Miscellaneous

A Convention of States was held in Phoenix in 2017.  It was the first such gathering since the Nashville Convention of 1850.  Eighteen states sent fully accredited commissioners, appointed jointly by their legislative leadership, and three additional states were represented.

82 delegates from the eighteen states met, in full session and in committees, over three hot September days.  Rep. Kelly Townsend of Arizona was elected chair.  A set of rules was adopted, and recommended to any future Convention.  A committee for communication was established, and the Convention adjourned.

I was there, representing the Alaska State Senate.  While the accomplishment of the Phoenix Convention was only procedural, it was counted a great success by all who attended.  While the scope of the Convention was limited to procedure, there is no reason a second such Convention cannot deal with substance.

The question at hand is what, if anything, do the state legislators of this country want to do with their Article V power?

Whatever they propose, it must be bipartisan.  Article V isn’t designed to work except as a bipartisan mechanism.

There are five blue states, including California, that have recently passed Article V Resolutions.  It’s possible some of these states would be interested in meeting their Republican counterparts to discuss Article V.  There may be common ground, such as term limits on Supreme Court Justices.

The Phoenix delegates, if I read them correctly, would be glad to go to another, more substantive, Convention.  I hope they get the chance.

The yellow jacket protests in France are the latest foreign manifestation of the frustrations and anger of the American Tea Party which began in 2009, and ultimately led to Trump’s election.  It’s a  reaction to the excesses of the globalist elite.  It’s sweeping Europe, with the British Brexiteers, the Italians, Spanish and east Europeans.  The world as we’ve known it is coming apart.

I believe none of this could have happened without the internet.  It’s as revolutionary as the introduction of the printing press.

That event led to the breakup of Christendom into multiple sects, religious wars, the sudden advance of science, the industrial revolution, the emergence of Europe as the undisputed master of the world, the voyages of discovery and the settlement of the New World.  In other words, the modern world.

That world is in political crisis, a demographic crisis, and a financial crisis.

I don’t know how the rest of the world will do, but the United States is going to come out of this time of troubles stronger than ever.  I hope the Brits and the rest of the Anglosphere, along with the Japanese, figure that out, and hitch their wagon to the good old USA.  It will be in their best interest.  They all want our oil, and we’ve got a lot to share.

With its oil, the Anglosphere, and Japan don’t have any geopolitical worries.  Even if the other major world powers, Europe, Russia and China, are aligned against us, it won’t matter.  The American alliance is that of maritime nations, several of which are abundant in resources.  We will fight no land wars, but we will rule the sea, and international commerce will take place with our permission.

The rest of the world, land locked, is in for dangerous times.  I wish them well.

My mother, Harriet Louise “Rama” Pettyjohn (!922-2018) passed away a couple days ago, peacefully.  Her mind was good til the end.  As she was being settled into her final  hospital room she told the nurses that her son was a Senator.  She was devout, and firmly believed her mother and sisters waited for her in heaven.

A few days ago my youngest son, Darren, was out from Montana, and he introduced his wife Colleen and their nine month old boy, Hawksley James Pettyjohn, to his grandmother.  It was as though the circle was now whole, and she could go in peace.

The Chinese are going to blink.  Everybody in this country knows they are thieves, and no one defends them.  They can’t wait out Trump.  He’s probably got six mote years, and I’ve yet to hear any Democrat defend the Chinese.  They have no better friend than Trump, because they don’t have any friends.

At this point in their history, they’re not strong enough to  challenge us militarily.  The U. S.  Navy rules the Pacific, and everything that touches it is vulnerable to it.

Trump has established that he’s a wild man, liable to do damn near anything.  When he threatens the Chinese, they take him seriously.  On the other hand, they may think they can trust him.  So I think a deal gets done.

China is in this for the long haul.  This will slow them down a little, but it won’t stop them.  If their return to hegemony in East Asia must be the work of generations, so be it.  Their grievances against the West go back two hundred years.  They are a patient people.

This is a greater accomplishment than Nixon’s trip to China.  That was an obvious move, that any President would have taken once we got out of Vietnam.  What Trump is doing is far more impressive.  By sheer force of will, and the application of high intelligence, he’s done what no President has done in thirty years.  He stood up to China.

It’s worth a couple Nobel Peace Prizes, one for Trump and one for Xi.

Does this sound familiar?  A centrist Democrat beats back a leftist to win the Democratic presidential nomination.  The Democratic candidate loses the election to a Republican most people don’t like.  The leftist Democrats then take over the party organization, and amend the rules to ensure a centrist won’t win the presidential nomination again.

It was 1968, the Democrat was Humphrey, and the Republican was Nixon.  The leftist Democrats were led  by Bobby Kennedy until he was killed.  The leftists then coalesced behind George McGovern.  He led the effort to amend the rules, and was rewarded by the 1972 presidential nomination.  He was so far left he lost one of the great landslides in American history.

Now, of course, the centrist Democrat was Clinton, and the leftist leader who lost the nomination was Bernie Sanders.  The Sanders wing of the party has taken control of it, and has changed the rules, ensuring that no centrist can win the 2020 nomination.  All that remains to be seen is who the next George McGovern is.

To win the hearts of the hard left you must be pure, you must let no one get to your left.   It will be a stampede to socialism, and whoever wins will be an extremist.

That’s why Trump gets a second term.  His first opponent was the most unpopular nominee ever.  His second will be the most far left wing in American history.

The Good Lord has been kind to the political career of Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton lost to the of the most unpopular Presidential candidates in our history.  She was only able to pull that off because she was more unpopular than he was.  And the D’s are going to give her a second chance?

No, she’s milking her potential candidacy for just a little more grift.  The Clintons have been doing this for 30 years.  It’s hard to give up.

We can all thank God that Chelsea Clinton is such a schlub.  If she were at all attractive she’d be groomed for another generation of the family money grubbing.

Since all we’re going to get out of Congress for the next few years is partisan warfare, the place to look for fun will be the crowded Democratic presidential primary.  Since none of them stand out, they all have a shot.  In early 1972 Sen. George McGovern (of South Dakota!) was at 2% in the polls.  Anything can happen.  Someone could have a Spartacus moment.

The energy is all on the hard left, so that’s where the competition will be.  There could be more than a dozen serious candidates.  How do they distinguish themselves?  They’ll be catering to the most extremist wing of the party.  It will force them into indefensible positions, which the eventual nominee will have as a burden in the general.

Odds are, Trump gets a second term.