Is living in a van and travelling the country for you? For some baby boomers it’s the only way to travel. “‘The thing I like so much about van life is the simplicity,’ says 55-year-old John Kennedy, now on his first big road trip, to California, in his $75,000 revamped Ram ProMaster,” reports Anne Marie Chaker in the WSJ. It may not be for everyone but it sure sounds like a wonderful retirement solution for some as one commenter notes: Different people have different tastes and interests. When traveling by airline, we only fly first class and stay in the finest hotels. Or I fly my personal … [Read more...]

In his wonderful tribute to the 16 members of Canada’s hockey community killed in a tragic bus crash—10 were players of the Humboldt Broncos heading to a playoff game in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Playoffs—Aaron Gleason of The Federalist, writes “Canada is hockey and hockey is Canada.” Think of the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, explains Gleason, “Now Imagine that there was one team that embodied all this money, fame, scrutiny, hate and love. That is what the Toronto Maple Leafs are to Canada.” On Monday night, my household … [Read more...]

Originally posted September 22, 2017. After the triple shot of devastation served up by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, it's worth a few minutes of your time to reassess your level of preparedness. Even if you live far away from the Atlantic or Pacific, you're not immune. There are natural disasters that can touch down anywhere. Take a minute to consider a few questions about your preparedness to evacuate the area. Do you have transportation? This seems like a silly question in a nation as infatuated with the automobile as America, but there are millions of people who live in … [Read more...]

Hurricane Maria’s devastation is still front and center in Puerto Rico where an island-wide blackout triggered a power line failure in the south yesterday, reports the WSJ. “It is the latest in a string of blackouts that have plagued Puerto Rico in the wake of last year’s hurricanes, which wiped out power to the entire island and severely damaged the antiquated power grid.” Remember when Puerto Rico’s municipal bonds were being sold by hucksters as a “fail safe” investment? I do. That’s why it’s crucial for anyone who thinks this could never happen to them to remember that there’s trillions … [Read more...]

“Prominent supporters of President Trump are expressing skepticism over his decision to launch airstrikes against Syria, slamming the move as overly aggressive and unnecessary,” writes Jacqueline Thomsen at The Hill. The list includes Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, and Michael Savage among several others. “Sad warmongers hijacking our nation” tweeted Savage. Key supporters for the airstrikes are neocon Nikki Haley (a Never Trumper) and “bombs away” Bolton. Bolton, who argued against strikes during the Obama years has done an about face. “Bolton, President Donald Trump’s new national … [Read more...]

“China’s J-20, roughly on the same technical level as the F-35, costs one-fifth as much. Quantity has its own winning quality. To achieve this unhappy balance, the U.S. government gave up on the best fighter in the sky, the F-22,” writes Angelo Codevilla (senior fellow of Claremont Institute, professor emeritus of international relations at Boston University and author of To Make and Keep Peace), in his article “Military Dollars, and Sense.” He continues, “If you cannot show how the number of F-35s you are planning to build before they bankrupt America can prevail in what theater of … [Read more...]

Originally posted July 19, 2017. Here's some common sense on concealed carry from Clay Martin at GunsAmerica.com. Martin makes the great point that if you're new to concealed carry, and you don't have a lot of time to practice a variety of different models of firearm, you should carry a model of firearm from the same family as the model you use to train. For instance, if you're main range gun is a Glock 19, carry a Glock 43, which has many of the same features, and will already feel familiar in your hands. That'll maximize the value of your training. Here's Martin with 9 Critical Concealed … [Read more...]

In his American Conservative piece, “Donald Trump is Samson, Blinded by Ring of Delilahs: Will he bring down the temple and all of us with it?” Ron Maxwell writes, “Samson is blind, only in this case his eyesight has not been taken by a lone Delilah. He’s been blinded by a coterie of White House advisors and West Wing ideologues who tell him one story over and over again, keeping all other narratives far away and out of sight.” Americans are war weary. What does America have to gain in Syria? Trump’s America First theme is what put him in office, not neocons such as United States Ambassador … [Read more...]

Lindsey Buckingham is out of Fleetwood Mac, according to the band. ‘‘Lindsey Buckingham will not be performing with the band on this tour,’’ the statement said. ‘‘The band wishes Lindsey all the best.’’ One of the driving forces behind the longevity of Fleetwood Mac is co-founder and drummer Mick Fleetwood. The self-taught drummer brings a straight-forward, unconventional style of drumming that’s hard to duplicate. Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (HQ) More here from the Boston Globe: Buckingham joined the band with then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks in 1974 and the two became the central … [Read more...]

“The sole beneficiaries of the gas attacks in Salisbury and Syria appear to be the War Party,” writes Pat Buchannan in The American Conservative. Some advice for National Security Advisor John Bolton: measure twice, cut once, if not at all. Most Americans, other than Bolton’s War Party, want to avoid another military engagement on foreign land. Unfortunately, as PJB points out, “With his Sunday tweet that Bashar Assad, ‘Animal Assad,’ ordered a gas attack on Syrian civilians, and Vladimir Putin was morally complicit in the atrocity, President Donald Trump just painted himself and us into a … [Read more...]