The Oasis for
Rational Conservatives
Monday, February 16, 2026
The Democrat Party, as it did after Hubert Humphrey’s close loss in 1968, seems still to be misdiagnosing its 2016 defeat.
Promoting Black Lives Matter and open borders, promising free tuition and tax hikes, opposing fracking and pipeline construction, pushing single-payer health care and an ever-expanding transgender agenda as well as abortion—these are not majority positions.
Neither will embracing Hollywood, the media, or the NFL protests win over voters. Thinking (or hoping) that President Trump will implode, quit, be jailed, sicken, die, or be impeached is not an agenda.
Barack Obama both weaponized and exempted Trump with the precedent of “pen and phone” executive orders and sermonizing on social and cultural issues and doing pop culture, from Ferguson and Trayvon Martin to the Final Four and GloZell. Trump wades into a controversy, tweets, outrages, and then moves on to the next day’s “controversy” or supposedly career-ending spat.
Fresh episodic targeting serves two purposes. Trump is a sort of Road Runner: gone to reply to the next provocation by the time his Wile E. Coyote critics can put their hands around his long-gone neck. The pushback against him is usually yesterday’s news drowned out by tomorrow’s new melodrama.
At the end of their lengthy editorial Tuesday (10/17) regarding the new Uranium One revelations -- "Team Obama's stunning coverup of Russian crimes" -- the New York Post editorial board writes:
“Until September 2013, the FBI director was Robert Mueller — who’s now the special counsel probing Russian meddling in the 2016 election. It’s hard to see how he can be trusted in that job unless he explains what he knew about this Obama-era cover-up.”
I'll go the Post one better. Virtually whatever Mueller has to say about his involvement or non-involvement in this metastasizing scandal, he must recuse himself immediately for the most obvious reasons of propriety and appearance.
Frankly, it's outrageous that he, Ron Rosenstein, or anyone who even touched the Uranium One investigation now be involved with the current probe -- unless the real name of the FBI is actually the NKVD (Stalin’s Secret Police). This is not how a democracy is supposed to work, even remotely. Forget transparency -- this was deliberate occlusion.
Contrary to the Left's favorite narrative, any Russia scandal has always been worse for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. Recent revelations confirmed this Tuesday (10/17), and even implicated the special prosecutor at the center of the Trump-Russia investigation, former FBI director Robert Mueller.
In 2010, the Obama administration approved a controversial deal giving Russian company Rosatom partial control of Canadian mining company Uranium One (and with it 20 percent of U.S. uranium), just as Russians paid former president Bill Clinton for speeches and Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.
To make matters worse, the FBI had already gathered evidence of Russian corruption in the U.S. but kept it secret just when it would have mattered most, The Hill reported Tuesday.
A confidential U.S. witness working in the Russian nuclear industry helped federal agents gather financial records, make secret recordings, and intercept email starting in 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised U.S. trucking company Transport Logistics International, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Officials also acquired documents and an eyewitness account corroborating earlier reports that Russian officials had routed million of dollars into the U.S. to benefit the Clinton Foundation just as Hillary Clinton served on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which endorsed the Uranium One deal.
FBI Director Mueller sat on all the damning information and did nothing. And the information is damning in the extreme.
Of all the sordid details to emerge thus far from the burgeoning Harvey Weinstein scandal, there’s one that creeps me out above all else.
Not all the revolting scenes of sexual abuse. I mean the one right near the beginning of the scandal, where he announced how he was going to make everything better:
“I am going to need a place to channel my anger so I’ve decided I’m going to give the NRA my full attention.”
Let us pause awhile to relish that moment, because I don’t think history will ever provide us with a better example of what’s wrong not just with Hollywood in particular, but with liberalism in general.
I’m not in any way wishing to play down the awfulness of the suffering experienced by those young women. But what I am saying that their individual stories of hardship are a drop in the ocean when set against the damage that powerful figures like Weinstein and the “liberal” agenda they represent have done to our broader culture.
On race, on gender, on sexual politics, on the Constitution, on the environment, on welfare, on immigration, on the economy, there’s not a corner of human existence in the U.S and beyond that hasn’t been meddled with and changed for the worse by the liberal “values” so aggressively championed by people like Weinstein.
The decision of United States President Donald Trump not to certify the fact that Iran is duly implementing the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has brought to light the Byzantine games Putin is playing regarding Iran, Saudi Arabia, the EU, Ukraine, North Korea and of course with America.
He thinks he can leverage Trump’s decision to his great benefit. He sees himself as a master geostrategist. But it may all backfire. Here’s why.
Once again, there is more evidence that economic freedom leads to success. Many of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have made enormous economic progress from the time they became free almost three decades ago.
The first few years after the collapse of communism (1989-92) were very difficult as the countries struggled to make the transition to a capitalist free-market economy, which many had largely achieved by 1995.
The irony is there are some lessons for the United States from some of the successes of the former communist countries. Here they are.
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?
