Ronald Mulvaney, R.I.P.

Ronald Mulvaney was quintessentially God and Country.

Born in Brooklyn, New York ninety years ago, Ron was 

a United States Marine, rising to the rank of sergeant.

Moving later to Brookfield, Wisconsin, Ron got involved

in politics and ran as a Democrat for Congress; sadly he 

didn't win. He was a rarity, being a center-right Democrat;

unapologetically pro-life, supportive of a pro-U.S. defensive

posture coupled with a like-minded diplomatic posture,

favoring an estate tax but not ever-escalating income taxes,

and always, always a loyal and country-loving patriot. 

We met through a career building and job hunting workshop

group which met monthly. I had just moved back home from

Saint Paul, Minnesota, and wanted to get some helpful 

information on conducting a successful job search, and Ron

was one of the mentors. We hit it off right away and got to 

be quite close friends. Ron also got me a job; he was at the 

time a sales associate at the Boston Store at Brookfield 

Square when that retail organization was around. Ron was 

in Men's Wear, I went to Housewares. 

Ron was a devout catholic, one of the most such Catholics  

I have ever known. Ron put me to shame as far as devotion 

to the faith, and your faithful Peasant goes to Mass every 

week and regularly partakes of the sacraments. 

Ron invited me to join him on a retreat at the Jesuit Retreat

House in Oshkosh, just up north a ways from the Milwaukee

metropolitan area just barely before the COVID pandemic

hit. He said it would be the last time we would be able to get

together for a visit; Ron was then living in Georgia at a retirement 

home near some of his relatives, and he wanted to make our

visit a very special one. It was a silent retreat for Catholic men; 

no one could speak a word throughout the weekend retreat.

I never experienced such a thing, a gathering where no one 

says a word! I didn't think I could go the entire retreat without 

accidentally blurting out anything aloud, but I managed to do

just that. Ron and I were on the same wavelength throughout

the retreat, and we basked in the warmth of our friendship and 

each others' company at our prayer times, our meals, and 

the guest lectures by visiting clergy. I have never had such 

an experience with any other friend in my life, and it was 

heavenly and grand.

We also got together for lunch many times leading up to the 

retreat, meeting at a wonderful restaurant at the Mayfair Mall

in Wauwatosa. We talked of many things, Catholicism (Ron 

was Irish Catholic, much like me), Irish Fest (we were there

together with his charming wife, who went up before Ron), 

politics, sports, family --- our relatives and such, pets,

and travel. Ron was most erudite and worldly yet very 

connected to his faith, never taking it for granted. He treated 

for every meal; he never let me pay so as to treat him, although

I did get to leave a tip now and then. Generosity was another 

trait of Ron's which made him so endearing.

Ron was also an avid reader of this blog, too. He looked forward

to reading my latest offerings every week.

We stayed in touch by telephone and online, as we were both on 

Facebook. It was through Facebook that I learned of his passing,

having left us just two days ago. Relatives entered the news on his

FB page. Although I knew that his health was fading, the sorrowful

news still hurt greatly. Our last visit on the phone, or at all, was

two weeks before his end, and although sounding weak Ron

was in high spirits; he told me many times that our chats on the 

phone gave him a lift. They certainly did that for me!

Although our visits have all come to an end I am comforted knowing

that Ron is just a prayer away, and we shall be together in

spirit in this way. Your grateful Peasant is most grateful for 

having known and enjoyed a twenty-two year friendship with 

this remarkable gentleman! Our world could use some more 

folks like Ron Mulvaney!

Requiescat in Pace, old friend.

MEM

Veterans Day Greetings and Gratitude

Today is Veterans day, the day when we give thanks to our brave

veterans and show our appreciation for their service and sacrifice,

although it is certainly rightful to do so on any day during the year.

As your grateful Peasant always maintains: Freedom isn't free; 

freedom costs. But it isn't a luxury, but rather a necessity!

Thanks to all U.S. veterans! Folks, if you love your freedom, 

thank a vet!

MEM

VICTORY!

WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!! WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! WE WON!!!!

Did I mention that WE WON?  

MEM

 

Red State Blue

While it's true that our country will have a national election

to, among other things, determine who will be our president,

held this day November 5, we have an election happening

every day. While on the first Tuesday in the coming month

we will be voting with our ballots, many Americans are voting 

with their feet to show their preference for life in the red states

(Republican run) over life in the blue states (Democrat run),

leaving the latter for the former every day. The results thus far 

show a landslide for the red states.

Since 2004, American families have made this choice in ever-

increasing numbers. The red states offer lower taxes along with 

either lower or no state income taxes, more robust job growth

making for lower unemployment numbers, and laws which 

protect children from the crackpot left-wing social and 

educational ideas du jour. The blue states offer the exact 

opposite of each of the benefits of red state living. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic the red state schools were 

open and the children were maskless; the blue state schools 

were either closed or required the students to mask up.

In the former, churches and other houses of worship were

open; not so in the latter. In the red states businesses were

open for business; in the blue states they were either 

shuttered or operating with their staff working from home.

State economies were strong in red territory; weak as 

water in blue. 

What the American people and their families desire so fervently

is for government to foster freedom, not bind them up in 

condescending paternalism. They are certainly making their desire 

known by moving from states like California, Illinois, New York,

Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington (the state and D.C.), and

Maryland to states like Florida, Texas, South Carolina, South 

Dakota, Idaho, and Tennessee. On this day, November 5, they'll

also make their preference known by marking their ballots. 

MEM

The Peasant's Endorsement for President (As if You Couldn't Guess!)

After all we've been through in the last four years as a nation,

we American voters (especially we conservatives) have but one

clear choice for the presidency. Our votes will decide if we are

going to regain the prosperity that we enjoyed for four brief

but wonderful years, or if we are going to continue to suffer 

increasing deterioration of our economy and the consequences 

of it. If we are going to work and live with reasonable regulations

affecting our lives, or if we are to stress and strain in the yoke

of runaway red tape and overly-restricting and oftentimes 

unconstitutional laws. If we are going to have a free hand in raising

our children as we see fit, or if we are to be dictated to by the state 

as to where we send our children to school, what kind of curriculae

they are to be educated or, more likely indoctrinated under.

Whether or not to recognize and refer to people in accordance

with their natural genders, or if we are to acquiesce to laws which 

demand we recognize their being of some different gender, even a

made-up gender --- a product of a wild imagination, and refer to

and address them by some mandated pronoun. If we are to restore

the sanctity of human life by protecting humans throughout their

lives, from natural beginning to natural end, or if we are to further 

cheapen the value of human life in accordance with the desires of

selfish or utilitarian parties, including those believing that if a 

human being does not measure up to the expectations of said

parties then the aforementioned human being in question

can and must be disposed of. If we are to be the dependable ally

to those countries in need of our help in case of threats from 

countries seeking to do them harm, or if we are simply going to 

twiddle our thumbs and do nothing or next to nothing. 

If we are going to take a stronger stand in regards to our trade 

policies vis-a-vis nations which want to take economic advantage 

of us (China comes to mind), or are going to be ripped off. 

If we are to protect and preserve our cherished freedom of 

expression guaranteed by and in our constitution, or are we 

just going to let radical bullies dictate to us what we are to 

speak, publish, and promote. If we are going to have free and fair 

elections for all elective offices, unsullied by corruption, or are 

we going to have our government representatives and leaders, 

all the way up to and including the presidency, selected by an 

elite few rather than elected by a majority of the eligible 

citizenry. If we are to continue to be the nation that our forefathers

meant and made us to be, or if our nation is to be remade into 

a place we would not recognize and would want nothing to do with.

Return Donald J. Trump to the White House.

And please don't stop there; we must elect a House and a Senate

with substantial, conservative Republican veto-proof majorities 

to work together with President Trump to reform and repair that

in our great country which has become in need of repair after the

last four years. Elect conservative Republican governors in your 

states, and Republican-held legislatures; mayors and councils in

your cities and towns; and county boards with same majorities.

Also, if your state has early voting, take advantage of it!

You will in effect be banking your vote, so in case you find yourself

unable to go to your polls on the day of the election you will have 

the satisfaction of knowing that you already did your duty. If enough

of us vote early (your faithful Peasant did!) then we will have a large

enough turnout and tally to claim victory!

I know that I gave my endorsement here on this blog to President 

Trump twice already. Please forgive me for sounding like a broken

record; this election and the urgency we face is so important that I

had to make extra sure that I got word out re: my endorsement.

We have a lot to do in order to clean up and fix our United States.

But we have the ability, the drive, the determination, and the grit

to get the job done. Let us put our bodies, our minds, and our

energies to the task; the rest is in God's hands.

MEM

Good Tidings!

Your civic-minded Peasant went to vote yesterday, as it was

the first day of early voting in Wisconsin and I wanted to be

among the first voters to "bank" his vote in the presidential 

election. Republicans and conservatives in general have taken

this idea to heart, as it helps to get out more of our votes by

getting out more of our voters ahead of Election Day, the idea

being that more of us will have voted already come the afore-

mentioned day so that if something trips us up for time, i.e.

falling ill or injured, a sudden commitment (perhaps a funeral?),

then we will have the comfort and satisfaction of knowing that

we have done our civic duty as well as having done our bit to

return Donald J. Trump to the White House and to give him

a solidly Republican House and Senate to work with. This 

ingenious idea has as of this blogging been adopted by 47 states 

and the District of Columbia; Alabama, Mississippi, and 

New Hampshire have yet to follow suit.

And was my polling precinct crowded! I vote at my city hall

and yesterday I saw the longest line by far on an election day

in the years that I have voted there; come to think of it it was 

the longest line I've ever seen in all the years I've been a voter

in all the places I've lived! It did my heart good to see so many 

of my neighbors come out to vote, and to vote early --- especially

since New Berlin is a conservative political stronghold located

inside a larger one, that being Waukesha County. It is fine to have 

a brand of politics which one loyally adheres to, but it's essential

that one act on the said politics in order to help bring about the 

desired political governance. I was at my polling place for a total

of 48 minutes and it was time that I considered an investment in my 

country's governance as well as general betterment. 

In a similar vein, I've heard on the news that Trump has caught up to

and edged ahead of Kamala Harris in both the preference polls and 

the early voting in the battleground states, Wisconsin being one. 

Democrats around the country are in absolute conniptions (good!)

over it, and don't know what to do. 

At present, my grand readers who live where there is early voting, 

take advantage of the provision and vote early. You'll be so glad,

especially if something unexpected comes up on November 5. Not only

will you have the deep glow of accomplishment, but you'll have

helped your respective states to have enough votes banked so that you 

shall coast to a large enough quantity of votes, most of them for Trump 

and down-ballot Republicans so that you'll have pulled your

communities and states into the GOP column, helping to elect a 

GOP president along with GOP office holders down the line!

We'll meet here again before November 5. Until then!

MEM

Columbia's Selective Enforcement of Fairness and Civility

Columbia University recently established a task force 

on antisemitism. After it interviewed almost 500 students,

its report stated "The testimonies of hundreds of Jewish

and Israeli students have made clear that the University 

community has not treated them with the standards of 

civility, respect, and fairness it promises to all students."

One of the members of the task force said that "There has 

been a view among some that this is not a real problem, 

so we thought it was important to demonstrate what is 

actually happening to students." 

Dozens of Columbia faculty responded with a signed open

letter slamming the report: "We write as Jewish faculty,

... (the report) contributes to a hostile narrative about

Columbia," they claimed. It is "marked by conspicuous

neglectful omissions of context and climate ... conflates

feelings with facts." Esther R. Fuchs, a co-chairman of

the task force, replied saying she was "gobsmacked"

by the rebuking letter. "It's just sad, and it's tragic for 

students on this campus to have a group of faculty 

dismiss their experiences as just feelings."

It's just sad that some university bigwigs are so dismissive

of certain groups of students' complaints due to the former's

political blinders making them blind to the truth. 

MEM