Sunday, January 1, 2012

Blogging in 2012

I will mark six years of blogging in April 2012. I have to laugh a little when I check out some of my earliest efforts. I'm a much better blogger now, but I'm motivated by the same concerns that got me started. Here's something I wrote at my very first blog post:
No other single topic or object of analysis in my entire career as a political scientist has worried me as has contemporary anti-Americanism. I have learned about the complex nature of the radical left in this country, and its ties to, for example, transnational movements to deligitimize the nation-state and the principle of national sovereignty, the world's anti-globalization forces, and pro-Palestian organizations bent on the destruction of Israel.
It was the radical left's treasonous attacks on the war in Iraq that first got me to writing. I started American Power in October of 2007 when I finally pinned down my central ideological orientation: I'm neoconservative, but by now more reflective of that persuasion and more sophisticated in its elucidation. Unlike some who're characterized as "national greatness" types (or ridiculed that way, in fact), I'm animated by the tea party movement and my goals aren't so much as to radically shrink government but as to promote a politics of balanced budgets, entitlement reform, and continued support for a robust defense --- a "constitutional conservatism." These goals can't be achieved with the Democrats in power, obviously. And while we may get Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee, any of the mainstream Republicans would be an enormous improvement over the current administration. (Ron Paul is not mainstream and I'd abstain next November rather that vote for him if he somehow secured the nomination.)

I'll also continue to shine a spotlight on the global neo-communist left. I've learned a lot about the left over this past six years --- indeed, I'm a changed man. Probably the strangest thing to me is what I frequently refer to as our upside down politics of moral bankruptcy at home and abroad. This is one reason why my support for Israel will continue more consistently than ever before. Progressives hold Israel in the cross-hairs for death as an independent state. And when called out on it they'll spew the most vicious historical lies --- the kind of lies that would make the Nazis proud. Support for Israel rests at the center of the defense of Western civilization. I often remind myself that Israel defends itself just fine and that the Jewish state is not going out of business any time soon. And that's true. But Israel's enemies are working harder than ever before to push the Jews to the sea and this administration is doing its damnedest to bring about that reality. This situation brings even some of our most stalwart defenders of decency in the world to despair that we've crossed a threshold of appeasement and social decay, and this failure threatens the peace and stability of the West.

I'm not personally pessimistic about the survival of right and decency in the United States. But things will depend on winning the upcoming election and driving the Democrats from power. As I've noted many times, today's Democrat Party is no longer the party of Truman and Kennedy. It's a progressive-socialist party that touts nearly 100 Castroite members in Congress. And the political culture is increasingly infected with the cancer of progressivism and political correctness. It will take a lot to turn back the tide against these freaks, but the new social media --- and the Democats' overreach itself --- is empowering new armies of the righteous to take this country back.

And on a personal level, 2011 was a considerable challenge as a blogger. I beat back not one but two attacks that might have broken lesser writers. First were the attacks at my workplace by Scott Eric Kaufman and Carl Salonen. There is nothing more despicable than the kind of lies mounted by progressive demons as this. It's shocking, really, the extent that people will go to destroy their political enemies. But I rest soundly every day knowing that it's the truth that sustains me and that progressives can't take me down no matter how hard they try. And believe me, they try and will continue to try because the left does not tolerate deviations from the accepted narrative, especially from a political scientist working from behind the lines of academic totalitarianism. I drive the left f-king crazy. And I don't plan on stopping any time soon. The second challenge was the damned Righthaven lawsuit, which I beat by simply refusing to capitulate to those assholes. As I said at the time, it was scary as hell being served, but Righthaven is a bully and a troll and they're going down in a gloriously epic defeat.

So, thanks to all my readers. I have a few core readers and supporters who've become my friends, and I have a large number of readers and linkers among fellow conservative bloggers. And I continue to hear from new readers from time to time with words of good cheer and support. It all sustains me and I'll be plugging away throughout 2012.

Happy New Year!

19 comments:

  1. U R GRRRRRREAT! KEEP FIGHTIN'!

    N HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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  2. I ran across you again at AB (I've read your blog before so it was good to have the reminder).

    This is an excellent summary of your views & the ways they've altered as a result of the slings and arrows from those who use the bully mode as their default discourse. A great way to start the New Year. Might be fun to try...

    Our views at GoV align closely with what you say in this post, including your endurance. What seems to be changing for me also is whatever alliance I had with the neocons. With the passage of time that has come to seem naive, imho. What replaces it I don't yet have a name for...

    ...we take a lot of heat for our stand with Israel. After the massacre in Norway, we've been repeatedly attacked at "racist and ______". Fill in the blank; “fascist” is a favorite. Public discourse has become so clichéd and degraded that I'm grateful for the absence of a television in our house.

    Norway's soviet style of consensus has been a sad education for us. Our essayist, Fjordman, will probably be subpoenaed for the show trial of the killer – a “show” trial because the man is already ruled insane by state psychiatrists. If the state can, it will use Fjordman in his stead. Fj will be hauled into court to hear the reading out of detailed descriptions of each and every death in that massacre. His demeanor will be closely observed by the media, court, and academic "experts" all the while. Those observations will then be fed to the Norwegian public so they can decide for themselves.
    /sarc

    It’s most probable Fj be charged with "intellectual responsibility" for the killings, even though he didn’t know the killer and rebuffed Breivik’s attempt at contact. Thus will Fjordman likely be imprisoned or hospitalized -- the latter having been decreed as the killer’s fate. If they didn’t find Breivik insane, they’d have to let him out of prison in seven years. No death penalty in nice, nice Norway.

    Thus will the Norwegian soviet have its scapegoat in Fjordman, a gentle scholar, and everyone can go back to business as usual.

    Meanwhile, Hillary continues her attack on us Islamophobes. If, as rumored, she gets the VP spot with Obama, we can look for a crackdown of some sort from Blogger. It's owned by Google, and BHO in turn 'owns' Goog.

    Hillary is now joined at the hip with the OIC and determined to knock out us VRWC extremists: in her words, we deserve to be "shamed and shunned". Exactly how Norway operates now in repressing dissent. I know we’ll be on the chopping block since we’ve been named already as 'Islamophobes' in the OIC’s Annual Reports. Even though we're really shariahphobes.

    Your own contrarian views would not permit you to survive in Norwegian academia. To explain their reality see the seven-part series, “Brainwashing in Norway” which demonstrateds a rigid system. The higher reaches of the academic social scienes is deftly & deliberately uncurious. Over and over they turn away any uncomfortable questions with pat responses --e.g., "that is not a question worth asking".

    Here’s just one sample, a half hour long, but well worth your time:

    Brainwashing in Norway Part II: “The Parental Effect”

    I picked this one at random from the seven. Haven't watched all of them yet.

    Whew...hope I pass the blooger word count here.

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  3. That is one of the finest mission/values statements I have ever read. I am just an old
    retired geezer who forwards blog
    posts to like minded friends. Your
    blog is one I read without fail.

    Keep the faith and God bless.

    Activist Boy

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  4. Donald, here are wishes for a happy and healthy new year for you and your family!
    If I ever decide to run for office you just described my political platform. You are our tip of the spear and that is why they keep trying to knock you off. You strength and determination is treasured. Have a great blogging year.
    Norm

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  5. Well, I hope you do run for office, Norm!

    And here's a Happy New to you and yours as well. Thanks for your support.

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  6. Happy new year, Don! I'm sure your heroic stance against the myriad of enemies arrayed against you is an inspiration to every paranoid Norwegian nutball here and around the globe. I was having trouble finding a post that allowed comments but then I noticed that you changed your Blogger profile and that you no longer welcome spirited debate here so I guess that explains it.

    Hopefully Obama will complete his plan for destroying America before November so that his reelection won't be necessary but I wanted you to know that either way I plan to honor our bet even in the midst of the eventual Apocalypse he'll bring about and that I hope you do too. I also hope that your bed isn't getting too lumpy from all of the Communists hiding underneath it and that you got an extra nice pair of clown shoes for Xmas this year (and I only spelled Xmas that way because I totally hate Jesus and want to wipe Israel off the map but then you already knew that...)

    Gonna defy my government now and use some illegal drugs. I know how much you hate that but I just can't endorse your philosophy of letting them dictate how we live our lives; I'm just weird that way. Keep the faith (and by "faith" of course I mean "crazy" and by "crazy" of course I mean "Sasquatch") and don't ever let the 99% get you down. RAAAAAACIST!, bwahahaha, occupy the multiverse, great blog, etc, etc. Take care.

    P.S.- You never got back to me on whether or not you think your wife's ass is fatter than Michelle Obama's. No rush, take your time...

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  7. Love it JBW!

    That's why you'll never be banned. We on the right need somebody to laugh at and you're it!

    Don't change!

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  8. Good to hear, Don. So that's a yes on your wife's ass...?

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  9. Don't you think that's a little over the top there, JBW? Like I said, I linked to folks criticizing Michelle Obama, remember? And you've been attacking my wife as fat for a long time, which is why you're a weightist.

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  10. Donald, the agreement we came to through YOUR lawyer included a clause that we disengage. Delete this comment and reference to me, or I'll contact your lawyer and complain.

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  11. JBW: Yeah, I forgot you starting attacking me first as fat, then my wife. And I see you're proud of it. Your last comment didn't go through. I'm moving on.

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  12. I am reposting Scott Eric Kaufman's comment from above, for the record:

    "SEK said...

    Donald, the agreement we came to through YOUR lawyer included a clause that we disengage. Delete this comment and reference to me, or I'll contact your lawyer and complain.

    January 2, 2012 12:44 AM"


    Scott Eric Kaufman:

    Stop stalking me. Obviously it's you who is "engaging." It's you who's breaking any so-called agreement to "disengage." It's you who has threatened to "end" my life. And it's you who continues to make threats.

    So, for the record: I have no agreement with you or anyone else to delete the events that happened in my life in 2011. Your workplace attacks happened. I made no agreement not to discuss my life and my blogging experiences.

    I advise that you stop making threats against me. STOP THREATENING ME. If you contact my attorney I'm ready to go to litigation. At that time everything that happened in 2011 will be out in the open again and I'll blog it like a motherfucker. I'll send my posts to Instapundit, and Zilla of the Resistance', and across the entire blogosphere. Your harassment, intimidation, and death threats will go viral.

    So STFU you asshole and stay the fuck away from me.

    Dick.

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  13. Donald, you mentioned me in this post, which, as per the agreement I made with your lawyer, we're obligated not to do. I'm not stalking you. I've got a Google alert on my name, and I was surprised to find it pop up here, given our arrangement. I'm not harassing you, nor am I threatening you, I'm just asking you, politely, in a comment, to honor the agreement we came to. I'm not sure how you think me contacting your lawyer constitutes harassment of any sort, as he is, after all, your lawyer. Look, I'm just looking to keep my distance from you, and I'd just like you to keep up your end of our bargain.

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  14. Now you are lying:

    "Delete this comment and reference to me, or I'll contact your lawyer and complain."

    That's a threat. STOP THREATENING ME. And stop making shit up. I made no agreement to delete the history of progressive attacks on this blog. That is what this post is about. I'm am decidedly not "engaging" you. You are engaging me with personal attacks in my commments. So it's you who's broken this so-called agreement by contacting me directly and threatening me.

    Leave me alone.

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  15. Again, I'm putting this up here for the record:

    SEK said...

    Donald, you mentioned me in this post, which, as per the agreement I made with your lawyer, we're obligated not to do. I'm not stalking you. I've got a Google alert on my name, and I was surprised to find it pop up here, given our arrangement. I'm not harassing you, nor am I threatening you, I'm just asking you, politely, in a comment, to honor the agreement we came to. I'm not sure how you think me contacting your lawyer constitutes harassment of any sort, as he is, after all, your lawyer. Look, I'm just looking to keep my distance from you, and I'd just like you to keep up your end of our bargain.

    January 2, 2012 3:26 PM


    This is harassment, Scott Eric Kaufman.

    I'm making sure to post your comments where they can't be deleted just in case we go to litigation.

    Stop harassing me.

    Leave me alone.

    This post IS NOT about you.

    F-king scumbag loser.

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  16. Happy Year and sixth blogoversary! Look forward to reading your posts over the next year.

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