The Oconee Conservative Corner

04/15/2023

“They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can’t get away from us now!”

-Chesty Puller USMC
Battle of the Chosen Reservoir

03/11/2023

Either Oconee has a Homeless problem or Seneca is the #1 camping destination in South Carolina

02/04/2023

01/27/2023

I sit down with Mickey Haney and Karl Reebenacker and discuss what all of the infighting in the Republican Party is about and how they’ve been personally impacted by it.

With the infighting of the Republican Party taking center-stage with the Speaker of the House vote. Many find it shocking that there are two sides in the Rep...

01/23/2023

Bin Laden and the Transhumans

I know what you’re thinking this is a joke, right? Or could it be the title of some weird SI-FI thriller or satire comedy. Truth is reality is stranger than fiction. The Bin Laden I’m referring to is not Osama but his niece, Noor, and she’s not a terrorist. She’s actually a Trump-loving conservative and political activist, who travels the world as an international correspondent on events like the World Economic Forum, currently being held in Davos, Switzerland. If you think that’s a twist, get ready for the transhuman part.

The Transhuman Agenda

You probably thought when you read “Transhuman” that I was referring to something along the lines of transgender or whatever. No, and what it is referring to is even wilder than that. Now what I’m about to explain is going to at first sound so science fiction/crazy conspiracy theory that you’ll think I’m crazy. Heck I would to, but I actually saw it or well saw the video of the presentation given this past Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Noor Bin Laden is the journalist blowing the whistle on it. There are currently technology companies working on a headset. It looks like a ring and sits around the your head like a hat would. This ring monitors your brain’s activities taking the place of say your mouse on your computer. This would increase productivity in the workplace and user in technology where your brain works with artificial intelligence. Now the headset is not the only equipment this works through. It could be a piece that hooks behind the ear, or even (and I’m quoting the presenter) “a tattoo behind the ear.”

The Bait

No doubt, as with all progressive “great ideas”, it’s all flowers, fairy dust, and unicorn flatulence. The highlights from this presentation were that this technology could aide in identification by eyewitnesses. Where the usual sketch artist is eliminated. This headband is placed on the eyewitness and through brainwaves, an image of the suspect is projected. Now the presenter did say that some of this technology has not been protected yet but was on the verge of discovery.

The Switch

I think it’s important to realize that from a religious standpoint. Nothing from this world has made man a stronger specimen. What’s often given as “great for society” has led us closer to our own destruction. I believe that this is no different and possibly even worse. It’s my gut feeling that from this and man’s desire for wealth and control, we no doubt are racing through the final chapters. With how extreme this technology is, I don’t think anything is out of the realm of possibility. If technology and artificial intelligence can monitor brain waves, can it control them as well? I’m not really sure, but I do know that the brain functions through slight electrical current firing over the nervous system inside the brain. Is it too far fetched to believe that artificial intelligence would be incapable of learning how and where these neurons fire during certain activities?

The Current Capabilities of Artificial Intelligence

One of my favorite speakers to listen to is Dr. Jordan Peterson, he’s a psychologist, author, media commentator, and fierce conservative.
In something I recently watched of Dr. Peterson, he was talking about Elon Musk’s warnings about Artificial Intelligence. I’m personally not a fan of Musk’s but I will say I’m understanding of the warning he voiced. Musk said that the advancements of Artificial Intelligence is the single greatest threat to mankind. Dr. Peterson reinforced this talking about Artificial Intelligence’s ability to learn and the speed at which it progresses. Dr. Peterson gave his own personal experience with AI when he had the opportunity to see it first hand. As Dr. Peterson, a former college professor from Toronto, gave an AI program the instructions to write an essay on… and I spouted off a bunch of psychological terms that are beyond my comprehension. The AI program in a matter of about ten minutes produced a four page essay. He then instructed the program to grade the essay. It did so and it came up with a grade of roughly 85%. He then told the program to write a new essay with some slight modifications. Again in about ten minutes the program produced an all-new four page essay. He instructed the program to grade this essay, which it did with a 100% grade. This program proved that it had the intellectual ability to learn either the science of psychology or how to give Dr. Peterson exactly what he was asking for.

The Trap

So now is it so far fetched to believe that Artificial Intelligence not only has the capabilities to monitor our thoughts through brain waves, but control them as well? Again, I’m not really sure but I do think it’s a viable question that deserves more than just a “No” for an answer. There’s video of brainwave scans which show the neurons firing in almost a lightning storm pattern across the human brain. I would like to hear an unbiased opinion from a doctor who studies the brain as obviously that is not what I am. But I do believe the subject deserves a bit more exploring. Before it becomes the latest “everybody’s doing it” trend.

01/21/2023

The Scoop on the P**p

One of the bigger hot topic issues in Oconee County right now is Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority’s Sewer South Phase 2 project. Opposition to this project seem to want the county to invest in the Greenway Bike Trail project rather than Sewer South Phase 2. While bike trails sound pretty and nice, their connection to the housing projects popping up across the county is a relatable subject.

The Leeches of Government

While the continuous downward spiral of the federal government can be directly tied to the corruption that lobbyists from special interests corporations and groups. Buying up politicians to pass favorable legislation for their businesses. We often just assume that this only takes place in big government, that small time local government would never sellout our voices to the highest bidder. Now I’m not saying any particular county official takes bribes our special favors. I really have not physical evidence to suggest that. But lobbying does go on on a local level. Take state representative Bill Sandifer for example, in 2012, Oconee County spent $14 million of taxpayer dollars putting fiber optic cable in the ground. Bill Sandifer co-authored the bill that killed this project leaving the $14 million worth of fiber optic cable in the ground. Mr. Sandifer received hefty campaign donations from AT&T (the county’s primary internet provider) in the following years. How does this relate to bike trails? Well if these bike trails connect the housing developments, then they could boost the property values before foundations are even poured. Again, is this happening? I’m not a 100% sure, I’m merely presenting it as a possibility.

More Than Flies

One of the opposition arguments, is that if any, the sewer south project wouldn’t generate any return to the cost that it entails. This comes from the false narrative that the sewage system would be for homes. While homes could possibly link in, this doesn’t concern me as I live in the northern part of Oconee and I have a well and septic system. So why do I care if sewage comes to southern Oconee and what benefits do the majority of citizens in Oconee get in return? Well if you get on the little short stretch of Interstate 85 that runs through Oconee, and go south towards Atlanta. Just after you pass the Georgia Vistors Center, take the next exit and turn left. Look at the industry that has sprung up in that section of Hart County. The man responsible for that growth was hired by Anderson County to do the same thing. He came to Oconee with a sweetheart deal because he saw the immense potential to bring industry into both Anderson and Oconee. The “Progressive” Republicans shot this down, it never came to a vote, so opportunity past us by. In the purposed $50 million dollar deal, Oconee would be responsible for $21 million while Anderson County provided the remaining $29 million. The return on this could have been huge for not just ourselves but future generations as well.

What’s at stake

I think we can all agree that we wish for our children and grandchildren is at the least is an opportunity to be successful. No doubt, the argument to this is the easy button- send them to college. Well that’s not an across the board answer. The youth of Oconee have a few options- go to college, go to tech and learn a trade, join the military, or jump straight into the work force. How many of us adults who live in Oconee, travel outside the county for work? Oconee is primarily a blue collar/rural county. We believe in working for what we have. But also the expenses of traveling to and from work, cut into our earnings. It takes money to make money, if you will. As gas prices begin to rise again we are loosing percentages of our earnings which could be going to provide for our families. Good paying jobs also profit the community as it incentivizes good behavior. Providing a deterrent against drug use and what not to an extent. It also provides a monetary boost to the county as well. Currently the cash cow of Oconee County is Duke Energy’s Oconee Nuclear Station. My understanding is that Duke Energy paid Oconee County roughly $35 million in property taxes last year, $25 million went to the Oconee County School District. While I believe this money could be used more responsibly, the fact is, Oconee is making a chunk off Duke Energy.

Then What’s The Hold Up?

Honestly, I can’t figure that out either. The people who live in southern Oconee seem to be greatly in favor of it. The conservatives, who are for responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars are all in for it. Why are those who call themselves “progressives” against responsible progress? I’ve seen, read and heard every lame duck excuse imaginable. Not one argument has held water. Who’s holding it up? I’ve heard many rumors, that big money in the county has said “The reason sewer is not coming to southern Oconee. Is because I said so!” Whether this is true or not I don’t know. But what I do know is who is arguing against and voting against it in County Council.

01/16/2023

Is progress causing us to regress as a society?

I recently was listening to a podcast by Mike Rowe. The podcast is called The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe and the episode is Ep 293 Matt Walsh Made A Great Movie. If you are completely clueless as to what it’s referencing. Matt Walsh is a filmmaker and writer for the DailyWire. He made a documentary called “What Is A Woman?” I’ve seen the previews and considered watching it but it requires a subscription to the DailyWire. Mike Rowe’s podcast is free though. The podcast was supposed to be about how Matt Walsh interviewed people of opposing opinions. But it really starts gravitating to the subject of the documentary and what is truth.

The Progressive Argument

About the time I graduated from basic training in the Army, the Army went through a change on the uniform. Granted, I was in basic training when the events of September 11th, 2001 took place. But the Army duty uniform in those days was the woodland camo Battle Dress Uniform or BDU. On the shoulders a current unit patch is worn on the left shoulder, and if the individual had been awarded a combat patch it was worn on the right. When troops were deployed to Afghanistan, the American Flag patch was placed on the right shoulder and if the individual had a combat patch, it was sown on the uniform just below the flag. Now why do I mention this? Because when you first look at the flag on the right shoulder it looks as though the flag is backwards. It’s placed on the uniform in this fashion on purpose to symbolize “always moving forward”. So, things are not always as they first appear. I’d argue that “progressivism” is the same way in that progressives feel as though they’re moving society along into the future.

How’d We Get Here?

Going back to the Matt Walsh documentary “What is a Woman?”, if you don’t know, it hones in on the argument of transgender practices in adolescents. While I’m not necessarily focusing on the argument of transgender. I strongly recommend going to the DailyWire and paying at least the $14 for a month and watching “What is a Woman?” It’s very informative and eye opening to what’s going on outside our security bubbles. But the point I’m wanting to make is how much we’ve started overthinking a problem. What is a woman? Common sense gives us a pretty simple answer. Where we go way off the rails is when we completely overthink the problem because we don’t like the answer. Simple questions like how do we get the national debt under control? Stop unnecessary spending, that’s a pretty simple answer. Where we loose the context is the question of what’s unnecessary? I think that’s a pretty simple question to answer as well. It’s as simple as prioritizing necessity from desires.

What distinguishes necessity?

I realize that jumping from the issue of transgender and sexualization of kids to out of control spending is a big jump. But my point is how we’ve abandoned common sense and reality and embrace what’s given to us as popular opinion. Let’s build bike trails instead of fixing our crumbling infrastructure in my home county of Oconee County, SC. With one county councilman saying saying he’d support spending up to $30 million on building bike trails because recreation should be a priority. But a few months later he said spending $12 million on sewage upgrades which would encourage industrial growth bringing jobs to the rural county. Recreation is not the priority, I wouldn’t buy an overly expensive bicycle before buying groceries to feed my family. Last week, I asked the question of what is a conservative? I then gave my explanation, one of my answers was responsible spending of taxpayer dollars. While food is a necessity, using taxpayer dollars to feed those capable of providing for themselves is not responsible stewardship. It profits the government more than the taxpayer in making people more dependent on the government rather than encouraging contributions to a functioning society.

Simplicity

While I do tend to think outside the box to seek solutions to things I see as problems. It’s necessary to seek the common sense solution first. Just because we don’t like the answer doesn’t mean it’s not the solution. If it solves the problem then no further effort is required. But at the same time if the common sense solution causes more problems than the solution fixed doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the correct solution. I think the pharmaceutical industry is a great example of this. In my personal opinion the pharmaceutical machine creates it’s own issues to sell more product. They operate under the guise of helping people, yet the whole system is a self-sustained multibillion machine. A pill is a simple answer in most cases but the simplest answer is not always the correct answer. Just like the most popular answer is not always correct either. As human beings who are mostly made of water, we tend to flow like water as well. Taking the path of least resistance. But as I said this is not always the correct path, as we continue to devolve as a society under the false pretense of progress.

01/15/2023

The podcast is now up and running on Apple ITunes as well.

‎News · 2023

01/15/2023

Still working towards getting this accomplished in Oconee County, SC. If you don’t know the story about S/SGT Lewis G Watkins USMC, Oconee’s only Medal of Honor recipient. Please look it up or visit the Oconee Military Museum in Walhalla, where S/SGT Watkins actual MOH is on display. If you don’t mind please click on the link below and sign the petition to get a stretch of high traffic highway in Oconee named in honor of S/SGT Watkins, Thank You.

S/SGT Lewis G Watkins MOH Memorial HWY

01/15/2023

The podcast is up and going on Spotify, I’m still working to rectify the issue with ITunes. I’m also working to add the show to IHeart radio as well.

Listen to this episode from Oconee Conservative Corner on Spotify. One of the most frequent questions I get is "what actually constitutes a Conservative?" Well, that's just that's just one of the topics I'm going to cover in this, the very first episode of the Oconee Conservative Corner podcast. *Co...