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Rational Conservatives
Thursday, February 19, 2026
October 12 is for celebrating the 525th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America, for on that day in 1492, the Great Admiral landed on Guanahani (now known as San Salvador or Watlings) island in the Bahamas.
We commemorate this as a true discovery in contrast to all the claims of Vikings, Chinese, Irish, and others who supposedly came earlier – for once and only after Columbus discovered America, it stayed discovered.
Unfortunately, Columbus Day is for most Americans just an excuse for a three-day weekend – which is why it’s a holiday today, Monday October 9.
What it should be is a commemoration and celebration of Western Civilization – which is why the Left hates Columbus and his holiday.
If it’s your misfortune to run into any of these folk bemoaning the nightmare and tragedy of our coming here, you might suggest to them that they abandon every vestige of the civilization they hate as so evil.
[This is an interview of Dr. Carol Delaney, renowned Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Stanford University, with Columbia Online regarding her book, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem: How Religion Drove the Voyages that Led to America on Oct. 6]
You argue that most people misunderstand the purpose of Columbus’ voyage. According to your research, what were his motivations?
Everybody knows that Columbus was trying to find gold, but they don’t know what the gold was for: to fund a crusade to take Jerusalem back from the Muslims before the end of the world.
A lot of people at the time thought that the apocalypse was coming because of all the signs: the plague, famine, earthquakes and so forth. And it was believed that before the end, Jerusalem had to be back in Christian hands so that Christ could return in judgment.
The popular view today is that Columbus is responsible for countless atrocities against the native peoples. In your opinion, is this a fair assessment?
No, not at all. The late 20th century brought a lot of critique about him from the perspective of the natives, and Columbus has become a symbol for everything that went wrong. But the more I read of his own writings and that of his contemporaries, my understanding of him totally changed.
His relations with the natives tended to be benign. He liked the natives and found them to be very intelligent. Columbus strictly told the crew not to do things like maraud, or rape, and instead to treat the native people with respect. There are many examples in his writings where he gave instructions to this effect.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Five hundred and twenty-five years ago, Christopher Columbus completed an ambitious and daring voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. The voyage was a remarkable and then-unparalleled feat that helped launch the age of exploration and discovery.The permanent arrival of Europeans to the Americas was a transformative event that undeniably and fundamentally changed the course of human history and set the stage for the development of our great Nation.
Therefore, on Columbus Day, we honor the skilled navigator and man of faith, whose courageous feat brought together continents and has inspired countless others to pursue their dreams and convictions -- even in the face of extreme doubt and tremendous adversity.
More than five centuries after his initial voyage, we remember the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" for building the critical first link in the strong and enduring bond between the United States and Europe.
While Isabella I and Ferdinand II of Spain sponsored his historic voyage, Columbus was a native of the City of Genoa, in present day Italy, and represents the rich history of important Italian American contributions to our great Nation. There can be no doubt that American culture, business, and civic life would all be much less vibrant in the absence of the Italian American community.
We also take this opportunity to reaffirm our close ties to Columbus's country of birth, Italy. Italy is a strong ally and a valued partner in promoting peace and promoting prosperity around the world.
In commemoration of Christopher Columbus's historic voyage, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as "Columbus Day."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2017, as Columbus Day.
I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have contributed to shaping this Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.
DONALD J. TRUMP The White House Washington D.C.
President Trump is to take his first step towards scrapping President Obama’s “stupid” and “job killing” Clean Power Plan, an aghast New York Times reports.
The Trump administration will repeal the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s effort to fight climate change, and will ask the public to recommend ways it could be replaced, according to an internal Environmental Protection Agency document.
The draft proposal represents the administration’s first substantive step toward rolling back the plan, which was designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, after months of presidential tweets and condemnations of Mr. Obama’s efforts to reduce climate-warming pollution.
But it also lays the groundwork for new, presumably weaker, regulations by asking for the public and industry to offer ideas for a replacement.
The breakup of the nation-state is late, but it seems to have arrived. After Kurdistan and Catalonia (and Brexit is part of the pattern), can California be far behind?
On the other hand, the Kurds, Catalans, and Brits don’t want the end of “the nation-state.” They want their own. So it’s more accurate to say that the old global structure is showing signs of decay.
Think of the division of Czechoslovakia into two separate countries, or the breakup of old Yugoslavia into five (Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina , six if you count Srpska).
What did you expect when the Soviet Union imploded? That put the world into uncharted waters, floating between the old bipolar system and something-we-knew-not-what.
We still do not know what, but after the predictable shattering of the Warsaw Pact countries, the desire to be free of long-standing arrangements involving the likes of Kurds and Catalans, is gathering strength.
Everyone knew Harvey Weinstein was a bad guy. The bloated, greasy movie mogul slimed his way through countless ballrooms, suites and restaurants trailing lies, threats and promises.
But he had the right politics.
At the 100th anniversary of Planned Parenthood, honoring Hillary Clinton, the recently defeated candidate, drinks named “Toxic Masculinity” were being served. Also on the scene was Harvey Weinstein. And Harvey had his thick wallet open to the tune of $100K for the abortion organization.
Harvey was sitting with Hillary. Not to mention Meryl Streep and Shonda Rimes. The A-list celebs in attendance knew exactly what and who Harvey was. His habits were no secret.
But his money was good. And his connections were even better. Does anyone even need to ask why nobody would run the story?
After Vegas, the gun control memes and myths come out. It doesn't matter how wrong they are, they will echo in the mediasphere and then the talking points will leak into everyday conversations.
“Guns are uniquely lethal.”
Last year, a Muslim terrorist with a truck killed 86 people and wounded another 458.
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, the Tunisian Muslim killer, had brought along a gun, but it proved largely ineffective. The deadliest weapon of the delivery driver was a truck. Mohammed, who was no genius, used it to kill more people than Stephen Paddock would with all his meticulous planning in Vegas.
Do we need truck control?
The “historic” trip of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud to Moscow, last week (October 4–7) was an affair long on ceremony, featuring a massive delegation, but rather uncertain regarding the real results.
The first ever royal visit (which had been rescheduled several times) was supposed to have great significance for relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia, at least in terms of removing mutual reservations against often incompatible political ends and paving the way for expanding economic ties.
In fact, the meeting achieved nothing whatever of significance – other than demonstrating the shocking degree to which Mr. Putin has given up taking Russia into the 21st century, and has chosen stagnation for Russia as his goal.
What do you call someone who keeps making the same mistake over and over and fails to learn from others who have made a similar mistake?
If one doesn’t know history and basic math, and the fact that people adjust their behavior on the basis of incentives, then one should not prove ignorance by commenting on the likely effects of tax changes.
Much of commentary on the President’s proposed tax cut legislation leads one to think that 1980s never happened, and the basic laws of economics have been repealed. It should be easy to understand that a percentage change in a tax rate and a percentage change in tax revenue are not the same thing.
Many in the media appear to be know-nothings either because they are or they have a political agenda. Here’s why they – and the Congressional Budget Office – are stuck on stupid.
This is the Painted Monastery of Voronet. You read about it in 9/11 and the Religion of Slavery, written last month commemorating the 16th anniversary of the most evil attack on America in our history.
I am on my way to China today for my Mysteries of the Gobi expedition. While Jack Kelly mans the HFR ramparts, I thought I’d tell you what I just discovered about Voronet that is truly extraordinary. You might consider being in a comfortable chair you can’t fall out of, with three fingers of your favorite adult beverage at the ready. It is that mind-blowing, and will get your mind off the insanities of current Lying Swine headlines.
Built and painted in 1488, Voronet is an apotheosis of devotion to the story of Christianity. It is little wonder it is known as “the Sistine Chapel of East Europe.” The beauty of its devotion is overwhelming.
I was taking a lot of photos, and it was only when I got back home did I take a close look zooming in on them. Then I zoomed in on a panel that made my jaw drop to the floor. Believe it or not, I suddenly thought of the human shrunken head on display in my study. Then Santa Claus. Here’s why.
[Full video and text of President Trump’s address to the nation yesterday 10/02. Afterwards, the President and First Lady, with the Vice-President and Second Lady, held a moment of silence for the victims at the White House. Video follows.]
American just witnessed, endured, and suffered the worst mass shooting in its history.
A crazed psychopath holed up in the Mandalay Bay hotel; stocked up on ammo and guns; and, at the close of a music festival across the street, shot at the crowd of 22 thousand people for over ten minutes with high-powered rifles that appear to have been converted to machine guns. Fifty-nine people died. Five hundred or more were injured, many of them seriously. It was a terrible, murderous event.
The horror of it has led some on the Left to reveal the amoral emptiness at their cores. Because the festival was a country music celebration, they assumed that the attendees were Republicans and so deserved to die.
An executive attorney for CBS, Hayley Geftman-Gold, tweeted "... am actually not even sympathetic bc country music fans often republican gun toters." Another woman, TheResistANNce, tweeted, "Pray only trumptards died. Their jumping to politicize the tragedy speaks volumes about their soulless selves.
To th Left, the event is an opportunity to vilify the deplorables who just might be Trump-supporters. That's what they do. This is the chasm that divides the Left from the Right.
In the wake of the mass murder in Las Vegas on Sunday (10/01), the calls for gun control have become deafening – from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) denouncing Congress’s failure to pass gun-control legislation as an “unintentional endorsement” of mass shootings, to pundit Keith Olbermann calling for the NRA to be labeled a “terrorist organization.”
I am a professional statistician. And I admit, before I started researching gun deaths, gun-control policy used to frustrate me.
I wished the National Rifle Association would stop blocking common-sense gun-control reforms such as banning assault weapons, restricting silencers, shrinking magazine sizes and all the other measures that could make guns less deadly.
Then, my research colleagues and I at FiveThirtyEight spent three months analyzing all 33,000 lives ended by guns each year in the United States, and I wound up frustrated in a whole new way.
We looked at what interventions might have saved those people, and the case for the policies I’d lobbied for crumbled when I examined the evidence. The best ideas left standing were narrowly tailored interventions to protect subtypes of potential victims, not broad attempts to limit the lethality of guns.
