Everyone Stay Calm, Ya'll--And Remember Why Brexit Is The Correct Path Forward

This video from Daniel Hannan, filmed at Oxford Union earlier this year, is an eloquent reminder of what faces the EU -- and the US -- in our present world. Hannan is a solid conservative (lower case 'c') as well as a Tory member of the EU Parliament. This is well worth viewing.

It's fascinating to hear him say the very same things (in his plummy Oxbridge command of English) that The Donald and (to some extent) The Bernie are saying.

Great quotes throughout, and for his command of English and logic.



The Masters of Europe, beginning with Junker and Merkel, are well and goodly enraged by the decision of the British people. They have zero interest in the opinion and wishes of folks on the ground. The Austrians came within a bare whisker of overturning the Establishment politicos, and the French and Spanish are itching to have the opportunity to vote on the question themselves.

Hannan rightly calls the EU a 'cartel', and cartels always lead to poverty and failure, and sometimes war.

So, everybody, stay calm, and stay on course. Ya'll did the right thing, UK cousins, and you will prosper as they stagnate, in every way.

The Opening Prayer of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA Was Addressed To (Wait for it!!)...Allah.

Jeff Foxworthy's famous line is 'Folks, I just can't make this stuff up'.

Well, evidently the leadership of the PCUSA, that staid and rapidly-shrinking denomination, can:

Here is the transcript of the imam's prayer:

“Allah bless us and bless our families and bless our Lord. Lead us on the straight path – the path of all the prophets: Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Peace be upon them all Amen.
“In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, let us praise the Lord. The creator of the universe, the most merciful, the most compassionate and the Lord of the universe who has created us and made us into nations and tribes, from male and females that we may know each other, not that we might despise each other, or may despise each other. Incline towards peace and justice and trust in God, for the Lord is one that hears and knows everything and the servants of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful, gracious are those who walk in the earth in humility and when bigots and hateful and Islamaphobes address them, they say peace. Peace be upon them and peace be upon Allah.”

And, just in case you think OS is spoofing you--here's the video, published by the PCUSA themselves. The prayer is at the 14-minute mark, but if you wish to warm up a bit to it, you can bask in the early 60's folk-song rendition of 'We Shall Overcome' that serves as the call to worship...

Congratulations British Brethren and Sisters--You Stood Up For Yourselves And Your Children, And For Freedom

OS and The Wonderful Lovely Mrs. OS stayed up late into the evening watching the results from the Brexit vote. We get the BBC News channel on satellite, and those guys were completely flummoxed.

Fox Business did a fine job--they were expecting the vote to go the other way, and had to regroup a bit, which they did with broad grins on their Murdochian faces.

The Sky News coverage, streamed via Drudge, won the night. They were on top of it!

We knew the Remain goose was well and truly cooked when the results arrived from Birmingham (Leave), Wales (Leave), and Cameron's own constituency (Remain, but not that wide a margin). The Leave margins were always wider than the Remain margins, except in places like Cambridge, which live in their own academic/business/banker bubble, immunized from reality.

The next couple of days of market selloff and GBP selloff were to be expected, and may continue. So be it. Equilibrium will return, when it is located. OS and the Mrs are looking forward to some travel to The Green and Pleasant Land while on the strong dollar!

This morning was priceless, when Nigel Farage showed back up in Brussels to give-em-hell. 

Ya'll just gotta take a few minutes to enjoy it.

So, congratulations. Don't gloat too long, and be kind to your neighbors who voted the other way. They are genuinely anxious about the future, and your positive attitude and good cheer will help pave the way for them. Remember what it felt like when a vote you passionately believed in didn't go your way, and act with compassion.

Janet Daley Says It Best -- The Elites Are Deeply Out Of Touch -- Time To Tell Cameron And The EU To Go Away

She is dead on.

So is Peter Hitchens in today's Daily Mail.

So why should it matter over on our side of the pond?

Because we do a lot business with the UK. OS knows folks who do business with UK institutions--already the long arm of Brussels is beginning to affect how business gets done, and not for the better.

Because there are soooo many families (including that of OS) that are comprised of both US and UK citizens. We are joined at the hip, and here in the Colonies, we never signed up for control from Brussels. That's why a lot of British cousins moved settled here, this being the land of opportunity.

Because if the UK stays, our security will be compromised, not the least because the immigration floodgates will open from Turkey and beyond. Labour leader Corbyn openly admits this.

Because if Brussels wins, our own elites will feel emboldened to sell us out, with more secret treaties, more backroom deals, more sacrifice of opportunity for ordinary families. OS sees the families around him struggle and struggle just to keep up, to build some sort of future for their children. He sees his younger colleagues, so eager and gifted, entering their careers with such huge ostacles facing them. He sees his own children working diligently, in an uphill battle.

Please, cousins--vote Leave, for the sake of us all.

Lynne Patton "The Trump Family That I Know" - A Black Female Trump Execu...

OS generally does not participate in 'viral sharing'--but for this, he makes the exception. Five credible, moving minutes about the Trump family. It speaks for itself.

OS voted for Trump in the Tennessee primary, seems like an eternity ago. Not out of affection for the man, but because OS took some business trips, and encountered perfect strangers willing to talk about their lives.

Two in particular come to mind--one a young man working in a family business in the Northeast that has been extant since the 1870's, and now struggles against the headwinds of a government, tax system, social decay, and economy brought about over the past 25 years by leadership of BOTH parties. He's thirty, and wonders how they will survive.

The second was a chauffer--hotel to airport, in his 60's, an emigre from Africa from the early 80's. He has spent his career driving limos, and now owns a piece of the firm. Two children, born and raised here. One child graduates MBA from a major East Coast university, the second entering med school at an Ivy League school. He is so proud of them, parented them to be Americans. Sez he: 'Children, it's great you have your African heritage, but THIS is your country. You are Americans!!' A question posed about all the illegal immigration brought a disdainful response--he had gone about things properly, has no respect for the gate-crashers.

OS isn't a Trump 'fan', per se. But only The Donald speaks directly to the heart of the issues that we must face, and speaks for these people encountered on the road.

Last night, the subject came up with friends, who have a child in a military career. The Dad sez, 'You may disagree, but I'm voting for Trump. He's the only one who will value my child's life in the military, and gives us the best odds of the kid coming home to us in one piece.'

Now, take five minutes--decide for yourself.

Logan Officials Message to Clinton Campaign--You've Done Enough Damage, Please Go Away

Kudos to the city fathers of Logan, West Virginia as they pointedly un-invite Mizz Hillary, who wishes to use their town as a photo-op stop on her campaign to create even more havoc than she has already.



OS can see it now: Mizz Hillary arrives with her entourage to kiss babies, shake hands, eat the local grub, and pontificate on the terrrrible state of the local economy, and how she plans to pour all manner of Federal largesse into Logan to FixThisSituation. Of course, leaving out how she and her fellow leftists actually created ThisSituation!



The coal industry, which supplies the raw material that generates most of the nation's electricity, has been gutted by the Obama Administration; and with it, town after town, and family after family.

This account of present life in the region is heart-wrenching, and not in the least untypical of what is quietly happening across the American heartland.



And this before the inevitable spike in electric rates that will occur after the extensive insfrastructure for the mining and shipping of coal is allowed to fall into ruin. Venezuela, anyone? Argentina, anyone?



What has dawned upon the city fathers of Logan is that The Left actually seeks the outcome that has befallen Logan, WV. This, to The Left, is a success!! Businesses destroyed, households dependent upon government largesse, coal mines shut down, abandoned rail lines and stock. 



Perhaps, in ways large and small, in one town and neighborhood, we can all in our own way 'dis-invite' all those Friends of Mizzzz Hillary. Logan provides a good beginning, and a noteworthy example to follow.

Big Red Car--The Boss Explains How Trump's Wall Is Funded...and why we should build it, even out of our own pockets

OS urges his legions of readers to check out BRC--loads of wisdom, delivered with gentle wry humor.

This post, in particular, drives home the central points of Trump's ideas: We can secure the border, and the benefits overwhelm the costs. End of story.

OS will copy a bit of it for you to read--for the REAL payoff, you'll have to hit that little link....

Big Red Car here in the ATX on a lovely day. Got a call from Donald Trump, who said, “Big Red Car, you’re handy with numbers, right?” Before he said anything else, I knew he was talking about the WALL.
“Yes, Donald, I am,” says I.
“How would YOU finance the WALL, Big Red Car?”
To which I reply, “Well, Donald, I’d put a little tariff on imports and exports. That’s what I’d do.”
“Will that work, Big Red Car?” asks That Donald.
“Of course, it’ll work, Donald.”
“Thanks, Big Red Car.”
“Best to Melania, Donnie. See you when the WALL is finished.”
[Melania loves the Big Red Car. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!]

Go ahead...hit that link...

Donald Trump Asks The Cogent Question--How

How has 'the system' been working out for you and your family?

From the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed page today--a firm and coherent statement from Mr. Trump.

On Saturday, April 9, Colorado had an “election” without voters. Delegates were chosen on behalf of a presidential nominee, yet the people of Colorado were not able to cast their ballots to say which nominee they preferred.
A planned vote had been canceled. And one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined.
In recent days, something all too predictable has happened: Politicians furiously defended the system. “These are the rules,” we were told over and over again. If the “rules” can be used to block Coloradans from voting on whether they want better trade deals, or stronger borders, or an end to special-interest vote-buying in Congress—well, that’s just the system and we should embrace it.
Let me ask America a question: How has the “system” been working out for you and your family?
I, for one, am not interested in defending a system that for decades has served the interest of political parties at the expense of the people. Members of the club—the consultants, the pollsters, the politicians, the pundits and the special interests—grow rich and powerful while the American people grow poorer and more isolated.
No one forced anyone to cancel the vote in Colorado. Political insiders made a choice to cancel it. And it was the wrong choice.
Responsible leaders should be shocked by the idea that party officials can simply cancel elections in America if they don’t like what the voters may decide.
The only antidote to decades of ruinous rule by a small handful of elites is a bold infusion of popular will. On every major issue affecting this country, the people are right and the governing elite are wrong. The elites are wrong on taxes, on the size of government, on trade, on immigration, on foreign policy.
Why should we trust the people who have made every wrong decision to substitute their will for America’s will in this presidential election?
Here, I part ways with Sen. Ted Cruz.
Mr. Cruz has toured the country bragging about his voterless victory in Colorado. For a man who styles himself as a warrior against the establishment (you wouldn’t know it from his list of donors and endorsers), you’d think he would be demanding a vote for Coloradans. Instead, Mr. Cruz is celebrating their disenfranchisement.
Likewise, Mr. Cruz loudly boasts every time party insiders disenfranchise voters in a congressional district by appointing delegates who will vote the opposite of the expressed will of the people who live in that district.
That’s because Mr. Cruz has no democratic path to the nomination. He has been mathematically eliminated by the voters.
While I am self-funding, Mr. Cruz rakes in millions from special interests. Yet despite his financial advantage, Mr. Cruz has won only three primaries outside his home state and trails me by two million votes—a gap that will soon explode even wider. Mr. Cruz loses when people actually get to cast ballots. Voter disenfranchisement is not merely part of the Cruz strategy—it is the Cruz strategy.
The great irony of this campaign is that the “Washington cartel” that Mr. Cruz rails against is the very group he is relying upon in his voter-nullification scheme.
My campaign strategy is to win with the voters. Ted Cruz’s campaign strategy is to win despite them.
What we are seeing now is not a proper use of the rules, but a flagrant abuse of the rules. Delegates are supposed to reflect the decisions of voters, but the system is being rigged by party operatives with “double-agent” delegates who reject the decision of voters.
The American people can have no faith in such a system. It must be reformed.
Just as I have said that I will reform our unfair trade, immigration and economic policies that have also been rigged against Americans, so too will I work closely with the chairman of the Republican National Committee and top GOP officials to reform our election policies. Together, we will restore the faith—and the franchise—of the American people.
We must leave no doubt that voters, not donors, choose the nominee.
How have we gotten to the point where politicians defend a rigged delegate-selection process with more passion than they have ever defended America’s borders?
Perhaps it is because politicians care more about securing their private club than about securing their country.
My campaign will, of course, battle for every last delegate. We will work within the system that exists now, while fighting to have it reformed in the future. But we will do it the right way. My campaign will seek maximum transparency, maximum representation and maximum voter participation.
We will run a campaign based on empowering voters, not sidelining them.
Let us take inspiration from patriotic Colorado citizens who have banded together in protest. Let us make Colorado a rallying cry on behalf of all the forgotten people whose desperate pleas have for decades fallen on the deaf ears and closed eyes of our rulers in Washington, D.C.
The political insiders have had their way for a long time. Let 2016 be remembered as the year the American people finally got theirs.

Paris, San Bernadino, Brussels, Lahore (and almost Memphis TN)

One hardly knows what to say, except to say what has already been said.

What we stand to lose if the Jihadis win.

It's a short list, omitting much, but it's a start.

On this Easter Day, drawing to a close here in the beloved South, deepest sympathies to all the victims of the latest outrages.

BTW, a report just in that a gunman was intercepted at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis this morning, two weapons and a backpack full of ammunition. No shots fired, suspect in custody. Thousands attend each service at Bellevue, the ultimate soft target. And since it is mainly attended by whites and conservatives, it wouldn't have come up on the President's radar. Ball games to attend, tangos to dance...

Just Another Day Inside The Beltway--The Decker College Case

One bonehead provides obviously factually inaccurate information to another bonehead within the mis-named Department of Education, and now eleven years of litigation later...

A court finally rules that the boneheads are in fact, boneheads.

Tens of millions of dollars, vaporized, and a business ruined. Hopefully, the plaintiffs recover, and the boneheads are sent to pasture where they can do less harm.

Vain hope, OS knows, at least under the present regime.

This little tale is just one of many, occurring year after year. And the GreatAndGood just can't seem to understand why the voters of all political leanings are simply apoplectic.