Wearing the Poppy scarf Jing bought me at the Australian War Memorial, this September
Mutti’s father. Anne and my grandfather. Jane, Anna and John’s great-grandfather. Meredith and Alex’s great- grandfather. Rocky and Noah’s great-great-grandfather…. Fought in World War I.
The end of which we celebrate on this, the 11th hour or the 11th day of the 11th month, the hour, day and month of Armistice Day in 1918. The end of the “Great” War.
That man was Mutti’s father BruceAnderson. A farmer from North Island New Zealand.
Going off to war in Egypt and Gallipoli was the only time he left home. He was wounded in Gallipoli and sent back to New Zealand. He said “if that’s what overseas is like, I’m staying home.”
I’ve long thought Adam Carolla is a down-to-earth, intelligent, common-sense kind of a guy. The Left calls him a “conservative podcaster”, yet he maintains a long-time friendship with super-Leftie late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Anyway, he is Mr Common Sense. Also a primo analogy-maker.
The first bit of his talk with Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster is about the electorate being offered Free Stuff. It’s hard to campaign against this.
Also, its dangers have long been known. Benjamin Franklin:
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”
This is said to be a “false attribution” to Franklin. But it doesn’t matter, because he said many similar things and this quote is a fair paraphrase of his thinking. The danger of Free Stuff was noted by the ancients. Plato noted it. So did Polybius (200-110 BC), who said that ambitious men…
… ruin their estates, while enticing and corrupting the common people in every possible way. By which means when, in their senseless mania for reputation, they have made the populace ready and greedy to receive bribes, the virtue of democracy is destroyed… For the mob, habituated to feed at the expense of others, and to have its hopes of a livelihood in the property of its neighbours, as soon as it has got a leader sufficiently ambitious and daring… produces a reign of mere violence.
Which is where we are now. Which Adam Carolla correctly identifies. Taking stuff from people who make stuff and handing it out to people who don’t make stuff, is way easier, and vastly more popular, than making stuff yourself.
It’s also the route to ultimate penury. To chaos. To the violence we now see across the West. At worst: to the destruction of Democracy and collapse of the Republic.
Adam doesn’t quite go as Blackpilled as I’m going here. But Benjamin Franklin did. The Ancient Sages did.
Grok Summary of the talk, for the record:
Dot-point summary of main points from Adam Carolla on Triggernometry (“The Winning Message in Politics Is Envy,” ~Nov 7 2026, post-midterms).
• Midterms outcome: Democrats won the House and Senate, erasing the broad Republican gains from Trump’s 2024 win (presidency + both chambers). Carolla sees the political environment as bleak.
• Winning message today is free stuff / envy: The most effective electoral pitch is “we’re going to get you a bunch of free shit” (free benefits, free bus rides, etc.) framed as dignity. Carolla argues this is insidious: it breeds dependency and envy rather than aspiration. Government support makes someone a “super loser” (worse than living off parents in your 30s). The old message of “work hard and you can be like the successful guy with the Mercedes” has flipped to “find a rock to throw at the Mercedes.”
• Old vs. current political messages: Previously the winning formula was tough on crime, lower taxes, better schools, secure borders, and jobs. Now it is free stuff, vague “freedom and dignity,” open-border/abolish-ICE style appeals, plus anti-Trump/anti-America sentiment. Public transit free rides are cited as an example of pointless handouts.
• Iran War is secondary: Carolla is ambivalent. He notes the long history of misguided foreign interventions and can’t fully tell what’s real. In principle it would be good if Iran were no longer a problem; a leader doing something necessary but unpopular (even at electoral cost) can be the heroic choice. However, if the necessity is unclear, that defense fails. He is not fully defending Trump.
• Economy is the bigger driver of Republican losses: “It’s the economy more than the war.” If grocery and everyday prices were lower, people would keep voting Republican. War costs hit ordinary people at the pump, grocery store, and restaurants and cannot be hidden. Other irritants include ICE raids, the Israel alliance, failure to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and perceived ambivalence on AI.
• Democratic pitch that works: Safety, free stuff, fear of AI and data centers, and an ever-expanding state. These sell better in the current climate than traditional competence or growth messages.
• Dignity, skills, and free stuff: Government “taking care of you” does not create dignity—it undermines it. Real dignity comes from practical skills, meaningful work, and accepting risk. Free-stuff policies have unintended consequences that erode that.
• Taxes, “fair share,” and redistribution: Discussion of who actually pays a fair share, wealth redistribution, and how envy of successful people shapes voter attitudes. Politicians stoke resentment rather than aspiration.
• Unintended consequences: Politicians should weigh the side effects of policies (dependency, eroded work ethic, etc.) instead of just the immediate electoral appeal.
The conversation is Carolla’s characteristic blunt, common-sense style applied to why “free stuff + envy” currently outperforms traditional conservative messaging, with the post-midterm losses attributed more to prices and everyday economic pain than any single foreign-policy decision.
In the last 130 years, U.S. Stocks have out-performed every single other asset class. Better than Real Estate; better than Bonds; better than Gold. And better than all other major stock markets.
Eg: the DOW-Jones Industrial Index, the world’s oldest, since its inception in 1896 has grown by 6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). By the magic of compounding that rate doubles your money every 12 years. Your $100 in 1896 becomes $204,800 today.
The CAGR of other indexes since their inception is even higher: S&P 500: 8% (doubles every 9 years). Nasdaq 10.5% (doubles every 7 years).
If you’ve got cash, Buy and hold U.S. stocks. That’s the key to long-term wealth creation.
But back to the joke:
U.S. — Democrats proudly announced that they had already delivered on their campaign promise to improve affordability, having made stock prices far, far cheaper in just a few days.
Only two days after the midterms, Democrats had succeeded in reducing the total cost of stocks by historic amounts, making good on their vows.
"This is what it looks like to deliver for the American people," said Representative Hakeem Jeffries, holding up a chart to show how much cheaper stocks are now. "In just 48 hours, we managed to cut the price of stocks by a collective $2.9 trillion. If we can do that in two days, just imagine what we can accomplish over the next four years. Promises made... promises kept!"
Millions of Americans cheered the landmark accomplishment, overjoyed that the Democratic Party had so quickly followed through on its campaign promise. "Finally, politicians who actually get things done," said local man Gregory Tharp, looking at the crashing market prices. "These are real results, ones you can actually see when you look at your retirement account. This is why America voted for change."
At publishing time, the New York Stock Exchange had temporarily halted trading to give Americans a chance to recover from all the savings.
"Israel lives in a region where if they are not afraid of you, you must be afraid of them. We are surrounded by barbarians. None of which have had success anywhere near that of Israel. Israel does it by following its own judgment and being very wary of advice from elites in the West. The media, the academy, the politicians, continue to give Israel gratuitous, often palpably incorrect advice. If they do, we ignore it. We are not moved by an editorial in the New York Times."
"We live in a region where they want to make war on Israel, but don't, because they can't afford to. They can't afford to because they know that if they attack Israel, they end up like Gaza. So if we did not do Gaza, we would be in more wars."
Dan talking to John Anderson, ex Aussie Deputy PM, and with whom I did some trade-related stuff back in the late 1990s, in China. A good man. Now a success in PodcastWorld.
Thomas Sowell was once asked what could Israel do to be less hated. His one word answer: "Fail". Because success breeds envy, jealousy, contempt and hatred. But even if Israel failed, surrounding Islamic states would still wage war because it’s about killing all the Jews. It’s in the Koran. In the Trinity of Islam
You can tell yourself that Tuesday was all about the Iran war or the tariffs. The cold truth, however, is that American voters previously turned on Democrats because the Joe Biden they championed did not appear to be functioning as president — and they didn’t like it; and this week, they turned on Republicans because the Donald Trump they champion has turned the presidency into something they don’t recognize — and they don’t like it.
Gotta say. Trump 47 was way crazier than Trump 45. And getting crazier.
So that even those who voted him on the “lesser of two evils” principle— less evil than a Democratic Party being driven jihadi-communists — were appalled by the shenanigans.
I’ve read a number of Raymond Ibrahim’s books. He is a scholar of note on matters Islamic and the 1400-year battles between Islam and Christianity.
His most eye-opening for me was his 2007 book “The Al-Qaeda Reader”. He translates internal messaging from Islamist sources like Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, highlighting the differences between their messages in English to the West, and their messages in Arabic meant for Muslim eyes only.
The messages to the West are: “you have meddled in our countries. This makes us angry. It’s you who are responsible for our anger and revenge bombings”, i.e. “You made us do it”.
The messages to the Muslim world are: “no matter what they do in the West we must fight and subdue them, even if they have addressed all our grievances. Because that is what we are commanded to do by Allah and his Messenger, pbuh”.
It is the Grievance Narrative that many in the West are happy to go along with, vs the Doctrinal Narrative, which is the foundational reason Islam attacks the West, because Islam is commanded to do so. Muslims must do it, because Islam means “Submission” and every Muslim has submitted to doing the will of Allah and his Messenger. And what they say is: the whole world must be brought to the one true religion of Islam. Or else…
We in the West might fix every Grievance Islam has, including wiping Israel off the map. We are still left with this Doctrinal issue. Which we can do nothing about, except to (1) Convert to Islam (2) Pay the Jizya Tax for non-Muslims, or (3) To Die by the Sword of Allah.
For that is in the Doctrines. In the Trinity of Islam. That is what Islam is.
Or… we could fight Islam. If we had the will. Which Ibrahim thinks we don’t. I agree. I hope he is wrong. I hope I am wrong. But the trend is not good for our Enlightenment-born, liberal-democratic societies. As we continue to appease Islam. Even to welcome it…
You don't have to worry about picking a career when you're in the gulags:You'll either be the guy who breaks rocks, or the guy who picks up the broken rocks
Soup kitchens are so homey:Mmm, soup.
All the models will be fat again so it will be easier to not lust: Thanks, Dems!
The outcome will not affect how amazing the new White House Ballroom will be:Phew, that's a relief.
Hiding Jews in your attic can be a fun way to make new friends:Lovely to meet you and your family, Yosef.
At least 13 brand-new genders will be introduced in 2027:So exciting.
Hijabs can really hide those extra pounds: Hooray!
A newly humble President Trump will learn some hard lessons and change his ways: This makes it all worth it.
I was in favour of Trump’s “counter-attack-in-self-defence” against Iran. Aka The Iran War. But it didn’t go well for him. Too long for America’s public patience. Gas prices spiked. Inflation up. End of….
There are other reasons. Corruption, a bipartisan thing, but most highlighted by the MSM as being on the Right, because… well, because Trump and his stupid own goals. “Corruption decided the mid-terms”. John Fund.
Trump also surely treated his Congressional GOP with contempt, as Dan McLoughlin says below. Perhaps rightly so, as it could not even pass a SAVE Act, a Voter ID bill, which was an 80% popular on both sides amongst the public. Mind you, it would not have changed the outcome of this Blue Tsunami.
We prepare for Lawfare like never before. It will be savage from the Left.
While conservatives savage him from the Right. (Though some praise him with faint damn).
Abdul El-Sayed, newly elected Jihadi Senator in Michigan, claimed his victory meant we had “avoided anti-Muslim hate”. No. It was that enough people were deceived into believing that voting against him would be “anti-Muslim hate”. Would be “Islamophobia”.
In fact, voting against El-Sayed was to vote against an acolyte of the world’s most expansionist, supremacist, homophobic and misogynist religion.
A religion-cum-ideology which has made every one of the 57 countries in the Islamic bloc worse than it was before Islamisation. By every measure, according to the United Nations Human Development Report.
Still, Abdul won. The voters have spoken. Go figure.
Will Trump strike Iran with a nuke? As Freddy Grayseems to suggest might be on the cards. Partly because Tucker Carlson says so.
My prediction FWIW: NO.
There are reasons:
First, Tucker Carlson has turned completely loopy. His list of wildly wrong predictions is as long as the snake he’s become.
Second, FWIW, Trump has said, unequivocally, no nukes will be used.
Third, not mentioned by Freddy Gray is that the order to nuke would not be followed by those in charge. Because: (1) global existential reasons and (2) because of that very Trump statement-promise.
They would likely “25th Amendment” Trump, rather than face the ignominy of starting global nuclear war. Unleash the 25th that the president is no longer fit for the job. That’s how they would overcome the objection “But the president is the Commander-in-Chief”.
On this prediction of “No” I can never be proven correct; at least until November 2028. But I can be proven wrong.
As such it’s a *proper prediction* not one that says “there’s a 50/50 chance” of something-or-other happening. Which is not a prediction at all, because no matter which way the something-or-other goes, you’re “correct” (or, of course, “wrong”)….
So, “we’ll see”. Though I hope not. I have zero wish to be proven wrong.
SACRAMENTO, CA — California Governor Gavin Newsom came out in support of Alaska senate candidate Mary Peltola, saying Democrats would never intentionally subvert the election process and also he had legally changed his name to Donald J. Trump.
"Unlike Donald J. Trump, Democrats don't try to undermine the integrity of our democracy by subverting the election process," Newsom said. "And by the way, I have changed my name to Donald J. Trump. It's a new me, for a new era."
According to "Mr. Trump", he just felt like it was time for a change. "Look, my tenure as California Governor is almost over. It's time for a new chapter — and a new name to go with it," he said.
When asked why he chose the name Donald J. Trump, he replied, "No reason."
Republicans pounced on the man formerly known as Gavin Newsom, accusing the governor of trying to confuse the American people. "We all know what this is really about: the presidency," said Vice President JD Vance. "Well, I have news for Donald J. Trump. I already called dibs and that's binding in court."
Trump hit back: "This isn't a case of Stella getting her groove back," he said. "This is my life. He's trying to steal my life, believe me. What a snake." To which Trump retorted that Trump has Trump Derangement Syndrome.
"I don't know what the big deal is," said Trump. "It's a completely different name. He's Donald John Trump and I'm Donald Jason Trump. Completely different."
At publishing time, to even things out, Donald Trump changed his name to Gavin Newscum.
That’s what Richard Dawkins said. The world’s most famous atheist. When he realised that a people ditching religion would not become atheist rationalists, but would more likely be parasitised by some other powerful belief. And if that were millenarian Marxism that would not be good. If it were radical Islam it would not be good. If both Marx and Muhammad, even worse.
And so, this famous atheist, who’d mocked every aspect of Christianity in books and on stages around the world, who’d published the best-selling “The God Delusion”, came to this realisation. That Christianity had created the very society he treasures. Its culture, artworks, free speech, rule of law, democracy, turn the other cheek, the Golden Rule; all sprouted in Christian societies.
I have long called myself a “Christian Atheist”. I am a confirmed atheist; I have been since the age of nine. But an atheist in an “atheist” society prey to any passing millenarian mania or populist utopian fantasy? No thanks.
And of course I’d rather be an atheist in a Christian society than in an Islamic society, where non-belief is punishable by death.
The only other society that comes close to a Christian one is a Confucian one. As in China and East Asia. When China is not being communist.
Or Buddhist one too, I guess. Buddhist as in Thailand. Or as here in Hong Kong. A unique combination of east-meets-west, of Buddhism buddying up with The Sage, with a big dollop of Jesus.
Elon Musk says something the same as Dawkins.
Here he is in 2024:
Elon Musk: I'm a big believer in the principles of Christianity.
“While I'm not a particularly religious person, I do believe that the teachings of Jesus are good and wise and that there's tremendous wisdom in Turn the other cheek.
For a while, when I was young, I thought that's really a weak thing to do.
With respect to bullies at school, I think you shouldn't turn the other cheek. You should punch them on the nose and then thereafter make peace with them. They need to stop bullying you, and a punch in the nose will stop that.
This notion of forgiveness is important. I think it's essential because if you don't forgive, then an eye for an eye makes everyone blind. If you're going to seek vengeance, you have this never-ending cycle of vengeance.
So, I'm actually a big believer in the principles of Christianity. I think they're very good.”
There were five slave trades. You were taught about only one.
One. The Atlantic. Twelve million Africans shipped to the Americas. Britain banned it in 1807, then hunted it for sixty years.
Two. The Barbary trade. A million Europeans taken to North Africa. Britain bombarded Algiers in 1816.
Three. The Saharan trade. A thousand years of caravans north across the desert. Britain had its northern end banned. Tripoli, 1857.
Four. The East African trade. Twenty thousand people a year through one customs house. Britain forced the market shut. 5 June 1873.
Five. The Ottoman trade. Raiders sold Eastern Europeans south for three hundred years. Britain made the Sultan ban it in 1854.
It cost sixty years and two thousand sailors. Nobody else fought all five.
It isn't over. Mauritania only made it a crime in 2007. Fifty million people are in slavery today.
Someone has to remember who started the fight.
Yet Britain are being pressured to pay reparations. It's crazy.
Britain should counter with its own claim to reparations. From Africa. From Islamic countries. From the Caribbeans. For freeing them from slavery. At the cost of its own blood and treasure. Heh!
Galileo Russel explains. I only just now found out about him.
I like Russel because he explains his passion for Tesla and SpaceX very clearly and logically. A passion I share. So I don’t have to explain it…. all over again. In the face of vicious vitriol directed at Elon from the Left.
