Lecture One: “Why Study the Classics?” -- Athens and Sparta -- 25 Minutes

 

The histories of Athens and Sparta—the most dominant cities of classical Greece—are of vital importance to understanding the story of Western Civilization. In Athens, great thinkers such as Plato examined universal philosophical questions. In Sparta, the martial virtues, including the virtue of courage, were mastered. A careful study of these two cities reveals timeless lessons about human nature and human conflict.

More @ Hillsdale College

Is the Confederacy Obsolete?

 

This article was originally published in Southern Partisan magazine in 1994.

The past—what we believe happened and what we think it means—can be a very slippery customer. Even the recent past can be elusive. In the early 1950s, when I was a student at Johns Hopkins, C. Vann Woodward gave an amusing but provocative talk called “Can We Believe Our History?” He pointed out that what we think we know was true can very suddenly seem to have been not true after all. For example, he reminded us that during the Second World War, then just a few years in the past, Americans knew that the Japanese were Oriental monsters of unspeakable brutality, whereas the Chinese were our little brown brothers. Yet very quickly all that changed. In the wake of the Communists’ victory in China and Chinese intervention in the Korean War, the Chinese became Oriental monsters of unspeakable brutality and the Japanese were now our little brown brothers.

More @ The Abbeville Institute

Freedom Caucus member calls for Robert Mueller to recuse himself from Russia probe

Via Billy

A freshman member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus is calling for special counsel Robert Mueller to recuse himself from the Russia investigation because he has brought on "highly partisan" lawyers to help with the probe.

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller should recuse himself because the integrity of his appointment is in question due to former FBI Director James Comey's manipulative leaks and the relationship between Mr. Comey and Mr. Mueller," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said in a statement Friday. "His ability to be impartial is doubtful because he has surrounded himself with highly partisan lawyers who make a special practice to line the coffers of Democrats."

News outlets have reported at least three lawyers Mueller has hired to help conduct his investigation have donated almost exclusively to Democrats. Also, Mueller and Comey are friends and former colleagues.

More @ Washington Examiner

MSM Caught Lying AGAIN Claims That Anti-Trump Propaganda Group Are Neo-Nazi Fighters

Via Billy

Surprise, surprise surprise SGT. Carter....

On January 13, 2017, Homeland Security announced grants made by the outgoing, Obama-led, Homeland administration in an effort to focus its attention on countering radical Islam.

One of the groups was “Life After Hate”.

The outgoing Obama administration awarded Life After Hate $400,000. All they do is bash Trump and push anti-#MAGA propaganda.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported:

“The chairman of Life After Hate, Christian Picciolini, has published tweets for months calling for the Trump administration to be overthrown.

In light of his group receiving $400,000 this year from Homeland and the current Homeland administration reevaluating such grants, these treasonous tweets by Mr. Picciolini are significant.”

More @ The Gateway Pundit

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Turns Against Party, Reveals Obama DHS Chief Was Lying Under Oath

Via Billy

Interesting, to say the least.

On Thursday, Debbie Wasserman Schultz put out a statement disputing former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson’s testimony that the DNC refused help to protect its network despite receiving warnings about a hack.

Both Jeh Johnson and former FBI Director James Comey both testified that the DNC refused to turn over the server so that they could examine it and investigate the hack.

But Wassermann Schultz’s statement disputed that, saying that they had never contacted her, seemingly directly contradicting their testimony.

On Thursday afternoon, Wasserman Schultz doubled down and gave an interview where she ripped the FBI and the DHS for doing nothing to help the DNC.

More @ Young Conservatives

EXPERIMENT: I sank four ammo cans full of ammunition to the bottom of a pond for one year… here’s what happened when I opened them

Via 4Branch

I just ruined over a thousand rounds of ammo to find out which ammo storage containers really work in harsh environments. A little over a year ago, I sank four ammo containers full of ammunition to the bottom of a muddy pond. Two of the ammo storage containers were made out of a rugged poly material, and two of the containers were common mil-spec steel cans used for storing .50 ammo or .30 ammo. All of the containers had rubber gaskets.

More with videos @ Natural News

Record Label Drops Band Over Its ‘Ugly Opinions’ on Safe Spaces, Feminism and Immigration

Via Billy

A record label has dropped the band Dream Machine after two of its members were caught expressing “ugly opinions” about political correctness, safe spaces, feminism and immigration.

In a Facebook statement yesterday, Castle Face Records criticized comments that musician couple Doris and Matthew Melton made during an interview with the French publication Still in Rock. While the California-based record label can’t pull the album it released in May, it vowed to donate profits from sales to charity.

“We’re horrified and ashamed by this, and we appreciate people being upset but respectful in letting us know how they felt about it,” the record label posted on Facebook. (Get your thumb out of your ass) 

More @ HeatStreet

Is America Really Coming Apart? "Surely divorce, in whole or in part, is better than an abusive marriage."

Via Billy

A new Rasmussen poll reports that a majority of voters think so, and it certainly feels that way. Since Donald Trump’s election in November, the pace and intensity of deeply divisive rhetoric has accelerated. Antifa and the Alt-Right are literally fighting in the streets. Combative talking heads on cable news, vicious social media exchanges, riots at universities, a bitter special election in Georgia, and even the shooting of a congressman have both sides rethinking the entire political process and talking about abandoning the “rule of law.”

It is an uneasy time, a time for hard questions. Can politics really provide a solution to our problems, or is it the cause? Should we still abide by democratic processes when a significant portion of the country is enraged by the outcome? What if voting and elections simply weren’t anymore? These are the questions we need to ask and answer honestly.

More @ The Daily Caller

Grassley Drops Bomb on Senate Floor: Dem Leaders Knew Trump Wasn’t Under Investigation, but Lied to Public About It Anyway

Via Billy

Back in the middle of May, when former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, there was an interesting interaction during the questioning from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

Grassley said at that time that if President Donald Trump was not under investigation that Comey should make that public as it was wrong to imply he was under investigation if he was not, that it was harmful and divisive for America.

Reading between the lines, it was very clear that Grassley had been told by Comey that Trump was not under investigation.

Comey, of course, failed to take his advice, perhaps putting the nail in Comey’s ability to remain as FBI Director. Had he done so, perhaps none of what followed would have happened.

Grassley said on Thursday that this failure to tell the public harmed America and actually served Russia’s purpose.

More @ Young Conservatives

ISIS female enforcer dubbed 'crocodile jaws' for biting women who break the terror group's 'modesty code' has her teeth smashed by vigilantes in Iraq

Via Billy

Woman ambushed outside her home in Hawija, Kirkuk by unknown attackers
Source said she had bitten 'more than 200 women' who violated modesty code
ISIS has controlled the area since 2014, when it declared a caliphate from Mosul.

                                                             More @ Daily Mail

IMPORTANT RELAYED MESSAGE FROM VFW

Via John

Comrades in Arms:

The reason I'm relaying this e-mail message from the Veterans of Foreign Wars is to alert my fellow veterans of the need for verification of their military service, in order to be eligible to use the Post Exchange (i.e., or "Base Exchange" for Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps veterans) on the Internet when it becomes available to us on and after this coming Veterans Day, Saturday 11 November 2017.

To read this relayed message from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, please scroll down the page and click on the words, "SHOW ORIGINAL MESSAGE".  

I just now obtained my service verification, as the process took only mere seconds to complete.

So, just click on the link provided, which is this URL:

https://www.vetverify.org/

Please consider sharing this message with other military veterans with whom you are acquainted and/or related.

Thank you.

 

At Your Service,

 

John Robert Mallernee, Esquire, KB3KWS

Disabled War Veteran, United States Army

Ashley Valley Shadows

Vernal, Utah  84078

Voice Mail:   1-202-355-8710

Land Line:   1-435-781-6539 

Betrayal

 

  Sangre de Cristo Sentinel

Custer County, CO has long been a beacon of liberty in this country, not just Colorado, because the citizens there have taken back their own liberty, have established that crucial cooperation between armed citizens and law enforcement, have realigned their county commission to reflect their political views and have established their own rival "conservative" newspaper to speak to the majority. All of this in a town of about 800 people.

Custer Country, is, in a lot of ways, a model of what should be taking place across the nation. We all know that the local papers pursue a liberal agenda, even if they are deep in conservative territory. I imagine they believe themselves the agents of illumination in the darkened areas of rural America.

Or, they are simply evil collectivists pursuing their agenda in an attempt to eradicate any tendency toward capitalism, freedom and self-determination. It doesn't matter what motivates them, the result is the same.

More @ Christian Mercenary

Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz to file James Comey complaint early as next week

Via Billy

President Trump's legal team plans to file its complaint against former FBI Director James Comey with the Justice Department inspector general and the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as next week.

A source close to Trump outside counsel Marc Kasowitz's team said they are "looking toward next week" to file the complaint. Lawyers are working to make sure the submissions are "thorough and complete," the source told the Washington Examiner on Friday.

Trump's legal team began planning to file a complaint against Comey after his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month.

More @ Washington Examiner

Voters grow weary of Russia probes

Via Billy

 

A majority of voters believe the Russia investigations are damaging to the country and are eager to see Congress shift its focus to healthcare, terrorism, national security, the economy and jobs.

Those are the findings of the latest Harvard-Harris Poll survey, provided exclusively to The Hill, which paints a complicated picture of voters’ opinions about the numerous probes that have engulfed the White House.

Sixty-four percent of voters said the investigations into President Trump and Russia are hurting the country. Fifty-six percent of voters said it’s time for Congress and the media to move on to other issues, compared to 44 percent who said the focus should stay on Russia.

More @ The Hill

Being Hated By Mainstream Media is the Best Career Boost You Can Get

Via Billy

Got a flagging career that’s in need of a turbo boost?

From the leader of the UK’s Labour Party to the most-hated of far-right provocateurs in America, it seems there’s a failsafe route to success.

These days, there’s no quicker way to fame, fortune and public notoriety than for the MSM to declare war on you.

Not only are the days when tabloid front pages and prime-time news slots were kingmakers gone, now the public is increasingly doing the precise opposite to what the media tells it.

More @ HeatStreet

Rand Paul: Lasik surgery shows health prices fall when consumers can shop

Via Billy

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Friday that one key element that needs to be included in the Senate healthcare bill is a connection between consumers and healthcare providers.

Paul is one of four Republicans who have said he can't support the bill, in part because it doesn't do enough to lower prices for consumers.

He also said the way people shop for Lasik eye surgery is a good example of how prices can drop when consumers are more involved.

"The reason capitalism doesn't work in healthcare is the consumer is disconnected from the product," Paul said on MSNBC. "Consumers do not make decisions based on price in healthcare, except for a few exceptions."

"Lasik surgery, when you want to get surgery to get rid of glasses, everybody asks the price," said Paul, an eye surgeon. "The average consumer calls four different doctors. It's a very sophisticated laser, million dollar laser, and yet the price has gone down by three-quarters over 15 years."

More @ Washington Examiner

Vision for VA: Fewer maternity services and cancer docs, more private care options

 

Future Veterans Affairs clinics could feature fewer maternity services, fewer cancer specialists and more reliance on private-sector clinics for routine or non-military care, under Secretary David Shulkin’s vision for the department.  

But he insists that doesn’t amount to privatization of VA’s responsibilities.

“I am interested in building world-class services in things I know the veterans of this country must rely upon us for,” he told reporters at a roundtable event Tuesday morning. “I’m not interested in building world-class services that already exist.”

“We don’t have enough resources to do everything. So let’s build an integrated system that relies on what already exists in the private sector with what needs to be enhanced in the VA.”

For months, Shulkin and top congressional Republicans have insisted that criticisms their plans would “privatize” VA services are unfounded, and that the $180 billion-plus department will not be slowly dismantled in favor of commercial medical options.

More @ Military Times