The Oasis for
Rational Conservatives
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
On January 24, 1995, President Bill Clinton delivered his State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress. These remarks during the address received a standing ovation from all Democrats and Republicans alike:
You may have to watch that more than once to believe your eyes and ears. Meanwhile, what right-wing extremist xenophobic racist Islamophobe said this in response to Trump’s 90-day travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen?
“Kudos to President Trump for his brave decision. Trump banned the citizens of countries in the embrace of Iran and prevented the Iranians from entering. They can only be dealt with through preventive measures. It is not necessary for America to host backward people, it has received enough before. What would a Yemini, Iraqi, Iranian, Somali or a Syrian do in America? They have destroyed their countries, they should not destroy America.”
The answer is this man, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Police Chief of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
And so we launch into Week Two of Trump. The most fabulous news of the week? Just two words: Neil Gorsuch. He’s being touted as Scalia’s successor. Okay, but the truth is, he’s better than Scalia. Much better. Why? Just one word: Chevron.
There’s lots more… here we go.
Ereyesterday (01/31), I spoke at a meeting on Capitol Hill on Terrorism in the Balkans. Representatives from 13 European countries were present, together with several US Congressmen and Senators.
The presentations were focused on the threat of various Islamofascist groups such as ISIS and Iqwan (Moslem Brotherhood), plus lone wolf Salafis.
I decided to focus on something else. Here’s what I said:
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‘Terrorism’ takes many forms. There is the horrific form of ISIS with publicized beheadings, the senseless slaughter of random ‘infidels,’ the infiltration of Moslem ‘refugees’ who proceed to demand Sharia law in non-Islamic lands.
There is another form of terrorism that I would like to address – and that is the purposeful undermining of democratic institutions within targeted countries, the destruction of a country’s culture and moral values, accomplished through bribery and corruption of a targeted country’s politicians, academia, and media.
This form of terrorism is more dangerously insidious than its Islamic counterpart – for it subverts a country’s own people to become traitors to themselves, to their own land, to their own culture, to their own values.
It is a form of terrorism that has no other motivation than nihilistic hate, no other goal but annihilation for the sake of annihilation, no other purpose but fascist totalitarianism for the sake of controlling other people’s lives.
The world’s number on perpetrator of this form of terrorism – which I call Fascist Subversion – is the world’s most evil billionaire, George Soros.
[This is the text of the President’s address delivered this morning – 02/02 – in Washington DC]
Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to be here this morning. And so many faith leaders -- very, very important people to me -- from across our magnificent nation, and so many leaders from all across the globe.
Today we continue a tradition begun by President Eisenhower some 64 years ago. This gathering is a testament to the power of faith, and is one of the great customs of our nation, and I hope to be here seven more times with you. (Laughter and applause.)
I want very much to thank our co-chairs, Senator Bowzman and Senator Coons, and all of the congressional leadership here.
I also want to thank my dear friend, Vice President Mike Pence, who has been incredible. (Applause.) And incredible wife, Karen.
But most importantly today, I want to thank the American people. Your faith and prayers have sustained me and inspired me through some very, very tough times.
All around America, I have met amazing people whose words of worship and encouragement have been a constant source of strength. What I hear most often as I travel the country are five words that never, ever fail to touch my heart. That’s: “I am praying for you.” I hear it so often -- “I am praying for you, Mr. President.” (Applause.)
[Note by Jack Wheeler: 57 years ago in Conscience of a Conservative, Barry Goldwater proclaimed the conservative political dream:
“I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution.”
What you are about to read explains the legal mechanism already in place by which this can be easily done. What Kim Strassel has written will blow you away with what is possible under a Trump Presidency guiding a GOP Congress. Barry Goldwater was the original American conservative hero. Somewhere, he is smiling right now.]
Last week (01/25), Todd Gaziano stepped into a meeting on Capitol Hill of free-market attorneys, think tankers and Republican congressional staff to unveil a big idea. By the time he stepped out, he had reset Washington’s regulatory battle lines.
Actually, more than reset. This is a true game-changer.
As a matter of strict objective fact, Donald Trump’s trade guru Peter Navarro is correct. Germany is the planet’s ultimate currency manipulator, not China.
The Euro – really a de facto Deutsche Mark – is indeed “grossly undervalued.” The warped mechanism of monetary union allows Germany to lock in a permanent ‘beggar-thy-neighbor’ trade advantage over Southern Europe, inflicting mass unemployment on the victim countries and blighting their futures.
Whatever you think of Peter Navarro’s trade philosophy regarding China, he is right that Germany’s chronic, huge, and illegal current account surplus - 8.8% of GDP - saps global demand and seriously distorts the world economy.
And now, President Trump is going to do something about it.
Lone wolf terrorism is the biggest trend in Islamic terrorism. Unlike classic Islamic terrorism, it requires no cells stretching across countries the way that 9/11 did. The perpetrators don’t even need to enter the country under false pretenses the way that the World Trade Center bombers did.
Classic counterterrorism is directed at organizations. It’s inadequate for stopping individual Muslim terrorists like Omar Mateen who was able to murder 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando or closely related duos like the Tsarnaev brothers in Boston or the Farook-Malik husband and wife team who carried out the San Bernardino terrorist attack which took the lives of 14 people.
The reason is simple. Unlike classic Islamic terrorism which required organization and infrastructure, the new brand of Islamic terror only needs one thing… Muslims.
Muslim immigration makes Muslim terrorism worse. Once we understand this inconvenient truth, then everything else naturally flows from it.
Long-simmering social tensions in Mexico are threatening to boil over as failing neoliberal reforms to the country’s formerly nationalized gas sector are compounded by open corruption, stagnant standards of living, and rampant inflation.
The U.S. media has remained mostly mute on the situation in Mexico, even as the unfolding civil unrest has closed the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, California, for the last four weekends in a row.
Ongoing “gasolinazo” protests in Mexico over a 20 percent rise in gas prices have led to over 400 arrests, 250 looted stores, and six deaths. Roads are being blockaded, borders closed, and government buildings are being sacked. Protests have remained relatively peaceful overall, except for several isolated violent acts, which activists have blamed on government infiltrators.
The few mainstream news reports that have covered the situation blame rising gas prices but fail to examine several other factors that are pushing Mexico to the brink of revolution.
Gobsmacked.
Ever hear that term? It’s the British equivalent of our being flabbergasted. This has been a week of being gobsmacked. Note that the term has two sides.
As Theresa met Trump at the White House late this morning, she declared, “America and Britain can lead the world together again,” while Trump made it clear that Britain was the US’s “premier ally.” They will work together on accelerating Brexit, the UK’s exit from the stifling EU, and a US-UK free trade deal. Tomorrow, however, is another story…
More gobsmacking. It’s actually overwhelming how much of it there has been in the seven days since The Donald became President Trump. So let’s start with what gobsmacked me the most personally at the very moment he took the oath of office.
All in all. this has been a Yuge week for Trump and America. Let’s enjoy it…
It is astounding how much misinformation and lack of knowledge there is regarding Syria today. This is ground zero for the war on ISIS and Jihadist Fascism, yet very few know what’s really going on. You are soon to be among them.
Let’s start with a quick story. In the pre-dawn hours of August 24 last year, 2016, a heavily armed force of the Turkish military dubbed Euphrates Shield invaded Syria and seized the border town of Jarabulus on the Euphrates River (see map). The excuse was to rescue the city from ISIS.
What actually happened was that a series of anti-ISIS Arab Military Councils had formed their own militias in the region composed of local fighters. They had succeeded in liberating the town of Manbij from ISIS south of Jarabulus a few weeks before, and were now poised to take Jarabulus as well.
But just as they were about to enter the city, the Turkish Army arrived. Within hours, the Arab militia fighters born and raised in Jarabulus saw ISIS terrorists shave their beards, change their black garments for Turkish uniforms, and join the Turks.
In other words, the Islamist and ISIS-supporting leader of Turkey, Recip Erdogan, ordered his army into Syria not to attack ISIS as his propaganda proclaimed, but to prevent the anti-ISIS militias from defeating ISIS in Jarabulus.
"Democrats lost because they did not know how to talk about race," Aimee Allison told the DNC candidates forum on race.
Aimee Allison is a professional “race talker.” She’s a senior VP at PowerPAC+ which is dedicated to tapping into the “political power of the multiracial majority.”
On Monday (01/23), PowerPAC’s Democracy in Color hosted the DNC Chair Candidates Forum 2017. The qualifications to be the leader of the Democrat National Committee were obvious. It was their job to pander to the “new majority” of non-whites.
White voters make up 71% of the electorate. Hillary won little more than a third of this “old majority.”
“I’m a white woman, I don’t get it,” candidate Sally Boynton Brown shrilled. Her job, she declared, was to “shut other white people down” until they admit their “privilege.” Note the black lady behind her smiling and nodding when she says it:
Has anyone actually worked out yet what that Women’s March over the weekend (01/21) was all about?
According to Madonna it had something to do with blowing up the White House.
According to Michael Moore (not a woman) it was about stopping Betsy De Vos (a woman: how does this work, exactly?) from becoming Secretary of Education.
According to Hamas-supporting, hijab-wearing co-organizer Linda Sarsour, it had something to do with that famous supporter of women’s rights, Islam.
According to Hermione Granger it was a lovely excuse to fly over from England with her Mum, to feel humble and try on some new bright red lipstick.
According to at least one of the girls in the photo above, it’s about “good scince”. Yay! Go, good scince!
There is now no denying that China's economy is slowing sharply, though this can be masked by mini-booms along the way.
China is creating credit at twice the pace of underlying growth and is relying on hazardous bubbles to keep growth running far above the safe speed limit, Fitch Ratings has warned.
Short-term stimulus is papering over deep cracks in the economy and vital reforms are being neglected, storing up serious trouble for the future.
The Fitch credit agency said state control over the banking system will prevent a sudden collapse in confidence or a western-style financial crash, but the Communist authorities are running out of tools to meet their inflated GDP targets.
China's epic catch-up boom since the early 1980s will likely sputter out this year as banks struggle with the legacy of bad debts and chronic malinvestment. Here’s why.
Most new cars sold in 2024 will have self-driving capabilities so that the number of auto fatalities will be falling rapidly.
That is an easy prediction, because the technologies have already been developed and roll-outs of the new cars are being planned and, in some cases, are underway.
There will be many seen and unseen new technologies in the next eight years, so by the end of the Trump administration (assuming he is re-elected), the world will look very different. Unfortunately, economic advances take place more slowly, and political advances even more slowly — without much advancement in 2,000 years.
Removing counterproductive regulations and taxes and reducing wasteful government spending should lead to higher growth and, hence, more and better jobs. However, new technologies have been rapidly eliminating manufacturing jobs everywhere — even in China.
If not in manufacturing, where will all the new jobs be? The truth is no one knows, but they are likely to appear as they always have in the past.
