Sheriff Clark in Milwaukee is someone I thought a lot of before the riots broke out in that poor infested city over the weekend of August 13th 2016. His answer after the riots made me like him a lot more. Thank goodness he said what he did—which was essentially what I and many other conservative voices have been saying for a long time.
It was good to hear him speak properly on the matter and is worth remembering. So here are the words of Sheriff Clark. Listen to them and pass this along to a friend who needs to hear a little wisdom as we all endure the massive storm of progressive failure nationwide.
On a positive note, Right Side Broadcasting interviewed people during the Donald Trump rally in Toledo, Ohio recently–the same day that Hillary gave her acceptance speech at the DNC. The contrast to the garbage that we saw in Philadelphia couldn’t be more obvious. You can listen to some of those people below. What is interesting is that wherever Trump goes, there are these tremendous, passionate people. Does anybody think that Hillary Clinton could fill arenas like this one in Toledo and bring out such articulate supporters? I don’t.
Just the week of the DNC Trump has given an average of three major speeches each day across the entire country and everywhere he goes there are these giant crowds filled with enthusiastic people. Trump is outworking Hillary Clinton in every way and now that the conventions are out of the way, it will be “entertaining” to watch her attempt to catch up to Trump. Hillary could only hope to have one rally like the one he had in Toledo—let alone to do three of those each day in different parts of the country. Trump doesn’t need a ground game of zombie-like supporters—because he is the ground game. He shows up himself and in that fashion–his method is much more powerful, and persuasive.
I think it was way back in August of 2015 that I said I’d considered not contributing articles everyday like I do presently if Donald Trump were elected president—mainly because his presence in the race for the White House, or from the White House does much of what I have been doing with all this work. Well, after tonight’s performance in the East and the strong showing once again in five more states with clear indications of a strong finish in the biggest of all, California—it is clear that Donald Trump should be the Republican nominee for POTUS in 2016. Even with the silly little Kasich/Cruz alliance, the only hope they have is to get to a floor fight at the convention to be president—which won’t go over well as it goes against the popular vote. A lot of people never got over the Bush/Gore tie in 2000 where technically Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won the electoral votes. This Trump situation is much more flammable than even that, so I don’t see anybody but Trump running as a Republican against Hillary Clinton. And as for Hillary, she barely beat Bernie Sanders. She won’t be able to withstand a focused attack by Donald Trump every day. He will simply outwork her, and she won’t win a general election. So for all practical purposes, Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States.
I am an excellent judge of character and it may take five or six years for others within the Republican ranks to see what I do in Trump, but history will agree with me. Conservatives are not going to win major elections trying to shift the country radically back to the political right after 100 years of liberal erosion—so you have to pick your battles. Trump is all about the economy, border security, and trade negotiations—which is an excellent place to begin. Real conservatives need to keep their eye on 2024 for all the social issues. You have to fix the economy first and sustain the integrity of our sovereignty before we worry about guys wanting to use the restrooms of girls. These are all big issues but moral depravity escalates when people don’t have money in their pockets. Morality is a lot easier to sell when people have something of value that they appreciate—and right now—we just don’t have that type of society.
Trump from the White House will utilize the power of positive thinking to unlock America’s potential. It won’t be Trump’s policies that do it—it will be his mouth and charisma, and I see a path where he can do a lot more from the White House than the slow trickle that I perform with all my articles trying to teach people to do the same thing in their private lives. The next four to eight years will be a whirlwind and situations will change—and a chapter of our lives will close as a new one begins. That means I need to shift my personal role as well.
I have talked prior about a rather epic novel that I’m working on and I have been flushing out the ideas for quite some time. The articles on this site have played a part of that. But now it’s time to put pen to paper and to pound out the manuscripts. Rather than write the 1200 to 1500 words each day that I do here, my efforts need to go into that commercial work. It’s not the writing itself that is the challenge, it’s the editing and working out the details that takes all the time and that is where I’m going to put my focus at this point That’s not to say that I won’t make any more contributions—I certainly will. But as for the daily articles, it is time to let the chain reaction that many of us in this marketplace have set forth to do their thing and to move to the next phase as we see it.
My path is clear and it will take everything I have to get there. It’s certainly time for me to make this decision. I’ve delayed my indulgence for about a year because of all the volatility at the presidential level. It is hard for people to imagine that one guy like Donald Trump might have such a large impact on our culture but I’d ask those who can remember to recollect the difference between 1979 and 1980. I think the switch from 2016 to 2017 will be much greater and there will be so much news flashing by in such a whirlwind that nobody will be able to keep up. Meanwhile, I have quite an encyclopedia of articles here to help people through that phase and to guide them into making the correct decisions. My next role will be context through art—not in the definition of interpretation—which is what I’ve been doing. Now we need the artistic effort to expand culture and that will be my new focus. For me the work will be similar, I will write everyday toward a known objective—only people won’t see it as they do now. They’ll see it in bulk when the projects are released. For me it is the work of the Great American Novel, something I have been thinking about for quite a long time. How that novel gets published I’m not sure at this time—because that industry has changed so much. But first, you just have to write it then measure how best to distribute it.
As for Donald Trump, I know his people have read here and I hope this site continues to be a source of inspiration. But it’s time for the student to leave the classroom and to utilize what they’ve learned—and I expect that to be the case for everybody—even those silent lurkers who depend heavily on my written words. I’m not going away—I’m just turning inward so that I can build up to the next great phase which we will see a few years from now. When we get there—we all need to be ready and I need to focus on getting it right. I am proud to have played my part in all the multiple fissures that are emerging along the front of establishment debacles. I consider all this a major mission concluded even if people aren’t aware of the explosions and dawn has not yet revealed all the damage.
Trump winning against the establishment—and I consider Cruz part of the establishment—the church wielding branch—I see an open window for a reiteration of the American idea in much the way that Henry Morgan led the pirates of the Caribbean toward the first free establishment of a constitutional republic without the influence of a king. I’m not saying that it will be a moral quest, but it will get us where we want to go as a country among the world. The situation is complicated beyond measure, but ultimately the power of positive thinking will go a long way to getting us there. So enjoy the victory for those riding the Trump train. For those not yet there, see you when you arrive. It might take a while but I trust that you’ll arrive in your own way in your own time. And as for this site, this won’t be the last article. But they won’t come as often as my focus will be on more commercial material—because that’s what’s needed at this point in time. When the smoke clears—all this will make a lot more sense.
Sometimes you readers here ask me my advice on financial matters, and when I give my opinion and you listen you profit wonderfully, and everyone lives happily ever after. But as I watched with some level of horror that the Disney owned company ESPN fired the great baseball pitcher Curt Schilling over his social media disgust about transgender politics while my third grandson was being born at the hospital I have decided to give this advice for free before being asked. If you have any Disney stock in your portfolio, then you should dump it now. Not only does the Disney Company need to be taught a lesson due to their bad management and advocacy of progressive politics using their extensive entertainment vehicles to attack traditional family values—but it’s just good sound financial policy. Disney is running all its companies in the ground—most people just don’t see it yet. So for your own good, you should stick by Schilling—who is a real man, and dump Disney. Perhaps they’ll learn something and fix their company, but as of right now, they are headed toward a miserable end as they have attached their star to progressive politics. CLICK HERE TO READ PREVIOUS EXAMPLES OF THIS FAILURE. Here is why Disney stock is headed for troubled times.
Disney has bet a lot on Star Wars, but those best days are now behind it. With The Force Awakens breaking $2 billion dollars at the box office and falling short of Avatar, future movies will be disappointments up until 2020. There are other Star Wars movies that will do well from now until then, and the merchandise sales will be healthy, but the Star Wars mythology is on a downward trend and losing steam quickly. By 2021 Star Wars will be half the value socially that it is now. It will still be considered successful compared to the other properties that Disney runs, but it won’t be enough to carry the whole company.
The Marvel films are in their fourth quarter of effectiveness. The superhero films are losing their appeal and Marvel is the latest “has been.” DC Comics is the new fresh face and even those films will have run their course by the start of the next decade. New films will not hold the same appeal that they have over the last decade and this will seriously damage Disney’s market intentions.
Disney is leaning toward making a gay protagonist and Frozen is on the radar to launch that attempt—they experimented with the idea in that popular musical. It will be a devastating attempt that will be greatly rejected and severely damage the animation division at Disney. So far they have been dancing around the surface, but there is a lot of pressure politically for them to commit more deeply to gay protagonists as primary characters. Once they do that, there will be serious market backlash, and you won’t want your money in the Mouse House at that point in time.
ESPN is going down the tubes with the destruction of cable television. With streaming services taking over the home television markets, ESPN is one of the first major casualties. Baseball is already having trouble keeping ratings during summertime broadcasts and with the poor PR issues regarding concussions within the NFL, professional sports are having a hard time attracting a younger audience. There are too many options for young people and sports are becoming decentralized at a key time and ESPN will find itself on the way out quickly in the years to come. The problem that professional sports face is similar to what the music industry has suffered from in recent years. Studio music has been weakened as options have given more people outlets, but taken away the extraordinary profits that have been enjoyed in the past.
The Disney Parks are getting killed in the Orlando market, even in the Hollywood region. Universal Studios has been far more innovative and has not attached their image so intensely to progressive politics. They have wisely kept a lot of the politics to a minimum where Disney has chained themselves to rainbow-colored castles and flamboyant employees. The Disney parks have taken a noticeable dive over just the last few years looking more like an apologist of the Obama White House than an entertainment company. While Universal Studios was building the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and many other updates Disney was focused on attracting more girls while alienating boys. They have heavily invested in Frozen and their new Fantasyland area. Universal’s attractions are appealing to both boys and girls while being equally thrilling to adults as well. But Disney has alienated boys while focusing on girls and ignoring the adults. They hope to fix that situation with the new Star Wars land at Hollywood Studios, but that will be a few years away toward the end of the Star Wars appeal. It will arrive at market too late and will lose steam by the mid 2025 time period.
It has long been known that the great Howard Ashman of Disney died of aids because of his gayness, but he was smart enough to write songs to musicals that featured romance between men and women—because they have mass appeal. Because of Ashman’s talent Disney has been forgiven by the public. Yet when Disney goes after a strong sports figure like Schilling—who won a world series bleeding from a last-minute surgery to his ankles–because he doesn’t think that men and women should be sharing a bathroom, Disney has crossed the line. They believe that by employing Shilling at ESPN that they control all aspects of his life. Where Disney employees like Ashman were allowed to have a homosexual lifestyle that led to his death—Disney supported that lifestyle. When it came to Schilling, a man known as a conservative who has taken stands on Muslim troubles and gay rights advocacy during his private life—Disney has shown that it discriminates against conservatives while giving free passes to progressives to express themselves any way they wish. The double standard is an attack on conservative value, and that of course is a terrible business decision on their part. So in spite of their social activism, they are making decisions that guarantee their future failures.
What Disney is doing to Curt Schilling is showing conservative America that they have the power to tame a big conservative lion-like the pro athlete and Hall of Famer. They were supposed to be hiring Schilling for his inside baseball knowledge as one of the greats. But what they really want is to control society’s behavior by taming one of the great male idols within professional sports. And that is not the decision-making ability of a great company—but a bunch of idiots and soon to be failures. For that reason, and many of the others mentioned above, and many, many others not even yet talked about—you should sell your Disney stock today, because you’ll wish you listened tomorrow. That tomorrow may not come for another ten years, but it will come—and you’ll wish you had spent it somewhere else instead of a progressive company riding the coattails of a truly great man, “Uncle Walt,” to use the company to change America instead of motivating it to greatness.
The commenter below actually said some decent things, so I’m not going to rake him over the coals. He is the product of his modern environment shaped by public education, popular entertainment and political necessity. In fact I agree with him on several issues—his comment is a welcome form of debate—and I like to see people thinking. However, the context of capitalistic function is off and I will explain why after you’ve had a chance dear reader—to ponder over his words as he left them followed by the link to the 2013 article I wrote which initiated the small banter. When I wrote that particular article Seattle, Washington had just elected an open socialist onto their city council and it was a sign of things to come. Of course I was right in all aspects—within three years, we have an open socialist running for president and now they are coming out of the wood work everywhere. They believe the stigma of socialism has been removed from our social context. They are talking more openly about the topic which is good—because it allows us to finally deal with the excessive problem that collective based cultures face and how it impacts their national GDP. Here is the comment as printed.
Paul Brar
Doesn’t Boeing earn a healthy profit every year? If so, why cannot they pay their workers decent wages and provide decent pension options. If a company was not profitable or earning low profits, then your article would be justifiable but when it come to very large corporation who make millions in profit every year, I think the workers should expect decent wages, working hours, good working conditions, etc. Further, please do not confuse Socialism with Communism, they are not interchangeable. For example, Social Democratic countries in Europe are mostly democratic capitalistic countries with social values that protect the workers from exploitation. That is the future and once we keep evolving, we will realize profits are not the main aim for humanity but evolution. Evolve to be able to travel to other planets, advances in medicine so that we can live for 400 – 800 years, where the whole planet is connected and basics needs are free for everyone (i.e. food, housing, clothing, etc.) and profits are made by advances in technology which compete with open source technologies. There is enough on this planet for double or even triple today’s population but greed has led to social/economic inequalities. We have to evolve as we are not much better than animals with basic technology. Reason for life would be to evolve as humanity, not hoard for the next generation.
Here is the problem with what he said, Boeing has one primary objective, it makes airplanes—the best airplanes that it can and their profits are a product of the successful implementation of that objective. The employees are there to serve the needs of the business so that Boeing can achieve its stated goals. If Boeing needs to secure its workforce to retain their skills and reduce unneeded employee turnover, then the company needs to pay what they need to in market value to retain those employees—through benefits, work hours, etc. Boeing does not exist to be a job provider—their primary purpose is not to provide sustainable jobs to the people who work for the company, and the employees are not equal partners in the productive enterprise. They show up to work, punch the clock, do their task, and they return home to do whatever they desire with their earnings exchanged for their labor. The mistake that socialists and communists make is that they assume that a job is collectively owned and that they are equal partners in providing labor to a marketplace. They completely ignore the tendency of free-enterprise for which the founders and ownership of Boeing participate in to assume all the risk of a profitable venture and that any disproportionate rate of pay which might be enjoyed at the top—by CEOs and the board of directors, is that the risk of success or failure is completely on their shoulders so the greatest rewards are garnered by them alone. In a capitalist society—which is what America is supposed to be—income is directly linked to the amount of risk assumed by an individual. And by risk it is attributed to the level of responsibility for task completion that a worker possesses.
Under collective bargaining agreements unions have destroyed the value of a good wage because everyone gets it no matter what they bring to the table of productive enterprise or the level of risk assumed by individuals. The lackluster sloth that only has a passion for video games once they are off work can make as much money as the person who desires to work through all their breaks to achieve more productivity at work and continues to work long after everyone sleeps for the night. What happens as a result is that you get fewer of the latter and much, much more of the former regarding employee behavior. If you have ever done business with a French company you get a taste of what I’m talking about. In France, which is a heavily socialist country, the emphasis isn’t on productive output in most cases; it’s on personal time and vacation periods incurred. There is very little passion among the French workforce to complete tasks because they take the products for which they manufacture for granted. They believe they are all equal contributors to output. As a result, most of their workforces are planning their two months of vacation each year instead of thinking about accomplishing the task of productive enterprise, and their nation suffers as a result. Human beings are driven by the opportunity to profit and when employees see that they can get ahead in life and that profit is there for them if they do well; they tend to find ways to be productive. But if they get paid regardless of whether strategic product objectives are fulfilled or not—they tend to perpetually plan for their lunch breaks and vast amounts of vacation time that they incur as a result of their socialist underpinnings.
All this European socialism which emerged from the communist plunge taken early in the last century is derived from Immanuel Kant’s philosophy which has spread like a disease across the world. While many don’t consider the collectivist theory to be reminiscent of communism, it is a direct byproduct of small “c” communism without the ruthless dictators. America’s plunge toward socialism is directly the fault of labor unions which have been functioning under communist oriented sentiment for decades and 7 years of a presidency that openly beholds the softer European versions of collective bargaining at the first sign of a sizeable profit margin.
The failure in understanding is that money is a unit of measure and not of actual value. To fall in love with money or profit and base a philosophy on it is like basing the value of a measurement off a yard stick and not the thing being measured. By itself a yard stick, a ruler, or anything resembling a measuring instrument has little value until it is used to measure the height and width of something. In relation to those results, we might say something is bad or good based on the dimensional characteristics. Profit is a measurement of a company’s’ financial success, it is not a pool of money meant to be equally distributed among a mass workforce.
Collective bargaining has muddied the water of free enterprise and made it so that companies hoard their profit to protect themselves from mass employee insurrections such as layoffs and disproportional yearly increases not rooted in value toward a company’s actual worth. A line worker does not have equal value to the risk takers at the top. They may physically work harder as the line worker, but they get to leave at the end of a work day relatively free of responsibility—so the input toward a company’s wealth is not equal. The executive at the top of a company worries about the health of the company usually 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Sure they play golf with clients, go out to eat and get to travel around the world, but it’s not all fun and games—the stress they endure is not proportionally distributed among those enjoying collective bargaining benefits. That is why the executive likely earns six figures for a 50 to 60 hour work week while the hourly worker has to work 70 to 80 hours of overtime to receive the same. However at Boeing, members of their machinist union are easily compensated at the six figure range as seen at the link below—and most of them are not exceptional employees by any measure—they are average and can only achieve such high rates of pay because the health of the company has been able to sustain it without leaving for another country where they can protect their profit margins. The union and the collective bargaining that the company has to endure due to socialist policies never stops asking for more money and Boeing is at a point where they are seriously balancing out whether or not to out-source all their work because the collective bargaining agreements are too unreasonable—and they are at a tipping point.
The concept of collective bargaining is a faulty one; it is a socialist concept that should not be in any American business. It’s not wrong for a line worker to make six figures if they outwork all their peers—but when all boats are forced to rise together the incentive to be better than the next worker, or to learn and endure more for the productive enterprise of a successful business is taken away, what we get is lackluster performance that ultimately makes that company less competitive. The only reason that the United States has endured with these socialist policies as long as they have is because most of the world isn’t any better off. America is still the best option for a company like Boeing because it is close to the end-user of their products and the labor pool is relatively stable for the high-tech jobs they require. But that doesn’t make it right and at some point in the near future we either have to reject outright the socialist collective bargaining concept for the good of our national GDP, or we will gradually lose more and more manufacturing until only service oriented businesses remain. And that is where America stands in 2016—dangerously close to the edge of oblivion.
So while the commenter above was right about the tail end of his observations—about the direction of the human race—he isn’t quite there regarding the motivations for getting there. If we expect entrepreneurs to continue evolving and driving the marketplace forward, we need to take the shackles off them and not expect them to carry all of society forward with little to no profit incentive. Boeing does not owe its profits to the workers—the workers are compensated based on their value—at least they should be. The collective bargaining agreements under their labor contracts are excessively burdensome and will eventually destroy the company just as insects acting as parasitic entities on a nice healthy tree will eventually kill it for their own sustenance. Socialism is a concept that must be rejected at every level—especially at Boeing and the Seattle region in general. Socialism only benefits the lazy and unproductive and holds back the efforts of the exceptional. But it is the exceptional that drives mankind forward, and that is a concept that every socialist and student of if ignores—which is why under any name that they call it—collectivism destroys culture—it doesn’t enhance it.
There was a lot not to like about Quentin Tarantino’s latest film The Hateful Eight. I personally didn’t see it when it came out in theaters around Christmas of 2015 because of Tarantino’s political activism against police, but I put it on the checklist. It was sold as a western shot in 70mm traditional wide—just as Ben Hur was many years ago—so I figured it would be worth watching. My chance came once it was released to the home theater market and I was a little excited about it. But after two hours of movie realizing that the whole thing was going nowhere, I was very concerned that if Tarantino was the best that Hollywood had to offer—that they consider him a “modern” Shakespeare–that there is no wonder their movie industry was in trouble. At that point there was still about 45 minutes of movie left to show and I was ready to turn it off—but didn’t because I already had too much time invested.
This is what happens when someone becomes so full of themselves—and have been told by hundreds of aspiring actors and progressive movie producers that they are the greatest thing to arrive since fire. They forget that people actually will see their movies and that those people think very differently about the world than those tucked up against the mountains of California and the Pacific Ocean. The only good characters in The Hateful Eight was the Kurt Russell character. Samuel Jackson wasn’t the greatest and once he revealed an oral sex scene with another guy—I decided I didn’t like him and didn’t want to invest any more time into learning about him. Most of the movie took place inside a cabin getting to know all these characters who were telegraphed very early to being all completely killed off. There was no point to their stories or the interaction between them because it all led to one place—death.
The Hateful Eight is like a person being walked to an execution getting to know all the people spitting on him along the way. It just doesn’t make any sense because that person was going to be dead soon—so why waste the time? It was just horrendously stupid. Beautifully photographed, good soundtrack—most of the time—but just a stupid story—I can’t believe anybody read that script and thought it the work of a genius—and I can’t believe anybody gave Tarantino money to make that movie.
Coming from a guy who shares with me a love for the great movie, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Tarantino obviously isn’t at the same level of Sergio Leone, and I went into The Hateful Eight hoping sincerely that he was. Not even close—not even close to the sincerity of a spaghetti western, which I thought was the point of The Hateful Eight. It ended up being just another sign of a broken and declining culture that doesn’t make anything original anymore—even though all the tools were provided. To suggest that The Hateful Eight is anything close to the masterpiece Hamlet, just because everyone ended up dead in the end is ridiculous. There weren’t any sympathetic characters for which to hang a morality on in Tarantino’s movie. All the characters were villains and none of them were people I’d want to get to know if they sat down next to me at a bar.
Even using the barroom metaphor with The Hateful Eight seems underwhelming. Typically when a man wants to pick up a girl in a bar he engages in small talk to get her to reveal bits about herself. Once she decides to talk about herself the conversation evolves into more personal matters. Then as a climax and some trust won, the girl decides whether or not she wants to sleep with the guy. It’s a little mating game that our species plays to make the experience not seem so cheap. The Hateful Eight is like walking up to that girl and just flatly saying, “Let’s have sex.” Then spending three hours talking about all the things you should have talked about before blurting out the obvious. It was just despicable as a story—pathetic at every level.
I have liked other Tarantino movies—I thought Pulp Fiction was clever, and I enjoyed his work in other things—but I wouldn’t say he’s a master of anything. He’s only smart compared to the very stupid people who now make up the Hollywood industry which these days are just a few rungs above raw porn in its creative impulse. I am really glad that I did not go to see this Tarantino western at the theater because I would have been angry at wasting the money. The Hateful Eight wasn’t a western; it was a monstrosity of undeveloped ideas from a director who obviously has personal problems holding back his artistic ability.
As an example of how all westerns should be presented these days, The Revenant is still the featured example. If you are going to make a western, at least put in the work. So what if someone stole the script to The Hateful Eight and that’s why Tarantino made it into a feature film. The material wasn’t so good that an eight year old child couldn’t have written it—so whatever provoked big money donors to give Tarantino money for that piece of crap sadly overrated the ability of the troubled, progressive filmmaker. The movie wasn’t just bad enough to write a poor review about, it was bad enough that I personally feel like I was robbed just by watching it, because I can’t get back my time. It would have been a much better movie if Samuel Jackson hadn’t forced a naked man to perform oral sex on him, because in the last dying moments he was the only one left and I couldn’t help but think that he was the last person I wanted to see on the screen in the end. Given that, he was the best character in the movie after Kurt Russell’s character died of poisoning. The Hateful Eight was horrendous filmmaking and storytelling at its absolute lowest. Sadly, it represents a new generation that thinks it’s the work of genius—because people are now so stupid and have such a low opinion of themselves that they don’t know any better. People now can actually relate to these despicable characters. And that’s the real problem with The Hateful Eight and the filmmakers who put that trash on the screen.
The answer to the elephant in the room is that it is dead—and has been so for some time. It is time to acknowledge it and move on to something else. The Republican Party, which was created to end slavery, for which Abraham Lincoln was its best spokesman—died a long time ago—and is no longer effective. If you put Karl Rove, John Kasich, Mitt Romney and me in a room together all three of them added up would not even come close to me as far as conservatism—so they do not represent me as a political party. They have lost their war with the left and become too much like the enemy—the political left in America. They are useless to me in a representative republic. I have voted for them over and over again for several decades, but they have always been ineffective and the reason was that we were voting for a taxidermy version of an elephant, instead of a real creature full of vigor.
That nagging prospect has been on my mind for quite a long time, but it was never clearer than on the night Ted Cruz won the Wisconsin primary. Cruz has no shot of winning the nomination, yet the party, the media, and all the #NEVERTRUMP fans worshiping the dead and deceased Republican Party behaved as though a New Year had dawned on them and life had been returned to their caricature. Only Donald Trump has a mathematical path of achieving the Republican nomination at the Convention in July. Nobody else does—yet the party is willing to use anybody and anything to delay Trump so that they could hold onto their grip of party control and what they believe are conservative values. Yet studying the voting patterns of Wisconsin, it was only in the heavily populated areas—particularly those most affected by the major talk radio stations which espoused the #NEVERTRUMP mantra loudest that Cruz won. All of the surrounding, rural counties went for Trump. It was almost a carbon copy of the type of voting pattern seen when Democrats compete against Republicans. Country people were having their voices drowned out by the more heavily populated urban areas—and they were not happy about it. The Republican Party wanting any good news that it could get was willing to accept any information that stopped Trump from becoming head of the party—even to the point of self-destruction. The short-sightedness was grossly obvious.
But the glee that emerged from their mouths was rather pathetic. It signified a political party at the Alamo not acting heroically in one last stand, but of a bunch of soldiers out of bullets knowing that the end was coming then seeing that the encroaching army was short on ammunition themselves and was awaiting supplies—they were able to live for five more minutes and were happy about it—even boastful. They were so happy that they denied Trump of roughly 40 little delegates that they missed the point of what the supporters of the GOP frontrunner were espousing. They were just happy that they had a better chance of getting the nomination process to a convention so that they could insert somebody they were more comfortable with—as if the public would put up with it. It was a pretty disgusting display.
My first thoughts and those which stayed with me after considerable contemplation were that the Republican Party just needed to be put to rest. A new party needed to be created, one that better represented conservatives and rural voters much more accurately. I think Trump should make a point and win his remaining primary victories, but that he should then just start his own party—likely a continuation of the Reform Party for which he, Pat Buchannan and Ross Perot were a part of in the past. Even Rob Portman was a part of the Reform Party when he ran for the congressional seat he took over in 1993—I know that because he was going to the same meetings I was—I knew him back then. It’s time for a fresh start and a completely new political philosophy not rooted in the failures of the past. A return to the Party of Reagan is not enough for me. I want something better than what Abraham Lincoln was the head of.
Regardless of how many delegates Trump has, the #NEVERTRUMP people have shown that they will not behave themselves and unite behind him—which they should do. So they need to be destroyed as a movement. We need to have a head to head election with Hillary, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump. Trump as everyone knows by now has a solid 30% support base no matter what. In a three-way race, that almost gets him an assured victory. I don’t believe Hillary will be able to get 50% of a vote in any election—especially with the troubles she has, and there is no way Ryan beats Trump. I think it’s obvious that given a choice in a three-way race it’s not Republicans that will be split. Kasich as it stands now is similar to Hillary in politics, Cruz with Ryan, and then there is Trump who is about 7 to 8% ahead of everyone else routinely. That is the number nobody is talking about, and it would give Trump a victory in a three-way race without question. So why not? If we don’t have this showdown now—voters will continue to be tricked into voting for the stuffed caricature of an elephant—and that’s just not fair to them.
The only advantage for Trump to win the nomination from the Republican Party is to tap into the funds to run a national campaign. However, Bernie Sanders has shown what people are willing to do to fund a campaign, and Trump has more access to funds from his fans than any political candidate has in the history of politics. I wouldn’t fault Trump for taking $10 million dollar donations from his friends—like Carl Icahn and others to win a general election. I think he has a better chance of winning as a third-party candidate than as head of the Republican Party with all the inner back stabbing that will take place even if he wins the nomination outright. So he should just leave and let them flail on the vine rudderless. The Republican Party doesn’t deserve Trump and they certainly don’t deserve me and the many voters who are sick and tired of the establishment passivity toward Democrats.
To all the #NEVERTRUMPS, I don’t want to be in a political party with you people. I want nothing to do with your stupidity. I’m happy to have it out in a general election in a three-way race and see what happens after the smoke clears. What has to happen is a major philosophic shift in political philosophy—the standard mode of operation just won’t be acceptable. I have always supported the Reform Party, I did when Ross Perot ran in 1992 and in 1996, and I supported Trump and Buchannan when they toyed with the idea in 1999. The reason that the election between Bush and Gore was so close in 2000 was literally that people had to pick between one piece of shit and another. Which one was better—nobody knew and the country was split right down the middle. Bush was not a good president, and then the GOP thought to offer us John McCain, and Mitt Romney.
They are just stupid—rooting for the GOP is like cheering on the Cincinnati Bengals to win a Super Bowl. They just don’t have the ability to get to the big game—let alone win. So let’s just drop them once and for all. Even if Trump secures the nomination with a win in California—he should still go third-party so that the Republicans can be put in a museum with all the other stuffed animals. They are guaranteed losers who will continue down that path until they are taken out of the game. And the time to do that is now-before they do any more damage. Basically, either the GOP brings in fresh blood, or we dump the party, change the name, and have something else to represent conservative values. Not “progressive” conservative values like many of these #NEVERTRUMPs believe (Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, John McCain, ETC.) But something all together different and more representative of the rural inhabitants of this country—I’m at the point in 2016 of its either Trump for president or nothing for me. Hillary is not even a factor. She can’t even beat an old communist lover. She is not as formidable as the media wants you to believe.
Bill O’Reilly asked an important question when he wondered why members of his network, Fox News were so divided over Donald Trump. The same could be said about the different between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz—who are the clear front-runners in the 2016 presidential race. The divide is unusually deep because the two candidates properly represent the philosophic divisions that are taking place within the Republican Party. As much as hard-core establishment supporters would hate to admit it, Ted Cruz represents what they seek in a president, someone from within their political ranks that is a person of faith who gets their guidance from prayer and deity submission—religiously pious. They also hold that the presidency is America’s version of royalty, and they that take that oath of office very seriously. Trump on the other hand represents the fighters, the businessmen who have bent over backwards to one too many regulations–the financially independent—the self starters. Trump appeals to people who turn toward themselves first for an answer before soliciting government help or prayer to a deity whom has never physically manifested in a logical way. That last type of conservative has never really had a candidate—they have held their nose and hoped that they might get lucky because options were limited—which is often not how they do most things in their life. But with Trump, they finally have someone running for the White House who thinks like them for a change. To confirm my statement just read the linked article from Glenn Beck about why no Christian should vote for Donald Trump, and you’ll get the gist. Glenn Beck whom I used to like—has lost his mind.
Personally I liked that Thomas Jefferson answered the door to the White House in his night robe. I liked that Teddy Roosevelt skinny dipped in the Potomac River—just a century ago. I liked that Andrew Jackson would target shoot from the White House grounds. I’m not big on formalities and in regard to the President of the United States—I feel as Jefferson did, as an Anti-Federalist, such tokens of ordainment should be cast away in America and dropped from assumption. We should go out of our way to strip away formality anywhere we can in regard to the White House, not increase it. We don’t elect a king, we elect a public servant—and we should treat them that way.
We also need a president who makes decisions based on their life experiences and the use of cold hard logic. I don’t want a president who gets his decisions from “praying.” For instance, let’s look at the reasons that John Kasich decided to expand Medicaid—which he did in Ohio against an amendment to the Constitution passed to protect residence from the grips of Obamacare. Kasich claimed when he went against voters and the Ohio legislature that God told him to expand government so dramatically when pressed by reporters. Well, screw that. We didn’t elect “God” to run our public offices. With all the bad dreams and insanity that goes on in any civilization it is difficult to tell God’s providence from the claws of insanity. While I can claim many similar stories of providence—as miraculous as Andrew Jackson’s assassination attempt by the unemployed painter who tried to kill him with two guns—that both misfired—I don’t make decisions based on providence or the hope of it. You can only make decisions based on what you know or see. If God decides to help out, that’s fine. But such an ill-defined character cannot be a part of any strategic plan—because there isn’t enough evidence to count on such things. You don’t think with your heart—you do with your head—and having faith that things will just work out is not enough. When faced with a problem I want a president who works through it, not one that sits at the side of their bed and “prays.” I don’t care what George Washington did—if he prayed less and acted more—he probably would have won more often. If you want to pray, be a preacher or volunteer at church. If you want to lead a nation—come to the table with self-reliance.
Kasich, the closet liberal that he turned out to be could have misread his inclinations. We as a voting public have no way to know if what Kasich said about God’s desire is true or not. God did not have a press conference with us and tell us to expand Medicaid. And we didn’t elect a “leader” to be some ancient go-between between God and man in the form of a priest holding some kingship based on the merits of “godly access.” This is exactly why we were supposed to have a separation between church and state—not one where the church runs the state. If people want the church to run the state—as Glenn Beck seems to—you might as well sign up for communism. Capitalism requires self-reliance and logical thought—not altruistic sacrifice to divine will. The worst time to make a decision of any kind is after a bad dream where some figure speaks to you in the form of some disembodied spirit. The even dumber thing to do is to assume that the voice is “God.” It in all actuality could be anything—some ghost from the past, some vengeful demon, some inter-dimensional terrorist—or it could be the lingering effects of an emerging insanity where deep-seated insecurities manifest into a mythological story played out among the brain’s neurons. You never know. When we elect a president, we elect a manager and we expect that person to make hard decisions based on reality as we can observe it. That is the best that we can do given the limited scope of our human senses.
Then there is this ridiculous notion that the presidency should be beneath earthly squabbles. I watched Republicans for well over thirty years play the moral high ground game and lose every time—especially George W. Bush. He thought the office of the president was so elevated that he could not, or should not answer his many critics. Well, that was the old alcoholic coming out of him, and the kid who was in the Skull and Bones society who participated in embarrassing hazing rituals. When you are elected by the people for the people—you don’t surrender yourself to the political left by becoming a punching bag—using the “high office” excuse to mask internal fears. You don’t sit in the White House on my behalf and make yourself a “pussy.” You are expected to fight when attacked and to represent the constituency that elected you into office. The office is not a higher authority than the people who put you there. That kind of thinking leads to kingship—and we should not think of an American President as a king or as royalty. He’s just a manager.
Just a few weeks ago I had an opportunity to shake Donald Trump’s hand. I could have certainly had him sign any of my books–easily. But I didn’t do either—even though I love the guy for president. He’s on a job interview as far as I’m concerned and I’m the boss. The boss doesn’t seek autographs and tokens of friendship from the people they employ. Given that, if President Obama broke down in front of my house and needed to use my car jack or even the phone—I would tell that bastard to get off my lawn. I wouldn’t shake his hand; I wouldn’t be getting a selfie to show that I had managed to get my picture next to a “powerful” person. To me he’s just another person and in the case of his actions—he’s conducted his presidency as a domestic enemy that any constitutionally minded person is sworn to protect the nation from. Needless to say, I will never shake the hand of president Obama under any circumstances. He doesn’t rule over me, he doesn’t make decisions on my behalf, and he is a proven incompetent that has not earned the right to shake my hand. And to be fair, I feel the same way about George W. Bush—he blew it. I don’t care that he made some mistakes—but he was a lot like Glenn Beck—a former alcoholic who turned to “God” to straighten out their weak lives. I don’t fault them for their mistakes but they are smoking crack if they want to tell a person like me—who has never been addicted to anything, who doesn’t drink, has never smoked, has never done any drugs of any kind—who even avoids pain killers for surgery or at the dentist—and assumes that they have some place between me and the everlasting. Give me a break! They are not qualified to be in that position, and really, I can’t think of a single person on earth that is—even religious leaders. If they have my high standards on personal living, I might listen to them—but short of that—forget about it.
Ted Cruz is way too much of a “god boy” to me. I don’t want someone in the White House praying for answers. I want someone who can extract answers from reality by sheer will. I don’t want someone who will only enter the Oval Office with a jacket and tie on. I want someone who will work there for 14 to 16 hours straight if needed to accomplish whatever task is on the table. And I certainly don’t want a king—but I equally don’t want a self-sacrificial lamb that is willing to be plucked apart by the political opposition. So to answer Bill O’Reilly’s question about Donald Trump there are still too many Republicans who want a president for all the wrong reasons—all the types of things that George W. Bush represented—meekness, sacrifice, divine providence-and policy concocted by voices from God which in all actuality were their addictive pasts calling out to them to return to the bottle. For all those reasons I support Donald Trump—he’s a self-starter, he’s never been addicted to drugs or alcohol, and while he’s respectful of religion—he tends to guide himself before seeking the council of some otherworldly creature. That’s good because I don’t have to worry about him waking up and starting wars based on dreams he’s had about “weapons of mass destruction,” or expanding Medicaid because God told him in a dream to help people. I just want someone to do the job as president for the first time in the modern era. I don’t want a king—I want someone to do the job—and I certainly don’t want a politician with ties to any lobbyist. The deep divide over Donald Trump within Republican ranks is that not all conservatives quite understand what they want out of a public servant. They know what they’ve had and are basing everyone on those examples. But to me, what we’ve had was never good enough. And the answer is not in more of the same—but in an entirely new direction.
With all the press over the new Batman vs Superman movie the director, Zach Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter that one of the next projects he’s working on is an updated version of The Fountainhead. The faces of nearly everyone in the liberal community of media and entertainment nearly melted off. Snyder is a highly respected film director and is at the top of his game. But it doesn’t surprise me that he and a growing contingent of Warner Bros. directors and screen writers are showing themselves as Objectivists—Ayn Rand’s philosophic dispute against Kantian collectivism. It’s no secret that I was very supportive of the film makers of Atlas Shrugged, which I thought was a successful cliff note to the great American novel—Atlas Shrugged. That book is what America is all about and could have only been written here by our culture. Ayn Rand was onto something with her work and I personally think The Fountainhead is one of the greatest novels ever written and I’ve read Finnegan’s Wake—and I understand it—just for reference. Finnegan’s Wake to me is probably the greatest novel in the history of mankind as far as its scope—but within it there are way too many Kantian limits. Ayn Rand takes away those limits and delivers us to a time before Plato and Aristotle’s great debate—to a time when mankind was contemplating that it was not the gods of Mt. Olympus who ruled the universe, it was the minds of mankind.
This is extremely important to understand because the candidacy and potential presidency of Donald Trump is the kind of story which might be a sequel to one of those Ayn Rand classics—he is a clear combination of characters from both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Trump’s popularity is very similar to the popularity of Ayn Rand’s novels even to this day nearly 60 and 70 years after their release. Atlas Shrugged is the most reviewed book in the Library of Congress behind only the Bible for a reason—people are curious—but the life around them built largely in the summation of Kantian philosophy doesn’t assimilate well to what they feel in their heart and souls.
I know people from every side of the argument regarding Donald Trump. I know the Glenn Beck Tea Party types, I know hard-core Objectivists, and I know traditional Republicans and I see their difficulty in understanding Donald Trump and his supporters. Some of them like Glenn Beck and even Ted Cruz are staunch Atlas Shrugged supporters—they love Ayn Rand—yet they don’t understand her—because religion clouds their thinking on the philosophy of the matter. Ironically, that is their same aversion to Donald Trump—that he’s a godless heathen who lives for himself counseling only himself not seeking the advice of God in times of crises. Trump declares that he relies on his own mind to make decisions—which is a very Ayn Rand type of thing to say—and Beck along with Cruz followed by a contingent of Tea Party supporters are frazzled by such a proclamation. Establishment Republicans hate Trump because he isn’t Kantian enough—meaning he doesn’t think in a Platonic fashion deep enough for them. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about CLICK HERE FOR REVIEW ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES) Then of course Objectivists aren’t sure what to think.
Not long ago I compared Donald Trump to Howard Roark from The Fountainhead and Objectivists sent me private messages concerned about my sanity. They declared that Trump was not ideologically pure enough to be an “Objectivist,” and he certainly wasn’t the hero Howard Roark. But a real life examination into the way that Trump has lived proposes a direct comparison. Trump has always had a very Roark-like certainty about hm. I don’t claim to be an Objectivist. Personally, I think mankind is at a stage where we need to deep dive Rand’s thoughts expanding on Aristotle’s original concepts—but perhaps either going back to a time well before Greek philosophy or into a new period that mankind has never been before. I am personally concerned with flushing out these kinds of thoughts over my years. I see Objectivism as a first step in that process and Ayn Rand was certainly onto the scent. However, Rand’s books were relatively simple-because they are exploring complex concepts and needed a host of adult characters to drape those concepts off of—for instance, there are no children in Rand’s books, The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged—which makes it easy for the characters to act on their authentic natures. The world is neatly aligned in a way that represented Ayn Rand’s time period and her personal decisions which was to not have children with her husband and to carry on lavish affairs of her own with other men and force her husband to watch essentially. In the end Rand was a bit broken-hearted with some of her decisions and it hurt her following regarding Objectivism. That doesn’t mean she was wrong—it just means she wasn’t completely right.
I think the life of Donald Trump would be a sequel to Ayn Rand’s classics—and I think his third wife Melania is the key to his present success. I think Donald Trump fits right into the pages of Rand’s heroes with John Galt and Howard Roark and that is essentially why people are so bothered with his presidential candidacy. Objectivists would obviously disagree, but they share with most religions an almost sanctimonious relationship with the purity of Ayn Rand’s characters that they have become Holy figures to them similar to religious fanatics who insist that the life of Jesus Christ as it was written in a book 1700 years ago is testament to the precise way that we must all live today—and that the interpretation provided over the years and nurtured along by Immanuel Kant followed by many others—like Karl Marx would formulate political philosophy around the values of altruism. Donald Trump was a great person before he met Melania—but after she became his Lady of Tubber Tintye. CLICK HERE TO REVIEW. She was his hero’s journey much the way Dagney was brought to such a figure in John Galt in Atlas Shrugged. In that case Galt was the type of treasure found in the classic story of The King of Erin and the Queen of the Lonesome Island. In real life, Melania was the treasure that Donald Trump found and what we have today is a presidential candidate who has successfully completed a hero’s journey equivalent to a classic novel and he is here to bestow upon mankind the boons of his adventure.
Trump supporters have been lied to and manipulated by all the groups mentioned above, religious groups, political groups, activism groups—everyone, and they still see things sliding into an abyss. They have been told that they are bad because they are a particular color, that they are bad if they think well of American sovereignty, and that they are bad if they aren’t willing to give the skin off their very backs to those too lazy to make their own way in life—and they are the majority. People like Trump were allowed to the table of power so long as they brought their check book, but they weren’t invited to help fix anything. For Donald Trump I think love brought him full circle and into this political theater and the instincts of the American people understand it in spite of what everyone is telling them. Trump has great love for his wife, his children, and of course himself. People don’t comprehend it yet, but they know to trust it because literally everyone else has let them down.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Nietzsche before Ayn Rand likely started the chain reaction—but prior to them in all of known history only gods of some mystic realm held such power of mankind. It was the job of human beings to appeal to the egos of their deities. Trump is not that kind of offering. He is something else that nobody has ever seen before in politics—or philosophy—and Trump supporters feel innately that they can trust it—because they still hope that its possible in America to step beyond the shackles of Immanuel Kant—even if they’ve never heard the name before—and live their lives as free people for the purposes ascribed in Ayn Rand’s classic American novels. Zach Snyder as a filmmaker has his hands on that pulse—and is working on The Fountainhead to show it to us for later analysis. For decades in the future we will still be coming to terms with this time period—and it will be through our art that we understand what has happened. In hindsight, we’ll be glad that it did. But we will rely on art—as we always do—to define it in our lives—even if the Trump train is moving too fast now to do anything but vote in favor of that gut we have in our stomachs. That is the very definition of a Trump supporter.
Made in the Fall of the year 1800, and the Winter and Spring of 1801;
WITH
A DESCRIPTION
Of the Soil, Productions, Rivers, Natural Curiosities, Etc.
Of that
Eden of America.
To which is added,
A CONCISE ACCOUNT
Of the
Present State of Kentucky.
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By Zophar Roberts
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
“By Travel crown the Arts, and learn abroad
The general Virtues, which the Wise applaud
Whatever worthy thy Remark thou seest
With care remember, and forget the Rest.”
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ALBANY:
Printed for the Author, at Request of many of his
Friends – MDCCCI
1801
Many things occurred to my mind that made me determine not to say anything in my journal respecting Kentucky. I have, however, been persuaded to the contrary by my friends. But, as I have never traveled through that State and only made excursions to different parts of it, during my stay at Cincinnati, the reader is to expect nothing more than a partial (though just) description. It has also been requested, and I have consented, to annex hereto, a further and more particular account of the present State of Kentucky.
Lake George, State of New York, October 15th, 1801.
JOURNAL
I have not begun my daily Journal until I came to Strasburg, 63 miles west from Philadelphia. I shall only say, that I started from Lake George on the 10th of November, 1800, on the 15th of December arrived at Strasburg, PA and crossed what is called North Mountain. Lodged at night at Mr. Skinners’ Inn, in Horse Valley.
Tuesday 16 – In travelling seven miles this morning, we crossed two mountains, viz. Middle Mountain and Tuscarora. We then had a broken uneven country, yet we saw many rich fertile valleys. Lodged at night at Mr. George Wild’s Inn.
Wednesday 17 – After travelling about six miles we took breakfast, travelled two miles further, crossed the Juniata, a noble branch of the Susquehanna, this river, taking its whole course, is perhaps the crookedest river in the whole world; after riding five or six miles we have the Juniata on the right and left, at the distance of not more than ten rods. This river forms many noble bottoms; and notwithstanding its serpentine course there are some excellent masts taken down even to Chesapeake Bay. We crossed the Juniata again about two miles from Bedford; here the river is much pent by the mountains on each side; previous to crossing we had the river to the left and the mountain to the right, for several miles. Here it was, at the time when General Washington was sending an army across the mountains in 1793, to quell the whiskey boys, about Fort Pitt, that the insurgents placed a grave old man in the highway to blast some rocks; the old man had some rocks bored and matches prepared; and at the very instant the light horse came in sight the matches were fired, which were about fifty in number, the report so frightened those brave men, that they immediately turned to the main army, reporting that the insurgents had raised an army of at least one thousand men. We rode one mile further, lodged with Mr. John Emich; here the mountains open and present a beautiful flat.
Thursday 18 – About sunrise this morning, we rode through Bedford, crossed the Juniata several times, and saw some excellent bottom; on leaving the Juniata, we rode ten miles on what is called Dry Ridge. The upland is broken, poor, and very stony, but produces excellent wheat. Lodged at night at William Dorsey’s Inn, two miles from the foot of the Allegany.
Friday 19 – Early this morning we ascended the Allegany, it being very rainy we travelled but about nine miles, put up at a private house with one Mr. Black, a very hospitable gentleman, who charged us nothing for three meals and horse keeping. I wish him an example for others to imitate. He has a large plantation, cuts about 90 or 100 tons of hay, and raises about one thousand bushels of wheat and as much rye. Here is what is commonly called the Glades.
Saturday 20 – It being very bad travelling, this day we proceeded but about fourteen miles; put again at a private house with one Jack Knave, who was really so more than fool.
Sunday 21 – We rode about twenty miles and dined at John Stackdar’s Inn, here we found no good in the people only that they deviated from the custom of the road in charging a higher price. Here too, we leave the Fort Pitt road to the right; proceeded five miles further to Lovengire’s Inn, here we were well used.
Monday 22 – We rode through the hilly rich fertile country, fifteen miles, crossed the Yohogany, and proceeded seven miles further to the banks of the Monongahela, put up at Joseph Beckett’s Esquire, a private house. Squire Beckett is a gentleman.
Perhaps the reader will be disappointed if I do not give a more full description of that mountain, distinguished from others by the name of Allegany. Foreigners are much mistaken concerning this mountain, for it is commonly thought we ascend from one part to near the middle when we reach the summit, and from thence descend to the foot – whereas in ascending we are near as high in going four miles, as in any part of it. This mountain is truly worth notice, great part of which abounds with excellent timber; in general, either oak, chestnut, or white pine, variegated according to the nature of the soil. That part of it called Savage Mountain is beautifully covered with stately white pines, which promise great advantage to the western country in process of time. In passing this mountain we cross many crystal streams, their junction forms the Yohogany, which again falls into the Monongahela, south of the place where General Braddock was defeated. The Laurel Hill is about ten miles wide, and is only the western part of the same mountain; but one reason why it is spoken of as a distinct place may be, the level land lying eastward, called the Glades, in breadth about 25 miles. In this are situated the great meadows where Washington was defeated; the entrenchments used on that occasion yet appear.
This mountain runs a southwesterly course, and is at present generally inhabited. Though part of the soil is so cold and subject to frosts, that little grain can be expected; yet it is said that grain of all sorts are produced on this mountain. In most places, the soil is good for grass and meadows.
It is very probable also, that it abounds with various mines, and if so, it will be of great utility to the adjacent states. It is said to be sixty miles across as you travel to Redstone. Through the whole as you travel, may lodge every night in very good houses. When we descend the Laurel Hill, which is both steep and stony, we come into that country which is known in distant places by the name of Redstone. This name cannot properly be applied to the greater part of this land, for Redstone is a creek, and the land adjacent makes a very small part of the country. This settlement abounds with more creeks that can properly be mentioned here. These all empty into the river commonly called Monongahela, the proper name of which, according to the Indian pronunciation, is Mehmanowangehelak, which signifies Falling in Bank River. From the richness of the soil, the banks of this river frequently break, and fall into the steam; hence, it takes its name. This river comes from the south, and sixty miles before it arrives at Fort Pitt, it is two hundred yards wide. Several ferries are kept on it, though it may frequently be rode in the summer season. On each side of this river, along the creeks, are settlements amounting to many thousand inhabitants in the whole. In this new settlement, several houses for worship are already erected. It is truly pleasing to see the worship of God here, in a land so lately overspread with heathenish darkness and universal ignorance of God. Who could have expected such a change? But all things are possible with God. There is also a furnace, and iron-works, and glass house. The country along the Monongahela is very fertile, exceeding most to be met with in the eastern states. It is certain that part of it is too rich for wheat, though other parts produce it in profuse abundance. Corn and potatoes are raised to admiration. A gentleman of respectability at Muddy Creek said, that one large potato cut in several pieces, produced the first year, one bushel and a half; the second year the return was sixty-four bushels; neither was any manure used, for the earth is sufficiently strong without it. The timber, which consists of black and white oak, walnut, butternut, and wild cherry; indicates the fertility of the soil.
Tuesday 23 – Very early this morning we started, were detained about two hours before we could cross the Monongahela. Here I should mention an imposition on us by Mr. Scott a tavern keeper, if I thought him a man worthy so much notice. We travelled within three miles of Washington, put up at a private house, name unknown.
Wednesday 24 – Proceeded through Washington, which lies about 20 miles south of Fort-Pitt, still travelled through a country of rich uneven land, yet not stony nor mountainous; till we came within six miles of Charlestown in Virginia; here we lodged at the house of Francis McGuire, Esq. He is a member of the legislature of Virginia. We were entertained in the highest taste, made very welcome, and invitations to make that house our home whilst we tarried in the neighborhood.
Thursday 25 – It being on Christmas morning, we concluded not to travel father than Charlestown this day and look for our passage by water to Cincinnati; accordingly, after taking breakfast at Esq. McGuire’s, we started for Charlestown at about 10 o’clock A.M. We had not travelled to exceed three miles when we were called to by one Alex. Crawford to stop and help him drink some peach brandy, he repeating the words that “Christmas comes but once as year.” Here, he with true Yankee freedom interrogated us of our nativity, and our business; we with as much freedom informed him. His brother Mr. Edward Crawford said he knew of an opportunity of our getting in an Orleans boat, which he believed would start sometime the next day, and that he himself was going down in it about 30 miles to the Wegee Bottom. He said, if we would not think him too officious, he would at any rate, take his horse and ride with us to Charlestown, and help us get our passage; we all went and agreed for our passage, to start on Saturday. Charlestown is a beautiful little town on the south-east bank of the Ohio. It contains a courthouse, a house of worship and an academy. Mr. Edward Crawford insisted on our returning to his brother’s and taking a Christmas dinner; we returned, partook of a fine repast; accompanied Mr. E. Crawford to his own house and was not a little surprised to see the generosity of the two brothers; could only say “Christmas comes but once a year.”
Friday 26 – This morning we agreed with Mr. Crawford to keep our horse until our return. Spent the day in assisting the owners of the boat, and the day following. Nothing remarkable happened.
Sunday 28 – About 3 o’clock A.M. we took water for Cincinnati, Mr. Crawford along with us, landed at the Wegee Bottom. This was the first time in my life that I ever set foot on the Indian shore, and to do it justice I must say it is a very beautiful place. We partook of a fine repast at Mr. Crawford’s son-in-law. Mr. Crawford accompanied us no further.
Here it may not be amiss to describe our situation aboard the boat; The owners were Joseph Snodgrass and John Potts; Snodgrass appeared to be man of good sense and much inclined to argumentation; He held with myself, that the sun is not fire nor even a body of heat; but that the heat we received was only occasioned by the force of its rays; but contrary to my belief, he held, that by means of its rays, it diminished every day.
The owners had each of them a blanket, but as we had none, we had nothing to lie on but the wet bottom of the boat or barrels. Our furniture for cooking consisted of one tin quart measure, one bake kettle and three spoons. Our provisions were half a dozen fresh hams, a quarter of fresh beef, some hominy and some potatoes. This was owing to there being no necessary articles in Charlestown for sale.
Monday 29 – Had a pleasant warm day for sailing; saw much very good land on each side Ohio, especially about the mouth of the Muskingum.
Tuesday 30 – About two o’clock A.M. we were alarmed by the watch crying “all hands to the oars,” we immediately manned the oars, and experienced such a storm of wind as would make the heart of the stoutest sailor tremble. We were obliged to land and for safety we chose the Indian shore; this was the second time of my setting foot in the Northwestern Territory. As soon as daylight appeared I took a walk for some considerable distance, to view the country; nothing can exceed the richness of the soil: the timber chiefly black and white oak, black walnut, butternut, hickory, hard maple and sycamore. The wind continued to blow from the S.W. which made the river so rough, that most part of the day it was impossible to travel. Traders say, that the wind almost universally blows up [the] Ohio, especially in winter, nor do I remember it otherwise whilst on the river. This must be of great advantage to trade on this river. Perhaps it would puzzle the greatest philosopher to assign a natural cause for this; but it is plain, Providence has ordered it so. About 10 o’clock we made shift to get into the river again, but was` obliged to land again at about 1 o’clock P.M. four miles below the mouth of the Hockhocking. This is very beautiful country; perhaps no place on the Ohio exceeds it for goodness on all accounts. At about 3 o’clock the wind abated and we again proceeded on our way.
Wednesday 31 – We had a very pleasant day for sailing; viewed much good land on each side Ohio. This day too I saw Kentucky’s banks for the first time.
Thursday January 1, 1801 – This morning, as soon as the dawn ushered in, I was called on by the Captain to drink a toast for all aboard, which I did viz. “May liberty and equality, according to merit, universally prevail throughout the whole world,” which met the highest approbation of the Captain. This day the snow fell about two inches deep. We had a prospect of much good land; Kentucky side somewhat hilly. This night was very cold and tedious.
Friday 2 – Continued cold, yet the weather was not colder than our most moderate weather at Lake George. This day very early we passed the mouth of Scioto; no hill scarcely could be seen; this appeared to be as beautiful a country as anywhere in the world. We measured a grape vine that was twelve inches in diameter. This day also, we landed at Columbia, called on Judge Goforth, a gentleman from New York, and a man of good information: he treated us very politely; here we heard of our old acquaintance Mr. John Ferris; we returned to the boat and agreed to leave her; lodged this night at the widow Messer’s.
Saturday 3 – This morning, after a sweet night’s repose, we rose and took breakfast at Judge Goforth’s; after taking our leave we sat out to go and see our old friend before mentioned. The sun shone with unusual effulgence, the benignity which sat visible in the countenances of all with whom I conversed still heightened my imaginations, my heart expanded with joy at the beauty of this new world; when (but how it happened I cannot tell) I stopped at Major Still’s; Mrs. Still informed me my acquaintance Mr. Ferris was dead. Alas! How soon were my feelings changed, nature itself seemed to change her aspect! But why should I lament his death? His death was truly Christian! His death was magnanimous! His death was without fear! He died without remorse of conscience! He died with full assurance of a blest immortality!
The powers of his mind were strong from nature, but much improved by a judicious education and study. He relished with more than common satisfaction the writings of the ingenious. He was an entertaining companion; possessed with uncommon calmness of temper. He was an early advocate for liberty, and felt with keenest sensibility for the oppressed! Adieu.
January 27 and 28 – The weather was so warm that I taught school without a coat or fire in the schoolhouse.
February 12 – The snow fell about two inches deep and for several days the weather was cold and frosty. This was the first snow that fell after the first of January. No more snow fell this winter.
As a particular description of this north-western territory would be long and tedious, and swell this journal beyond its intended size, I shall content myself with giving the reader a general description, which I have obtained from gentlemen of veracity and information.
The country is in general level, nowhere mountainous, but gentle rises and descents, interspersed with innumerable rivulets and brooks, as if by art, that there be no deficiency in nature. In some places the winters are so mild that cattle need no fodder, and no where do they need much; It is said at Chillicothe, the present seat of government, that 5 cwt. of hay is more than sufficient to winter a cow.
The land is in general, of a rich black loam, producing all kinds of grain in the greatest plenty. Corn is raised to the admiration of all our eastern travelers; it is said to yield from 70 to 100 bushels per acre, and some say more. It produces wheat and rye, (when a little worn) beyond what is to be found in any of our New England States. Cotton is the natural production of the country. There is as great a variety of timber here, perhaps , as in any part of the world; it consists of white, black, yellow and Spanish oak, shagbark, and black walnut, hickory, butternut, black, white, and blue ash, hard and soft maple, cotton-tree, elm, Linn, cucumber tree, hackberry, sycamore, coffee-tree, etc. The coffee tree is the same as our imported mahogany, and bears a nut in taste much resembling our imported coffee. There are a few red cedars and pines in some places. Salt licks are to be found interspersed through the country: This must be considered by all as a peculiar blessing of Providence. The salt made from them is excellent, some of which I saw myself. Silver, copper, and lead mines are likewise found in plenty in many places. It is said that there is the richest and best copper mine on the Wabash that there is in the known world; and it is certain that there is silver and lead mines on the Scioto.
In some places a great plenty of coal pits are to be found; this will be in a short time of great advantage in making iron, as ore can easily be brought from the Allegheny Mountain. No country ever known exceeds this for game, and wild turkeys, it is universally allowed, are more plenty than the tame are in any of our eastern states; buffalo and deer are very plenty: the former of which are generally supposed to be the cattle made use of by the ancient inhabitants; there are likewise a great plenty of bears, wolves, foxes, raccoons, etc., etc. Excellent blue, red and white free stone and lime stone abound in many places. Prairies or natural meadows are numerous and some of them extensive; these yield grass spontaneously to the height of a man’s head, and some much higher; this land when tilled, produces wheat, rye, corn, oats, peas, barley, hemp, and flax in the most luxuriant plenty. Fruit trees of all kinds bear incredibly. The greatest curiosities of this country are old Forts and Mounds. I have seen the ruins of some of these Forts (the walls of which are 4 or 5 feet high) that contain ———————–. When or by whom they were built, tradition nor history gives any account; the trees on them are of equal size with the other timber. I have seen white oak trees on and within the walls of these Forts that were at least three feet in diameter. It is judges by the common way of computation, that these trees are 500 years old. The mounds or pyramids are in general about 20 feet base and about 15 feet high; yet there are some not so large, and some that are 20 feet base and 30 feet high. These mounds are filled with human bones, the size of which are very uncommon, such as was never known among Indians of our acquaintance: here are skull bones that will fill the largest crowned hat I ever saw; jaw bones that will completely set on over the largest visage, and from other bones in these mounds that are not entirely demolished, it is judged that there must have been men from 10 to 12 feet high, some say more. In these likewise are to be found, jugs, bottles, breast-plates, etc. Tradition gives no account of what race of beings these must have been, or when, or how, or in what manner they have been extinguished. It is however judged by some that they must have been of a giant race, and that some pestilence or war has swept them entirely off. However, it will forever remain a matter of wonder and admiration.
These mounds are all adjacent to the forts and nowhere else found.
The principal rivers, beginning at the eastern part of this territory, are the Muskingum, Hockhocking, Scioto, Miami, Wabash, and Illinois; the latter of which empties into the Mississippi, the other all empty into the Ohio. These universally abound with a great plenty of excellent fish: cat, carp, perch, and bass are the most numerous; the cat and bass it is said, often weigh from 30 to 80 lb. Besides these there are a great many more of less note.
By an ordinance of Congress this territory has been divided into two distinct governments; the line of division begins at the mouth of the big Miami, from thence follows the river to the head, thence to the mouth of the Miami of the Lakes. When either of these shall have 60,000 inhabitants, they are to be allowed to form their own constitution, provided it to be republican, and nothing in it repugnant to the federal constitution: they shall then be allowed to choose their own members of Congress, and have all the privileges of the other states. They are at present governed by a General Assembly and Legislative Council, without any guide to go by except a Governor appointed by Congress, who has the sole power of appointing judges during good behavior. By another act of Congress the land owned by the United States was exposed to public sale in April and May 1801: it could not be sold for less than two dollars per acre the one fourth in hand. What was not sold at public sale may now be had at private sale at two dollars per acre by paying the one-fourth down, the remainder in annual quarterly payments as before. This country is worthy of notice and justly admired and esteemed by all. Here the farmer will be more independent than in any other country, here he can raise all the necessaries of life and much more, here he can raise as good flax and hemp as are raised in any parts of Europe. The mulberry tree grows spontaneously and certainly the silk worm will flourish and do well; hence he may have plenty of silk. The industrious house wife by overseeing her domestics will cause the same to be manufactured. Here the fair sex will only be educated in the necessary accomplishments of life, science and arts will be the height of their ambition; each one will be emulous to excel in the polite art of making silks, linens, cambric, lawns, gauzes, etc. Here the industry of the fair will give elegancy at home, and fashions to the rest of the world.
April 12, 1801 – This day I left Mrs. Ferris and sat out for home; but to give the reader a particular description of the country through which I came, would swell this journal even to a volume. I shall only take notice of things which I think mostly merit our attention.
To observe the country I chose to go up the big Miami to Mad River, from thence to the forks of Scioto, etc. This day I rode through Hamilton on the big Miami containing about 40 elegant houses, and bids fair to be a place of great business; proceeded across the big Prairie, which is about 27 miles in length, and is divided near the middle by the Miami. Lodged at Mr. John Steele’s, a private house.
Monday 13 – I proceeded through Franklin, Dayton, followed Mad River to its source, struck across to Darby Rover, and on the 16th we came to Franklin, on the forks of Scioto. This town contains about 150 elegant houses, which have been all built within the space of two years.
Monday 20 – I arrived on the Muskingum, 60 miles N. of Ohio; this country is rather uneven yet not mountainous nor stony. The water here is equal to any in the world. The inhabitants are chiefly from the New England states. Here I tarried two days.
Tuesday 28 – This day early I crossed the Ohio, came to Mr. Edward Crawford’s in Charlestown, where I had left my horse when going down. Being unwell I tarried until Thursday.
Friday, May 1 – I arrived at Fort Pitt, now called Pittsburgh; this is a beautiful little town and a place of considerable business. It stands on the head of the Ohio, made by the junction of the rivers Monongahela which comes from the south, and the Allegheny which comes from the north.
Monday 4 – I arrived at Fort Franklin on the Allegheny and at the mouth of the French Creek, 68 miles north from Pittsburgh. The country in general is well adapted to the raising of wheat.
Thursday 7 – This morning I arrived at Fort Le Boeuf on French Creek. Le Boeuf is French and signifies fat cattle or moose; hence it takes its name. Here too are some excellent prairies. This day came to Colt’s station, a pretty little town called Greenfield, 13 miles S. of Lake Erie.
Friday 8 – I stored myself with provisions for three days, travelled to the S. bank of Lake Erie, lodged at Squire Robinson’s, about a mile west of New York line.
Saturday 9 – I had this morning to set out alone to travel 96 miles through the wilderness on the S. bank of the Lake. This, my reader, was a dreary journey.
Sunday 10 – Early this morning I met 170 cattle and 5 men bound for Presque Isle and New Connecticut. At about 10:00 o’clock I arrived at Cattaraugus, a large Indian settlement. The land on this river is much like that in the N.W Territory, and the land previous to this was, in general, very good for wheat. From this I had 36 miles to ride on the beach; in some places the high rocky banks were such that I was obliged to ride where the water was 4 or 5 feet deep. Lodged this night at an Indian camp – the Indians appeared very friendly.
Monday 11 – This morning I arrived at Buffalo Creek, near the mouth of the lake. This day I left my horse, crossed the lake to Fort Erie, spent the day with some British officers, returned at night.
Tuesday 14 – I arrived at Capt. Lawrence Townsend’s in New Jerusalem, commonly called Jemima Wilkinson’s settlement. Jemima Wilkerson is held by her adherents, 152 families, as a priestess and prophetess; they, in imitation of the Apostles and primitive Christians, hold all things in common, and in their conversation use the simple and undisguised style of the Quakers. Strange it is indeed, that this woman should have so many followers, who believe her sent from God, and capable of holding converse with celestial spirits!
Saturday, May 23 – This evening returned to Lake George, in good health, and found my family all enjoying the same blessing.
KENTUCKY is bounded N.W. by the Ohio, W. by Cumberland River and the State of Tennessee, S. by North Carolina, and E. by Sandy River, and a line drawn due S. from its source, which separates it from Virginia. This country was formed for opulence, for ease and for social happiness. From the richness of the soil, and the temperature of the climate, which exceeds any other of the United Sates, all the various grains and vegetables of the Atlantic States are raised here in profuse abundance; in many instances even to exceed credibility; wheat, rye, corn, oats, peas, barley, hemp, flax, and even cotton are raised to astonishment. It is asserted by gentlemen of veracity, that corn often exceeds one hundred bushels per acre. From the shortness of the winters, which are seldom more than two months, and never exceed three, and the soil being naturally inclined to grass, cattle are raised with greater ease and less expense than in the Northern States; and from the great plenty of corn, the farmer can and does keep his cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, continually fat throughout the whole year, which has enlarged their breed of domestic animals, and made them superior to those of most of the other states. It has been long thought the Silk Worm would flourish here, and experience for a few years past, proves the conjecture not to be ill-founded. The timber which appears to be the most natural to this state is the sugar tree, black and honey locust, white and black mulberry, and the paupaw; besides these, there are great quantities of other timber, which consists of wild cherry of a large size. “The buck-eye, an exceeding soft wood, is the horse chestnut of Europe. The magnolia bears a beautiful blossom, of a rich and exquisite fragrance. Such is the variety and beauty of the flowering shrubs and plants which grow spontaneously in this country that in the proper season the wilderness appears in blossom.”
As far as yet been discovered, the eastern part of the state lies upon a bed of solid limestone rock, in general about ten feet below the surface of the earth, except in valleys where the earth is not so deep. The northern part of this state, along the banks of the Ohio, in breadth from ten to 15 miles, is somewhat hilly; the other parts are agreeably uneven, gentle rises and descents at no great distance. The principal rivers are the Sandy, Licking, Kentucky, Salt, Green, and Cumberland. “These again branch in various directions, into rivulets of different magnitudes, fertilizing the country in all its parts.”
Springs of the greatest note are “the higher and lower blue-springs, on Licking River — the big-bone-lick, Drenson’s lick, and Bullet’s lick, at Saltsburg.” The last of these licks has supplied this country with salt at a low price. Besides these, there are three others of the bitumen kind, they form no stream but empty into one common reservoir: The oil gathered from them answers all the purposes of the best train oil; and it is thought to be efficacious for the rheumatism, sprains, bruises, and the asthma or shortness of breath, scald-heads and burns. The common way of gathering this oil is by sinking a blanket or piece of flannel, and ringing it over a tub or kettle.
Nature has been very bountiful in furnishing Kentucky with some of the greatest curiosities ever known. The high perpendicular banks of Kentucky and Dick’s river certainly claim a superior rank among the natural curiosities of the world: Here the eye of the traveler beholds, with astonishment, a rock of 3 or 400 feet perpendicular, appearing like an artificial canal, in some parts of the limestone kind, and in others of fine marble and curious strata.
The banks of the rivers are covered with large red-cedar groves.
The caves of Kentucky are considered by all as the most remarkable phenomena; no one as I have ever heard has yet attempted to say whether they are the work of art or of nature. These caves are between two and three miles in length in solid limestone rock, and about 12 or 15 feet high, supported by curious pillars and arches; they have in all cases perpendicular sides for about 4 feet with a platform, then that widens to about 5 feet, then perpendicular to the top, and as smooth as if polished by the most curious artificer. They are three in number, and have all wells or springs and subterraneous brooks that pass through them. They are made use of, in the summer season, by the inhabitants living near, as storehouses for butter, meat, etc. The next thing which claims our attention is the sink or deep spring a little west of Big Licking.
This is 75 fathom deep, and about 18 inches diameter at the top. It was found in the year 1798, by a gentleman looking hogs after a light snow; he tracked one that accidentally fell into it. He immediately made a platform, and erected a curb, and from this spring drew, perhaps, the coldest water that ever came from the bowels of the earth.
But as to social happiness nature has here been counteracted: Here are inhabitants boasting Christianity, boasting independence, boasting Liberty and Equality, boasting republicanism, whilst, at the same time, they are, themselves, tyrants and despots; degrading one part of the human species below that of brutes, and denying that they have human feelings, whilst they themselves live in affluence and ease. Oh! How I do blush, whilst I relate facts that are incredible to all, who have not been eye witness of them. Here it is common to see those pretended patriots, all frantic with rage, drag from among their affrighted slaves, one of them trembling and naked, bind both his hands with a cord, stretch him up, until his feet will but just touch the ground, bind both his feet in like manner, crowd a heavy rail between his legs, to prevent his wreathing; then with oaths, that one would think would frighten even the infernal spirits, begin by applying the hickory or cow skin, until there is not a piece of skin, even the width of your finger, from his shoulders to his hips; all the while the poor wretch cries, “for lord Jesus sake, pray don’t master, pray don’t master.” But this imp of the furies, as if hell was not satisfied with pain, without exquisite torment, prepares a cup of fine salt and applies it to the wounds, this makes the poor victim of his rage lament in the most piteous tone of voice, as if ready to expire; but his hard hearted master, callous to pity, again applies the whip; this is called pickling. O poor wretches! How often have I shed tears of compassion for your sakes without being able to relieve you. O ye inhabitants of the southern states! How can you hope for mercy, when you yourselves do not show it? “He that admits no right but force, no justice but superior violence, arms every man against himself, and justifies all excesses. If it be lawful to enjoy because we can; if we may seize the property of another, insult his person, or force him to labor for our luxuries or caprice, merely because he is weaker; this principle will be equally fatal to ourselves.” It justifies your slaves, the instant they become the stronger, in taking you, your wives and children, and separate you from each other, force you to labor to the music of whips and chains, from 4 o’clock in the morning till 8 at night, without refreshment but a little Indian meal and water, half naked (yes on some plantations quite naked) half-starved and cooped up together at night in a cold, dirty hovel, covered with “wounds, bruises, and purifying sores:” robbed of everything that is dear; flogged for praying, and tortured for preaching consolation to your fellow sufferers; and after having exhausted your youth in servitude, you are abandoned in old age, to wretchedness and disease. This is not an exaggerated statement of the case, but a real and true representation of things as they are in Kentucky and some of the other southern states of America, in the year 1801. O shame! Where hast thou fled!
“Oh most degrading of all ills that waits
On man, a mourner in his best estate,
All other sorrows virtue may endure,
And find submission more than half a cure.
Grief is itself a medicine, and bestowed
To improve the fortitude that bears a load;
To teach the wanderer, as his woes increase,
The paths of wisdom – all whose paths are peace.
But Slavery, virtue dreads it as her grave,
Patience itself is meanness in a slave,
Nature imprints upon whatever we see
That has a heart and life in it — BE FREE!”
The author would not be understood to represent that there are no sincere Christians in Kentucky – he believes there are many who sincerely worship God – who in their hearts disdain tyranny and oppression, and disapprove of Slavery, yet they are the minority. Slavery is chiefly carried on among the Virginia and Carolina Settlers.
The Overmanwarrior 