Herman Cain, R.I.P.

Another conservative luminary has passed; Herman Cain,
one-time Godfather's CEO who turned around
the restaurants' fortunes when it was on the brink of
closure after successfully managing Burger King franchises,
computer analyst, political analyst, Republican presidential
candidate, motivational speaker and author, died this
morning after battling cancer and coronovirus (a/k/a
COVID-19), aged 74.

Cain, a graduate of Morehouse College and a longtime
resident of Atlanta, Georgia, was an unafraid, unabashed
conservative at a time when black conservatives were
still oddities. His campaign for the Republican nomination
was thwarted by allegations of sexual misconduct made by
two women when he was head of the Restaurant Association
in the 1990s. Although he denied the allegations, calling them
"false and unproven", he made financial settlements with both
women. A third claimed that she had a 13-year extramarital
affair with Cain, who also denied the claim, yet still settled
financially with the woman.

Having had a radio show before launching his 2012 White House
campaign, Cain Returned to radio in 2013 for a spell.
In 2018 he would launch a TV show on Newsmax TV.

Cain was instrumental in breaking down the color and racial
barriers, demonstrating that conservatism can translate to all
people regardless of whichever groups they are a part of.
He would often call himself  "an ABC candidate"; American,
black, and conservative, tweaking the noses of many liberals.
Cain was also forceful and unreserved in standing up to racist
attitudes in the circles he traveled in, putting the boot to
Democrat party claims that he was no more than window
dressing for the GOP.  Cain was a powerhouse for social,
political, and economic good for blacks, and a force for
limited government and free enterprise benefiting all.
The Peasant does have to wonder, however, why Cain
paid money to the claimants of sexual impropriety even
though he strongly disputed their claims. A marring of an
otherwise stellar record of public service in both the public
and private sectors.

May Herman Cain rest in peace.


MEM

Charlie Daniels, R.I.P.

A few weeks ago, a legend in country music, a
true God and Country gentleman, and my very
favorite country music performer, Charlie Daniels,
took his fiddle and his clear, distinctive voice
up to heaven. Aged 83, Daniels had a hemorrhagic
stroke on July 6 from which he didn't recover.

Daniels, a member of the Country Music hall of Fame
as well as the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, Tennessee
was a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who was
also a farmer, a proud southerner who represented the
best of the south, the music, and the culture of the
region. With the Charlie Daniels Band, they de-
lighted audiences all over the country, including in
nearby Waukesha, Wisconsin, having appeared at the
Waukesha County Fair (Your admiring Peasant wanted
so much to go, but I couldn't get out of a commitment
scheduled for that very evening; it would be the only
opportunity to see Charlie in concert). Of their many
hits, a particular favorite with their fans was
"The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (also a favorite
of mine). Whenever Daniels, a stalwart conservative,
was a guest on Sean Hannity's radio show he and
Sean would break into that very song to the delight of
your favorite Peasant and the fans of both men.

Charlie Daniels and his band toured for forty years,
spreading their Southern rock blended with classic
country storytelling everywhere they played. Daniels
was also a tireless advocate of servicemen and women,
as well as a fearlessly outspoken champion of the unborn
and many other conservative causes. He said that although
he was a longtime Democrat and a supporter of President
Jimmy Carter, Daniels left the Democrats when they began
their leftward march. Charlie Daniels loved his country,
and his country loved him back! Even people who weren't
country music fans, many of whom hardly ever listened
to it, became fans of Charlie Daniels, his band, and country
music itself.

Your saddened Peasant misses Charlie not only for his music
but for his patriotism, his faith, his storytelling, and good cheer.
What a contrast to so many performers around in the wake
of his passing who take for granted or put down our wonderful
country, even though the success they enjoy would have been
difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in many other countries.
And what toe-tapping music! I bet right now that ol' Charlie
has the angels line dancing to his songs and tunes.

Rest well, Charlie. Yours was a life well-lived. R.I.P.


MEM

The Battles of President Trump

The three year drama over President Donald J. Trump being

president of our grand country has climaxed with the acquittal

by the United States Senate of President Trump of charges 

that he abused his presidential power and obstructed Congress. 

With the vote count for conviction and removal from office 

far short of the 67-vote requirement, President Trump shall

remain in office to serve out his term, and will not be prevented

from running for a second term. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)

was the sole Republican senator to vote for conviction on either

charge, voting to remove the president on the first charge.
But this means nothing to the Democrats, nor to the Left.

Ever since Trump was elected, never mind being inaugurated, 

the Democrats and the far-left outside of the party have been

crying "Foul!", "Unfair!" and worse. They made countless 

attempts either to block him from taking office or to remove 

him from same. Regarding the former, they tried to sway 

members of the Electoral College from states which Trump

won to not vote for him. Concerning the latter, they have tried 

accusing and blaming the 45th president of and for a host of

nonsensical hogwash, including attempting to coerce a foreign

government (Ukraine) and entice another (Russia) into interfering

with the presidential election won by Trump. They even tried 

to get him kicked out of office over things which may (or may

not) have happened in Trump's pre-presidential past. They

tried to pin on the man everything, it seems, but being a serial

killer! The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, 

run by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who, by the way, has tried 

mightily to obstruct nearly everything President Trump tried 

to do by defeating or holding up legislation which would have,

for one example, fully funded the construction of the border wall

on our southern border to stop further illegal immigration, 

a project supported by a growing number of Americans, proving 

that the Dems and their fellow lefties have been trying to make 

the country ungovernable for the president. Finally, the House Dems

drew up impeachment papers in attempting to remove President

Trump from office, claiming him to be a threat to our democracy

and to national security. The Articles of Impeachment were 

delivered to the Senate, performed in theatrical solemnity by

Speaker Pelosi and some of her fellow Dems, putting on a show 

for both their supporters and for their own egos. 

Well, everything was hashed out on the House floor, with each

of the Pelosi cabal's charges found to have no factual substance,

no merit, and no credibility. One of their impeachment floor 

managers, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), looked more and more

desperate as he kept launching a charge, hoping it would give 

some weight to the two impeachment charges; they all went over

like an air force of lead balloons. When the Senate's turn came

the majority Republicans (except for not-a-team-player Sen.

Romney, more on his perfidy later) voted to acquit the besieged

president of both impeachment charges, thus bringing the sham

of a trial to its well-deserved end at last. Soon afterward, 

President Trump gave his State of the Union Address before 

Congress, and he listed his accomplishments, promises kept,

and the resultant upturn of the country followed by outbursts

of thunderous applause from the Republicans while the 

Democrats sat stone-faced, petulantly silent, and looking like

they each lost loads of money on a supposed "sure thing" at

a racetrack. At the end of the president's address to Congress

and the nation, Speaker Pelosi made an act that truly said it 

all for her sorry, corrupt, pathetic party === she tore up the copy

of the SOTU speech given her by President Trump. Now, it is

customary for the president to give a copy of this important 

speech to the Speaker of the House after delivering it to both

Congress and the people; its is a terrible breach of protocol as

well as an appalling lack of manners for the Speaker to destroy 

the copy, especially before all assembled in the House chamber

and all viewing it on TV. The act merely exhibited the pettiness,

petulance, spitefulness, and just plain immature behavior on

Pelosi's part. 

The Democrats in both chambers have stated, prior to the 

impeachment hearings, that there was no time to lose in getting 

the president impeached and removed from office, with the 

general election coming in just nine months and that it was 

imperative, so very urgent, in doing this deed rather than let

the people decide in the election. This signaled the Democrat's 

view of the American people as clearly as clear can be; let's 

not let the peasants decide Trump's fate as far as the presidency 

is concerned, for they voted for him in 2016 and would likely

do so again in November, for they don't have the smarts or the

good sense to vote for our candidate, the hayseed hicks!

They left no doubt as to their opinion of We the People and 

their fitness to choose whom they would have govern over them.

This entire story illustrates just how great the danger is of losing

our republic, our Constitution and constitutional rule of law,

and our freedom. It also illustrates our urgent need to get out 

and vote on Election Day this November. When one of our two

political parties embraces full-on statism, a complete disregard

for the Constitution and its restrictions on the activities of the

government, and an insatiable hunger for power driving said

party toward totalitarianism, that party must be brought down

--- not just at the ballot box, but in both the courts of law and

of public opinion, confidence, and trust. 

And now, the Democrats and the Left are trying to make political
hay out of the Coronovirus episode to get President Trump
hounded out of office by conning the people re: what he has
or has not done to deal with the pandemic. They will not quit,
they will never rest until Trump is gone, by hook or by crook.
They are relentless, and so must we be in supporting the
president.

MEM

Dan Conry, R.I.P.

During the lengthy interim in which your faithful Peasant
could not be with you, my fiercely loyal readers, a radio
luminary Milwaukee whose show I enjoyed for several
years, with his wonderful wit, sometimes wacky humor,
and endless good cheer (even when there was little to feel
cheerful about), Dan Conry, passed away after several years
of increasingly poor health. Dan was one of the stable of
fantastic conservative radio talk show hosts on Milwaukee's
home of conservative political discussions and dissertations,
WISN-AM, and periodically guest-hosted for one of his
colleagues, giving his personal, very colorful take on the
political news of the day, commenting on the national
as well as state and local news.

Dan interspersed his stories of his childhood, growing up
with a no-nonsense retired Marine father and a stern but
loving mother, with stories from his days as a police
detective in New York City (Dan was from Brooklyn).
He would talk about the mischief that he and his brother
would get into and how their dad would raise the roof
in chewing them out Marine Corps style! My favorite story
was of how the boys lit an M-80 (that's a Cherry Bomb)
while in their bedroom, and Dan tried to toss it out the
window but FORGOT TO OPEN THE SCREEN after
opening the window! The M-80 bounced off the screen,
landed on the floor, and went off with a deafening blast,
causing their dad to rush into the room to see the debris
and then make an explosion of his own in excoriating the
mischief makers.

Conry spoke about his undercover work on the NYPD going
after drug rings, his being shot at, stabbed, beaten up,
and about the courage of his compatriots, being especially
effusive in his praise for gay officers whom he worked with.
Dan constantly stressed that he never judged anyone by their
skin color, their ethnicity, or their sexual orientation; he always
looked for the good in everyone he met. He had gay callers
with whom he had friendly and respectful conversations,
finding areas of agreement regarding some topics Dan was
discussing. Some of them even told Conry that they were
conservative gay people, a few of them "coming out"
as such. Some even admitted that they found it harder to
come out as conservatives than coming out gay. Dan made
them, as he did all his callers, at ease with his humor and
good-natured way. He also did very funny impressions of
political figures as well as various celebrities.

Dan would spread his cheer to his audience in sad times
(as when Barack Obama was re-elected president in 2012)
and in happy times (when Donald Trump was elected
four years later). He also talked about the local sports teams
and his impressions on the quality of their play during
their respective seasons. Although from Brooklyn, he was
a big supporter of the Green Bay Packers, the Milwaukee
Brewers, and the Milwaukee Bucks as well as the teams of
the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University. He
celebrated with his audience when the teams won and
shared their pain when they lost.

Dan would never speak of others in a demeaning way but he
also called a spade a spade; he would be critical of politicians,
be they Democrats or Republicans, liberal or conservative
if he felt they were not taking the best tack on an issue,
especially concerning a piece of legislation before them,
looking to serve themselves rather than the people.
He also was the same way with police, activists, pundits,
and others on all matters.

Sadly, your sorrowful Peasant never did get the opportunity
to meet Dan in person but we did talk a little online. He
also read a few posts from PWAP and told me he enjoyed
them. I told him that I enjoyed his radio show immensely,
and that I set Sunday afternoons aside to tune in.

I sure wish there was a way for Dan to broadcast his show
from heaven. Requiescat en pace, my fellow Irish-catholic
(Dan was of Irish and Scottish heritage), fellow conservative,
and fellow seeker, partaker and provider of good craic 
(Gaelic for "good times"). You're the best!


MEM

A Unique Independence Day

This Fourth of July, our nation's birthday, will be remembered
for many things: being caught up in the Coronovirus panic with
the subsequent lockdowns of various businesses and the cancel-
lations of events, such as (here in Milwaukee) SummerFest,
various outdoor concerts around town, fireworks shows (yes,
you read that right, my sharp-eyed readers), and scores of picnics
--- company, church, family, erased like so many errors on a
handwritten note. Although some communities are still planning
to host some fireworks displays, many others (including New
Berlin, my suburban community) have cancelled theirs; it's
going to be mighty strange and not a little disconcerting to
have an Independence Day without fireworks.

Although some places around the country are still under various
degrees of lockdown, one can still reflect on the special meaning
of this day, the historic day when our United States declared its
independence from what was then the world's foremost superpower,
a veritable David thumbing his nose at the Goliath of the day,
risking all for the taste of freedom, of self-determination, and of
autonomy, to not have to answer to or seek permission from an
all-pervasive power to do anything. And aren't we in a similar
position  today, but the all-pervasive power we face is an internal
one rather than external. It's right here with us, rather than across
an ocean. And this power has played politics with the Coronovirus
situation, going beyond reasonable health safeguard measures
in order to gain more control over us and how we conduct our
daily lives.

Think about this on July 4, and on Election Day.


MEM