The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, January 14th, 2019

On January 15, 2019, in Uncategorized, by magoo1310

It’s Monday, January 14th, 2019…but before we begin, after viewing this meme forwarded by Wink Martindale…

…we got to thinking: there are undoubtedly a number of Dimocratic Socialists who would actually advocate such a position…

…though perhaps not in public…at least not yet! (Hat tip to Speed Mach for the AOC meme!)

After all, once healthcare, housing, food, cellphones and college are all “free”…and available to anyone within walking or driving distance of the United States (can air and sea arrivals be far behind?)…why shouldn’t anyone, regardless of race, color, sexual preference of the moment or ability to pay, be able to attend an NFL game? Need we mention the inability to afford the concessions should not prohibit those who want a couple dogs and a beer…or a jersey featuring the name and number of their favorite equally-underachieving, unemployed Socialist athlete…

…from enjoying the game just as much as those who actually worked to pay for the privilege.

At the risk of beating a dead horse…or in the preferred parlance of PETA, feed a fed horse (though we should point out, horses HAVE been known to eat themselves to death!)…this is where we were seven Christmases ago:

Soon, if not already today, even eating the rich…

…may not be enough to bridge the gap. Plus, we’re relatively certain the professed Progressive proclivities of LeBron James and other under-educated professional athletes don’t include giving away the millions they take home for playing a game.

Now, here’s The Gouge!

First up, courtesy of the WaPo via FOX News, Marc Thiessen details why…

This is the stupidest government shutdown in US history.

When will Dems get smart about it?

“Barring some miraculous breakthrough, on Saturday the current government shutdown will become the longest in American history. But it has already hit another historic milestone: It is, by far and away, the stupidest government shutdown in American history.

In 2019, the federal government will spend a whopping $4.407 trillion. Yet Congress and the president are shutting down the government in a dispute between the $1.3 billion the Democrats have approved for border security and the $5.7 billion the president is demanding — precisely 0.0998 percent of the total federal budget. In Washington, that is considered a rounding error…

Worse, Democrats are doing it over a border wall strikingly similar to one that they almost unanimously supported just five years ago…

…Democrats could not possibly be in a better position to demand concessions form Trump if they had manufactured a crisis. So put some demands on the table, for crying out loud. If Democrats think they have Trump cornered, then squeeze him and try get a lot out of him. But don’t refuse to negotiate and tell us the wall is an “immorality” — because their voting history shows they don’t believe that.“

Situational ethics…

…personified!!!

Speaking of the personification of stupid…

Florida governor suspends Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel

“Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who faced criticism over his department’s response to the deadly Parkland, Florida, school shooting last year, was officially suspended by new Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday.

“Sheriff Israel has repeatedly failed and has demonstrated a pattern of poor leadership,” DeSantis said in a statement…DeSantis later tweeted that he was suspending Israel for “his repeated failures, incompetence and neglect of duty.”

DeSantis formally announced the appointment of Gregory Tony as sheriff. Tony, a former Coral Springs Police sergeant, will be Broward County’s first African-American sheriff, according to a statement released by the governor…”

Gee, kowtowing to racial preferences: where have we heard this before?

Hey, what could go wrong?!?

Meanwhile, Israel, who has praised his own leadership as “exceptional,” lost a vote of no confidence from his deputies, yet has refused to step down or admit any wrongdoing. Yeah,…and the White Star Line provided sufficient lifeboats for the Titanic…at least according to the Board of Trade.

Since we’re on the subject of adhering purely to the letter of the law, writing at NRO, David French notes…

As Religious Separation Increases, Religious Bigotry Will Abound

Reversing the cultural decline of Christianity would do more to preserve religious freedom than any conceivable Supreme Court case.

“There’s an old observation about America that goes something like this: If the most religious nation in the world is India and the most secular nation in the world is Sweden, then America is a nation of Indians governed by Swedes. Its population is largely religious, but its leaders are a largely secular elite.

To the extent that this claim was true 20 years ago, it highlighted a significant challenge. An elite disconnect from popular will and popular experience breeds alienation and mutual contempt. But now imagine a different reality, one in which America is becoming Indian and Swedish at the same time, in different places. It’s less true than it used to be that the United States is largely religious except for a secular elite. It’s more true that the United States is transitioning into large-scale secular and sacred enclaves. Thus, secular elites who express scorn or disdain for orthodox Christian religious faith and practice aren’t disconnected from popular will. They’re expressing popular will.

I’m thinking of course of the latest battle in the dogma wars. In 2017, California senator Dianne Feinstein famously told Catholic judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett, “The dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s a concern.” Also in 2017, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders grilled an Evangelical Christian nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget over his beliefs about the differences between the Christian and Muslim faiths.

In December, Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono and California senator Kamala Harris asked Catholic judicial nominee Brian Buescher a series of hostile questions about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization. They zeroed in on the Knights’ opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, two positions that are entirely consistent with orthodox theology across virtually every branch of the Christian faith.

Inquiries into religious affiliation and belief violate the Constitution. Article VI expressly forbids any religious test for public office. But if we think conservative condemnation of Harris, Hirono, Feinstein, and Sanders will make a dime’s bit of difference, we need to think again. America is changing, and in many American jurisdictions, opposition to Christian orthodoxy isn’t the mark of elite alienation, but a progressive badge of honor…”