What late night comedian/talk-show host routinely brings in more total viewership than Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert? Who routinely attracts an average of over 2 million night after night, including the 25-54 demographic so highly coveted by advertisers? The answer is none other than Greg Gutfeld. Since the end of Letterman, Leno, Conan, and especially Carson, the late night setting has become far more political. Few have managed to navigate this arena so skillfully as Fox’s insightful class clown. 
Like many in his position, Gutfeld is a 20-year overnight success. Over the course of his career in media, he has worked as a writer and editor for various publications including Prevention, Men’s Health, and Maxim. He was also a contributor to the Huffington Post, where he became, according to his website bio, “legendary for his ‘inspired, lunatic, ridicule of his leftwing fellow Huffers’.” His targets included Deepak Chopra, Cenk Uygur and Ariana Huffington. 
It was his tongue-in-cheek ruminations on HuffPo that drew the attention of the Fox News Channel and earned him his first gig hosting his very late night panel talk show Red Eye. From 2007 to 2015 his growing flock of viewers (including yours truly when enduring bouts of insomnia) could tune in weeknights at 2am (later 3am) and 11pm on Saturdays to Gutfeld steering the conversation among an eclectic collection of comedians, media figures, pundits, and even a former CIA officer, while discussing the day’s events. During that time Gutfeld honed his craft and carved out a niche for himself as Fox’s comedic, yet sharply observant, personality.
In 2011, Gutfeld was an obvious choice to be a part of Fox’s new daytime panel show The Five, which gave him exposure to a broader group of viewers.
Having collected a loyal following of millions, Gutfeld was tapped as Fox’s perfect pointman for the competitive late night talk show space and to go head-to-head with its more established programs in the mainstream networks. Pulling double-duty once again, in 2015 he became host of The Greg Gutfeld Show which still airs at 11:00 pm. It took off and in 2018 Fox announced that The Greg Gutfeld Show had attracted over 2 million nightly viewers, effectively beating the mainstream networks in their own backyard.  
Gutfeld’s show overtook so many established figures with years of exposure and support from networks that for decades dominated the late night talk show airwaves. Perhaps the success lies in the fact that Gutfeld and his sponsoring network Fox, simply identified a hole in the marketplace and filled it. It is no coincidence that his show steadily gained popularity during the Trump years. Indeed, the timing of his show’s launch was perfect. 
 
Many of us fondly remember the days when talk show hosts such as Johnny Carson and his successor Jay Leno came into our living rooms every night with one goal in mind: to entertain as many people as possible through laughter. When politics did enter the fray, it was usually of the more elbow-to-the-ribs kind (think of Johnny Carson’s impersonation of Reagan, which was always light-hearted, where every sentence started off with: “Well…”). But with the ascendancy of Trump the late night comedy shows became attacks on the man that over 62 million voted for as President. Every night for years on end a viewer tuning into Colbert, Kimmel, and to a lesser extent Fallon, was subjected to non-stop Trump bashing. It was vicious, relentless, insulting, and worse, it most certainly was not funny; but funny was no longer a requisite for late night. 
Colbert and Kimmel saw their late night platform not as a stage from which to entertain, but rather a podium to blast out their far-left politics and Trump derangement, while cloaking themselves in what many saw as obnoxiously self-righteous sanctimony along the way. 
The alphabet networks had made a conscious decision to only go after the Trump-deranged, left-wing viewers, and thus had no problem insulting and alienating a huge swath of the population in order to grab and hold onto their narrow target audience. And as anyone who suffered through childishly acerbic monologues could attest, if you hated Donald Trump in particular, or the GOP in general, or even anyone who was slightly to the right of Che Guevara, you found all the reinforcing material you needed in the acid bath of antipathy that came spewing from your screen courtesy of hosts who we were told were supposed to be comics. And actually were at one time in their careers.
Greg Gutfeld and his brand of irreverent humor has provided a home for those who wish to tune in to late night TV to laugh again. And they want hosts who do not take themselves too seriously. To borrow a metaphor from Michael Lewis, Gutfeld’s offering was a firehose sprayed upon millions of thirsty urchins. Looking back on it, the need for this Yin to the alphabet networks’ yangs was so obvious that one would be surprised if Fox hadn’t made such a move. And who better than Greg Gutfeld — funny, flippant, both satirical and self-effacing — to be the right man for such an undertaking?
Like its rivals, The Greg Gutfeld Show is political in nature. And no doubt if you are pro-Trump you will feel at home there. But, unlike the others, it is also entertaining, and even, get this now, funny. Go figure, right? In a way, the show is even more entertaining because it makes no pretense at being pure comedy. Like Gutfeld himself, his show is a product of the right. A staunch libertarian, he goes after targets that are sacred political cows to other networks: chiefly Joe Biden, the Democrat Party, and the far-left.
By presenting a panel of pundits and personalities ala Red Eye off of whom he bounces ideas and jokes, one could argue that Gutfeld is not so much the right’s answer to Colbert et. al. but Bill Maher. However one wishes to categorize Greg Gutfeld’s unique late night offering, he has stepped in to pick the low-hanging fruit that the other networks, too blinded by ideology, either failed or refused to see. You cannot alienate so many in a market without someone else seeing the opportunity your disregard presents. And whether one loves or hates Fox, they have clearly done it again. Gutfeld is another arrow in the quiver of the conservative/libertarian response to the wokeness that Americans are tired of being forced to endure in that search for the elusive laugh or interesting conversation. In the process, one can truly say that there’s a new “King Of Late Night” on the throne. 
And as Gutfeld might observe in his aim to keep things light and irreverent while making a larger point, where better to do one’s most profound thinking and deepest ruminations than while sitting on the throne?
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, musician, and bestselling author. His eclectic articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, NY Daily News, Daily Wire, National Review, The Federalist, and others. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

gutfeld

Greg Gutfeld: The New Undisputed King Of Late Night

Entertainment

Greg Gutfeld

Readers Pass

The United States has packed a lot of history into its relatively short existence. We have created so much history, in fact, that one could travel from shore to shore, and border to border, traversing the land visiting places that are all unique threads woven into the fabric of our national identity and never get to see them all.
For those historically-minded Americans who want to learn the story of us, here are some — but certainly not all — of the must-see places to visit in order to connect to our past to better understand our present.
1) Antietam National Battlefield
Nestled away in a beautiful pastoral, Western Maryland setting, this Civil War battlefield is the site of the bloodiest day in American history (23,000 casualties in 12 hours). Remarkably well preserved, the Antietam Battlefield features a visitor center, national cemetery and both professional and self-guided tours. As one of our nation’s most hallowed places, this hidden gem is a must for anyone wishing to be in true communion with the history of America’s most tragic war.
2) Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Home to the mother of all Civil War battlefields, Gettysburg offers something for the whole family. Whether taking a guided tour of the grounds, enjoying the many exhibits in the state-of-the-art visitor center, contemplating the cyclorama painting depicting the climax of the battle or perusing the many gift shops, the National Military Park will not disappoint. Finish your day settling in for dinner at one of the town’s excellent restaurants before retiring at one of the many local hotel options.
3) Independence Hall
An excellent focal point to any Philadelphia trip, this iconic meeting hall hosted two of the most consequential events in U.S. history: the debating, drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Stand where America’s founders — including Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison and Hamilton — created our nation and try not to be awed by the historical significance of this place.
4) National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Located in Virginia 23 miles from the National Mall, this incredible museum contains the vast majority of the Smithsonian’s air and space collection. For military aviation enthusiasts, it is heaven. The enormous hangars offer everything from the earliest canvas and string biplanes, to some of the most iconic 20th-century warplanes — including the B-29 Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima — to the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
5) 9/11 Memorial and Museum
No visit to New York City should forgo a trip to lower Manhattan to experience the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero. The museum, located in the subterranean space in the bedrock of the former World Trade Center, exhibits over 60,000 artifacts. At ground level, surrounding the two remaining footprints of Towers 1 and 2, are the engraved names of nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 1993 and 2001 attacks that changed the city and our country forever. 
6) Alcatraz 
Also known as “The Rock,” this forbidding island situated in San Francisco Bay was a federal penitentiary from 1934-1963. While in operation, it housed some of America’s most notorious criminals, from “Birdman” Robert Stroud to Al Capone. Today, it is open to the public as a museum. Visitors can take guided walking or audio tours through the prison to learn the history of this dark yet fascinating part of Americana.
7) Newport, Rhode Island 
This playground/summer retreat of the Gilded Age offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the idle 19th-century rich. Euphemistically called cottages, one gaudy uber-mansion after another lines the cliffs overlooking Narragansett Bay. Some of the more famous estates include The Breakers (Vanderbilt), Beechwood (Astor), Marble House (Vanderbilt), Chateau-Sur-Mer (Wetmore) and Rosecliff (Oelrichs) as well as Hammersmith Farm (Jackie Kennedy’s childhood home).
8) Annapolis, Maryland
Step back in time strolling the brick and cobbled streets of this historic state capital, which still retains a colonial feel by the water’s edge. Visit the oldest capitol building in the country, explore the U.S. Naval Academy or check out the statue of Alex Haley reading from his book “Roots” to three children on the spot where his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, was herded off the ship and into tragic enslavement in the New World. 
9) Boston Freedom Trail
“Every step tells a story” is how the promotion goes. The two-and-a-half-mile walking tour features historic meeting houses, taverns, churches, parks, a cemetery, a ship and markers retelling the story of colonial Boston during those heady days of revolution. The trail also features specialized tours led by guides sporting costumes from the era, including knee breeches, tricorn hats, colonial dresses and bonnets. 
10) Yellowstone National Park: 
Established by the Grant administration in 1872, Yellowstone is the country’s first national park. Spanning over 2.2 million acres, it features some of the most pristine and beautiful wilderness in North America. Camp on the grounds or stay in comfort as there is plenty of quality lodging throughout the park. From its thermal vents and geological wonders to its hiking trails and wildlife, Yellowstone offers visitors an opportunity to connect back to the great unspoiled tracts of land that greeted settlers over 150 years ago.
11) West Point
Positioned strategically overlooking a sharp bend in the Hudson River, West Point started off as a Revolutionary War fortress. Today, it is the oldest continuously operated fort in the country. In 1802, it became home to the U.S. Military Academy. Some of America’s most celebrated soldiers — including Grant, Lee, MacArthur, Patton and Eisenhower, to name a few — hailed from this hallowed school. Beyond touring the grounds, interacting with gray-clad cadets or attending a football game, the town offers plenty to do and places to eat and sleep. 
12) Baltimore Harborplace Ships
U.S. history comes alive in downtown Baltimore. After a visit to the city’s renowned aquarium, head over to the historic ships moored in the harbor: the sloop-of-war USS Constellation (1854) — the last all-sail warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy — the Treasury Class US Coast Guard Cutter 37 (1936), The Lightship LV116 Chesapeake (1930), and the Tench Class Submarine USS Torsk (1944), which saw action in the Pacific against Japan. Experience life on the high seas from the majestic age of sail to the claustrophobic existence aboard a World War II submarine.
13) Old Slave Mart Museum
Established in 1938, the Old Slave Mart Museum is the oldest museum of African-American history in Charleston, and the first on the history of slavery in the U.S. Housed in the only remaining structure of a once four-building slave market complex known as Ryan’s Mart, the museum invites visitors to learn the history of the slave trade in the New World via tours through the kitchen, infirmary, a four-story jail where captives were held prior to sale, and the large enclosed lot used as a slave pen. This excellent exhibit sheds important light on one of our nation’s darkest chapters.
14) Wrigley Field
This iconic 41,000-seat stadium is located in the heart of Chicago’s residential Wrigleyville and was first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Federal League’s Chicago Whales. The league folded a year later and the field became the continuous home of the Cubs in 1916; it was renamed Wrigley Field in 1926 in honor of the Cubs’ owner and chewing gum magnet William Wrigley Jr. The oldest field in the National League and second oldest in Major League Baseball, “The Friendly Confines” is renowned for its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, red marquee over the entrance and hand-turned scoreboard. It was designated a National Landmark in 2020. 
15) Fenway Park
The oldest active ballpark in Major League Baseball, this legendary stadium located near Kenmore Square opened in 1912 and has been the home of the Red Sox ever since, as well as the Boston Braves until 1952. In its centennial year, Fenway was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Between its infamous 37-foot-high left-field wall — the “Green Monster” — and the 11 World Series that it’s hosted, Fenway Park has been labeled a shrine by baseball aficionados the world over. 
16) Tombstone, Arizona
Step back in time to the 1800s before the Wild West was tamed by walking down Allen Street, which maintains much of the historic character of the Old West. In the Tombstone Theater at the legendary O.K. Corral — the scene of the famous gunfight involving the Earps, Doc Holliday and the Clanton-McLaury gang — actors recreate the blood feud. The area also features some well-preserved landmarks, including the museum at Wyatt Earp’s home, Boot Hill cemetery and two supposedly haunted theaters. When hunger and thirst call, relax at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. 
17) Arlington National Cemetery
Situated on the former estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Arlington, Virgina, this national military cemetery is the final resting place of approximately 400,000 U.S. veterans and their dependents. Every American should visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, complete with a moving changing-of-the-guard ceremony every hour (or half hour in colder months). Make sure to catch the Marine Corps Sunset Parade in the shadow of the Iwo Jima Memorial. The silent drill is especially impressive. 
18) The Grand Canyon
The majestic Grand Canyon should be on everyone’s bucket list, history buff or not. In addition to the breathtaking vistas that must be seen in person to be truly appreciated, there is history afoot in this natural wonder. The visitor center on the South Rim offers a 20-minute movie about the canyon, an impressive display of historic artifacts and guided tours. Learn about Pueblo Indian life at the nearby Tusayan Ruin and Museum, or get your science on at the Yavapai Geology Museum. 
19) Vicksburg, Mississippi
Settled in the early 1700s, this Mississippi town is one of the most historical spots in the nation. Known during the Civil War as the “Gibraltar of the South” for its position on commanding bluffs overlooking a hairpin bend in the Mississippi River (now diverted south), it was the scene of the famous battle and 47-day siege that changed the course of the war. There are excellent museums for everyone, from the Old Depot Museum — which tells the story of the siege in detail — to the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum. Tour Vicksburg National Military Park to learn about this pivotal battle, or enjoy walking the Vicksburg Heritage Walking Trails that pass 35 markers through the downtown and historic districts. Vicksburg also offers a casino and lively art scene. 
20) The Alamo
Travel to San Antonio in the heart of Texas and visit the scene of the most famous last stand in U.S. history. Although, at the time of the 13-day siege (1836), the mission was occupied and defended by mostly Texans seeking independence from Mexico. (Texas wouldn’t become a U.S. state until 1845.) The mission building, which began construction in 1744, features a one-hour guided tour. Visitors are also treated to hands-on demonstrations of what life was like in the 1830s. Additionally, there is an excellent museum of exhibits that tell the story of Travis, Bowie and Crockett’s fight to the death against the army of Santa Anna.  
21) The Betsy Ross House
Considered one possible birthplace of the American flag, this exhibit gives visitors a sense of what life was like for ordinary Americans — especially working women — in the 18th century through interactive, historical programming and reenactors. It’s an easy and fun addition to any Philadelphia trip.
22) The U.S. Capitol Building
Completed during the height of the Civil War, this recognizable structure in Washington, D.C., is the epicenter of the legislature, our most important branch of government. Take a guided tour through the Crypt, the Rotunda and National Statuary Hall and marvel at the stunning Greek-inspired architecture. 
23) Ellis Island
Located in New York Harbor, this iconic landmark served as the gateway to the U.S., and a new life, for more than 12 million immigrants from across the world. Today, over 100 million Americans can trace their roots back to this sublime place. Island visitors can trace their own heritage at the American Family Immigration History Center.
24) Graceland
This Memphis, Tennessee, estate is, of course, the home of Elvis Presley. Rock ’n’ roll music, which traces its roots back to African-American blues and gospel, is an integral part of the American cultural story — and no American did more to launch it into the mainstream than “The King.” Take an iPad tour of the property and get a behind-the-scenes look at Elvis’ home and gardens. While in Memphis, be sure to visit the legendary Sun Studio, which recorded other greats like B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.
25) Jamestown, Virginia
Travel back in time to 1607 and experience the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Along with the archeological site, there is a reconstruction of the Jamestown Settlement, recreations of ships of the early colonial era, a fort, and an Indian village where visitors can see how the Powhatan Tribe — whom the first settlers encountered after landing in this new, forbidding wilderness — lived their lives. 
26) Arizona Memorial
Pearl Harbor is the number one visitor destination in Hawaii. Take a boat from the visitor center to the moving wreck of the USS Arizona. Oil still leaks from the submerged battleship, sunk by the Japanese air attack on the morning of December 7, 1941. It is the resting place of 1,177 sailors considered buried at sea.
27) Yosemite National Park
Famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, Tunnel View, soaring Bridalveil Fall and El Capitan and Half Dome granite cliffs, this California park is one of the most beautiful places in North America. Yosemite village contains shops, lodging, restaurants, the Ansel Adams Gallery — featuring the famous photographer’s iconic black-and-white landscapes — and the Yosemite Museum.
28) The U.S. Supreme Court
Scene of some of the most important — both for better and worse — trials in our history, the Supreme Court building bears a dignified majesty unlike any other building in D.C. There is only a self-guided tour option, which explains exhibits about former justices and the building’s architecture. Courtroom sessions are open to the public.
29) Mystic Seaport Museum
Mystic, Connecticut, is a great midpoint stopover if you’re ever driving between New York City and Boston. The exceptional nautical museum offers a nice review of life at sea in the 19th century as the U.S. was becoming a burgeoning sea power. It features a captivating recreation of a New England seafaring village from that time period and a well-maintained fleet of old ships from a bygone age of sail. The Charles W. Morgan is a whaling ship right out of Melville’s “Moby-Dick” and represents the world’s oldest surviving trading vessel.
30) Kennedy Space Center
Florida has more to offer than beaches and Disney World. For any science or aviation buff, this Cape Canaveral destination must make the list. The Kennedy Space Center has been NASA’s primary launch center since 1968; you can still catch a launch to this day if you time your visit right. If you find yourself there on a non-launch day, don’t worry. There are many other fun attractions to check out, including the Apollo launch site from which the missions to the moon departed.   
31) The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park
Located in Atlanta, Georgia, this park features several buildings documenting the work and life of Dr. King as well as a visitor center with exhibits on the Civil Rights Movement. A visitor will learn about MLK’s childhood home and the church in which he was baptized. The center also features exhibits dedicated to Dr. King’s wife, Coretta, and Mahatma Gandhi.
32) Hoover Dam
Completed in 1935, this iconic dam located 30 miles east of Las Vegas was (and still is) an incredible feat of engineering. It shielded the surrounding farmlands from frequent flooding by the Colorado River, but at a cost of some 96 fatalities during its construction. Visitors can marvel at its sheer scale while discovering the part it played in the growth of Sin City. 
33) Mount Rushmore 
In Keystone, South Dakota, the 60-foot-tall faces of four American presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln) gaze out from the Black Hills granite. Almost 3 million visitors come to see the sculptural feat every year. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Patriotic

33 Patriotic Sites To Make Your Kids Fall In Love With America

History

Patriotism

Washington D.C., June, 1972: Five men are caught breaking into the Democrat National Committee headquarters while attempting to remove planted listening devices. Although at the time this was a minor story of a simple breaking and entering, two diligent reporters from the Washington Post — Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein — believed there was more to the story and continued to dig until they found evidence leading all the way back to the Nixon White House. And indeed, to the President himself.
But when the reporters attempted to run the story, the Republican-run DC establishment along with 90% of mainstream media outlets engaged in a concerted effort to suppress the story. They tried to remove all copies of the Washington Post from newsstands, storefronts, vending machines, and even forcibly prevented paperboys from making their morning deliveries. They went so far as blocking the Washington Post from the White House until Ben Bradley and his team agreed to remove any mention of Watergate from its pages.
Meanwhile, every major TV network and every other major newspaper circled their wagons around President Nixon and with one voice declared that the break-in story was merely a “conspiracy theory.&#8221; And to top it off, 50 former intelligence apparatus operatives, including former heads of the CIA and NSA, publicly declared the Watergate reporting to have “all the hallmarks of Russian disinformation” designed to make Nixon look bad before the 1972 election.  
Sounds crazy, right? It is, especially in a country where the founders codified a free press in our bill of rights. Thankfully, this scenario could never happen in today’s world, though. Or could it?
Chillingly, it already has. All one need do is replace the word “Watergate” with “laptop,” “Nixon” with “Biden,” “1972” with “2020,” and reverse the party affiliations of the powers-that-be. All you need to do is replace the Washington Post with the New York Post and you have what happened just one month before the last national election.
In many ways, the Hunter Biden laptop story is far more scandalous and dangerous than Watergate. During the Watergate scandal, it was said that “the coverup is worse than the crime.” But in the case of the Hunter Biden scandal, it very well could be that the crime is just as bad as the coverup. Here we have the ne’er-do-well son of a sitting Vice President with ambitions aimed at the Oval Office, doing business with China – a country that openly labels us among their greatest enemies. And what is the business? Is it software, manufacturing, or property development? No, it is blatant, naked influence peddling.
And speaking of naked, said son is addicted to crack cocaine. He is staying in the enemy’s capital, in hotel rooms that are surely surveilled. The Chinese Communist Party’s intel knows of his addiction, of course, and they also know what a recovering crack addict in my own family once told me: “When you are on a binge you will say or do anything for your next bump.” That alone is an obvious national security concern. But also, Joe Biden is not only a politician but by all accounts a devoted father to a troubled son. Who knows to what lengths he will go in order to protect his son from embarrassment or worse? It’s a question worth asking. 
To make matters worse, this scandal is not just about the son and his shameless influence peddling that yielded millions in ill-gotten Chinese (and Ukrainian) cash. The emails in question show that ten percent of those profits were kicked up to “the big guy.” Now, I wonder who that could be? Who is the Pauli Cicero to Hunter’s Henry Hill? Anyone care to take a guess? Is that “BG” the man sitting in the Oval Office who is also making policy decisions about our relationships and responses to the country that is far more a threat to the long-term interests of the USA than Russia? If so, one must wonder just how compromised are the highest levels of Federal power.
Like Watergate, there are several scandals within the scandal here. The obvious scandal is that the former VP’s, now the President’s, son has used his father’s name to wring millions from the coffers of an enemy state. And Xi Jinping’s people are too shrewd to part with millions of dollars without some expectations of a return on their investment, yet to be fully uncovered. But then we have a sitting Vice President who is now in the Oval Office most likely reaping kick-backs from his son’s nefarious dealings. And then, to me, the most frightening scandal of all is that the National Media/Big Tech/Bureaucratic State technocracy is lining up to suppress the story. Not only are they going so far as to censor the nation’s oldest newspapers , but they’re even reaching down to our personal devices to squash any mention of the story, just one month before an election that all interests involved in the suppression very much wanted to go Biden’s way.
My concerns are those of an American classic liberal, not a blind partisan. If the name “Biden” was replaced with “Trump,”  and the year was 2016 rather than 2020, my outrage and fears would be the exact same. But one doubts the legacy media now belatedly chasing a story that has become too widespread for them to hide any longer can say the same. 
The great misapprehension of many in this country is that, somehow, a different political system can craft a different human nature. No, human nature never changes. And political systems like ours — in which powers are balanced, ambitions checked by oversight, and a free and diligent press acts as an independent Fourth Estate — are constructed to rein in human nature. As such, when the levees holding back those who seek unchecked power break, when the watchdogs become the lapdogs of the State, then the country is in existential danger of becoming that which we once despised. Perhaps we are finally at an awakening. Only time will tell if we are too late. 
Either way, for once Carl Bernstein’s overused hyperbolic go-to line is actually true this time: “This is worse than Watergate.&#8221;
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Watergate

For Once, Something Really Is “Worse Than Watergate”   

Hunter Biden

Media Bias

We are living in the most extraordinary and dangerous of times, while trying to navigate through waters we have yet to begin charting with any accuracy or confidence. The entire story of the human race can be divided into two periods, a true before and after, and that dividing line can be precisely delineated down to the second: <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/trinity-test-1945">16 July, 1945, 5:29:45 am</a>. That was the moment the first controlled nuclear detonation took place in the New Mexico desert, culminating years of work and the two billion dollars that went into the Manhattan Project. When the atomic bomb lit up the pre-dawn sky, in a flash “brighter than a thousand suns,” a new age of commoditized mass destruction, indeed extinction-level power, had dawned, and the world has never been the same. 
Physicist Kenneth Bainbridge immediately grasped the significance of the sinister raw power they’d just set loose into an unsuspecting world, declaring, “Now we are all sons-of-bitches.”
We live far enough along the human timeline to look back and clearly see the demarcation points of history, and we have enough of the story, both of the before and the after, to make intelligent assessments of the far-reaching impacts of those seminal events – whether it be the birth of a prophet, a great discovery, a natural disaster, or the final resolution of a war. However, we are barely on the other side of the divide of the dawn of the Nuclear Age…the greatest moral challenge humankind has ever had to confront. What do I mean by this? I am not convinced that humanity has developed the moral grounding to be the wise stewards of such an awesome power. There are currently over 13,000 nuclear warheads dotting the planet, and I am disconcerted by the notion that no weapons system has ever been developed that was left unused.  
The great promise governing these weapons of mass destruction is that MAD (mutually assured destruction) will keep any conflicts hemmed in and local, for the risks of nuclear war in which both parties are annihilated is seen by all sides as unacceptable. As such, since 1950, the United States and its primary adversarial nuclear powers – China and Russia – have engaged in limited proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and other flashpoints. However, during that short window of the global after, we have seen the Damoclean sword of nuclear holocaust come dangerously close to dropping on more than a few occasions, October 1962 being the most well-documented.  
I reflect on this because what we are seeing in Ukraine is a true test of the post-Nuclear Age. For the first time since 1945, we find ourselves facing the prospect of a first-rate nuclear power engaging in outright warfare against a non-nuclear opponent…but one that has the sympathies and tacit support of the nuclear-armed West. There is, however, a terrible downside to MAD. While it has arguably kept a fragile Pax Nuclear in the world, preventing us from reliving the horrors of the Somme or Stalingrad, it has also hemmed us in regard to our real options, should we be confronted by a nuclear state gone rogue. Today, we face just such a scenario in the form of an unapologetic despot, whose goals are conquest and re-establishment of what he sees as a great empire of the Tsars and Soviets. 
Put simply, Putin has made the calculation that he could attack Ukraine without fear of an armed alliance directly challenging his armed forces. He need not fear the kind of Allied military intervention that stopped Hitler from realizing his megalomaniacal ambitions. Consider this thought experiment: would Great Britain and France still have declared outright war on Germany in 1939, when the Wehrmacht entered Poland, had we been in a nuclear age with Nazi Germany armed to the teeth with such weapons? What could the West have really done? Would Churchill have even risked vaporizing his beloved British Isles just to protect far away Poland, in what was in essence a border war between ancient enemies in a region that has never known peace or stability since the fall of Rome? What could the Allies have done? I can’t game that out. MAD works, really works, only when each side fears the others’ responses to the point where they act responsibly. This military strategy requires leaders to behave in rational ways, but what if someone with 4,000 nuclear weapons at their disposal calls MAD’s bluff?  
We are seeing just such a scenario as the vexing limitations of MAD unfold before us. A calculating man like Putin surely knows that, in a war against NATO, his 40-mile convoy of trucks heading for staging areas around Kyiv would not have lasted a day under the guns of marauding US A-10s with clouds of superlative F-22s flying top cover. Such a response, however, could very well lead to World War III, and that would be an existential threat to our species. For this reason, NATO, in all its superior military might, is impotent, for it cannot even enforce a no-fly-zone – despite Zelensky’s pleadings. 
 Putin certainly underestimated the ferocity of Ukrainian resistance – reminiscent of the Greeks’ spirited defense of their nation against Mussolini’s legions in 1940. As such, Putin’s timetable for subduing his neighbor has been upended. He likely did not expect the unity of response and punitive actions taken against Russia by the world at large. Still, he has correctly taken the measure of a Nuclear Age still in its infancy by gambling the West, for all its economic sanctions and peripheral attacks on his nation’s business infrastructure will not directly intervene with boots on the ground or fighters in the sky. A perverse application of MAD is in play. Therefore, despite much of the world’s justified outrage, we can only do so much as we watch Ukraine be overrun.  
Since 2008, Putin has made three encroachments against his neighbors: in Georgia, the Crimea, and now Ukraine proper. Three times he has been allowed to proceed. The West had no choice. If history has taught us one thing, it is that once wars start, no one can really tell in which direction events beyond our control will move the world. Just a century ago, it took barely two years for Europe to lurch from a single gunshot in Sarajevo to the agony of Verdun. Few in power in 1914 saw it coming.  
The question is: if Putin does get away with this, if his nuclear umbrella does protect him from direct Western response, what next? The Baltic states, too, were part of the USSR, and there is no doubt that he has his eye on them. However, unlike Ukraine, they are a part of NATO, whose core mission statement is “an attack on one is an attack on all.” Let us hope Putin doesn’t push his luck. It will be harder for the West to allow such an incursion the next time around, and NATO membership will be meaningless. 
As we navigate our way through this terrible minefield of the Ukraine invasion, we must, as always, make calculations based on what Churchill called the diabolical mathematics of war. Do we risk incinerating billions and ending all that we have built as a species since time immemorial – our progress in science, the arts, history, culture, indeed all we are – to protect one nation in a border war, however just the cause or tragic the imagery? I do not envy anyone in power having to run the numbers and make just such a calculation. 
This is the world of the “after” in which we live. Let us hope Putin is an anomaly, rather than a harbinger of things to come. Though, one need only to glance at Taiwan to see that this new age of MAD turned on its head may have only just begun, courtesy of the self-described “sons-of-bitches” in a remote desert 77 years ago…a mere blip in the historical timeline. Let us hope humanity is in the beginning of a second lasting age, rather than our collective denouement. Only time will tell. Those who are reflexively calling for a hawkish response may want to take a step back and consider the reflections of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant and mercurial leader of the atomic bomb’s development. While watching the great man-made fireball curling over 30,000 feet into the air, he recalled the ominous words of the Bhagavad Gita running through his head: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

When MAD And Megalomania Intersect In The Nuclear Age

Putin

Russia

While Washington shifts its attention to other matters, the Israelis continue to cast a wary eye towards Iran. This October in D.C., Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullha bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Afterward, Lapid repeated earlier warnings that “Iran is becoming a nuclear threshold country.” The Biden administration seems to be belatedly coming to realize that Iran has no interest in returning to Vienna to discuss curbing its nuclear ambitions—ambitions that, despite the common narrative, were helped along, not impeded, by the naïve 2015 accord. This was the deal that served up pallets of cash to the theocratic state in return for vague assurances of compliance. (Donald Trump pulled us out of this unilateral agreement in 2018).
What is there to say about Iran? Well, there are two very good standards by which to measure a government: what it says, and what it does. When it comes to Tehran, the Obama administration opted to ignore these two criteria. Trump’s diplomats understood the Mullahs better. And now the Biden people are waking up to a stark reality. US Special Envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, candidly admitted recently: “We have to prepare for a world…where Iran doesn’t have constraints on its nuclear program and we have to consider options for dealing with that, even as we hope that we can get back to the deal.” He must know that no one will deal with this president without demanding huge concessions in their favor. One must wonder, however, if Biden may become so desperate for a foreign policy “win” that he will acquiesce. In the meantime, it is wait and see what Iran has up its nuclear sleeve.
Israel, a nation surrounded by enemies hell-bent on its annihilation, cannot afford to be so glib. They, too, apply the litmus test of words and actions to Tehran…and it is chilling what they find.
First, what do Iran’s leaders, past and present, have to say? It seems to not matter to the West that when he was the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the “elimination” of the Jewish State. Nor do many care to remember that when he was president up until August 2021, Hassan Rouhani referred to Israel as the “festering Zionist tumor.” (Interestingly, Rouhani was often touted by the media to be a “centrist” and “reformer.”)  And what of current Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi. As far as this gem goes, Ram Ben-Barak, a former Mossad deputy chief, tweeted: “Raisi’s election as Iran’s next president is conclusive evidence of [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s decision to radicalize Iran’s conduct on foreign, nuclear, and terrorist policies.” Khamenei himself has happily proposed that Israel will not exist in a quarter-century. And yet another of their so-called “moderates”, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, has declared Israel a “fake temporary state” and “a foreign object in the body of a nation and it will be wiped off the map.”
Yes, but how do you really feel?
Perhaps such overtly bellicose clarion calls for Israel’s demolition are just red-meat posturing for their more radicalized citizens. So let us ask instead what does Tehran do? They are the leading sponsor of terrorism in the Levant. Iran continues to support Hamas in Gaza by providing the missiles that routinely rain down upon Israeli civilians. They are a funding agent of Hezbollah in Lebanon. They are the regional destabilizer funneling arms and other materiel to our enemies in Iraq for 20 years, as well as the more militant rebels in Syria. They even have worked with the Taliban in Afghanistan in the past, although that relationship is tenuous.
This is the enemy with whom the Obama administration in one of its many unconstitutional side-steps, made a one-sided deal that prima facie defied common sense…much to Israel’s horror.
During the Cold War, the logic behind the uneasy peace with the U.S.S.R. was that while thousands of nuclear-tipped warheads sat at the ready on either side of the Iron Curtain, the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) kept both sides rational and at bay. Bit what if MAD seems like a great idea to a certain group of apocalyptic jihadists eager to sell their lives (or in the Mullahs’ case the lives of others) to do Allah’s work? What do you do if you are Israel confronted with the very real notion of a nuclear-armed regime that denies the previous Holocaust ever happened while calling for the next one?
The carrot of appeasement has not worked with Iran. And after Afghanistan, few enemies fear the U.S. stick. So perhaps then the best option for the Biden administration is to send Tehran a message by reaffirming in no uncertain terms U.S. support for Israel. Otherwise, with only the feckless Biden to fall back on as its “ally”, the IAF may have to re-enact its 1981 airstrike on Iraq’s Orsirak nuclear reactor. And who knows what genie that might let out of the bottle. Back then Ronald Reagan was president to keep the retaliatory inclinations of a generally anti-Israeli world, including his own cabinet, at bay, even as the U.S. joined in the ceremonial U.N. condemnation of their action. Those days are long gone.
Like all nations, Israel certainly has behaved over the years in a manner to warrant scorn. Still, there is an old but true expression: “If the Arabs laid down their arms there’d be no more war; if the Israelis laid down their arms there’d be no more Israel.”
The Iranian leaders, of course, are not Arabs, but they are fundamentalist Shi’ites who see the eradication of Israel as not just a legitimate foreign policy goal, but a noble, even holy, cause. Certainly, if their words and actions are to be believed.
In 2020 the American people voted out the most Israel-friendly administration in my lifetime.  This president, or whoever is pulling his strings, is no friend of the Jewish state. The Iranians know this.  And until it changes, they will continue to be emboldened. Why shouldn’t they after watching the catastrophe in Afghanistan unfold within months of the new U.S. president’s administration? No doubt the Israelis are praying for a GOP takeover of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms. And they understand the chief lesson of the Holocaust and will conduct their affairs accordingly: when people say they want to annihilate you, believe them. Because they mean it.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader and author. His latest novel, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Extraordinary/Brad-Schaeffer/9781642939422">The Extraordinary</a>, tells the story of a family dealing with a Marine veteran&#8217;s PTSD as told through the words of his autistic teenaged son. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Readers-Pass—Schaeffer—Joe-Biden,-Israel,-And-The-Iranian-Mullahs

Joe Biden, Israel, And The Iranian Mullahs

Biden Administration

Iran

Israel

John Madden, the Super Bowl-winning coach of the then Oakland Raiders and iconic color sportscaster whose name is practically synonymous with the NFL, has passed away at the age of 85. His folksy style of commentary endeared him to a generation of football fans, and then his eponymous line of video games made him literally a household name for millions of kids and parents alike. Few have become so identifiable as the face — and more so the voice — of a sport as was Madden. And his loss leaves a void in the game that cannot be filled.
John Earl Madden was born in 1936 in Depression-era Minnesota. His father, an auto mechanic, moved the family to Daily City, California in the Bay Area while John was a boy. He was a high school football star and college player for the College of San Mateo and then on scholarship to Oregon. A knee injury red-shirted him and after a few more transfers, he ended up playing for Cal Poly while earning both a bachelors, then master’s in education. Madden won all-conference honors as an offensive tackle. I must confess that before researching this piece, I never knew he’d been a star athlete. He was, in fact, so good at the game that he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958. But Madden would never play pro ball as, once again, a knee injury dashed his plans, this time for good.
One wonders had his knees been firm if Madden would have played the game and then perhaps ended up in relative obscurity. But blessings come in all forms. It was during rehabilitation that the desire to coach revealed itself to him. At first as assistant coach at Allen Hancock College in Santa Maria then at San Diego State where he was mentored by Don Coryell.
Al Davis, the owner of the Raiders, took notice and brought him on as linebacker coach in 1967, helping propel the team to Super Bowl II. In 1969, at age 32, Madden was named the Raiders’ head coach, making him at the time the youngest in the then American Football League.  And the rest, as they say, is history.
Madden  would go on to lead one of the great teams of the 1970s, building an all-star roster that included the likes of Kenny Stabler, Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch, Otis Sistrunk, Dave Casper, John Matuszak, Ray Guy, Ted Hendricks, Jack Tatum, Art Shell, and others. The boisterous coach imprinted his style on this collection of bruisers, for whom gray, silver and black seemed ideal colors, and enacted Al Davis’ concept of “orchestrated mayhem.” Before he ever climbed into an announcer’s booth, those of us who grew up on the game of the Seventies marveled at this hulking man with the contorted face who was tailor-made to lead this outcast group of players whom one coach referred to as a “criminal element.” His was a non-authoritarian style. He gave his men leeway to, as some complained, play dirty (although given the low number of penalties they were just physical…or the refs were afraid to toss the flag). All Madden asked was “play like hell when I tell you to.” And it worked. His ten-year run produced seven division titles and a Super Bowl win in 1977, earning him a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He was heralded as one of the great coaches of the game when he retired in 1979. But his star was only rising. A nation was about to be introduced to the Madden mystique, and sportscasting would never be the same.
I could list all the networks for which he called games, and comment on his Lite Beer commercials, or his coast-to-coast rides in his quirky Madden bus (his claustrophobia had become so severe that soon after he left coaching it prevented him from flying). But that is all out there. I wanted to give a bit of his story before he became the Madden most know. A fine athlete and terrific coach. Facets about his life that are sometimes overlooked given his subsequent fame.
With that said, what made John Madden so much a force in the booth that really it is impossible to imagine a replacement? I think it was the fact that his love of the game poured out of him and into our living rooms every time he spoke into the mic. He once said: “Football is what I am. I didn’t go into it to make a living or because I enjoyed it. There is much more to it…I am totally consumed by football, totally involved. I’m not into gardening…or any other hobbies. I don’t fish or hunt. I’m in football.” And we could tell. Which is why we loved his commentary.
As color man to the stoic and dependable Pat Summerall for years, Madden was able to chat about anything that crossed his mind, in a way my buddies and I might while downing a few beers at Buffalo Wild Wings on football Sunday. He didn’t limit his trademark telestrator pen to just diagraming plays on the screen for us, thus presenting a fascinating glimpse into the thought process of a head coach in real time. He would scribble over all sorts of things we watching at home hadn’t noticed, often tongue-in-cheek, reminding us this is, after all, a game to enjoy. (My favorite was his detailed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlWbTDFjQCU">analysis</a> of Cowboy QB Troy Aikman’s apparently failed attempt at growing a beard.)
For me, the classic Madden was during that great Chicago Bears season of 1985-86 when one could tell that to the old coach, this was what a football team was all about…that if he was still coaching, this was the team he’d want to lead. Like Madden himself, the 85 Bears were a colorful, fun-loving group of iconoclasts who morphed into absolute steamrollers on the gridiron. I can remember Madden calling the playoff game between the Bears and the New York Giants. A classic match-up. Here we are, Madden was saying… Chicago Bears and New York Giants. Soldier Field, Chicago. It’s freezing, and snow is whipping across the stadium. Two of the oldest franchises duking it out old school… and yet, he lamented, they were playing on artificial turf?  Oddly enough, my friends and I had literally just said the same thing! That was Madden. He was our everyman. The guy with whom we’d love to hang and watch a game — any game. Very often, he was as much the spectacle as the playing on the field. Who else can say that today?
The hugely successful video games to which his name is attached kept the name “Madden” fresh for a younger generation of football fans after he left the scene. As such, John Madden is football for so many. So he will live on, I suppose. And I guess all things must pass. Still, as I get older I notice this lesson keeps coming at me at an unnervingly rapid pace. It is as if pieces of not just my youth, but the Americana in which I grew up, are being chipped away, one John Madden at a time. Yes, 85 years, especially so full as his, is one helluva life. But then, as he might say, you look up and “Boom!” the great one is gone. And the simple fact is that the game of football, John Madden’s raison d’etre, is emptier today.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader and author. His latest novel, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Extraordinary/Brad-Schaeffer/9781642939422">The Extraordinary</a>, tells the story of a family dealing with a Marine veteran&#8217;s PTSD as told through the words of his autistic teenaged son. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Readers-Pass—Schaeffer—John-Madden-Obit

John Madden: The Man Who Will Forever Be Football

Culture

Sports

I deal in energy for the same reason I would have otherwise gone into medicine. Because, like healthcare, people will go without a lot of other extras before sacrificing electricity, fuel, transportation, heat/ac, etc. Nations are no different. As I have said many times, the history of 20th Century warfare has been inextricably intertwined with the drive for finding and securing sources of energy.
When he became First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911 Winston Churchill led the transitioning of the Royal Navy from coal-fired to fuel-burning ships of the line; suddenly the need to secure sources of oil far from the British Isles led to Great Britain’s wider presence on the high seas…something that did not go unnoticed by the Kaiser in Germany, helping push the two powers into a disastrous conflict. In 1941, Japan, suffering under the crippling impact of a US oil embargo, decided they had no choice but to invade the oil-rich Dutch East Indies—but to do so unmolested they also had to take out the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and capture our military bases in the Philippines, the latter of which stood astride the shipping lanes. And so the USA was plunged into a world war. In 1942, Hitler sent his powerful Army Group South onto the steppes of Southern Russia and into the Caucasus region in a drive to capture its petroleum facilities…he would lose an entire army, and with it the war, in the burning rubble of Stalingrad.
As I wrote in the Daily Wire a while back, China is now the latest player on the find-the-energy game board. But unlike the myopic Tojo, or megalomaniacal Hitler, Xi Jinping is no fool. One must assume that he has studied the past and considered how best to address China’s Achilles heel, which is a lack of proven energy reserves within its borders, unlike its arch-rival the United States. So, while we debate pronouns at home while 20 years of blood and treasure are squandered in pointless nation-building folly abroad, China has been slowly, quietly, establishing a presence in Africa and the region of the Indian Ocean.
According to the IEA’s Africa Energy Outlook, Africa’s share in the global energy mix is set to soar from 5 per cent today to 25 percent by 2040. Over 40 per cent of global gas discoveries from 2011 to 2018 have been in Africa. Chinese investments and contracts in sub-Saharan Africa totaled $299 billion from 2005 to 2018, according to the China Investment Global Tracker. And in 2018, Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed to invest a further $60 billion into African nations.
But once you have a foothold in the next energy revolution, how best to secure it? That is the next step. Which is why, with very little media coverage, U.S. officials reported that Beijing is actively seeking a permanent naval base on the west coast of Africa. They could be eyeing Equatorial Guinea’s port city of Bata for the base. The report said Bata already comes with a deep-water port that had been upgraded by China Road &amp; Bridge Co. from 2009 to 2014. It makes sense. With so much capital poured into such a tumultuous part of the globe, China would want a hands-on military presence in the region to secure its investments.
But there is a deeper, more ominous take-away from such a venture should it come to pass. Since the turn of the last century the Atlantic has been within the United States’ sphere of influence. The idea of a rival naval base right on the other side of “the pond” is disconcerting and destabilizing. Tensions between the U.S. and Communist China are only going to intensify in the next few years as the Chinese achieve economic and military parity.
Indeed, if ever there was a time for Beijing to flex its muscle it is now. The United States has probably never been this lacking in resolve since the fall of Saigon in 1975. China watches with glee as we are humiliated in Afghanistan, our streets burn, our military concentrates on racial theory and gender fluidity rather than waging violence on our behalf, our government from D.C. to the state capitals seems unable to come up with a coherent or proportional response to the Covid epidemic (of Chinese origin), the lower and middle classes reel from skyrocketing inflation, which will only be fueled by a budget-obliteration, dollar crushing “Build Back Better” print-and-spend orgy never before seen in the annals of governance. And all of this while being supervised (in theory at least) by an enfeebled, mentally failing, near octogenarian who is clearly just a puppet dangling on the string of lobbyists, left-wing activists, and cynical party bosses. What better time to flex Chinese muscle than now? (Fine, let the U.S. fixate on Putin and far-away Ukraine if they like. All the better.)
China has always had its eyes on expanding its presence in the Western Pacific and in the process absorbing free Taiwan as it has Hong Kong. But its latest machinations across the Atlantic from our own shores represent a quantum leap in Chinese hegemony. The United States has already ceded manufacturing, rare earth, and other industries vital to not just economic prowess and diversity but national security to Chinese control. Now the Biden administration seems hell-bent on rolling back our ace in the hole, energy independence and export capacity. Had they searched far and wide for a Manchurian Candidate to do their bidding, the CCP could not have done better than the stupefied Joe Biden at the titular helm of their adversary’s floundering ship of state. No wonder they have chosen this moment to move to secure their Atlantic flank and further box us in. What is the Biden administration going to do about it? Do Americans want to see their children die in yet another overseas war run by incompetents who are never held responsible for their actions? Ask the Taliban.
All is not lost though. The Biden administration has shown some backbone as of late by barring U.S. diplomats from attending the Beijing Olympics. Ouch! After all, what good is it to Xi as he works diligently to tip the scales in not just the Pacific but the Atlantic as well in his quest to make the 21st Century the Chinese Century when in the process he loses his chance to have a photo op with Pete Buttigieg?
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader and <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Brad-Schaeffer/146901071">author</a> whose eclectic body of works have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, NY Daily News, National Review, The Federalist. The Blaze, and Zerohedge among others. His latest novel, The Extraordinary, tells the story of a family dealing with a Marine veteran&#8217;s PTSD as told through the words of his autistic teenaged son.

Readers-Pass—Schaeffer—China’s-Next-Step-Toward-World-Domination

China’s Next Step Toward World Domination

China

Foreign Policy

Sixteen years ago Hurricane Katrina came barreling like a 350-mile-wide freight train into the Gulf Coast. In addition to the tragic loss of over 1,800 souls and the cost of property damage and other economic impacts estimated at $150 billion, the storm was a major event for the United States’ energy market, especially natural gas. In 2005, the total US dry natural gas production was at roughly 50 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). And the offshore rigs that were scattered like 1,500 bits of buckshot along the Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi coasts accounted for 12 Bcf/d of that total production; two-thirds of which had to be taken off-line when the rigs in the storm’s path were shut down and evacuated. By the time Katrina finished its rampage over the Gulf, the US had lost 8 Bcf/d in natural gas production.  That was sixteen percent of our total national output.
Katrina was then followed up just 18 days later by the Category 3 Hurricane Rita. Although not as deadly nor costly, Rita was for the energy industry a “here we go again” event. For the second time in a month, some 8.8 Bcf/d were shut-in.
Needless to say, natural gas prices responded accordingly. From mid-summer and into the fall of 2005, near-term cash rocketed from roughly $7.68 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at the end of July to as high as $15.40 MMBtu by December. Prices would not retreat back to pre-hurricane levels until February 2006.
We often view fossil fuels solely as gasoline to move our vehicles, heating oil to warm our homes, natural gas to light our stoves. But a transcript of a series of October 2005 hearings held by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources after Katrina shows that consumers are much more dependent on fossil fuel byproducts — especially natural gas — than they realize.  For example, the committee lists among consumer products made with materials derived from natural gas: diapers, shampoo, laundry detergent, toothpaste, beer and soda cans, milk jugs, dishwashing liquids, kitchen cabinets, paints, siding, plumbing pipes, plywood, various car parts, contact lenses, fertilizer, and the list goes on. In his book The Prize, Daniel Yergin astutely observes that we have become a new incarnation he calls “hydrocarbon man.” And so, when there is a shock to energy prices, the entire U.S. economy follows. The report concluded:
<blockquote>Future economic historians may very well talk about the recession of 2006-7 as being engendered by higher natural gas costs as a contributing factor.</blockquote>
It was, therefore, with considerable disquiet when 16 years to the day of Katrina, traders watched as Ida, another Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in the almost identical location. And yet, unlike in 2005, natural gas prices did not skyrocket. As such, the residual shock to consumers did not materialize. On the contrary, natural gas front month futures fell fifteen cents on the first trading day since Ida made landfall. As of this writing, natural gas futures have yet to print higher than $6.39 MMBtu. To be sure, these are still the highest levels traders have seen in many years. But this is due to ongoing historical low storage numbers — in part due to reduced production that followed the long period of low prices — as we enter into a possible cold winter undersupplied rather than destruction of major production capacity in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, these prices are not nearly so stratospheric as those seen in the 2005 spike. Why? Because the past 15 years have seen the most dramatic transformation of the U.S. energy industry since the advent of slant drilling. Expanded exploration revealing more reserves, fracking, and shale production made the United States one of the world’s premier energy producers.
Since Katrina/Rita, production of natural gas has almost doubled to roughly 100 Bcf/day. Meanwhile, at the same time, total output from offshore (and vulnerable) platforms declined, from 3.13 Bcf/d to just under 1 Bcf/d.
Whereas in 2005 a well-placed and powerful storm could tear a huge swath percentage-wise out of daily US energy production, today due to higher output from a broad array of sources scattered across North America, that simply is not the case. But it could be again, should aggressive policies to limit fossil fuel exploration and production in the United States through a pause on new leases and elimination of subsidies in favor of green initiatives, which is the stated goal of the current administration, be enacted.
Elon Musk is correct when he observes that taking carbon out of the ground and pumping it into the air is a foolish long-term enterprise. And in time we must gradually move to cleaner forms of renewable and sustainable energy…but without causing a shock to the system that could trigger massive economic upheaval while destroying hundreds of thousands of well-paying energy sector jobs. As has been seen with Germany’s Energiewende initiative, going green is a difficult, often muddy, process; it is a policy that still very much relies on traditional fossil fuel-fired plants to make up the slack in daily power production should the sun go down or the winds stop. And the cost is high. Germans pay on average the highest consumer electricity prices in the Developed World.
Although a noble sentiment, we as a nation that drives one-quarter of the global economy do not have a moral obligation to “lead by example” and go it alone in reducing our carbon footprint. Especially if it hurts American interests. This naïve notion must be discarded. Today the largest producer of greenhouse gasses is not the United States but China. And the CCP has shown no such grappling with their national conscience as it pumps ten gigatons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year — double the United States — to fuel their growing economy. So any global green initiative that does not address this elephant in the room is folly. It is like removing two cylinders from a V-10 engine and declaring you have done your bit to slow down the car…one that will still go another 50,000 miles on the other eight. Hurting our economy to unilaterally reduce carbon emissions is not only bad national policy, but it will also have no measurable impact on global temperatures. It is not up to the American consumer, already squeezed by the economic ramifications of lockdowns, high inflation, and stagnant wages, to take one for the team. Especially when our biggest teammate is sitting this game out.
 Brad Schaeffer is an author and commodities trader.  His newest novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Brad-Schaeffer/dp/1642939420">The Extraordinary</a>, a story told through the eyes of autistic teen, was released in August.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Circular sustainable chart

How Hurricane Ida Showed The Value Of America’s Energy Boom

Energy

What’s funnier? The long, winding joke where the punchline is but the last of many laughs throughout the journey? Or the short staccato one-liner? If, like me, you love both, then there was one comedian whose decades of work — from his standup and his own quirky TV shows, to his stint on Saturday Night Live (more on that in a moment) and frequent late night talk show guest spots — stood above the rest. Norm MacDonald was, quite simply, one of the best comics of the age. And now, to the shock of so many, he passed away last week at age 61.   
Although a fixture in the standup circuit (which was always his preferred venue) MacDonald was elevated to prominence as the deadpan and fearless host of SNL’s Weekend Update. He is, perhaps, as famous for being fired from that post as he was for the stellar work he did in the three years he sat behind the fake news desk. And the reason for his termination, if never officially stated, gives us an insight into his belief in the integrity of comedy and how staying true to himself and his craft mattered most to him. As the story goes, NBC executive  Don Ohlmeyer was friends with O.J. Simpson and had grown irritated by MacDonald’s relentless Weekend Update jokes aimed at the accused murderer during and after the trial. But the more management pressed the comic to back off, the more his audiences were treated with savage jokes at the Juice’s expense. “In his book, O.J. said that he would have taken a bullet or stood in front of a train for Nicole. Man I’m gonna tell you, that is some bad luck when the one guy that would’ve died for you kills you.”  
Later on, MacDonald would reconsider and offer that perhaps the main reason was that he just wasn’t the type to toe the management line. There was even concern that his shots at Michael Jackson’s alleged pedophilia may have ended up inviting a lawsuit.  Whatever the reason, the fact is MacDonald, to be cliché for a moment, did it his way. He reached out to Roseanne Barr and Louis C.K. when they ran afoul of the mob and #metoo movement, and did an uncomfortable and clearly forced appearance on The View to clarify what was simply his offering emotional support to fellow comics… not to compare them to victims of abuse. As Conan O’Brien pointed out: “There’s a lot of people, in comedy, getting applause for being brave in one way or another. But oftentimes what they’re doing they know is going to play well.  But what [Norm] was doing, he really was brave. He paid the price for it. And he took a lot of heat.”  
Norm was also a mind. His quick wit and ability to think on his feet (such as during his now-famous Conan O’Brien <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxD3pT8C9-A">appearance</a> wherein he took an old joke about an emotionally troubled moth and strung it out for three minutes of Kafkaesque brilliance to kill time) revealed him to be a well-read and acute observer of the world. His references to Russian literature, in which he was clearly well-versed, often belied his folksy rural Canadian stage persona. Washington Post national arts reporter Geoff Edgars describes him as a “Tolstoy in sweatpants” with a gift for math and a streak of the obsessive compulsive that could have explained his issues with gambling. One imagines a complex man.  
Although MacDonald almost never spoke of politics, one could tell he leaned right, which would make him a rarity in his cadre. He also was a man of faith. As with politics, he rarely spoke publicly about his religion, but he would sometimes in casual conversations or over the Twittersphere let slip a reference to the Scriptures, or to Christ, or God that gave us that briefest glimpse behind the curtain to spy the theologian within.  
For MacDonald, his true genius was in his delivery. His was a breezy demeanor with a mischievous grin that hid a toughness underneath, and the confidence it gave him to take chances. Even if he risked bombing. “Comedy is surprises,” he once said. “So if you’re intending to make somebody laugh, and they don’t laugh, that’s funny.”  
When he was asked to participate in a celebrity roast of his good friend Bob Sagat, he was at first hesitant. The idea of hurling vulgar slurs at someone he loved repelled him…cable TV roasts today are much more R-rated than they were when Dean Martin hosted them in prime time. The producers told him to “be shocking.” So that is just what he did.  For almost ten minutes MacDonald got up in front of a live audience and proceeded to read off the most benign, corny, G-rated jokes that one would find in an old 1950s joke book read at a Lyon’s club retirement dinner. “Bob has a face like a flower.  Yeah, a cauliflower.” “Gilbert Gottfried.  Your neck reminds me of a typewriter…Underwood.” And so it went. One intentionally bad joke after another until the true genius of the bit, flying so in the face of all the other raunchy material, became apparent.  
MacDonald was a master of the irreverent—“The Al-Qaeda online magazine has a recipe for a homemade bomb.  It also has a recipe for a pretty darned good peach cobbler” — or the absurd — “A new study found that men with beards are more attractive than men without beards.  More great work from the University of Bob Segar.” And he could switch gears to string along a joke for ten minutes or more…such as during his wonderful HBO special Me Doing Standup where a story that starts off with a quip about the evening news twists and turns through a labyrinth that includes cheese sandwiches, vans, and a YWCA basketball team until it finally wraps up with how he would commit a serial killing. (Trust me, it’s both benign and hilarious). 
Norm seemed to relish the politically incorrect. His humor sometimes strayed into the realm of the uncomfortable … and, as it would turn out, sadly ironic. His stories of his imaginary Uncle Bert who was forever dying of bowel cancer was a recurring bit. Through this vehicle, MacDonald would question why do we say someone “lost his battle” with cancer? He recalled his Uncle Bert’s “battle” with cancer. It consisted of “him lying in a hospital bed with a thing in his arm watching Matlock on TV.” And, Norm would further offer, “when you die, the cancer dies at the exact same time. So that, to me, is not a loss, that’s a draw.”  
The irony, as we now know, is that many times while he was making these jokes, MacDonald was quietly, unbeknownst to even those closest to him, suffering from very real cancer himself. For nine years. One wonders why he would have kept so devastating an illness so private for so long. But it makes sense when taken in the whole of his professional devotion to comedy. Sure, he might have easily defused the discomfort of the subject matter by declaring it okay, even therapeutic, for him to joke in public about a disease he had. But that would make the joke about him and not the humor. So he kept it private. In this age of solipsism, it was a refreshingly Norm MacDonald thing to do.
But now he is gone. He leaves behind a mother and son (his father passed years before, and his only marriage ended in divorce) as well as legions of fans who will miss his unique take on life, which he found, as he once said in a tweet, “miraculous”. But MacDonald’s work will certainly live on in YouTube, cable, and other outlets. In that spirit of remembrance, I will leave you with this gem: “Do you know what’s the funniest part of doing an office conga line? When you look back and realize you’re doing it alone and you’re not in an office, you’re in a psychiatric ward.” 
Leave ‘em laughing. Now, do yourself a favor and go online, and experience all this brilliant comic had to offer. I assure you your day will be brighter.  
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, author, and musician. His newest novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1642939420?tag=simonsayscom">The Extraordinary</a>, about a teenager with autism telling the story of his war veteran father’s struggle with PTSD, was released on August 31.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Norm MacDonald:  As Fearless As He Was Funny

Hollywood

Norm MacDonald

“When people stop believing in God, the problem is not that they will believe in nothing; rather the problem is that they will believe anything.” I think C.S. Lewis was on to something here. The greatest myth of secular progressivism is that it eschews religion. But nature abhors a vacuum.  And when it comes to a belief system, humanity will always seek to fill a void in their hearts with a quest to live out their lives predicated upon a belief in something higher than themselves. People need a reason to live as more than just pinballs bouncing around this chaotic world on our meaningless trip to the void. I think everyone yearns to believe in something.  
As such, the religion that truly intrigues — and horrifies — me is that of Leftism. Leftists, in whose camp most professed and proud atheists dwell, like to think they are more enlightened than those who follow the teachings of bronze-age prophets scrolled on ancient parchment. They are people of “science”. Enlightenment. And, yes, if you press them (or put a few drinks in their veins) they will confide in you that they are simply smarter than those rubes who remain steeped in the superstitions of the past. 
But they are wrong. The idea of “religion” is not just a prostration before a living, engaged Supreme Being these days. In the post-modern age of political and social ideology, religion casts a wider net to mean any set of beliefs to which one ascribes supreme importance. Bill Maher, for example, calls communism, an ideology steeped in atheism, a “religion”. If one sees the definition as a manifestation of any belief system, then perhaps he is right. And, it seems, as with more traditional holy zealotry, the more pious the believer, the less tolerant they tend to be of dissenting views.  Indeed, when you are absolutely convinced that you’re in the right — morally, politically, scientifically — you feel no obligations to tolerate those in the wrong. Some are so steeped in their self-righteous hauteur that they’re willing to destroy any and all those who stand between them and the implementation of their belief system.  And so they cross into the realm of the religious fanatic. In that respect, I have seen fewer more clear examples of religious extremism than what we see in the far-Left today.
What do I mean by this? Consider this CBS News Headline as relates to one of the Church of Leftology’s three pillars in its sacred trinity…to wit, Climate Change, Public Health, and Racism. It reads: “How climate change helped strengthen the Taliban.” Here we see unbridled devotion to one of those columns on display. In this case, the media, acting as the new religion’s messengers, draws for their unquestioning disciples a direct nexus between what is happening in the earth’s atmosphere and the rise of a fanatical Islamic army in the Hindu Kush. Climate change, as we often hear from these apostles of the new faith, is a “destabilizing” phenomenon; thus can a direct line of causality be traced back from any adverse political, military, or sociological event to perceived upheaval of the planet’s atmosphere. That one is hard-pressed to recall any era in history during which human interaction was not marred by instability matters not. Indeed, one facet of the Church of Leftology is that history should be ignored, or, better yet, re-written to fall in line with the tenets of the faith, ala the 1619 Project. Recurring evidence of a constant darkness in human nature throughout the millennia is irrelevant. No matter what caused the wars, occupations, persecutions, genocides, and injustices of the past, today the malevolent weather, and more to the point our misbehavior causing it, is at the heart of our woes.
Drawing such definitive links to so broad a global phenomenon as climate change is a dangerous proposition. When one takes the premise seriously that all things bad, from hurricanes and wildfires, to now the rise of the Taliban, and even the crisis of our wide-open border, can be traced back to Climate Change, as many of the Church Of Leftology’s ministers propose (including the current Vice President), then that logically demands all future policy promote a green agenda that must take precedence — regardless of their demonstrable encroachment upon prosperity or, more disconcerting, civil liberties.
To bolster their claims of righteous indignation against fossil fuels and other industries, we hear the phrase “existential threat” bantered about. And no wonder. Such a clarion call of impending doom is a useful pretext for radically shifting economic and social policy. When something is an “existential threat” to humanity, such as the earth becoming uninhabitable through CO2 poisoning of the atmosphere, then all other concerns must be relegated to secondary considerations. After all, what good is having a working Constitution and Bill Of Rights, a thriving economy, or fiscally responsible government if the world will literally end should we not act…and right soon? The climate change pillar of the faith serves two purposes on the Leftist altar. It is a justification for government activism at the expense of personal freedom and free markets under the guise of “saving the planet.” And it also offers those who lack any true faith a passionate crusade to animate their otherwise Godless lives; this time the aim is reclaim the entire earth rather than just the Holy Land.
We see a parallel narrative when it comes to the second pillar of the Leftist faith, “Public Health.” The massive power-grab on the parts of state and federal officials under the justification of a response to Covid is plain for all to see. Here is one example: For years the Left has wanted mail-in balloting in place of in-person voting. They claim it is in the interest of equity, but only the most naïve really believe that. Since it presents a much less secure voting system, it gives the party of Kennedy 1960 more opportunities to cheat. But how to make this happen? Then along comes a pandemic. Covid, a very real disease, is nevertheless providing cover for promoting a very unreal need for mail-in ballots. Connecticut, for example, is making mail-in balloting available to anyone who “fears Covid.” Nice. If the Democrats have their way, mail-in ballots will be a permanent feature, well after the virus’ threat is gone. Actually, for them, Covid will never be gone as one variant will follow another until all 23 letters of the Greek alphabet are exhausted. Then it’s the letters in Dr. Suess’ On Beyond Zebra up to the plate. And so must the mail-in balloting, in the interest of “public health”, remain.  
Nor does the new religion stop with voting. Indeed, using “public health” as its pretext, the activist CDC recently has even decided to get involved in gun control. Gun violence, they claim, is a matter of “public health.” Very soon, like a healthcare version of the overly broad interstate commerce clause, every agency regulation, rule, edict will be justified with some degree of separation back to public health.  
The influence of the final pillar of the Leftist Trinity, racism, is being demonstrated right now from the imposition of radical critical race theory in our public schools, to the opposition to even the most rudimentary voter ID laws. If you oppose any of these initiatives, the high priests of the Church of Leftology in the media, academia, or Twitter will brand you as a racist. Race is everything now. It is who you are, what you are, how you are expected to behave, to think even. It is used to divide us, to quell dissent, to ruin lives in the name of the holy sacrament of the equitable society. And should you object to viewing everything through the prism of color, well that just shows how racist you really are. Indeed, all opposition to even the most radical racism as expressed in CRT is, ironically, labeled racist. 
Despite polls, most citizens of the United States are indeed religious. It is just that as those traditional religions that worship a living Supreme Being have waned, a religion of leftist woke ideology has risen to take its place. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are giving way to Climate Change, Public Health, and Racism. And when it comes to this latter diabolical trinity, the practitioners of the new leftist faith are far more akin to hard-core Baptists than the mild-mannered Presbyterians. Their views are Truth. And any dissent makes you fair game for destruction. From a policy standpoint, given they see themselves as the arbiters of saving the planet, making people healthy, and creating a racially harmonious utopia, the only people who could possibly disagree with them must be by definition eco-terrorists, science deniers, or bigots. This intolerance is the very essence of religious fanaticism. And it has become the hallmark of the Left. Many conservatives fret over the threat to the West posed by radical Islam, and they are right to do so. But a far more insidious faith has come to call. One that, should it maintain its hold on the media, the government, pop culture, academia, the boardroom, even the military, will surely cause the West to come crashing down. Maybe that is the goal. If so, then we will be as far from Eden as we have ever been. 
Brad Schaeffer is an author, columnist, commodities trader, and musician.  His latest novel, The Extraordinary, about a family coping with a war veteran father’s PTSD as told through the words of his autistic son, is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Brad-Schaeffer/dp/1642939420">on sale</a> now.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Low Angle View Of Angel Statue With Cross Against Clear Sky

Climate Change, Public Health, Racism: The Church of Leftism’s Diabolical Trinity

Climate Change

COVID-19

Racism

Let’s set the way-back machine to 1962-1992. It may be difficult for most Americans born after this window to comprehend, but there was a time when we tuned in to late night television talk shows to come together, not have our politics either affirmed or mocked. If you don’t believe this, I invite you to go on YouTube and pull up any episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
You will find the format pretty much the same as today’s late night programs. A typical Carson show started off with side-kick Ed McMahon reading off the list of guests over the big band swing theme song played by Doc Severinsen’s great orchestra. Then he’d announce: “Heeeeeeere’s Johnny!” Carson would appear on stage to affectionate applause. After which he proceeded into one of his iconic monologues where he playfully lampooned the news stories of the day. Even when the jokes bombed it was funny, because Carson, sensing the crickets after a particularly bad punchline, would break into a self-deprecating soft-shoe to the tune of “Tea For Two.”
As with the shows hosted by Steven Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon, plenty of big-name stars followed the monologue for interesting and often zany interviews (especially if Don Rickles, Jonathan Winters, or Robin Williams were on the docket). And also some unknowns whose stories Carson nevertheless found interesting enough to invite on his show. (Merrit Heaton, a 97-year-old from Illinois who was recognized as the oldest working farmer was my favorite.) Carson also made many a comedian’s career.
And throughout its 6,714 episodes in 29 seasons, the nation laughed and cried with him. At the end of his May 22, 1992 farewell — which was seen by over 50 million viewers — Johnny said he was honored to be invited into our living rooms every weeknight where together, as a country, we enjoyed a genuine national harmony. Carson, himself a Nebraska native, understood his countrymen. And he saw his job as presenting a program that all Americans could find enjoyable. He knew that for many viewers The Tonight Show was an escape from the troubles of the day.
What we were not subjected to was rabid politics. And certainly not the acerbic brand courtesy of Colbert and Kimmel especially. In fact, even though I have watched hundreds of episodes over the years, I honestly cannot tell you from his show what were Carson’s politics. Nor did I care. It wasn’t his job to hit me over the head with self-righteous tears ala Kimmel or insults to half the country by branding those who simply voted for the man he didn’t support for president as the moral equivalent of the child-raping, murderous, religiously fanatical Taliban, as did Colbert just <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/stephen-colbert-taliban">last week</a>. That would have been inconceivable to Carson, who always knew in what lane he traveled.
I like to think my shifting political positions come not from zeal for any political party — I loathe them both — but rather data and results. Call it the flexibility of a commodities trader. As such, I would no more like to tune in to an ostensible comedy show in which the host is a rabid Republican any more than what they currently happen to be: obnoxiously partisan Democrats. If one wishes to air an overtly political talk show or podcast built upon a foundation of humor, as does Greg Gutfeld (right) or Jon Stewart (left), that is fine. The viewers know ahead of time that one doesn’t tune in to these programs to escape politics but rather to engage in it.
But that was never Carson’s style. He would poke fun at politicians, but it was a light tap if anything. Indeed the most cutting political joke I ever heard him tell was about a then-professional skier and ChapStick spokeswoman, which went something like: “In honor of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s run for president, Suzy Chaffee is changing her name to Suzy Chappaquiddick.” Seems rather tame today, no?
Even had a more political format been Carson’s model, one cannot help but think his show would have been different from the late night offerings of today. How so? He’d actually be funny. That essential ingredient has sadly been sacrificed upon the altar of self-righteous indignation. Or maybe they just need better writers. Probably both.
Several times during the Trump years I did try to watch Colbert or Kimmel. I was certainly no MAGA-hatted Trumpkin, opting rather for the Ben Shapiro “Good Trump/Bad Trump” approach. Still I found the level of sheer vitriol and ugliness masquerading as humor off-putting to say the least. And they just kept coming. One Trump assault after another.
What has happened to the once wholesome late night TV experience? Perhaps in the age of ever metastasizing cable networks and online media, late night talk shows have fallen into the same polarizing trap as have so many news outlets these days. Colbert, Kimmel, and to a lesser extent Fallon, do not see themselves as offering a product through which Americans of all stripes can come together around the TV after a long day and feel some emotional communion. The calculation is instead to target a particular slice of the viewership pie and carve out a steady audience…in the case of late night talk, this is the left-wing, and especially Trump-deranged, segment of the culture. And if it takes alienating and even casting aspersions on tens of millions of Americans to solidify their core viewership, so be it.
Colbert especially sees himself as a political comedian, and a man of the left. (It takes hard-core political conviction to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Gqz_-8r1c">dance</a> a jig with the likes of Chuck Schumer). Given the politics of Hollywood and entertainment in general, he will find plenty of willing guests to help the cause of not just entertaining his viewers but changing or, more likely, reinforcing their political views. In fact, an informal <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/these-5-data-visualizations-will-make-you-see-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-in-a-new-light-34e03cc2541d">study</a> shows that three times as many guests on his show whose political affiliations are known are Democrats versus Republicans. 44 percent of his guests have hailed from New York City, which is not exactly a conservative bastion. The self-reinforcing leftist feedback loop is in full swing after 10:30 EST. And I fear it is here to stay.
So, as with the traditional Democrat Party of my youth, as well as many other aspects of a society in which I once felt much more part of the mainstream than I do now, I no longer watch late night TV. Not because I have left the format, but like the party for whom the shows have just become yet another propaganda wing (pretending to be comic relief) the format that tens of millions from across the spectrum once tuned into night after night left me. I so very much long for the days of turning on the TV, and hearing the blaring of the Carson theme song, knowing that for the next ninety minutes I was going to be entertained rather than lectured by some of the most humorless set of so-called comedians I have ever seen.
Believe it or not, when we turned on Johnny, no matter our differing worldviews, we could all still gather around the watercooler and chuckle about, or reflect over, what we’d seen on the Carson show the night before. After all, if you didn’t laugh when that marmoset courtesy of zoologist Joan Embry climbed onto Johnny’s head and promptly relieved itself, or didn’t tear up when Jimmy Stewart read his poetic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGnCIdHQH0">homage</a> to his deceased dog Beau, you weren’t human. Politics be damned. Maybe there’s a need still. If so, I sure hope someone steps up to the plate to fill it. Americans need to just laugh again.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, author, and musician.  He has written for The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, National Review, ZeroHedge, The Federalist, Celeb Magazine, and other news outlets and is the author of two books.  His newest novel, The Extraordinary, about a teenager with autism telling the story of his war veteran father’s struggle with PTSD, will be released on August 31, and is available for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1642939420?tag=simonsayscom">pre-order</a>.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Sad Politicization Of Late Night Television

Comedy

Peggy Noonan has spent a lot of ink lately fretting over the events of January 6. As one who has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal where she runs a column every Saturday, I certainly respect her writings in many areas. Reagan’s speech she crafted after the Challenger explosion, for example, was right on the mark. Yet for years now — the Trump years to be precise — Ms. Noonan has morphed into one of the more eloquent representatives of the staid old white-shoe wing of the GOP. That group of noble politicians who never get their hands dirty out of “principle” and are perfectly content to “lose with dignity” to those willing to play in the mud to win elections… and with them shape policy. She has been a voice of that DC establishment so well represented by the Bush family she served through two administrations. Indeed, had Ms. Noonan had her way (as I would be shocked if she voted for Donald Trump) the person taking the oath of office in 2017 would have either been the wife of a former president or the son and brother of former presidents.
Thus has her spate of recent columns disparaging conspiracy theorists, waxing tragic over the Capitol Hill riot, labeling Republicans who ousted the war-mongering DC legacy Liz Cheney “cowards”, or lamenting a GOP in disarray, not surprised me. Her latest is “Why We Can’t Move On From Jan. 6.” Perhaps a more accurate title should be “Why I Can’t Move On From Jan. 6.” I think part of the reason is that, unlike the arson, the looting, the violence and murder that for eight months consumed dozens of American cities over which she seemed to lose little sleep, what occurred on Jan. 6 was just a tad too close to home for the Washington group-think insider and columnist. It’s one thing to watch on TV from the comfort of your DC office or townhome someone else’s small business go up in flames in Minneapolis, a bleeding police officer pelted with rocks in Chicago, or a genuine insurrection in Seattle wherein an actual new faux country is declared. But it is something else entirely when a screwball with a horn hat sits in your friend’s office chair.
Ms. Noonan has been a voice of reason in the past. And I have often found myself nodding in agreement with her, even if I think she relies too much on inductive reasoning through the personal anecdote to drive home broader narratives (“I was talking to a Democrat friend the other day, and he says…”). But the former speech-writer is also representative of the very insular arm of the GOP that made the ascendancy of Donald Trump — a politician she clearly despises — possible. Her bona fides are those of the classic old school Republican establishment that has fueled so much resentment among the party base. Her fixation with a two-hour act of trespassing in the nation’s Capitol is one such example. To read her columns you would think  a hogtied Pence, Pelosi, and Schumer were trundled out on a wagon and handed over to the guillotine as an illegal government was this close to upending the entire two million-person federal apparatus. Yes, four people did die. But three were from medical emergencies and one unarmed four-tour veteran was shot by a Capitol Hill policeman… nothing to see there. BLM/Antifa rioting, by contrast, saw ten times the death toll. But for Ms. Noonan, her take-away from the latter far more pervasive and destructive atrocities was often how the imagery would drive white voters to Trump.
Given how much Ms. Noonan continues to wring her hands over Jan. 6, one would think it was 9/11, Pearl Harbor and Antietam all rolled into one. Hardly. Although this certainly fits the Democrat narrative, for which they will thank her at the next Press Club Dinner. Was Jan. 6 a serious matter? Of course. It was also brief, contained, and lost the significance Ms. Noonan keeps trying to ascribe to it the moment it was blatantly politicized by the Democrats. The party and its media cohorts who spent four months lying about the death of a capital policeman whose tragic passing was completely unrelated to the riot for political gain were the same people who spent an entire year demonizing police, and even bailing out their attackers. So one is unconvinced by Congress’ new-found love for the thin blue line.
Where I think Ms. Noonan goes awry in her reflections on the Capitol Hill riot is that she cares more about what happened and how it happened than why it happened. For me, I want to understand what did the riot mean? In fact, what did Trump’s ascendancy to be Ms. Noonan’s party’s unlikely standard-bearer say about their own leadership? What forces were at work that made so many Republicans feel so voiceless, so disenfranchised, as to offer up a thrice-married Manhattan real estate mogul and reality TV star who’d never even run for city council as their voice? The Donald was a Hail Mary pass thrown in abject desperation, by a people who no longer felt they mattered to the powerful and aloof party insiders in the far away capital city.
As if to drive home that aloofness, consider the tone-deaf first sentence in Ms. Noonan’s column. “I started the new year with a bang, at a gathering in the Washington home of a European diplomat.” Am I supposed to be impressed? I want you to imagine you are not at that swanky “gathering” clinking glasses of Louis Roederer. Rather you are sitting at your kitchen table, running your fingers through your hair,  contemplating a stack of delinquent bills before you while your children sleep, not knowing that their parents have burned through their savings and thus may lose their home due to unnecessary unemployment foisted upon them by edicts from some of the very people in that diplomat’s home who, safe in the job security of big government, will never feel the devastating impacts of their own policies. “I was interested in how Europe was processing America’s political scene.” I must ask Ms. Noonan, does she think the many American parents wondering how they’re going to afford the next run to the grocery store really care about what a diplomat from Europe — living under the protection of F-22s and US Army divisions courtesy of this same couple’s ever-rising taxes — has to say about this country?
There are many tributaries that fed into the disaffection of tens of millions that led to Trump’s 2016 nomination and victory, but it can basically be boiled down to this: there has been a complete breakdown of trust in every major institution in the country. Once important pillars of the republic — a free and impartial press, enlightened education, open exchange of ideas, corporate responsibility, a thriving middle class, a political leadership that caters to the needs and hears the concerns of its constituents, and even the legitimacy of the electoral process itself — have been, in the eyes of millions, hopelessly corrupted by people with a ruthless willingness to wield the power these combined institutions can bring to bear on the average citizen. The 2020 election was for many the final straw. Remember, we don’t just have elections to elect our leaders… we have them so we don’t kill each other. So what happened in the Capitol doesn’t happen. But all that depends on belief that the process is fair, honest, and open. Clearly, right or wrong, millions believe this is not the case. But what brought so many to this state of mistrust? Isn’t that the real question Ms. Noonan should be asking? If she wishes to brush the concerns aside as “conspiratorial”, well, hasn’t Dr. Fauci shown that sometimes today’s “conspiracy” is tomorrow’s headline?
Ms. Noonan, who swigs cocktails with “diplomats” (among the most useless and parasitic of God’s creations) has become an incarnation of the reason Trumpism, with all its boorish offenses, rose to prominence in the first place. She has worked for two Bushes in the White House whose legacies were as follows: With the father, his reneging on a pledge to not raise taxes, creating a schism in the party that opened the way for a Ross Perot candidacy, which in turn gave us the rise of the Clintons (a corrupt machine that took Trump to finally eviscerate). And with the son: the longest and most unnecessary wars in our history (still going on), and a penchant for compromising with the left to the point where he and Ted Kennedy were shaking hands in the Rose Garden. As Shakespeare might say: “Conservatism should be made of sterner stuff.”
But Ms. Noonan and her generation are not true conservatives. If she were, she would have supported a President who opposed illegal immigration, cut regulations, lowered taxes on the middle class and corporations, sought to shrink the size of the federal government, and filled the courts with Constitutional strict constructionists. But for Ms. Noonan and her like, having spent decades inside the beltway, these are all nice and good, but what kind of a guest would Trump have made at her next cocktail party? Like many in her camp, she suffers a longing for the Reagan years, even though in hindsight they just served as a speed bump along the way to the nation’s shift towards rampant leftism. And it must be pointed out that Reagan-worship has become an anachronistic fixation. We are as far from the 1980s today as the 1980s were from the 1940s. Think about that a moment.
For those who live outside the Emerald City, the paradigms shifts in governance that occur when conservatives like Ms. Noonan, who believe in bringing knives to gunfights and thus see power and the culture ripped out from under them while they review the hors d’oeuvres for their next “gathering,” have real, lasting, and often devastating consequences far beyond the annoyance of having to update one’s rolodex. While she hobnobs with DC elites, parents in the heartland must face leftist indoctrination in their kids’ schools, out-of-control tuitions, stagnant wages, inflation, an opioid epidemic, job insecurity, social media decaying young minds, and a general sense that their country has gone from Ms. Noonan’s cliché “city on a hill” to a dystopian landscape of shuttered factories, outsourced careers, and a sense that those in charge (like those in Ms. Noonan’s social circles) really do not care what goes on outside the beltway, so long as the PAC, lobbyist, and contractor money keeps pouring in.
Ms. Noonan tells us that Republicans need to be freed to “develop policies that address people’s real issues again, not only their grievances.” Does she mean the way Trump, whom she opposed, was trying to do? One cannot craft policies that address people’s real issues without appreciating what are the grievances, any more than a doctor can prescribe a cure for a disease about which she asks no symptoms. Instead Ms. Noonan harps on how appalled one should be about Jan. 6. Ironically, in her latest piece, she does briefly happen upon an insightful observation when she offers that those who were not horrified “see the Capitol as already trashed through decades of bad governance.” She describes it as a “mess and a bit of a whorehouse.” Getting warmer. But then she reflexively pivots back into her poetic “city on a hill” schtick by assuring us that “greatness can erupt there, progress can be made, things improved.” That seems sadly out-of-touch with today’s Capitol Hill. A place infested with those whose mediocrity is surpassed only by their cynicism and naked hunger for power…and willingness to selectively wield the entire system as a cudgel to attain and hold onto it. I ask Ms. Noonan, honestly, what “greatness” does she see coming out of the offices of the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Jerry Nadler, Kamala Harris, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, AOC, Cory Booker, Kristen Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders, Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren, etc.? I’d be curious to know what “progress” she sees emerging from a weekend retreat involving this crew.
So, yes, Ms. Noonan can bemoan the two hours in which a few hundred out-of-control citizens out of 100,000 briefly entered a Capitol building they felt no longer represented their interests anyway. But perhaps she should spend less time pondering what foreign diplomats think about the goings on of the country outside the DC ramparts, and maybe ask the people of this country instead.  And “I was having brunch with a friend at Alta Strada this weekend and over mimosas I asked her what she thought of…” is not what I mean.
Brad Schaeffer is the author of the acclaimed World War II novel <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Of-Another-Time-and-Place/Brad-Schaeffer/9781642932867" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Of-Another-Time-and-Place/Brad-Schaeffer/9781642932867&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624127216938000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGhiBaHpY3EgyGwKmpzbdNJg_23rQ">Of Another Time And Place</a>. His newest novel, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Extraordinary/Brad-Schaeffer/9781642939422" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Extraordinary/Brad-Schaeffer/9781642939422&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624127216938000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHt4uzDjpdIILWYTjuVQwMUYnQmRg">The Extraordinary</a>, will be released August 31 and is currently available for pre-order. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Brad Schaeffer