Tag: American Politics

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
55210
 

Dr. William Hamilton’s biography is too long to publish here. Suffice to say it is distinguished, accomplished, and meaningful. The native Oklahoman and Nebraska political veteran is a highly decorated US Army and Air Force veteran of 20 years, much of that served in West Germany and other European nations. He’s a graduate of the […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Daylight or Standard Time: Pick One, Congress

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
4315701
 

It’s time for our biannual ritual – moving the clocks forward this time – effective at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 13th. It was just four months ago that we drove them back. And with it, of course, will come our equally ritualistic grumbling or celebrations, depending on whose side you fall on this centuries-old debate unless you live in most of Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa. Under the Uniform Time Act, those jurisdictions have exempted themselves from Daylight Savings Time. Our trusty US Department of Transportation regulates the process.

It isn’t much of a debate anymore. According to an Economist/YouGov poll from last November, by an almost 2:1 margin, most Americans want 1) to end the practice of clock-changing and 2) prefer to permanently “spring forward” than “fall back.” That’s a change from just two years ago, which an Associated Press poll had Americans split three ways: about 40 percent in favor of standard time; 30 percent for daylight savings; and another 30 percent who love changing their clocks twice a year (who ARE those people?).

Preview Open

The Devil Made Him Do It?

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
14101556
 

Putin apologists and propagandists are channeling the late Flip Wilson, blaming NATO for Putin’s war against Ukraine. They’re ignoring a few things.

Those of a certain age may remember the late comedian Flip Wilson, who tragically died in 1998 at age 64 from cancer. He was the first successful black host of a television variety show in the early 1970s.

“Geraldine (Jones), with Wilson in wig, high heels and a colorful minidress, was perhaps his most famous character. Her spunky catchphrases “The devil made me do it” and “What you see is what you get!” became part of the national language,” CBS News described in announcing Wilson’s death.

Preview Open

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
65189
 

While Royal Dutch Shell’s purchase of deeply discounted Russian Ural oil this week is most likely headed to Europe, I now can eliminate one source of retail gasoline for my vehicles. Shell is the most significant controller of retail gasoline sales in the U.S. – some 13% of our nation’s 105,000 retail outlets. B.P. and […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
811238
 

“The Constitution requires that the president ‘shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union,’ The Washington Examiner began its editorial this morning following one of the most forgettable “State of the Union” (SOTU) speeches in modern times. “From President Thomas Jefferson to President William Taft, this communication […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
118251
 

Democrats on Capitol Hill, along with a few recalcitrant Republicans, have long politicized “J6” – the violence of January 6th at the U.S. Capitol on the day Congress ceremoniously* counted and certified the 2020 Presidential and Vice Presidential election results. It was plainly terrible, and opponents of President Trump seized a golden political opportunity, from […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Reject Two Big Lies

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
31111491
 

Especially during military conflicts, propaganda is usually easy to spot and easier to ignore. But two things have me seething over some propaganda we’ve had to endure or likely to hear about Russia’s evil dictator, Vladimir Putin, and a falsehood (among many) we’re likely to hear from Joe Biden on Tuesday night during the annual State of the Union address.

First, I’m offended by the notion that Putin is somehow is a “man of faith” and a great defender of Christian values. No Christian would behave the way he is right now or has with his poisoning and murdering of people in places like Ukraine (its former President, Victor Yuschenko) and Alexander Litvinenko in England. He kills or tries to kill political opponents (e.g., Alexei Navalny, now a political prisoner).

Preview Open

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
32156
 

The Wall Street Journal and other media reported Thursday that James Mountain Inhofe, 87, is retiring from the United States Senate by the end of 2022, well before his 6th six-year term ends in early 2027. This November, a special election coinciding with the general election will determine who fills his substantial shoes. Senator Inhofe […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
98222
 

“I would like to emphasize again that Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us. It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space. These are our comrades, those dearest to us – not only colleagues, friends and people who once served together, but also relatives, people bound by blood, by family ties.” This was the opening salvo of Russian Thug Bully […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Don’t Canada America

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
23141292
 

No posts of my mine receive fewer clicks than ones about Canada. I suspect you have long either taken our northern neighbor for granted or perhaps find the world’s second-largest nation (geographically) north of our 5,525-mile border quaint if not dull.

Consider our respective nations’ unofficial mottos. We have long enshrined “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” from our Declaration of Independence. In Canada, it’s “peace, order, and good government.” Our national emblem is the soaring, sharp-eyed bird of prey, the bald eagle; in Canada, it’s the noble, industrious beaver. Since our war for independence, Canada – whose head of state remains the British sovereign – works hard to be different than Americans, despite common heritage, values, and proximity. Really hard.

Preview Open

Should Canada’s Truckers Go on Strike, or Did Ontario’s Premier Just Show Trudeau a Way Out of His Crisis?

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
13111730
 

In February 1979, about 1,700 tractors descended on Washington, DC’s Mall to protest low farm prices and foreclosures. They irritated Congress, USDA Secretary Bob Bergland, and the locals. They went from villains to heroes two weeks later when a two-foot snow storm made their vehicles the only way to get doctors and nurses to hospitals, and farm spouses took over hospital kitchens to prepare food.

President Jimmy Carter, who had fled town for Camp David early in the protest, returned to paused farm foreclosures, giving protesting farmers a small victory and a reason to return home for Spring planting. Carter shortly thereafter resumed the foreclosures. Farm country (and just about everyone else) responded by overwhelmingly voting for Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Preview Open

Watergate’s Eerie Resemblances to Russiagate

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
20161562
 

Most Americans today were not alive when burglars clumsily broke into Democratic National Headquarters at the sprawling Watergate office and apartment complex in northwest Washington, DC on June 17, 1972. We’re coming up to that notorious event’s 50th birthday. The average age in the USA last year was 38.5.

The Watergate complex, Washington DC, along the Potomac River and Rock Creek Parkway circa 1972. Behind is the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Howard Johnson hotel across from the complex is now a college dorm.

The late Mark Felt, a disgruntled Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, purportedly operating under the nom de guerre “Deep Throat,” the title of a porn movie of that era, surreptitiously guided two young Washington Post writers to publishing and movie stardom. Richard Nixon remains the only President in American history to resign from office (August 9, 1974). Dozens of Nixon Administration and campaign officials were prosecuted, including the Attorney General, John Mitchell.

Preview Open

When Tractors Rolled Into Washington DC

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
28132876
 

No one knows exactly how many protesting “freedom convoy” truckers are currently encamped in Canada’s national capital city of Ottawa after an estimated 1,700 big rigs arrived on January 29. Thousands more protestors have joined them on the grounds of Parliament and nearby in support. And the protests appear to be growing.

More than $10 million (CAD) has been raised via GoFundMe.com to support the freedom convoy. That’s about three times more money than the governing Liberal Party raised in the last quarter of 2021. From the freedom convoy fundraising site, which has been “paused” pending a “review,” including grammatical errors and typos.

Preview Open

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
24170
 

Paul Sperry is a top investigative journalist for Real Clear Investigations, part of the Real Clear Politics series of excellent, non-partisan websites. I check them daily. He’s the author of two books and contributes to thefederalist.com, a terrific libertarian-leaning website. He plays no favorites. Sperry’s latest post illustrates how the Washington Post is deeply and unethically intertwined with […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Do Republicans Need Another ‘Contract With America’ in 2022?

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
36201190
 

Amidst debates among Republicans, such as the extent to which the U.S. should support and defend Ukraine, this has emerged: Do congressional Republicans need a positive, pro-active agenda to run on for the 2022 midterms? You know, like the 1994 Contract With America? Will it help? Is it politically necessary?

Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, flanked by future Speaker John Boehner, outlines progress on keeping their promises from the 1994 “Contract With America.”

In December, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he and his caucus is rolling out a “Commitment to America” over the year. It has already started with a “Parental Bill of Rights,” queuing off Governor Glenn Youngkin’s success with the issue of education with voters in the 2021 Virginia elections.

Preview Open

Sen. Tom Cotton Hits the Right Chord on Ukraine

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
52142573
 

It’s been interesting to hear pundits argue various interpretations and strategies about the situation between Ukraine and Russia. For sure, no serious person thinks the U.S. should go to war with Russia over Ukraine. Bolstering the U.S. and NATO presence near Russia’s border (think Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) is another matter, along with helping Ukraine defend itself. Those efforts are underway, albeit belatedly.

On one end, you have former President George W. Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio adviser Max Boot. He’s now a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Boot thinks we should supply Ukraine’s army and, when it loses to Russia, support a guerrilla war not unlike “Charlie Wilson’s War” in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.

Preview Open

Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
196321
 

Western democracies have long publicly and loudly confronted dark historical episodes involving aboriginal or indigenous people. But honestly, every culture and continent need not scratch very deep to find their sordid history, from Africa to China, from ancient times to today. If they’d only admit it. That’s no less true of the United States. Growing […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.