Category: 47

If America & Europe Lived in the Same Town

47 Historical Events 45 Comments

I’ve been carefully watching a lot of British & European reaction to what happened at Davos this past week. The arrogance of most of it is very instructional.

If Europe and America were neighbors in the same town, here’s a good metaphor:

The Americans would be the average blue collar townsfolk, toiling away at their jobs, paying their taxes, and not expecting a whole lot in return from their government, other than to be left alone to live their lives.

The Europeans would be an old aristocratic family living in a posh, but not well kept up mansion on the edge of town. Over the years, these folks had stopped paying their fair share of taxes, stopped volunteering, stopped helping in any meaningful way, yet fully expecting their “lesser” neighbors to do everything for them.

When the American neighbors finally said enough is enough, the Europeans would be outraged, cry victim, and do everything they could to coerce the Americans to return back to paying for their lifestyle.

P.S. I’m not sure how Canada fits into this metaphor, but am open to suggestions.

In the Mail

47 Baiting The Left 69 Comments

I received a rather bizarre message from an acquaintance of mine in the Czech Republic. He considers himself to be very well informed. Here’s what he wrote:

Hey, Robert. I need to ask you a question. You’ll always be my great friend no matter what. But I’m just curious how you feel about this now.

I’m obviously talking about your clown president. I think you’ve been a supporter of him in the past, right?

As a man who has roots in Europe & lived a large part of your life in Canada, how it sounds to you what Trump says about US friends and how he treats Canada, Greenland and Europe?

Talking about annexation of Canada, about invading Greenland etc.

Continue reading →

“If you cannot defend yourself, then how can you possibly defend Greenland?”

47 Art Of The Deal 114 Comments

At Conservative Treehouse;

What most people don’t understand about the strategically worded letter to Norway’s leftist Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, is how President Trump has just framed Støre as the defacto head of Brussels, representing the interests of the EU toward the framework of Greenland.

It’s not about the Nobel Peace Prize; it’s something far bigger. President Trump did not initiate contact with PM Støre; the contact was first made by Støre calling President Trump to notify him that their position was to defend Greenland against any threat from a non-NATO nation. President Trump asked how Norway was going to secure that pledge and Støre had no response.

The days of US taxpayers paying to defend territories that others extract wealth from seem numbered.

It’s ridiculous that Europe was more than happy to accept 81 years of free-of-charge American security guarantees, but the moment the United States needs land to maintain that protection, the answer suddenly becomes no.

New Rules

47 Frankly, My Dear Freespeechers 22 Comments

@HansMahncke


This is remarkable to watch on multiple levels. There is the diplomatic dimension, where an American Under Secretary of State is not supposed to call a spade a spade. But when the people demanding deference to those outdated conventions are the very same elites who fear their own citizens and suppress them through increasingly tyrannical censorship, they have forfeited any claim to courtesy. You can almost picture German elites getting whiplash just from reading it.

Then there is the tactical side of it. Sarah Rodgers knows perfectly well that what she is saying is not permitted speech in Germany. That is precisely why she says it so bluntly and forcefully, almost daring the German government to react. The point is the opposite of subtle persuasion (that did not work). Instead, she’s inviting the German government to lash out at her, which would make their repression even more visible and self-incriminating.

There is also a deeper historical message embedded in this. The United States did not sacrifice blood and treasure to liberate Germany after World War II so that it could quietly slide back into old authoritarian habits under a different pretext. And if it insists on doing so, it should not assume American indulgence or silence. That era is over.

Tax Trouble

47 Art Of The Deal Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing 8 Comments

If the US is going to eliminate income taxes or fund all the things that the administration is proposing, the revenue stream seems to be going in the wrong direction. What’s more is that reliance on tariffs for tax revenue offers a very obvious escape route: if you can produce something with inputs sourced solely in the US, you don’t pay tariffs at all. As that option broadens, tax revenue will logically go down, not up.

The release brings the total revenue collected in 2025 to $264.05 billion. It’s a historically high annual total — but also the second straight monthly decline after Trump dialed back key tariffs last November.

The peak for the year was October’s monthly haul of $31.35 billion. The first decline then came in November, with $30.76 billion in customs duties collected that month.

Is Our Diversities Learing?

47 More Pavilions At Folkfest New Rules 15 Comments

Conservative Treehouse;

In a remarkable approach, Secretary Bessent announced during a Fox News interview that a regional targeting effort is now underway that will block anyone who receives public assistance from sending money overseas (remittances to foreign countries). This is not a fee or tax on the remittance, or financial transaction; this is a complete block of their ability to send money overseas. Anyone receiving public assistance will not be able to send money to foreign lands.

Yes, it seems like this is initially going to be subject to the honest admission of the money sender. However, with the IRS reviewing each transfer and cross referencing to public assistance records anyone who attempts to work around this regulation will be subject to federal laws on financial fraud, wire service fraud and potentially money laundering.

The interagency focus will eventually go nationwide, as with the new USAO position that focuses on public assistance fraud; but for now, that focused effort will target Minnesota. Minneapolis will be the beta test for a national rollout.

Regime Unchanged?

47 Art Of The Deal It's Probably Nothing 40 Comments

Any predictions as to where this is all headed? The top guy got switched out, but other than that the same gang appears to still be in control.

While Machado is a “nice woman,” she lacks support and respect inside Venezuela, Trump said Saturday in a news conference to discuss the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces. “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” he said. Instead, he said the US plans to work with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s second-in-command.

Pave The Swamp

47 Drain The Swamp 6 Comments

Kash Patel announces closure of FBI HQ Hoover building;

“When we arrived, taxpayers were about to be on the hook for nearly $5 billion for a new headquarters that wouldn’t open until 2035. We scrapped that plan. Instead, we selected the already-existing Reagan Building, saving billions and allowing the transition to begin immediately with required safety and infrastructure upgrades already underway. Once complete, most of the HQ FBI workforce will move in, and the rest are continuing in our ongoing push to put more manpower in the field, where they will remain,” he continued.

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