue reading
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stated that federal agencies have terminated or scaled back 55 contracts over the past five days, eliminating an estimated $261 million in spending tied to what the task force described as wasteful or duplicative services.
The canceled and descoped contracts had a combined ceiling value of $863 million, DOGE stated in a Dec. 22 social media post announcing its latest update. Continue reading
“Just the tip of the iceberg” is a perfect metaphor for what’s unfolding in Minnesota — a state swamped by over $1 billion in alleged welfare and program fraud, much of it tied to networks in the Somali community.
But Omar isn’t just the tip; she’s quick to cry “racism” whenever the fraud is called out. She’s slammed scrutiny of these schemes as “disgusting” and “vile,” insisting we shouldn’t “blame the lawlessness of an individual on a whole community.” Continue reading