Thursday, March 29, 2018

Bright Easter Tidings!

Your faithful Peasant wishes all of you, my fantastic readers,
a most beautiful, joyful, happy Easter! I am certainly looking
forward to this beautiful holiday to not only recharge my
batteries, but to commemorate and give thanks and praise
to the One whom Easter is all about. He gave us a gift far
bigger, more grand, and more beautiful gift than the
Easter Bunny ever could!

Your beloved Peasant is a proud American, but is absolutely
God and Country, in that order. I give thanks to God for our
beautiful country and to have been born and raised in it, as well
as to his Son Jesus Christ for his gift to us all for which He
paid a terrible cost. May we be worthy of His gift, and do so
by helping our dear country always live up to its lofty
standards by living up to the standards which we as her
citizens are charged with keeping.


MEM

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Thoughts on the U.S. Senate Race in Wisconsin

Two Republican candidates have emerged to vie for the GOP
nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator
Tammy Baldwin for the seat she was elected to six years ago.
One time Democrat activist (now a newcomer to the Republican
Party), former Marine, and current businessman Kevin Nicholson
is challenging State Senator Leah Vukmir, who previously served
in the state assembly. Both candidates are strong conservatives;
Nicholson having previously been a Democrat and has stated
that he became a Republican during his time in the Marine Corps
in which he saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. As he explained
his leaving the Democrats and their liberalism for the Republicans
and conservatism, "I used to do nothing and know everything.
But since then we've had three kids, I fought in two wars, and I
worked in businesses around the world ... after you've been hit in
the face with that mush reality, you cannot help but become a
strong conservative." Indeed.

But in the meantime, State Sen. Vukmir has built a reputation as
a strong, principled, consistent conservative voice in both chambers
of the Wisconsin Legislature, earning the confidence and with it the
votes of her constituents and the praise of conservatives in the party
and throughout the state. She has been a key figure in crafting and
passing Gov. Scott Walker's conservative reform initiatives, including
the historic Act 10, which clamped down on the heavy influence of
the public sector workers' unions resulting in making more leeway
for school districts as well as municipalities and counties to create
budgets granting more money to, among other things, school programs
as well as providing income and property tax relief. During the
"Occupation" of the State Capitol by the public employee union
members along with sundry far-left wing sympathizers promoting
their own extremist agendae, where some of the occupiers threatened
some Republican legislators, in an effort to intimidate them into
backing down from helping Gov. Walker, Sen. Vukmir unflinchingly
cast her vote for each and every initiative, every bill designed
to assist Gov. Walker's reform efforts in making Wisconsin affordable
and livable for people, their families, and stable for their jobs and
their businesses. While Kevin Nicholson is to be thanked and honored
for his military service and sacrifice, he does not have the experience
and savvy that Leah Vukmir has; besides, Sen. Vukmir would take
away a very big rhetorical weapon from U.S. Sen. Baldwin: the
incumbent cannot play the Gender Card, and say things like "Well,
that's typical of my (male) opponent to say that. But he does not have
the woman's perspective on this issue ..." and then try to frame the
debate so as to make the Democrats (and with them the Left) more
in synch with female voters. The incumbent would have to fight
Sen. Vukmir on equal ground and footing, and would therefore have
a more difficult task.Leah could demonstrate that not all, or even
most, female voters in Wisconsin share Sen. Baldwin's views on
many of the political issues Wisconsin and the country faces, and in
fact prefer legislation which reflects a reliance on less statist ideas for
meeting these challenges.

Then there is the ad in support of the Club for Growth, a conservative
advocacy group which supports a less expansive and costly approach
to government, especially concerning taxation and business regulation.
In November 2017, they e-mailed a fundraising appeal to their backers
urging them to donate to Nicholson's campaign rather than Vukmir's,
because they claim that Sen. Vukmir is a RINO (Republican in Name
Only). Given her record in Madison, which your diligent Peasant has
illustrated in the last paragraph of this post, this is not only patently
dishonest, it is scurrilous, dirty, and rotten! When conservative radio
talker Dan O'Donnell asked Nicholson on his show if he would dis-
avow the ad, Nicholson did a little verbal soft shoe, resulting in neither
disavowing nor supporting the e-mail and the slur on Sen. Vukmir's
good name and reputation. Not very reassuring.

And what would be the fallout from the Republicans' senate primary?
Regardless of who would win, there would be hard feelings and
overspent campaign advertising monies. We cannot afford a repeat
of the fiasco that occurred six years ago, which gave us Sen.
Baldwin in the first place. This radical left-winger has truly been an
accidental senator, someone who does not truly represent Wisconsin
values and concerns.

So, your faithful Peasant stands by his endorsement of Leah Vukmir
for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. She has without
question been a tried and true, tested by fire, stalwart conservative and
a champion for the principles of limited government. Nicholson,
meanwhile, is coming off as a fly-by-night candidate, which could
result in a painful backlash when Wisconsin Republicans go to the
polls to decide on a nominee to send to the general election.
We'll wait and see what happens.


MEM



Friday, March 16, 2018

Wishing Everyone Saint Patrick's Day Cheer!

Your part-Irish but totally proud to be so Peasant wishes you,
my grand readers, a beautiful, enjoyable, and fantastic Saint
Patrick's Day! Tomorrow enjoy all the corned beef you can eat,
all the Guinness and other Irish ales you can drink, dancing until
you can't stand let alone dance some more, and the company and
love of family and friends! I shall be doing likewise at three
great Irish pubs here in Beertown with mine.

See you all back here next week Thursday!


MEM

Thursday, March 15, 2018

The President Goes to Bat for Conscience and Religious Freedom

Recently, President Trump and his administration has
announced the creation of a Conscience and Religious
Freedom Division within the Health and Human Services
(HHS) Department's Office for Civil Rights.

The new division's functions will include accepting reports
from citizens about potential violations of their rights
regarding conscience and religious freedom. This means
that doctors and other medical personnel will no longer be
forced to perform or assist in the performing of abortions,
sterilizations, and assisted suicides. In other words, this
division will work to protect and safeguard the First
Amendment rights of all Americans, regardless of their
faiths, beliefs or philosophies. And it is sure to drive
the lefties even further round the twist than they already are.
Bravo to President Trump for taking this huge but rightful
and constitutional step in protecting essential rights which
should never have even been questioned, let alone
disrespected and disregarded.


MEM


Thursday, March 8, 2018

Mort Walker, R.I.P.

Ever since my childhood, your favorite Peasant has
enjoyed the comics section of the newspaper. And
one of my favorite comic strips, and reasons for
heading first to that fun-filled section of my paper,
was Beetle Bailey.  A lackadaisical private in the
army, Beetle was the focal point of life at Camp
Swampy where he found so many ways to drive
his nemesis and friend Sgt. Orville P. Snorkel
to fits. Joined by an eclectic and colorful band
of camp mates, which included his fellow "grunts"
along with various quirky officers such as Lt. Fuzz,
Captain Scabbard, and Commanding Officer of
the camp General Amos T. Halftrack, Beetle
and company gave me so many hours of smiles,
chuckles, and thunderous laughter!

Mort Walker, the cartoonist who created the character
and the strip, passed away at 94, leaving a legacy of
good old fashioned, clean, and delightful fun.
Thank you, Mort, for all the merry myrth! The
Peasant gives you a big salute!


MEM