Our Civilization is At Risk. Are You Up for the Fight?

Every generation, back to the days when we celebrated holidays with families over a slice of roasted mammoth, had concerns about the future of our families, friends, and communities. It is human nature to be concerned, even when communities consisted of only a dozen people.

It is also normal to think the problems we are facing are the worst ever. Every generation has faced its challenges, and they were all important, immediate, and impactful.

It is nonetheless true that the problems and opportunities we face are unprecedented or, at best, more pervasive and potentially impactful than ever before.

If mankind survives another couple of centuries (not a certainty) it will be largely because we figured out how to handle bigger challenges. Only the most optimistic of use think we are on track to do so.
Some of the issues that will determine our future, and which we still have a chance to affect, include:

Education – Our system is failing, despite some good people and good intentions. It would not be an overreaction to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch, emphasizing basics until they are mastered. There is no evidence we have the will to do that.

Freedom – Free speech, capitalism (which has lifted billions out of poverty in the past half century) and self-government are under attack. The last administration had extensive efforts to censor legacy and social media. President Trump has ended the biggest digital censorship programs from Obama and Biden, and our law enforcement agencies are no longer pressuring social and legacy media to spike stories that go against the “narrative.”

Astonishingly, millions of average voters and Dem leaders think we have too much free speech. Freedom is being restricted in much of Europe, too, especially Germany and the U. K. Donald Trump is constantly accused of being a fascist. Yet the evidence proves otherwise. He has pushed to enforce immigration laws – federal law – and that is offered as proof he is a dictator. A president supporting the law is the opposite of dictatorship. A president ignoring law, as did Biden, is more fascist by far. Bottom line: President Trump publicly advocates for more freedom. Not a single leading Democrat does. Just the facts, ma’am!

Political Parties – Both major parties have evolved, but the Democrats have changed more than the Republicans. Although a lot of former GOPs don’t like Trump, his policies are generally conservative with some being surprisingly moderate. For the Democrats, the nascent cohort is socialist/communist candidates, elected officials, party leaders, and a majority of their actual voters, who favor socialism over capitalism, according to their own responses to national surveys.

AI – Artificial Intelligence has gotten so good that it is now very difficult to determine whether a picture or video is real. And it controls a lot of our basic organizational and governmental processes.
AI makes us question every story or message from the media. And, rather than being objective, we have seen that AI bears the same prejudices and political leanings as the people and information that inform it. AI is also, sadly, the go-to way for students to get through school, getting passing grades without earning them. A famous article the past year, written by a student, outlined how most Yale Undergrads relied on AI to do most of their work. And their average grade is an A. We are in trouble.
Demographics – Our population is growing older, and we are not having children at even a replacement rate. Younger women are abstaining from marriage or being mothers, while a ton of young men are sequestered in their parent’s home or behind a video game console in their own place.
Astounding numbers of people don’t even have social lives, and perhaps most surprising, are giving up entirely on sex. This is not a positive comment on our nation or our future. Our founders expected us to be informed, engaged, social, collegial, and active in politics. Manifestly, today, we are not.

Media – Mainstream media continue to be overwhelmingly leftist, as do our major universities. Perfectly factual stories like Hunter’s laptop got intentionally killed, or spiked, by a combination of pressure from the FBI and other governmental agencies. There are a handful of moderate or conservative outlets, but most corporate media don’t even pretend to be objective anymore.

Illegal Immigration – We have also seen an unimaginable influx of foreigners into our nation, which creates pressure on housing, jobs, social services, schools, and more. This was the result of a conscious decision by the previous president to ignore our laws. For today, President Trump has secured our borders, but many others support the influx of non-citizens. Either way, it will have an impact on our nation for centuries to come.
So, what is the path forward? It is up to us.

The people who define our future will be the ones who make the effort to be well—informed, care enough to do something about it, and realize we are in a fight for our civilization. If you don’t get that, by now, you probably never will. As for me? I’m going down swinging. If we lose the fight for freedom, self-government, and western values it will not be because I sat this one out. How about you?

Please share!

Yes, the 2020 Election Was Corrupt, but No One Seems to Care

By Rob Meyne

  • Dec. 29, 2025
  • 3-min read

Last week, Fulton Country, GA, admitted that more than 300,000 illegal ballots were counted there in 2020. More than enough to have changed the outcome, and there is no reason to think it only happened in GA.

The careful observer will recall that the entire post-election period in 2020 was a discussion between people who thought the results were inaccurate and corrupt, mostly Trump supporters, and those who thought you were insane if you even asked questions about it.

Notably, even the key players in Georgia, including Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensburger, protested non-stop that there were no irregularities in Georgia, the count was accurate, and suggesting anything else was tantamount to treason. They supported the anti-Trumpers from day one, and still seem to.

Four years later, Georgia authorities have finally admitted they were wrong, people like me were right (pardon the attitude there), and of course so was Trump.

Four years hence, there is nothing we can do about it. Almost none of the people who think questioning the election was wrong will acknowledge “we” were right, apologize for it, or suggest ways to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

In other words, the anti-Trumpers were wrong, Trump was right, and no one will let it change the way they spew hatred against the people they disagree with.

It is sad that proof of corruption in the election is not enough to unify us around a commitment to do better next time. Not one Democrat leader is advocating for more secure elections. Not. One. They claim any effort to secure our elections is rooted in racism or other inaccurate claims.

Why? Because corruption benefits them. There is no other explanation. Why else would a person oppose making elections secure?

The 2020 election, which Biden is said to have won, was corrupt. Votes were counted that were not legally cast and processed. Period. We know that. It is not an opinion. Secretary of State Raffensburger can claim it doesn’t matter, the law shouldn’t be enforced, or that he is from the planet Neptune, for that matter. None of those things is true.

It is an embarrassment when elected officials of either/both parties push back against making sure votes are cast and counted legally. If we lose that, there is no hope for our future.

A constitutional republic, and democratic values, require our citizens and officials to be informed, reasonable, and open to different opinions. Yet we no longer meet those criteria.

Logical thinking, reasoning, and civil debate REQUIRES us to learn, examine, and improve. We need facts, not opinions. And no one in authority has objectively looked at the legal issues from the 2020 election. No one has even investigated it. In the meantime, we are supposed to think a man who didn’t leave his basement to campaign got 81 million votes, about six million more than the previous record. Impossible.

The paucity of leaders who are willing to discuss this issue is not a minor problem. It threatens the very future of our nation.

Please share!

AI Reflects the Bias of Its Creators

By Rob Meyne

  • Dec. 6, 2025
  • 3-min read

As Artificial Intelligence controls more of our lives every day, it is disturbing to realize it is being developed to reflect certain prejudices and biases.

You cannot trust it, and I am not sure ultimately there is anything we can do about it. Figuring out what is true will get even harder in the future. It is tough enough already. But in days to come, we will have to be even more dedicated to discerning fact from opinion.

Recently I have been using, and experimenting with, Grok. Not Gronk. He was the tight end. Grok.

I was curious to see if it is biased, politically, and of course found that it is.

I asked it to give me a list of the payments members of the Biden family have received from foreign governments, individuals, and companies. Just a list. Just the facts, ma’am. 😊

Grok responded with a document under the banner of “… alleged payments…” they have received. Then when on to list them. For those watching at home, it was in the ten of millions.

Yet, the question, and the bias it reveals: why did it call them “alleged” when the payments are clearly and carefully documented, by the banks themselves, who reported them to the Treasury?

Following me? A list of proven payments (in exchange for no work, by the way) to Joe’s family. Even grandkids and in-laws. Fully documented. But Grok called them “alleged,” suggesting it isn’t true and creating doubt.

When queried further, Grok told me they use the word “alleged” not to question the payments themselves but to address the accusations of criminality that usually accompany it. But they called the payments themselves alleged.

And I hadn’t shown any interest in criminal charges or theories. Grok just assumed if I was asking about payments to the Bidens what I was really after is fodder for criminal accusations. Just looking for numbers and sources resulted in politically biased outputs.

They called the payments “alleged” even though they admitted in a later exchange there is no doubt the payments occurred.

It also recommended, unsolicited, that I ask for a list of Trump family business connections to other nations. I also didn’t ask about this.

Got it? They are doing everything they can to make it look like the Biden activities are basically the same as those of the Trump family.

Except, one, no one asked. (I also didn’t ask about the life cycle of the common shrew.)

And, two, the Trump family has a BUSINESS that involves real work, real property, employees, and sales worldwide. Grok suggests an equivalency between the Trump businesses and the Biden payoffs. But the Bidens have no actual businesses, investments, employees, products, services, or sales. They just have a series of LLCs, shell companies that take payments but have to real business.

There is a reason the name Trump appears on buildings, and the name Biden does not.

Artificial Intelligence reflects the biases of the people who develop it and the information from which they learn. It should not surprise us that AI output is flawed.

You may recall that Biden’s proposed regulations on AI mandated that it promote equity, which is the opposite of equality of opportunity. Equity benefits certain races and disadvantages others. Biden’s team built their own ideological and political prejudices into their AI regulations.

Many tech companies, their leaders, and their funders do the same. Finding the truth is getting harder as a result.

Please share!

Senate Republicans Better End the Filibuster

The nation just experienced an historically long federal government shutdown. It cost Americans billions of dollars, disrupted services, and ended without any tangible results for the Democrats, who forced it.

President Trump has called repeatedly for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the GOP caucus to end the filibuster. The president wants his agenda acted on swiftly, and for the sake of the nation, he’s right. Yet, a dozen-plus Republicans have balked. They’ve balked because they’re living with the old politics – the old ways of operating the Senate. But the old politics are dead.

When Democrats had a majority in 2021, they came within a hair of ending the filibuster. But for the efforts of former Democrat senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), they would have opened the dam to radical changes impacting our election system, economy, and much else. Manchin and Sinema were practically run out of their offices by their fellow Democrats. The next time Democrats control the Senate – and that could be as soon as 2027, following the midterm elections – they’ll move to abolish the filibuster. They’ll push a far more radical agenda because the energy is on the left.

Then what? Then they’ll renew the push to enact their 2021 agenda and worse. Back then, House Democrats passed the “For the People Act.” Had this radical measure passed the Senate, it would have “expanded early voting, automatic voter registration, restored voting rights to felons, limited gerrymandering, and imposed new disclosure rules on campaign donations.”

That was for starters. One more example. The “Build Back Better Act” was a gargantuan $3.5 trillion spending measure that “included universal pre-K, expanded Medicare benefits (dental, vision, hearing), paid family leave, child tax credit expansion, housing aid, and clean energy investments. A full version required filibuster elimination, as it exceeded reconciliation limits; a scaled-back iteration passed in 2022 as the Inflation Reduction Act.” Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act spent money on an economic stimulus that wasn’t needed. It caused the inflation that stripped Americans of their buying power. It was a disaster enough.

This nation is at a crossroads. President Trump has a small window to reset the country’s course. We have a chance to be a more prosperous, freer, and decent society or we can spin off into the dystopian world that Democrats and the left are striving to create. Open borders will return, police will be prevented from doing their jobs, and Uncle Sam will spend us into a bona fide fiscal crisis. And expect limits on free speech the likes we’ve never seen on these shores.

Is all that an exaggeration? Not a bit, unless like Senate Republicans, you want to deny that only two maverick Senate Democrats in 2021 staved off ending the filibuster, thereby protecting the country from woes most of us can’t imagine. Republicans need to end the filibuster before the Democrats do to enact measures that set the nation on a healthier course.

President Trump is right. The next time, Senate Democrats won’t fire and miss.

Please share!

Incredibly Awful Virginia Democrats are Winning Their Races

By J Robert Smith

  • Oct. 10, 2025
  • 3-min read

Abigail Spanberger is the Democrat nominee to be Virginia’s next governor. She can’t even answer a simple question: “Should males be allowed in female restrooms and locker rooms?” She won’t give a straight answer when she’s asked because if she says, No,” LGBTQ+ activists will turn on her. Their money will dry up. Northern Virginia’s affluent, progressive whites might walk away.

On the other hand, if Spanberger says, “Yes,” then the large middle of Virginia voters might go for Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia’s current lieutenant governor. Earle-Sears has made it crystal clear that males don’t belong in female restrooms and locker rooms.

Here’s Spanberger weaseling out of answering the restroom question in last Thursday night’s debate with Earle-Sears:

Spanberger also said that her voters need to be fueled by rage. This is her idea of trying to motivate the Democrat base to vote? It’s an odd choice of words in light of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Here’s the Merriam Webster Dictionary definition of rage:

a: violent and uncontrolled anger
b: a fit of violent wrath
c: archaic : insanity

Virginia really wants a governor who is calling for her voters to stoke their anger to the point of… rage? Spanberger isn’t dumb. She knows what rage means. It was no slip of the tongue, either. She believes that her voters need to work themselves up into a frothing anger. Where does uncontrolled anger lead?

Real Clear Politics has Spanberger running ahead of Earle-Sears by an average of seven points. That’s outside the margin or error. Balloting has been underway since September 19, so a lot of votes have been cast. There’s still three weeks before the November 4 election deadline, so Earle-Sears could gain ground and win. But it would be a squeaker.

Then there’s Jay Jones, the Democrat nominee for attorney general. National Review surfaced text messages from a few years ago. When Jones was a state delegate, he messaged a colleague about the GOP Speaker of the House, saying “[Speaker Todd] Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot, [sic]” Jones wrote. [Who gets the bullets?] “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

Jones fantasizing about killing Gilbert wasn’t satisfying enough. He then stated he wished the speaker’s children would die in their mother’s arms.

Jones’ campaign has taken a hit, but even after those messages were revealed, he’s still leading incumbent GOP attorney general Jason Miyares by a point in a recent poll. Jones appears to be tanking, but a lead is still a lead. His support should have cratered. Yet, it’s a good bet that Miyares overtakes Jones. Whether or not that hurts Spanberger’s candidacy is the key question.

Neither Spanberger nor any other prominent Virginia Democrat has called for Jones to drop out. If there was ever a case where decency overrides partisanship, its Jay Jones’ candidacy. Yet, Democrats remain silent. What does that tell us?

It tells us that Democrats have a decency problem. Their lust for power is greater than their willingness to call out one of their own for outright violent and ghoulish intentions.

If you’re a Virginia voter, keep that in mind.

Please share!

James Comey Had It Coming

By J Robert Smith

  • Sept. 27, 2025
  • 2-min read

Bill Maher has decided that James Comey’s indictment is just Donald Trump’s revenge. That’s what Maher said on Friday night’s show. Actually, Maher isn’t original here. That’s the party line among Democrats. That’s certainly the line from corporate media. So, he’s just regurgitating with zingers and laugh lines.(For the record, Maher can be very funny. If I can’t catch his show, I’ll watch clips at X.) But he whiffs in the humor department here.

Catherine Herridge, now an independent journalist and one of the few good ones, posted at X on September 25:

“• Revealed Comey’s role authorizing media leaks (at least one involved classified information) through his FBI subordinates or through his Columbia law school professor Richman with SGE (Special Government Employee) status.”

Revolver cuts to the chase (September 26):

“The [Kash Patel led] FBI’s declassified investigation tied Comey directly to media leaks, including classified information he funneled through lower-level FBI officials, and even through his Columbia professor buddy. That professor should be facing charges too, unless he’s cutting a deal to save his own skin.”

Revolver summarizes:

“So no, this wasn’t a witch hunt. It was a long-running cover-up that finally collapsed like a house of flimsy cards. Comey thought he had all his bases covered, even planting family in key positions to shield him. But like every crooked scheme, it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down.”

Wonder why a Comey indictment is only happening now? Revolver cites an X Post by Hans Mahncke (September 25):

“Then I learned that the now former U.S. Attorney, Erik Siebert (Eastern District of Virginia], was a Democratic Party backed pawn, which made the picture a little clearer. Next, I found out that Siebert’s deputy was tied to Trump saboteur Lisa Monaco, confirming the rot. But the biggest shock was discovering that James Comey’s own son-in-law worked there until today.”

Hence, President Trump’s insistence that Attorney General Pam Bondi get off her rump and hand Siebert his walking papers. Siebert was replaced with Lindsey Halligan, who was an attorney defending Trump in the ginned up Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. She was serving in Trump’s administration. Democrats are howling that Halligan is merely a water-carrier for Trump. More nonsense. First, U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. Trump, like his predecessors, has the power to hire and fire.

Second, to put it charitably, Siebert was clearly “conflicted.” If there was anyone carrying water, it was Erik Siebert, hence, the endless delay indicting Comey.

There’s talk that more indictments are headed Comey’s way. What role did Comey play in attempts to frame Trump with Russia collusion? Indications are that then-President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton originated that scheme. How was Comey in the mix? We may find out shortly.

Prediction: James Comey is an oily DC insider. Like most players in that town, he’s all about looking out for Number One. If he doesn’t think he can beat raps in a court of law – if he doesn’t get the level of political cover and financial backing he needs to pay legal fees – he may decide to cut a deal with prosecutors to save himself with a plea deal. If it comes to that, that may prove bad news for others involved in the worse conspiracy to destroy a president in U.S. history.

Please share!

Do We Have the Courage to Save America?

By Rob Meyne

  • Sept. 19, 2025
  • 3-min read

Last week was an inflection point in U.S. history. I cannot say how the world will be different now, but I am confident it will.

Those who are familiar with Charlie Kirk’s work and words likely understand the importance of his assassination. The people who do not understand are his political opponents, ideological enemies, or those whose knowledge of him is limited to lies they have heard.

We will have more to say on this and related topics in the days to come. For now, let me ask you to consider one lesson we should learn.
His assassination proves there is one thing the left fears more than anything else: constitutional conservative Christians who can have respectful conversations with people who hold different opinions. We are feared because we are effective.

When people know the facts, and are open to a respectful discussion, minds can be changed. The left fears good will, kindness, and facts more than anything. Most of their political arguments are based on emotion and inaccurate assumptions. Their discussions don’t usually hold up under the light of truth.

Survey data repeatedly show the majority of Americans believe in conservative principles like those generally held by Kirk. Most Americans support reducing the size of government, lower taxes, respectful dialogue, secure borders, the welcoming of immigrants who come here lawfully, and don’t approve of grown men showering with their daughters. And he was a proud Christian and an effective apostle. For that he is accused of being an extremist.

The left fears conservative activists who are willing and able to debate the issues of our day in a way that is open, respectful, and successful. They are not worried about the most extreme, fringe conservative activists.

Charlie Kirk is not dead because he was extreme. He was not. Or because he was hateful. He was not. Charlie is dead because he was successful. He brought thousands of young Americans to understand and support our Constitution, nation, the value of the family, and the love of the Lord. Those are the things for which Charlie Kirk lived and died. Any time you want to know who is being effective, and who radical leftists fear the most, look at who they attack. That will tell you everything.

In a presidential campaign, your opponents will tell you where they fear they will lose. Just look at where they are spending their time and money. By the same reasoning, they will tell you who they think is hurting them in the political world. The people who are hurting them are the ones they attack. That simple.

In the case of Kirk, he was such a threat to the leftists that he was murdered. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, you are beyond saving.

What should be our response? Be more like Charlie. We can change this world for the better, starting right now, if we commit to being unafraid to express our opinions, to debate in a way that is civil, factual, and persuasive, and to be willing to listen.

If every conservative patriot woke up tomorrow and did just that, we would change the political future of America, inexorably and positively.
How many of us have the courage to do that?

Please share!

Another Look at Gaza

By Rob Meyne

  • Sept. 1, 2025
  • 5-min read

A lot of formerly conservative and reasonable political types have decided to blame Isreal for the chaos in the Middle East. It is fashionable. All the “cool kids” seem to be supporting the side that started the most recent battle in the region.

Notably, the great majority of them hold these two positions simultaneously: 1) Ukraine should fight hard against Russia until they win, no matter the cost. And, 2) Israel needs to be calm, measured, and proportionate in their response, while bearing all accountability for the suffering in the region. Got it?

It is hard to imagine an explanation for this other than antisemitism. Give us a better explanation. We’ll wait.

With respect to all those who carry a different viewpoint, the trend today is to blame Israel for a problem started by Hamas. And these positions are justified by believing reports on Israel that come from Hamas. It is as if we believed the mafia dons instead of the DOJ.

Hamas and their allies, including dreck like AOC and Omar and Sanders and Harris, justify and build support for Hamas while ignoring our long-time ally in Israel.

This just in: War is bad. Innocent people die. That is not the fault of Israel. It was true when the Allies bombed Dresdent and Hiroshima, and it is true when they attack Gaza City.

One solution, of course, for people who don’t like civilian casualties would be for them to not massacre innocents themselves. Israel did not attack Hamas October 7. Hamas attacked Israel, and there should be a massive price. For me, I can justify wiping out Hamas leadership and fighters, permanently, without apology. They have lost their seat at the table of reasonable debate.

Have you heard the mindless ranting that “war never solves anything?” BS. It is often the very thing that solves problems.

Were the Nazis a problem? Of course. WW II solved it. And millions of non-military casualties were part of the price we paid.

One assumes the people wadding their panties about possilbe civilian starvation – we actually don’t know how many people are starving, or why – would have opposed the ending of WW II because we bombed civilians. To say otherwise would be hypocritical.

No one is targeting civilians. Well, Hamas does, in a sense, by way of hiding behind them or under buildings where women and children are used by human shields.

Hamas started it, they are evil, they are among the most cruel and despicable governing bodies extant. (Name one that is worse. North Korea, maybe?) They are dedicated to wiping out all Jews, and America in the bargain. And people like Biden and AOC and Harris carry their water for them. And the Democrat Party has nominated a man devoted to wiping out Jews, and Americans, to be mayor of our largest city.

No one likes to have civilian casualties, which is one of many reasons our president is trying to end it. But implying Israelis are targeting reporters or children is irresponsible. And false. There is no accurate and credible information coming out of Gaza except possibly that from Israelis forces, American intelligence, and NGOs. And nearly all NGOs say Israel is not preventing food and other aid from getting to Gaza. But once there, Hamas leadership steals or misappropriates it.

It is up to you if you want to trust people who live streamed themselves raping, torturing, and massacring innocent people. If you give Hamas your loyalty or trust, God help you.

The food being distributed in Gaza gets there with the assistance of the Israelis and international aid organizations. Those same organizations deny the charges of Israeli genocide against Gaza. Genocide is the planned extermination, as a matter of policy, of a group of people. That is simply not what is happening in Gaza.

No sane person can blame Israel for the inexcusable ways Hamas treats its own people. They keep them unsafe, hungry, and in harm’s way. It isn’t you, me, or Benjamin Netanyahu.

BTW, there is no nation called Palestine, and never has been. A two-state solution has been offered repeatedly and rejected by the Arabs, including Hamas. And if there ever are two such states, one of them might be called Palestine. Fine. I couldn’t care less what they call it. But the often-repeated fiction is that the land from which Israel was formed was taken from a nation called Palestine. That just isn’t true. But you even hear U.S. representatives saying it.

“Palestinians” is a term that is widely used today because it was promoted by Yassar Arafat. He needed a good way to brand anti-Israel radicals. Thus the “PLO” cane to be. Which isn’t to say he invented the term, of course. But he recognized the value in seizing on an old term to represent a current cohort.

Today, millions of people want to “return” the “Palestinians” to a nation that has never existed. It is astounding how much world history is forged by false impressions and propaganda.

BTW, even major Arab nations in the region – Egypt, Jordan, for example – don’t want Hamas/Gazans. Egypt has a wall to keep them out that is bigger and more effective than anything we have on our Southern border. Arab nations won’t even allow Gazans in. Why do you think that is? Is it because the Gazans are loving, innocent people, blameless in it all, who just want rainbows and unicorns for a peaceful world?

Some, not all, of the Hamas apologists mean well. But sometimes the world offers moral clarity. This is such a time.

People who buy into all the anti-Israel garbage are doing the bidding of today’s Nazis. We need to pick a side, and they’ve picked the bad guys. Sorry to be so blunt, and nothing personal, but the anti-Israel propaganda machine has worked on a lot of otherwise intelligent and principled people.

Please share!

The View From the Neon Lights

By Rob Meyne

  • Aug. 29, 2025
  • 4-min read

We love living in Las Vegas. There is no location with more to do.

But it is undeniable that the city is not as welcoming to people of ordinary means as it used to be.

It is funny how often I hear “The city was better when it was run by the mob.” I don’t know how true that is, but it was more accessible.

Ordinary Americans should be able to come here and have a good time on a decent budget. Manifestly, they cannot.

There are one-of-a-kind resorts here that give you an unforgettable experience. Places like the Venetian-Palazzo, or Mandalay Bay, or Aria do not disappoint. They have figured it out. There is no city like this, and some of the world’s biggest hotels are here, often full to capacity for weeks on end.

But the focus of many properties has, over time, moved from middle America to the rich and privileged. Lots of resorts have decided that essentially EVERY component of their operation must turn a profit. They are good at tracking expenses and income, but not always good at looking at the entire enterprise. More people will come to your hotel, gamble, and drink, if they don’t have to pay so much for parking, etc. But they miss that.

You used to be able to park for free, eat inexpensively, enjoy free drinks while playing, and probably see a decent show for little or nothing. You may have noticed the casinos didn’t go broke. They thrived. Now they charge ridiculous resort fees (which is just additional profit), outrageous parking fees, ludicrous prices for drinks, and there are very few affordable restaurants.

I was in a discussion once where a casino executive said, “Parking facilities are expensive, so why shouldn’t our visitors pay for it?” “For the same reason,” I said, “That you can still park at the mall, doctor’s office, or Applebee’s for free.” Heating and cooling are expensive, too, but they don’t charge you for it separately. They did not get the point or find it amusing.

Last week we had a friend in town who wanted to eat on the Strip. So, we went to Netflix Bites (which is not a commentary on their programming), a themed place at MGM. Five people. One ordered steak frites, another a cheeseburger, then a pasta dish, nachos, and a club sandwich. No drinks. It was ok, not great. If I had the same meal at Denny’s I would have said it was fine, but nothing special.

$250 before tip. There is zero chance we’ll go there again. If you get the urge to try it, please notify me so I can talk you out of it.

City leaders can claim the drop in visitation isn’t a Las Vegas issue, but not all the factors affecting us are global. The least responsible or credible thing businesspeople can do, when business takes a downturn, is to claim there is nothing you can do about it. There always is.

Major resorts are saying they are trying to bring in more business by lowering or eliminating parking charges and resort fees. They also claim those same expenses are not keeping people away. Uh… if those expenses aren’t driving away business, why would changing them bring it back? It IS about money. Of course it is. It always is.

A few years ago, the city sold its soul to F1 to bring a race here. It is cool to have one here. Sounds like a good idea, right?

But average people can’t afford to attend. And the annual event disrupts the daily lives of tens of thousands of people, for months on end, because they are constantly building, tearing down, and rebuilding the infrastructure. They are inconvenienced just trying to live their lives, but they get little or no benefit from the event itself.

There is also no way for most locals to participate in F1. Most major events – the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, Indy 500 – have a lot of ways for folks to enjoy the festivities, often at a decent price. Not F1 Las Vegas.

And, for about a third of the year, conservatively, things that people come here to see – think the Bellagio Fountains – aren’t fully visible or accessible because the streets and sidewalks are blocked. If you’re a crown prince or a billionaire, F1 is a good gig. If you are a teacher, cop, or firefighter, not so much.

This is a great city and one of the few truly unique locales one can call home. But it is not as affordable for mainstream America as it was once. Las Vegas will face tough years ahead if they continue to cater only to the richest among us.

The city leaders and the businesses who pull their strings have decided Las Vegas should not appeal to average people. They didn’t announce it, of course, but they made the decision to abandon middle America by making thousands of individual choices that rose the price of everything from taxis to uber to steaks to beer to parking. Having priced everything out of sight, it is hard to see how they can roll it all back.

Or maybe it is easy: lower your prices. But business models that depend on people paying $20 for a beer will be put to the test.

EVERY new property and restaurant wants to be the nicest, most elite, snootiest, etc. But sometimes people just want a decent meal and cocktail for a reasonable price. There are very few places to eat near the Strip that are priced decently. That is why the few that are, like Ellis Island, are crowded.

Vegas will survive but things will remain a bit more challenging than they need to be until someone in charge realizes there are more people who can pay 6 or 8 dollars for a beer than the 15 or 20 most places charge. I recently had a bourbon on the rocks, just a decent but not spectacular pour, for which they asked $35.00. One shot. I declined and didn’t stay around long enough to see if they actually inserted the drink where I suggested.

There is a vast, underserved market, and the next big winners in NV will be the people who figured out how to serve it.

Please share!

Pam Bondi Blew It

By J Robert Smith

  • July 11, 2025
  • 2-min read

As I write this, Pam Bondi is coming under increasing fire for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Reports are that FBI director Kash Patel and his deputy director, Dan Bongino, are “furious” at Bondi for her ineptness in the matter. The report comes via Revolver from Laura Loomer.

The extent of President Trump’s approval of Bondi’s efforts to deep-six the Epstein affair is unknown. Revolver did report that Bill O’Reilly says that Trump has wanted to spare those who may appear on an Epstein list simply because of contact with him. In other words, they committed no crimes but could be the victims of guilt by association.

What matters is that the grassroots are livid. The White House and DOJ are trying to bury what most Americans know is one of the most sordid scandals in U.S. history. Epstein and his handmaiden Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked in underage females for the pleasure of prominent and powerful men – and, who knows, maybe women. They may have done so to blackmail these men. Talk has been that Epstein may have been an asset for U.S. intelligence services, most likely the CIA. There’s some talk that he may have been acting on behalf of Israeli intelligence or acting in coordination with the CIA and the Israelis.

Of course, all that is speculation. At this point, Trump needs to decide that the Epstein matter cannot be stonewalled, unless he wants the firestorm to grow. Trump risks alienating segments of his base voters if they believe the truth is being concealed for political or other purposes.

The likely outcome should be that Pam Bondi resigns to save face. If she doesn’t resign, then the president needs to fire her and commit to a quick disclosure of everything the DOJ and other federal agencies possess on a truly evil man, Jeffrey Epstein.

Then make Kash Pastel attorney general and Dan Bongino FBI director.

Please share!