THE WHACKO LEFT WING IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY

   So President Trump has announced that, due to continual failure to act on border security, a State of National Emergency will have to be invoked. The far-out whacko Left Wing---as is usual for them---is condemning the action without the slightest idea of what they are protesting against or why. 

   In the first place, our Constitution grants the President this right of unilateral action in certain circumstances. George Washington invoked that option twice during the 1790's. Once to put down the Whiskey Rebellion (an armed tax revolt); and again to suppress the Shawnee Indians who were committing border depredations in violation of treaties with them. Other Presidents have used it since, but controversies surrounding its use were settled with the National Emergencies Act, signed into law by President Ford in 1976. Since then, the Act has been invoked 59 times; 31 of which are still in force from previous administrations. Few people probably know, for example, that the current restrictions on dealing with Iran stem from a National Emergency declared by President Carter in 1979: the longest-standing such declaration still extant. 

     Barack Obama issued 11 Emergency Decrees---10 of which are still active. The current one, dealing with border security, is Trump's fourth invocation of the Act. So where was all the outcry during the last decade about supposed usurpation of power? 

     This State of Emergency has been necessitated by the actions and activities of the Left. Fake 'caravans'---funded by George Soros and other international crooks---lie perched at our border for the purpose of inciting political divisions and destabilizing both the American and Mexican Governments. Porous borders facilitate the international traffic in narcotics, weapons, and White Slavery in which such criminals are engaged. We saw the complicity of the Democrats in these activities all throughout the Deep State Era and during Obama's term in particular. The Pivot to Asia; the Arab Spring; the Fat Leonard Scandal; the Maidan; Operation Fast and Furious---these were all geared to open international corridors for the Black Market. 

      Within our own country, too, the Democrats have sought to create 'sanctuaries' for criminal enterprises like MS-13 to operate at will. The problem runs much deeper than genuinely xenophobic and anti-Catholic elements among the Alt-RINOs and fake conservatives would have us believe. Those 'borders-language-culture' types play into the hands of the Radical Left. Securing our borders is---or should be---the beginning and not the end of long-overdue immigration reforms. We are a melting pot, but that's no license to throw toxic elements like ideological fanatics, terrorists, drug-pushers, and White Slavers into the mix. And that's what's been happening for reasons already stated above. 

      The Left has no moral standing on this issue whatsoever. It's best to ignore their rantings and get behind the President. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN DAY

    Well, two days before the holiday when our attention is focused on the ladies; we celebrate the birthday of one of America's greatest men. Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, was born February 12th, 1809. His birthday is still a legal holiday in seven US states. 

     In our cynical, postmodern culture it has become fashionable in certain circles to bash Lincoln and his reputation. A mediocrity cannot stand greatness and heroism---which spirit has much to do with how Lincoln died. But in earlier generations, Lincoln's Birthday was informally observed by those who understood him and what he came to represent.

   A pharmacist in Buffalo, New York named Julius Francis led a grass-roots initiative to establish February 12th as a national holiday. Though Francis never succeeded in this aim, Lincoln's Birthday was celebrated across the country with parades, school pageants and re-enactments. There were also special dinners featuring some of the President's well-known favorites. (His wife Mary was said to be a fabulous cook). According to Food & Wine, a Lincolnesque dinner consisted of Chicken Fricassee, Cornbread, and Apple Cider with Almond Cake for dessert. Those interested in these uniquely American delicacies can find the recipes here. 

   Lincoln was admired for his achievements, but most of all his determination in achieving them. He was born into poverty and worked at manual labor early in his life. He also served in an Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War. Lincoln understood that his lack of education was an impediment to achieving better things. He taught himself to read while a teenager. Later he became fascinated with the law and saved his wages to purchase a set of law books. He studied the Law and passed the Illinois Bar Exam. Thus qualified, he set up as a lawyer. 

   His law practice did not fare well, but Lincoln was undaunted. He became active in the community and was persuaded to join the Whig Party. That party collapsed shortly thereafter and Lincoln joined the newly-formed Republican Party. In 1856, he campaigned for the GOP's first nominee: General John Fremont. The two later had a falling-out over the conduct of the Civil War; but were later reconciled. Lincoln always had a way of winning people to his side. Another of his political opponents in the North, General McClellan, had a similar relationship.

  Lincoln won the GOP nomination in 1860, and won the presidency with a plurality. He then was faced with the greatest threat the United States ever faced to its existence before or since. That was the Civil War, which consumed practically all of Lincoln's tenure in office. 

    Lincoln is best remembered today for abolishing slavery in 1863. But his equally great achievement was crushing the well-organized insurrection led by the slave-holding class. 

   Among the other acts of President Lincoln was opening the Transcontinental Railroad, establishing the USDA, and creating the first national park at Yosemite. Tragically, in the war's immediate aftermath, Lincoln was murdered in cold blood by a failing actor who hated Lincoln and considered himself part of the dispossessed so-called Southern Aristocracy. 

    Lincoln suffered a great tragedy in that his first love, Ann Rutledge, died at age 22. He believed at the time that he would never love again, but eventually married Mary Todd after a sometimes rocky courtship. Contrary to what some believe, the Lincolns were happily married and had four children. 

   The thing that has always made Lincoln so popular is that, at his core, he was really like all other men. He had his faults, he had his successes, but he was a man to whom other men could relate and also held the respect that made him a leader. He really was in many ways considered the archetype of American manhood. An ordinary man who met obstacles and overcame them. 

    So before Valentine's Day, treat yourself to at least a tall glass of apple cider and drink a toast to one of our true national icons.

        

MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT SHADY CASTALIA HOUSE ARISE

     Following our last post raising further questions about the financial dealings within Vox Day's media ventures, Mr. Markku Koponen (the owner of the company to which Castalia House is a subsidiary) was kind enough to leave some commentary. While Koponen explained that business kept him busy, he was heart-touched by the concerns which we'd raised. And he implied that he might address them at some point in the future. 

      However, Koponen did address one valid point:

Markku KoponenFebruary 5, 2019 at 2:22 PM

Except that I'm churning out copy several times a month. Because you can't find me, to waste my time. You may note that Vox has always said he's the "lead editor of Castalia House". He has never claimed to own any part of it, because he doesn't.

     He's correct in that Vox has never claimed to own Castalia House, and this is confirmed by Finnish tax records. Vox is the 'lead editor' there; just as his Linkedin profile shows that he is the lead designer at Alpenwolf, Castalia's parent company. But what's interesting to note, Alpenwolf hasn't produced any gaming systems in some time---a few years, in fact. As Koponen says, he's "churning out copy several times a month." But this brings up a question: Why does Alpenwolf's entry in the Finnish Business Tax Registry claim that Computer Programming Activities are its main line of business, when publishing clearly is that?

     We see from the most current available website valuations that Alpenwolf's programming activities aren't exactly stellar:

    However, Castalia House is doing somewhat better:

   Now this is an interesting graphic, because it gives us our first tangible look at what Castalia House's actual sales figures are. Vox has been encouraging more online buying lately since his retail sales have been sluggish, to say the least. The above graphic shows that Castalia is averaging about $64 per day in online sales. That isn't too bad; but hardly makes them industry leaders. Compare that number with the online sales of companies that Vox hopes to 'dethrone;' e.g. Tor Books ($570 per day), DC Comics ($789 per day), or Marvel Comics ($1,548 per day). 

    So, at least a big percentage of Castalia's sales add up to around $23,300 annually. That's about 20, 500 Euros at current exchange rates. 

     But astute readers who've been following so far might ask: 'Wait a minute...didn't you say earlier that Finland exempts companies from European Union VAT requirements only if they had less than 10,000 Euros in annual business revenue? Is Alpenwolf/Castalia House in compliance with this regulation?' Well, apparently not. 

   As seen on the last line, Alpenwolf's VAT registration hasn't been renewed since 2015. One has to wonder if this potential liability wasn't one of the reasons for Vox' suspension from Indiegogo. A subsidiary business entity which can't demonstrate tax compliance operating under another company---which exists only on paper and has no verifiable business address---looks like a bad risk from just about any angle. 

    So hopefully Markku Koponen will also look into this matter when he writes us again. 

SO WHO REALLY RUNS VOX DAY'S MEDIA EMPIRE?

     In October, Vox Day's shady publishing firm, Castalia House, was suspended by the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo for "a pattern of unusual (i.e. suspicious) activities." This incident has caused more than a few in the literary community to start questioning Vox' activities. The Sci-Fi/Fantasy blogger Camestros Felapton wrote an article suggesting that Vox' funding tactics bore several characteristics of money-laundering. Vox is currently suing Indegogo, thus whatever irregularities are alleged will be brought out in court.

     It's also been further shown that Vox' questionable business practices don't stop there. First of all, Castalia House is not even a registered company in its own right; but a subsidiary of a Finnish outfit called 'Alpenwolf'. 

  
      Alpenwolf purportedly is engaged in some type of 'computer programming activities. Regardless, however, the company is not registered with the European Union Tax Authority. Finnish law exempts firms from registration if their yearly net profits fall below 10,000 Euros (about $11,500). And this is the second suspicious thing. How Vox presents his sales and influence to the public and what is represented to the EU tax officials are two radically different things. 

     Castalia House recently ran afoul of Amazon's Terms of Use though the issue was resolved rather quickly. The Sci-Fi/Fantasy site, File 770, received a missive from Markku Koponen, the registered owner of Alpenwolf/Castalia, which said of the book in question:

    "But the sales had dropped so low on it (because people seem to connect it only with the Scalzi events, which isn’t really fair. Again, it’s an actual, serious book) that removing that tool from them had more value than having the title there. And it’s still available on our own site, from which we keep 100% of the revenue instead of 70%."

     So we started to look into Markku Koponen a bit. What was interesting was not what was found, but what we didn't find. 

    There is very little on the web about Koponen that isn't directly connected to Vox Day. Koponen has a Twitter feed, but it's mostly retweets of American Alt-RINOs. The photo gallery has a number of Confederate flags and such---but surprisingly little commentary about Finland---where Koponen supposedly lives. 

    In fact, this is the building in Kouvola, Finland which is supposedly Castalia House's publishing headquarters:

    And the building description is listed in the city's registry as follows:

    
  
     This address is an apartment complex---not a business office. So who lives there? Not Markku Koponen. His address is listed as in the town of Voikkaa. Presumably, those donating to Vox' crowdfunding campaigns are paying for the maintenance of an office and business facilities: but are they really paying somebody's rent?

      When Castalia House first opened, a blog called Charlie's Diary published an article about it.  What's interesting is reading through the comments---many of which were posted by active members of Finland's sci-fi, comics, and gaming communities. Nobody in Koponen's own neighborhood seems to know anything about him:

      As a public figure, Vox Day certainly owes an explanation to everyone about these anomalies. The lack of transparency concerning his donor-base and funding; the irreconcilable sales reporting; the questionable status of Castalia House's actual ownership and management: these things really need some public airing and clearing up. 

THE AMERICAN LEFT AND HUMAN SACRIFICE

    As we've all heard, the gangster governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, signed into law this week the most radical pro-abortion measure in history. This action---which coincided with the infamous Roe v. Wade anniversary---is now being imitated in various other Left-Wing dominated legislatures. 

    Catholic pundit John Horvat has written an impassioned and insightful article  calling the new law for what it is: an act of unmitigated evil. He makes several good observations, not only pointing out the hideousness of the act itself, but the fiendish delight that the Whacko Left takes in what is essentially infanticide.

     "All pretense of compassion or safety is now discarded. No one can claim that the unborn child is a mere collection of cells. There can be no doubt that the unborn child now cleared to be murdered can survive outside the mother’s womb. Pro-abortion advocates no longer apologetically declare that abortion should be safe, legal and rare. The law is a celebration of abortion at all stages, times and places. Abortion becomes for its advocates an almost religious act. The child must be sacrificed upon the bloody altar of reproductive “freedom.” The pro-abortion forces no longer hide the hideousness of the act, but proudly proclaim it. They no longer seem to fear being exposed for their savagery but revel in it."

     Exactly. As we have often pointed out here, since the 2016 Election, the Left has thrown aside its masks and shown itself for the violent anarchists and cutthroats they really are; and have been all along. The trend really began manifesting itself during the 2nd half of the Obama Administration; but then the Radical Left had the camouflage of carrying out officially sanctioned policies. Horvat, too, notes this shift:

     "This was not a reluctant vote but an enthusiastic one. The elected officials were aware of what they were doing and embraced it...What is so disconcerting about this act is that their perpetrators appear to take a macabre pleasure in it. They wildly applaud and congratulate themselves for their victory. They show no remorse for their decision, and in fact claim, it protects women’s lives and health. What makes this even more incomprehensible is that the characters involved are not all militant atheists, convinced socialists or radical liberals. Some claim to be religiously-inclined or even call themselves Catholic. They vote defying the Church, almost daring Church officials to take disciplinary action—which they know will not be taken."

     Horvat is writing from the standpoint of Catholic Social Theory, and what he says is basically correct. However, the behavior of these officials is not incomprehensible in light of the science of Psychology. What has become apparent during the last two years is that the hatred the Left feels towards its political and social opposition has taken on a personal aspect. For example, a Liberal in 1968 may have seen the abortion issue in light of things like empowering women or curbing overpopulation. As wrong as those ideas were, they were still rooted in a paradigm of perceived Social Justice. The Liberal of 2018, however, sees the issue (and others like it) as some sort of personal statement. Hence both the barbarity of the New York law and the sadistic glee with which its supporters egged it on. 

     This is a direct consequence of decades of schools, media, and government promoting the insane notion that the personal is political. What we're really witnessing in these bizarre demonstrations by the Left are the actions of a generation weaned and raised upon that principle. To oppose abortion is no longer a politically debatable matter: the modern Liberal takes such opposition as a personal affront, whether the abortion issue effects them personally or not is irrelevant. 

     We've seen this same dynamic play out with Liberal hysterics over the Kavanaugh Confirmation; driving Conservatives out of public spaces, etc. Cuomo and his camarilla couldn't content themselves with state-sponsored abortions: they had to outdo every other state in their extremism. And the only reason for doing this was to prove a point. That point being to demonstrate that their Liberal credentials are of the highest order, and nothing else. Unsurprisingly, Liberal legislators elsewhere are scrambling to craft laws even more extreme than New York's. Horvat states that Liberalism has become like a religious cult; from the standpoint of Social Psychology, the Left is on a definite track towards becoming a political cult. And the worst thing we have to fear is a Robespierre, Mussolini, Hitler, or Pol Pot emerging on American soil who knows how to channel those social dynamics into a political movement.

     As of this writing, we don't know whether a Constitutional challenge will be filed against the New York law. There appear to be several legitimate grounds for seeing the law overturned. Either way, we have to turn back these types of legislative rampages. Horvat sees clearly the outcome if we don't: 

     "For if even tiny fully formed infants about to be born are no longer safe from the butcher’s hand, no life is safe. If all pretense of compassion or ignorance is now discarded, there is no cruelty that cannot be openly conceived. Those souls who protest abortion will be the next targets of those who defy God. For as souls are unmasked in vice, they cannot endure the opposition of those who represent the rebuke of conscience. They will rage against those who call them to their duty, and demand brutal measures to silence them."

     

CHURCH REVERSES ITSELF ON COVINGTON AFTER FAKE NEWS EXPOSED

     Shortly after the phony 'Covington Incident' was fanned across the Media, the Catholic Church spoke out and condemned the actions of the young men involved in the fracas. But thanks to others who unmasked the media deception, over 27,000 Catholics petitioned the Covington Diocese to reconsider its position. Yesterday, the Covington students saw justice done. 

   Bishop Roger Foys issued the following statement:

    “We are sorry that this situation has caused such disruption in the lives of so many. We apologize to anyone who has been offended in any way by either of our statements which were made with good will based on the information we had. We should not have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pressured into making a statement prematurely, and we take full responsibility for it.

    “I especially apologize to Nicholas Sandmann and his family as well as to all CovCath families who have felt abandoned during this ordeal. Nicholas unfortunately has become the face of these allegations based on video clips. This is not fair. It is not just.”

     That apology was a truly Christian act. Like many others, His Eminence was imposed upon by knaves who were seeking to sow political and social disruption by sacrificing some innocent young men. The Bishop, however, had courage enough to admit it. 

     Bishop Foys also stated his support for Covington Principal Robert Rowe, who "has also been a target of this venom." the letter said. 

      The Bishop also alludes to something else, which doesn't seem to have gotten quite as much public attention as it should: "There have been death threats made against some of the students and their families. The vitriol and hateful comments on some online stories, some of them appearing on websites that purport to be Catholic and pro-life, have been beyond belief and anything but pro-life. We even had a bomb scare at the Curia and had to close down briefly in light of safety issues."

      Death-threats against families and threats to bomb churches: any of that appear in your newsfeeds? Mine neither. Catholics should remember though that the vitriol and hate spewed by "those not at all familiar with Covington High School" will translated into action if the Whacko Left gains the power to do it. And not only will the Left not apologize for it; they won't restrict their unreasoning outrage to Catholic Churches and schools either.

     Those interested can read the Diocese's entire statement here.

      

PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICIAL JAILED AFTER BUYING DRUGS FOR STUDENT

    While the Corporate Media is busily fanning fake news about teenage boys in MAGA hats, actual malpractice by Swamp Creatures running the public schools in largely gets swept under the rug. Even when they get caught doing things like defecating in public and having violent hysterical episodes on school property, the media isn't overly worried about focusing attention on our out-of-control public school officials.

     Another such incident occurred this week in Elwood, Indiana. Casey Smitherman, Superintendent of Elwood Community Schools was arrested this week after obtaining prescription drugs for a student by posing as his mother. This she did without the parents' permission, incidentally. Since the young man is legally a minor (15), his name wasn't released; but Mrs. Smitherman was charged with Official Misconduct, Identity Fraud, and two counts of Insurance Fraud. 

     Smitherman claims that she was doing this because the boy was home sick and needed antibiotics. She said that she feared that he would be put in foster care if not treated. The local press has been downplaying this as a misguided but sympathetic act and local politicians have been pressing to have charges dropped in exchange for her participation in an 'intervention program.' 

     Now, the lad's mother isn't so happy about Mrs. Smitherman's charitable impulses towards her son which, according to WHTR included "buying him clothes" and "cleaning his house." His mother pointed out the obvious fact that a pharmacist would have no way of knowing whether the young man had allergic reactions to the drugs he was being provided. 

     And actually Mrs. Smitherman should have known this, considering that her husband heads a company closely connected to Obamacare. Steve Smitherman runs Caresource Indiana, the company "that leads with the heart," as its website boasts. 

    The website also claims that it is "one of the nation's largest Medicaid managed plans... serving 1.9 million customers across five states." Caresource even has its own political PAC, donating heavily to politicians of both parties in Indiana and Ohio. Hilary Clinton was their largest recipient of funds in 2016. But of course, just because Mrs. Smitherman's husband is politically connected doesn't suggest that all of this media and political sympathy for his spouse is biased, right?

     Now, admittedly I am not as prudish as some Conservatives when it comes to allegations of inter-generational hanky-panky. After all, boys will be boys and girls will be girls; but committing insurance fraud and potentially endangering a young man's health and using institutional power to cover it all up is a different matter. A lot of school employees have ended up in prison for a lot less---and in those cases the media all push for the maximum penalties without the slightest appeal for mitigation or mercy. 

     The average median income in Elwood is $19,444 per year---35% below the national average and 26% below Indiana's state average. As Superintendent, Mrs. Smitherman's base salary is $118,500 with a fat benefits package.  Test scores in Elwood are also 23% lower than other Indiana schools. 

     But since the Smithermans are part of the 'Elite' the same standards don't apply to them as apply to us little people. The public schools are one of the most fetid parts of the Swamp needing draining. It's especially important to do so, because the schools are a breeding-ground for even more Swamp creatures.