American Greatness Aug 10. 2020

 

08/10/2020     Who or What Exactly Is Running Against Trump?     By Victor Davis Hanson As we enter the final 90 days of the November presidential campaign, a few truths are crystalizing about the “Biden problem,” or the inability of a 77-year-old Joe Biden to conduct a “normal” campaign. Full article     The Singularity Is Near   By Malcolm Pollack It’s obvious to all, at this point, that factional division is reaching a breaking point in America. Like a pair of locked-together tectonic plates pulling slowly in opposite directions, the strain has been increasing for a long time now—and when seismic ruptures finally occur, they happen suddenly, and release enormously destructive energies. Full Article     ‘Apocalypse Never’ Takes Direct Aim at Consensus Climate Alarmism   By Edward Ring An important new book by Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, attempts to counter the common belief that climate change poses an imminent and existential threat to humanity and the planet. At 285 pages, this is a relatively short and very readable book, but it covers a lot of ground. And with an additional 125 pages containing over 1,000 footnotes, Shellenberger’s arguments are well documented. Full article       New York’s Actions Against the NRA Are an Omen of Things to Come   By Christopher Roach This week New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, sought to dissolve the National Rifle Association. She took this action ostensibly to pursue a claim of financial mismanagement. But the real reasons are obvious: the NRA is the preeminent defender of the Second Amendment, and the Left—and New York leftists in particular—really hate guns. In her earlier role as New York’s public advocate, James sought to strong-arm banks into dropping their business with gun manufacturers following the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. Full article       Right-Wing Populism Is the Way Forward   By Ely Osborne For too long, the Republican Party has squandered its political power. Although no one would know it from watching primetime news, enjoying professional sporting events, or opening social media, America remains a generally “center-right” country. Popular culture spews progressive values and liberal thought. As recently as 2019, however, Gallup found that a combined 72 percent of Americans would classify themselves as “conservative” or “moderate.” Along with that, the middle class continues to shrink as incomes at the top continue to rise. Full article   Are Americans Being Conditioned for Despotism?   By Lloyd Billingsley Fans of the His Dudeness or El Duderino—the Dude for those not into the whole brevity thing—will recall the wonderful “gutterballs” scene from “The Big Lebowski,” musically accompanied by “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Contrary to what some viewers might think, this tune was not written for the movie. Full article   Swampy AARP   By Rachel Bovard The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was founded to represent the interests of close to 40 million seniors. Over time, the group has become one of the most powerful lobbying interests in the country. And you’ve got to hand it to them—for an organization that bills itself as an advocacy group for the elderly, it sure knows how to rake in the profits, making billions off the backs of the very people it purports to help. Full article   Morning Greatness: Almost Every American Blames the Media for Political Strife   By Liz Sheld Most people are worried about the bias of other media outlets not the media they follow. So the dummies surfing the NYT tabloid every morning are worried about Fox News or Breitbart and the converse is true. But here’s the kicker: 84% say “the media is to blame for political division in this country.” And four out of five respondents said the media is “trying to persuade people to adopt a certain viewpoint.” There’s a word for that: propaganda! Full article   U.S. Economy Suffers Biggest Quarterly Decline Ever, Under Coronavirus Lockdowns   By S.T. Karnick U.S. economic output declined by an annual rate of 32.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. That is the largest quarterly decline in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) ever recorded. Official U.S. government records of quarterly GDP are available only for the years 1947 and after. Full article   Ohio Board of Pharmacy Reverses Hydroxychloroquine Ban After Governor’s Request   By Catherine Smith The Ohio Board of Pharmacy reversed a ban on the use of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of coronavirus infections after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) asked for a reversal.   Full article   Morning Greatness: Microsoft Wants to Save TikTok from ChoppingBlok   By Liz Sheld Popular app TikTok is on the chopping blok here in the U.S. because the app is alleged to be a security threat. The company is owned by China. Is the app really a security threat? I don’t know but I found this interesting/horrifying: Full article   Will 2021 Be 1984?    By Victor Davis Hanson Cultural revolutions are insidious and not just because they seek to change the way people think, write, speak, and act. They are also dangerous because they are fueled by self-righteous sanctimoniousness, expressed in seemingly innocuous terms such as “social activism,” “equality,” and “fairness.” The ultimate aim of the Jacobin, Bolshevik, or Maoist is raw power—force of the sort sought by Hugo Chavez or the Castro dynasty to get rich, inflict payback on their perceived enemies, reward friends, and pose as saviors. Cubans and Venezuelans got poor and killed; woke Chavezes and Castros got rich and murderous. Full article   by Chris Buskirk, Julie Ponzi, & Ben Boychuk We're working hard to bring you the best commentary on American politics and culture with contributions from top writers and scholars. We also see an opportunity to restore American politics to their proper foundation. It won't be easy or fast, but we're committed to the project. It is a labor of love as much as it is one of necessity. As our traffic has grown - and it has grown quickly - so have our expenses. 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