It's not elites vs. populists. It's cities vs. the countryside.

 

Across the West, from the U.K.'s Brexit to the rise of Donald Trump in the U.S., societies are dividing along similar fault lines. But we can't quite agree on how to describe it: Neoliberal centrists vs. antiliberal extremists? Elites vs. populists? Globalists vs. nationalists? The establishment vs. the working class?

Each of those dichotomies captures something about our present moment, but none of them gets at the fundamentals — the sociological core of what we're all living through, which is a growing socio-cultural chasm pitting the city and the countryside against each other.

In an important essay for The Washington Post, Will Wilkinson recently examined President Trump's consistent rhetorical hostility to cities and noted the salience of the urban-rural divide for understanding the outcome of the 2016 election. "The bigger, denser, and more diverse the city, the better Hillary Clinton did in November. But Trump prevailed everywhere else — in small cities, suburbs, exurbs, and beyond."

More @ The Week

The global elite are headed for a fall. And they don't even know it.

Via Billy

I pray.

The global elite think they're sitting pretty. How wrong they are.

Democrats keep telling themselves that Hillary Clinton "really" won the 2016 election (or would have, had it not been for interference by Vladimir Putin and James Comey). Republicans keep patting themselves on the back about how much power they now wield at all levels of government. And centrists throughout the West are breathing a sigh of relief about Emmanuel Macron's likely victory over the National Front's Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election on May 7.

You can almost hear the sentiments echoing down the corridors of (political and economic) power on both sides of the Atlantic: "There's nothing to worry about. Everything's fine. No need for serious soul searching or changes of direction. Sure, populism's a nuisance. But we're keeping it at bay. We just need to stay the course, fiddle around the edges a little bit, and certainly not give an inch to the racists and xenophobes who keep making trouble. We know how the world works, and we can handle the necessary fine tuning of the meritocracy. We got this."

More @ The Week

At 1 a.m. in the Morning With Snipers on the Roof

Via Billy

 

“I’m not sure what kind of message the rest of the world receives in the images of monuments being dismantled in darkness by masked men" 

Think your Southern culture, history, and heritage are not under attack, constant attack? If you don’t, then you really better wake up and smell the coffee.

Just take a look at what is going on in New Orleans right now in regard to Confederate and historical monuments. You are about to see a major exercise in cultural genocide. Hopefully you have been keeping an eye on what has been happening in New Orleans in the last year regarding Confederate monuments and other historical statues.

There has been a battle over these monuments–it’s been in the courts–and naturally the cultural Marxists won in the courts. With your culture under assault, did you actually think it would turn out any other way?

More @ Revised History

House seeks contempt charges against CEO who maintained Hillary Clinton’s secret email server

Via Billy

A House committee asked the Justice Department Thursday to pursue contempt of Congress charges against the head of the company that was responsible for handling Hillary Clinton’s controversial secret email server.

Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the Science Committee, said they repeatedly pushed for Platte river Networks to come clean and to produce documents detailing their handling of Mrs. Clinton’s server, but company CEO Treve Suazo misled them.

“Platte River Networks, a company hired by former Secretary Hillary Clinton, has deliberately withheld requested materials from the committee and refused to comply with lawfully issued subpoenas,” Mr. Smith said. “With a new administration in place, I am hopeful that the Department of Justice will appropriately respond to the referral. We cannot allow companies with valuable information to stonewall us in our oversight efforts.”

More @ The Washington Times

Border Patrol Chief on Trump Wall: We Won't Support Trump if Wall Is Not Built

Via Billy

President of Austria: "The day will come when we will have to ask ALL women to wear a headscarf!"

Via Billy

"Who Was Planning to Attack Whom in June 1941, Hitler or Stalin?”

Via Nancy

 

Inconvenient History

Scorched Earth: The Soviet Concentration of Troops

Viktor Suvorov (pseudonym) elaborated on the 1939 Soviet concentration of troops at the border with Germany: He used to work for the Joint Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. As a high-ranking officer of the Soviet military secret service GRU, he was active as a Soviet diplomat in  Western Europe. In 1978, he asked for political asylum in Great Britain. He called Hitler a rabid dog, a cannibal and a criminal. (I mention this only to show what his sympathies in fact are.)

Still, he is the author of the article "Who Was Planning to Attack Whom in June 1941, Hitler or Stalin?," Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (RUSI), London, June 1985, pp. 50-55[36] and the book Ice-Breaker: Who Started the Second World War?. London:

Hamish Hamilton, 1990 (Russian: LEDOKOI: Istorija tak nazyvaemoj «velikoj otečestvennoj vojny» Kratij kurs.)

Excerpts from "Who Was Planning to Attack Whom in June 1941, Hitler or Stalin?":

p. 52: "'There were in fact 170 divisions in the 1st Strategic Echelon. Of these, 56 were already deployed directly on the frontier,'[37] 114 were deployed further back in the frontier zone, but: 'On 12-15 June the order was given to the western military districts: all divisions stationed in the interior [of those military districts] are to be moved nearer to the state frontier'.[38] The entire 1st Strategic Echelon now began its concentration directly in the border belt. To these 114 must be added the 69 divisions of 2nd Strategic Echelon which had either moved already or were preparing to do so. Thus, on the day of the famous TASS communique, the movement of 183 divisions was in train; the biggest troop movement by a single state in the history of civilisation; a movement right to the frontier itself and conducted with maximum secrecy and concealment."

p. 53: "But this explanation is not borne out by the facts. Troops preparing for defence bury themselves in the ground, dig trenches and anti-tank ditches, construct cover and barbed wire barricades. In the first instance this is done in the most likely avenues of enemy advance, across roads and behind river lines. But the Red Army did nothing of the kind. As has been recorded earlier, divisions were hidden in woods near the frontier in exactly the same way as were the German divisions before they made their surprise attack. 'The rifle troops could have occupied and completed defensive installations, but this was not done'."[39

"This failure to erect defensive works is all the more curious since, with the signing of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Treaty and the subsequent "partition" of Poland between the two states, Soviet and German forces now confronted each other across a common frontier with no "buffer state" between them. Moreover, while common prudence might have dictated the strengthening or at least the retention of the Stalin Line fortification along the old frontier, the opposite was happening. This powerful protective system was dismantled and, in many places blown up or earthed over; minefields were disarmed and over a distance of thousands of kilometres 'the barbed wire had been removed'.[40] Partisan detachments which had been created in case these lands were occupied by the enemy, were disbanded;[41] explosive charges were removed from thousands of bridges, railway stations and industrial complexes which had been prepared for destruction in case of invasion. In short, colossal efforts were made to destroy everything connected with defence.[42] At the same time, while prior to the treaty's signature only divisions and corps had existed in the Soviet frontier districts, formed armies now began to assemble in the newly extended border zone. Between August 1939 and April 1941, the number of armies on the Soviet Western border increased from zero to 11. Three more joined them during May together with five airborne corps. If Hitler had not attacked first, Stalin would have had 23 armies and more than 20 independent corps facing him. This took place before general mobilisation."

p. 54: "The 1st Strategic Echelon which was forming up on the Soviet border in June 1941 was, by virtue of its organisational structure, deployment and military preparedness, clearly offensive in nature. So too was the 2nd Strategic Echelon which began its secret movement towards the German frontier on 13 June 194 1. Many Soviet marshals and generals do not acknowledge these facts directly and, of course, both echelons were overwhelmed in the German surprise attack and had perforce to fight defensively."

"It seems certain that the Soviet concentration on the frontier was due to be completed by 10 July.[43] Thus, the German blow which fell just 19 days earlier found the Red Army in a most unfavourable situation – in railway wagons […and] stuck helpless in open fields."

"The more closely one studies Stalin's actions during this critical period the more apparent it becomes that they were not a reaction to Hitler's moves.[44] Stalin acted according to his own plans, and these foresaw a full concentration of Soviet troops on the frontier by 10 July."

"Certain conclusions are incontrovertible. First, the mobilised divisions could not have returned to the distant districts from whence they came. Such a move again would have absorbed the entire resources of the rail network for many months and would have resulted in economic catastrophe. Secondly, these gigantic forces could not have been left to spend the winter where they were hidden. So many new divisions had been created and assembled in the frontal belt that many of them had already had to spend the winter of 1940-41 in dugouts.[45] As early as 1940 there had been insufficient training centres and artillery and rifle ranges in the newly-acquired western frontier zone even for the existing divisions.[46] Troops who cannot train rapidly lose the capacity to fight."

"In every major human complex endeavour there exists a critical moment at which events reach a point of no return. This moment for the Soviet Union fell 13 June 1941. After that day, masses of Soviet troops were secretly but inexorably moving towards the German border. Once 13 June had passed the Soviet leadership could no longer turn these troops back nor even halt them, for economic and military reasons. War became inevitable for the Soviet Union, irrespective of how Hitler might have acted. Finally, the composition and disposition of the forces in the frontier zone did not indicate that they were intended to remain there. Such features as the airborne corps in the first crust of the 'defences,' artillery units in the forward locations, the dismantling of the Stalin Line and the absence of any defence in depth or effort to construct one, do not point to the intention of maintaining any permanent defensive position along the border. If all this is viewed in the context of the Zhukov doctrinal framework outlined earlier, then it becomes clear that the only credible military intention which Stalin could have had was to begin the war himself in the summer of 1941."

Patriot Nurse: Are YOU Prepared for Neo-Bolsheviks and the Armed Left?

Via Iver

P-40 Pilots at Pearl Harbor

Via Cousin Bill

Vietnam: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette "Vault Find" // The Keith and Matt Litavsky Story // Mecum Indy 2017

16th Century Map Challenges Current Knowledge of History

Via Billy

Roy Moore running for Senate, resigns from Supreme Court to challenge Luther Strange

Via Billy

Roy Moore today announced he is resigning from his position as the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court to run for the United States Senate.

"I'll stand for the rights and liberties of the people," Moore announced to cheering supporters and to reporters gathered at the State Capitol.

"My position has always been God first, family then country," Moore said. "I share the vision of President Donald Trump to make America great again," Moore said.

He later added, "Before we can make America great again, we've got to make America good again."

More @ AL

Exclusive interview: Trump 'absolutely' looking at breaking up 9th Circuit

Via Billy

President Trump said Wednesday that he has "absolutely" considered proposals that would split up the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where judges have blocked two of his executive actions.

"Absolutely, I have," Trump said of considering 9th Circuit breakup proposals during a far-ranging interview with the Washington Examiner at the White House. "There are many people that want to break up the 9th Circuit. It's outrageous."

More @ Washington Examiner

Freedom Caucus endorses revised ObamaCare bill

Via Billy

The House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday announced it will back the GOP's healthcare plan now that an amendment allowing states to opt out of key ObamaCare rules is included.

The group of roughly 30 hard-line conservatives held out for weeks, scuttling a planned House vote on the bill last month after it became clear there was't enough Republican support to pass it.

The group said it sees the new amendment, brokered by Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and centrist Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), as the best option short of fully repealing the 2010 law.

More @ The Hill

Trump tells Canada, Mexico, he won't terminate NAFTA treaty yet

Via Billy

U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, a White House statement said.

The announcement came after White House officials disclosed that Trump and his advisers had been considering issuing an executive order to withdraw the United States from the trade pact with Canada and Mexico, one of the world's biggest trading blocs.

The White House said Trump spoke by telephone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and that he would hold back from a speedy termination of NAFTA, in what was described as a "pleasant and productive" conversation.

                                                                      More @ Reuters

Senior White House Official Says Military Preparations Are Underway Regarding North Korea

Via Billy

A senior administration official said military preparations are underway in the chance that they become necessary regarding North Korea.

All 100 senators were invited to attend a rare, closed-door briefing by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis at the White House Wednesday so the administration could communicate “the seriousness of the threat posed by North Korea.” An official who briefed reporters next door while it was underway said North Korea is a “brutal, unpredictable and capable regime that possesses an increasing possibility of destruction.”

“What you’ve seen is a really integrated effort to prioritize diplomatic and informational aspects of national power, but also what you will see soon is using the economic dimension of national power, as well as the military preparations that are underway,” the official said.

More @ The Daily Caller

Freedom Watch to sue Univ. Of California At Berkeley And Co-conspirators For Violent Attacks On Conservatives

Via Billy

Judge Napolitano: "We Are in Danger of Losing Free Speech" after Berkeley Travesty

Via Billy

Korea, Asia's Great Cultural And Political Conundrum

Via Joe

North Korea and its petty, murderous, emotionally stunted and gravitationally challenged tyrant has been busy of late playing the old family game. Threatening everyone around in hopes of securing tribute in the form of free food from the West and cut rate oil and coal from China to keep the neighborhood bully from acting even crazier.

Unfortunately this third generation egomaniacal fool is not content with digging tunnels under the DMZ, blasting propaganda over loudspeakers, assassinating troublesome relatives or executing military officers with anti-aircraft artillery.

He has chosen instead escalate into the madness of combining a total absence of morality with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles thinking the world will simply respond with more tribute.

More @ Joe Martin's Ghost

Neanderthals in California? Maybe so, provocative study says

Via comment by Weaver on 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed

 

 A startling new report asserts that the first known Americans arrived much, much earlier than scientists thought — more than 100,000 years ago __ and maybe they were Neanderthals.

If true, the finding would far surpass the widely accepted date of about 15,000 years ago.

Researchers say a site in Southern California shows evidence of humanlike behavior from about 130,000 years ago, when bones and teeth of an elephantlike mastodon were evidently smashed with rocks.

The earlier date means the bone-smashers were not necessarily members of our own species, Homo sapiens. The researchers speculate that these early Californians could have instead been species known only from fossils in Europe, Africa and Asia: Neanderthals, a little-known group called Denisovans, or another human forerunner named Homo erectus.

"The very honest answer is, we don't know," said Steven Holen, lead author of the paper and director of the nonprofit Center for American Paleolithic Research in Hot Springs, South Dakota. No remains of any individuals were found.

Whoever they were, they could have arrived by land or sea.

More @ AP

Trump to pull feds out of K-12 education

Via Frank

President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to start pulling the federal government out of K-12 education, following through on a campaign promise to return school control to state and local officials.

The order, dubbed the “Education Federalism Executive Order,” will launch a 300-day review of Obama-era regulations and guidance for school districts and directs Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to modify or repeal measures she deems an overreach by the federal government.

“For too long the government has imposed its will on state and local governments. The result has been education that spends more and achieves far, far, far less,” Mr. Trump said. “My administration has been working to reverse this federal power grab and give power back to families, cities [and] states — give power back to localities.”

More @ The Washington Times