Upon discovering that it’s permissible to sip hard liquor, I’ve been getting into whiskey in the past year. From that perspective, I find this approach from Heaven Hill distillery simply bizarre:
To celebrate what they view as a just outcome, some whiskey lovers began purchasing bottles of “Rittenhouse Rye.” The brand name is derived not from the recent court case but from Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, an open-space park designed by William Penn and named for an early 19th-century papermaker. …
Heaven Hill evidently wasn’t happy about the free advertising, tweeting, “We have been disheartened to learn that some individuals and businesses have been using our Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whiskey brand to celebrate the Kyle Rittenhouse case verdict, despite the profound loss of life from those events.”
Presumably, the company has a better sense of who buys its products than I do, but these declarations about who should buy their products and for what personal purposes used to be limited to self-righteous musicians. We should return to that state of affairs.
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Via Stacey Lennox, who looks at Biden’s approval/disapproval ratings across all states for PJ Media, comes a fascinating tool that may prove useful in the toolboxes of anybody who writes about or engages in politics.
It’s an interactive poll tool from Civiqs that allows the user to cut up the data by various demographics in one of the most-comprehensive ways I’ve ever seen for this sort of tool.
The link above shows the trendline for Biden from election on, and it isn’t pretty. Although the picture has improved a little over the past couple weeks, he’s currently underwater by 16 percentage points, with a 53% majority disapproving. In fact, the percentage disapproving is larger than the percentage approving for every age group, every education level, and both sexes. Only among Democrats, minorities, and seven states is he above water.
Rhode Island isn’t one of those states, and if you click on the state’s name on the left-hand sidebar, the tool resets all of the charts for the Ocean State. Here, he’s only under water by one percentage point (45:44), but that’s a relatively recent reversal, after his high of 57% approval in April. In Rhode Island, Biden picks up plurality approval from people over fifty, postgraduates, and women.
It’s interesting that disapproval is strongest among younger groups. Click for the 18-34 group, and you see disapproval at 48%, over 35% approval, and that’s with a bunch of Democrats who appear reluctant to say anything more than “neither approve nor disapprove.” Somewhat surprisingly, Biden hits 50% disapproval among non-college graduates, which would include the youngest portion of the group as well as the working class. Note that for all age groups, the non-college graduate disapproval is 47%, so the youth factor appears to be more relevant than the “working class” experience.
Among the young, Biden loses women, and male disapproval hits 59%. He also loses ground with minorities. Among all black Rhode Islanders, his approval:disapproval is 61:22; among Hispanics/Latinos, it’s 60:29. Under 35, that drops to 41:35 and 50:33. Narrow the picture to non-college graduates, and he nearly loses blacks, at 39:36. He actually does lose the young men in this category, who disapprove by 43% versus 40% approval.
There may be some opportunity to shift voters, here. After all, the same results for Donald Trump weren’t inverted. They disapproved of him more strongly than their elders, too. The disapproval of Biden isn’t just a reflection of partisan leanings, in other words.
What that means, I don’t know, but I’ll be digging into all of Civiqs’ results to see if I can figure it out.
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Daniel Greenfield’s look into three billionaires funding the Democrat dark money machine is worth a read:
Politico recently reported that the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the leading dark money machine of the Left, had pumped $410 million into Dem 2020 efforts to defeat Trump and Republicans.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund had raised a record $390 million that year and half the money came from just 4 donors. While the names of the donors are secret, the article did note the names of three major known STF backers: Pierre Omidyar, Hansjörg Wyss, and George Soros.
Funny how the involvement of billionaires is only lamented by RI’s elected officials when they help the other side.
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As I predicted, the murderous attack on a Christmas Parade in Wisconsin isn’t getting as much air time as it objectively merits:
Prominent media outlets have already lost interest in the vehicular massacre that took place on Sunday at the Waukesha Christmas parade, a Washington Free Beacon analysis has determined.
Since I last wrote about it, the narrative that the assailant was running from a crime scene hasn’t panned out, so the attack appears even more malicious. This moves the story from the “ambiguous politics” path toward the “undermines progressives” path, which dictates less coverage.
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Referring to an appearance by National Education Association of Rhode Island director Bob Walsh on A Lively Experiment, Erika Sanzi plainly describes a reality of local media.
Walsh’s offending claim was that Nicole Solas shouldn’t call herself a “stay-at-home mom” when she’s “in a different community at a different school committee meeting screaming at the top of [her] lungs about things that aren’t happening.” Writes Sanzi (emphasis added):
The most charitable interpretation is that Walsh was using hyperbole to make a point, but the simple truth is that he lied. He wasn’t asked to provide an example or cite specific instances, which is too bad since he would not have been unable to come up with one. Turns out he is the one talking about “things that aren’t happening.”
That’s the not-so-hidden secret of these shows. They typically aren’t structured to foster debate or inform the public. One or other of the insiders who appears on them would therefore risk looking bad and avoid the shows and their hosts. Rather, each participant is there to play a role and offer the talking points for the group he or she ostensibly represents.
Everything is like this in Rhode Island’s political sphere. With few exceptions, business advocacy groups, for example, aren’t in their positions actually to figure out what business owners want and need and then advocate for them. They’re the establishment’s chosen representatives to speak for businesses and convey the establishment’s wishes back to their members.
The labor unions are very similar. Oh, the organizers will claim they’re small-d democratic institutions in which all members get a vote, but the notion that teachers, construction workers, nurses, government office workers, and others really want their labor unions to be the driving force of Rhode Island’s radical progressive movement has to be proven, because it seems unlikely on its face (to say the least).
One certainly suspects Rhode Island’s teachers, the majority of whom are women, don’t feel represented by a wealthy man who goes on television to insist that stay-at-home moms lose their identity unless they keep their mouths shut.
The reality is that most teachers in Rhode Island public schools still don’t know that they’re free to leave the union with absolutely no loss of contractual rights or protections. The unions lie to them about this. Unions also propagandize them with fear about what their profession would look like absent Bob Walsh’s advocacy.
So, they continue to accept an arrangement that subordinates them to a group of aggressive ideologues (who are mostly wealthy men, by the way). Naturally, the establishment, including the local news media, is just fine with that arrangement.
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Among the many mailing lists that send messages to my email account is one for the Providence College friars — the actual friars, that is — and this week, one of them sent a Thanksgiving message with an anecdote about a foreign novitiate. This newcomer to our country and to the religious order expressed surprise and admiration that our country sets aside a public day of thanksgiving to God.
Seeing the day through the young man’s eyes can be a bit startling for a born-and-raised American. Wait! That can’t be what the day is for, can it? Isn’t it really just a celebration of early settlers’ coming together with the indigenous people of the continent? Sure, they might have been offering thanks to God, but we’re recognizing them, not Him, right?
Well… not according to George Washington:
By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
We do well to reread this text as an antidote to the calls to transform Thanksgiving Day into yet another day of self-recrimination and penance for the sins of our ancestors of European origin.
The contrast with the proclamation of the current occupant of the White House is significant, even though he (surprisingly) resists ritual denunciation. Joe Biden lists various categories of people for whom “we” are to be grateful and then turns the spotlight on himself:
For the First Lady and me, Thanksgiving has always been a cherished time to enjoy annual traditions that have evolved into sacred rituals with our children and grandchildren: throwing the football, preparing family recipes, lighting candles, and setting the table.
We have gone from drawing from the sacred for our traditions to establishing traditions as sacred. That is, we derive profundity not from a power greater than us, but from the small things we do regularly.
One wonders whether it was the implicit secularization of the Thanksgiving Day that left it open to attack. After all, we can cease to dedicate Thanksgiving to God, but we still need something to celebrate, and if that something is a historical event or group of people or annual practice of our families, then we open the door to criticism of these things for their imperfect humanity.
Take special note of President Washington’s call to “beseech” God “to pardon our national and other transgressions.” Make what sacrifices we may to representatives of those against whom our nation has transgressed, nobody other than God is in a position to offer adequate forgiveness.
Featured image by Norman Rockwell on WikiArt.
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As I’ve thought about it, this morning’s post on New England governors’ poll results ended a bit short. I closed with a suggestion for Democrats, but what about Republicans?
Considering the huge jump of New England’s three Democrats from the bottom of the national list in 2019 to the top now, two possibilities come to mind, with both existing at the same time. In any case, the politicians, themselves can’t be the central target of a conservative opposition.
The first possibility is that their popularity right now, after harsh COVID restrictions, is real. In that case, persuading our neighbors has to be the core goal. Sometimes, making the people for whom they’re likely to vote look bad might help, but that hasn’t proven very effective in the Ocean State’s recent past. The cultural message that people are just supposed to vote for Democrats is too deeply ingrained. Thus, progressives can win by focusing on the corruption of establishment Democrats, but Republicans have a harder time of it.
The second possibility is that the Democrat governors’ ability to win office was strong even if their unpopularity in the past was real. That is a reflection of the opposition’s inability to produce a viable alternative. The internalized master lever that the electorate carries around in their minds is part of the problem, here. The incentive structure of state politics is another part, giving Republicans little reason to build careers in politics or jump into it midcareer.
And of course, part of the problem is that Republicans have lost the knack for finding, supporting, and unifying behind candidates.
A step-by-step plan for escaping this rut would be a massive undertaking, but the outlines of a solution are pretty clear. Conservatives need to develop a positive story and platform that can achieve buy-in throughout its big tent and motivate competent people to (1) get involved, (2) run for office, and (3) put aside their differences for the sake of working together.
Obviously, that’s easier said than done, but we have to start somewhere, and the best time to agree on core principles is with the very first one. The constant presence of New England’s Republican governors at the top of the national popularity list proves the possibility of success.
Featured image by Justin Katz.
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I’ve found it very strange. Simply, plainly things like “equity audits” in our public schools are exercises of critical race theory (CRT). It’s just a straightforward observation, as far as I can see.
Nonetheless, people will object, even people I thought were relatively conservative and relatively clear of thought. They’ll insist they are not the same, although they won’t explain where one ends and the other begins.
As far as I can tell, their attitude is essentially the same as claiming that a school that’s teaching children to differentiate shapes is not teaching geometry and, further, that teaching geometry is not teaching math. Mike LaChance points to a Christopher Rufo tweet of a video in which a CRT expert gives the game away. CRT is the “container” for all the anti-racist stuff:
[Open full post]LEAKED: CRT cofounder Kimberlé Crenshaw tells NEA president Becky Pringle that “critical race theory traditionally is a law school class,” but is “now the huge container for anti-racist work [and] anti-racist education” in K-12 schools—vindicating my reporting over the past year. pic.twitter.com/iessDqPY5v
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) November 23, 2021
Right from the beginning, an op-ed in the Boston Globe by RI Political Co-Op progressive candidate Lenny Cioe gives off warning signals:
In many neighborhoods near colleges like Providence College, Johnson and Wales, and Brown University, predatory real estate companies are jacking up rents and forcing out families in favor of high-paying students.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Significantly higher rents are threatening families in communities throughout Rhode Island.
Calling real estate companies “predatory” shouldn’t hide the underlying question that Cioe refuses to ask: Why are the landlords able to do this?
The basic economic concept is simple. In a given time and place, there is a price that somebody will pay for a product and there is a cost for which somebody can provide it. If the provider is satisfied with the profit between those numbers he or she will continue offering it. If the amount that people are willing to pay goes up and the profit grows, people who are doing other things to make money will shift to providing more of that product.
This makes the underlying problem in Providence crystal clear. More people want to live there than the city has adequate housing to satisfy. Therefore, the price that somebody is willing to pay goes up. Playing the class war card, as Cioe does, and pitting different groups of somebodies against each other is a distraction.
Either the city has to produce more housing, or it has to make fewer people want to live within its borders. But progressives don’t want more buildings to despoil the planet, and they don’t want people to move out of the cities for the same reason (and because they think people condensed into cities will be easier to control).
Refusing to pursue either of these solutions increases the value of land in the city, which means progressives must find some way to force other people to pay the difference, or they must bully landowners into pretending their property is less valuable than it is. Both of these solutions foster resentment and corruption, and nature (including human nature) will find a way.
Progressives can live in their fantasy world, where they are either insulated from reality or enjoy the cycle of feeding their delusions with the resentment that the fantasy generates. That’s no excuse for the rest of us; we have to make real, grown-up decisions.
Do we want to increase companies’ ability to build new housing within and around the city? Or do we want to make it easier for people to live and work nearby? Or do we want to find ways to make fewer people want to live in Providence and Rhode Island?
The worst thing we can do is continue sending the signal to people who consider investing in the city and state that the government might, any year now, define them as predators in the law as an excuse to steal the real value of their real estate.
Featured image by Justin Katz.
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Five days is a long time in the social media world, but this comment on the Rittenhouse verdict from progressive Democrat state senator for Providence Tiara Mack is worth memorializing:
THERE IS NO REST. We must all learn how white supremacy impacts everyone, including white people. We know our systems are broken and we must hold everyone accountable to change.
The vilification of “whiteness” is simply a negative god to the woke. It’s an article of pure faith, and every circumstance must be made to conform with it.
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