BLUF - I AM COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERFORMANCE DURING HIS FIRST TWO YEARS. I'd give him a second term in a heartbeat.
In the November 2016 election there were only 2 real candidates -- Trump and Clinton. A long time ago Heinlein said "Hold your nose and vote for the least bad candidate."
Clinton was personally and politically corrupt, unlikeable on a personal level as told by subordinates who worked for her, and was running on "4 more years of failed Socialism, but with a woman this time." Few specific new ideas.
Trump ran on the idea of reducing the Federal bureaucracy, both in people and regulations, making our partners in diplomacy pay a share of the costs of promoting Capitalism, staunch support for Democratic allies in the mid-east (now ONLY Israel), economic hard ball with China, military straight shooting with North Korea.
Compare the two. Clinton was thin gruel; Trump was a complete Federal Republic and Capitalist feast. The choice was easy.
After thr first 2 years, despite a continuous quiet coup attempt by the deep state holdovers from the previous administration and the Democratic (Communist) party; and the quiet obstruction FROM "HIS OWN" PARTY, has accomplished much.
Leadership in Capitalist economic policy - removing some of the burdens of the administrative state, reducing taxes to RAISE TAX RECEIPTS to the government (a growing economy will do that) (and more $$$$ in my pocket); a firm line with China that has modified their behavior toward us; a strong hand towards North Korea that has caused the first signs of movement in 60 years; and many in the EEC recognizing change was coming and starting to move their ponderous state in the right direction.
If Trump wasn't reflexively opposed by the Democratic Communist party (still smarting over their humiliating loss from running an unlikeable harridan against an unapologetic Capitalist); a substantial minority of the Republican Stupid party (still smarting over their primary losses to a complete, non-political newcomer - who was a Capitalist Businessman); and the hold-over deep state actively working against him he could have accomplished much more. I don't care that he is rude, vulgar, cis-normal male and rich enough to buy lots of stuff - including cheap women willing to sell sexual favors for cash.
I voted for him to return my country back to a Limited Government, Federal Republic based on the ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence, and organized to limit the power of the Federal Government by our Constitution. He should be, and is, providing leadership in the areas of Economic Policy, Foreign Relations with our allies AND enemies, and "Supporting and Defending the Constitution of the United States, and the Country Whose Course It Directs.*"
Trump is doing a good job were it counts.
________________________________________________
*From my Naval Officer's Oath on promotion

The 2020 decennial census is taking shape and the "Forces of Evil/Socialism/Communism" are hard at work to remove control of OUR COUNTRY from its citizens to the control of a Socialist Oligarchy hiding behind traditional Liberal tribal/cultural groups. The post by Michelle Malkin linked below is instructive.
I'll say it early today  -  JUST SAY NO.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin042419.php3

The census is used for two important things: FIRST - to apportion the house seats equitably among the 50 states; and SECOND - to divide up Federal $$$ equitably among those residents (citizens and Legal Resident Aliens) in the 50 states.
The first depends solely on the number of CITIZENS in each state, so a question on Citizenship is wholly appropriate.
For the second issue, Federal $$$ should be apportioned (IMHO) by the number of CITIZENS and LEGAL REGISTERED NON-CITIZENS (Green Card holders). Again, a citizenship question is wholly appropriate.
If any of the states (California, I'm looking at you) want to spend their state money on services or support for ILLEGAL FOREIGN INVADERS they are free to do so with their money; but don't ask me or the rest of us in the other states to subsidise your largess (that we didn't agree to support.)
In a Federal Republic, individual states are free to shield and support ILLEGAL FOREIGN INVADERS with their individual state generated funds, but NOT to demand the Federal Republic as a whole needs to support their foolish payments. Immigration Without Assimilation is Invasion.
Bottom line again - JUST SAY NO to demands we all pay to support a minority of one (or a few) state(s) largess towards non-citizen requirements. And demand that OUR CENSUS include a question on citizenship. Now to give criminal penalties (with teeth) to those who lie in the census. (Or the next step will be for the census scofflaws to LIE in the census.)

VDH on Trump

Another VDH interview that is on point. He is one of our National Treasures.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/04/victor-davis-hanson-it-was-a-coup-attempt-to-destroy-the-presidency/https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/04/victor-davis-hanson-it-was-a-coup-attempt-to-destroy-the-presidency/

You see, because you’ve got to remember the dialectic would have been “President Clinton, look at all I did for you. I should be rewarded. I went beyond the call of duty.” And now the mentality went “My gosh, I’ve got legal exposure.

Its taken 2+ years to put the lies to bed, and now Trump and Barr can investigate the real collusion between HILLARY, the DNC and the Russians; and their real attempts to Obstruct Justice. Their cover up ends now.

He nd Trump doesn't feel that imperfections at the founding make us a "bad" country. Right now today we are better than any of the alternatives,

ARE WE HEADING FOR A CIVIL WAR?
And what can we do about it?
This is a pretty long read, but worth it. Below the link I put several teaser snippes to attract you.
https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/americas-cold-civil-war/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=stripes&utm_content=04192019&fbclid=IwAR1Wpe7GQk9-W4b9_1AtiGcle2gMP2uES3v5ooivYYGZcpaCgRW732mY8OA

Snippet #1:  If American Liberalism . . .

 . . . under pressures both fiscal and philosophical, would either go out of business or be forced to radicalize. If it chose the latter, I predicted, it could radicalize along two lines: towards socialism or towards an increasingly post-modern form of leadership. Today it is doing both.

Snippet # 2: 

I fear America may be leaving the world of normal politics and entering the dangerous world of regime politics—a politics in which our political loyalties diverge more and more, as they did in the 1850s, between two contrary visions of the country.

Snippet #3: 

In terms of government structure, the liberal Constitution is designed to overcome the separation of powers and most other checks and balances. Liberals consistently support the increased ability to coordinate, concentrate, and enhance government power—as opposed to dividing, restricting, or checking it. 

“Congress is a sausage factory that has forgotten how to make sausages.”

Snippet #4: 

Real Facts on the Mueller Report

In keeping with the blog philosophy of the late, great Jerry Pounelle, I didn't intend to try and comment on breaking news, but . . .
 THE MUELLER REPORT RESULTS and what it really said . . . 
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: There was no collusion. There was no attempt to Obstruct Justice.
FIRST: There was no evidence of collusion between Trump, or any member of his election team and the Russian Government or state actors (or any foreign actors). What does this mean? There was no underlying criminal offense by Trump or his team. There WAS, and still is,an underlying criminal offense by high- and medium-Level employees of the executive branch that were holdovers from the previous administration. The Trump Administration should have fired all of them on January 20, 2017. A bent trash can would serve better than people actively conspiring for years before, during, and after Trump clearly and cleanly won the Presidential election by winning THE MAJORITY OF VOTING CITIZENS IN THE MAJORITY OF THE FIFTY STATES. (I state it that way because that is what the Electoral College is supposed to do; and I personally don't trust California vote counting. (How many non-citizens voted in California?)
SECOND: Mueller did not recommend prosecution of Trump for Obstruction of Justice. What does this mean? Mueller was, and is, a Democratic Apparatchik. The best he could do was toss the turd back to the Democratic controlled house for them to spin the report and use it for propaganda. There will NEVER be an impeachment. But the Democratic/Socialist party and their propaganda arm will beat the dead horse for years.
I personally like that Trump is thin skinned and hits back. He hated that the deep state was working against him and making up shit. He wanted them fired, and publicly said so. But it wasn't to "obstruct justice" because he knew there was no underlying crime, just a Democratic witch hunt; and now we all know that too.
Repeating THE BOTTOM LINE:
There never was any evidence of collusion; it was all a lie perpetuated my the media and Democratic operatives. There was no obstruction of justice, it was and remains a desperate lie by the media and Democratic operatives working to undermine the Trump Administration, both in and outside congress. HILLARY LOST FAIR AND SQUARE BECAUSE SHE WAS, AND REMAINS, AN UNLIKABLE CANDIDATE who ran on "HATE TRUMP and 4 more years of Obama". JUST IGNORE THE BRAYING OF THE DEMOCRATS AND MEDIA AND ENJOY TH REBIRTH OF A CONSTITUTIONALLY LIMITED FEDERAL REPUBLIC UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A LEGALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT.

Another excellent VDH column. Reviews the history from 50 years ago that I witnessed as an adolescent. But the turmoil didn't affect me. My parents and I were too busy turning a cornfield into a new homestead. "An acre and independence" a Erle Stanley Gardner once said. Both parents worked their butts off, doing a day job then spending hours after work at the new home riding from the corn field. Turmoil from the Liberal elites then didn't matter, those people had too much time on their hands and my family had no free time.
It is repeating again now. As Char and I battle new infirmites and provide direction as our "forever" home rises from a converted cow pasture I remember and apply both the home construction, and life, lessons I learned from my parents 50 years ago.

JEWISHWORLDREVIEW.COM

Victor Davis Hanson - The continued resilience of Quiet America

I DISAGREE,
and refuse to go alomg
  - - Spike Souders
If you control the language you can control the dialog. The Liberal (Socialist/Communist) elite has kown this truth and used it for more than 40 years. The time has come to take back our "common" American English from the misuse and changes pushed on us by our Liberal "betters". Several examples I refuse to use any longer:
FIRST - Racism/Racist and the very wrong expansion of Race to way beyond :
"a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits; or : an actually or potentially interbreeding group within a species; also: a taxonomic category (such as a subspecies) representing such a group"
I refuse to subscribe to the growth of the term RACE (and the pejorative epithet "RACIST" and "RACISM" to any cultural sub-group seeking preferential treatment from our Government of their perceived privileged class (like me).
(My privilege was to work steadily for 45.5 years before retiring, and one job was a 7 days a week from 0645 until 2300 on 6 of those days each week. I used to joke I had 23 good days in that job - my boss allowed me 22 days of leave, and the day I left.) (On another I carried a pager and was on call 24/7. I was paged away from dinner with my wife multiple times to handle a problem with a sensitive, high-value system for a National Agency. While on salary, so no bonus for middle of the night calls.)
Hispanic or Puerto Rican or Islamic are different cultures, often with several races that are of that culture. (Remember the "white Hispanic" when the liberal propaganda machine got a muscle cramp trying to demonize a law-abiding citizen assaulted by a thug of color?)
SECOND (and more subtle): JUSTICE. That word is misused as a more palatable substitute for RETRIBUTION.
Frequently those calling for "justice" don't want that - it would result in a long prison term or execution for serious crimes (like aggravated assault or battery or attempted murder.) They want retribution without any examination of the facts and undeserved punishment meted out to the people protecting ME from their mob. I will just use retribution when discussing the mob's desires from now on.
THIRD: SEXISM. An important military leader (who happened to be black) once remarked:
"there is nothing more benign than the color of a persons skin; nor anything more fundamental to human behavior than their sexuality . . ."
The Liberal elite's effort to broaden the definition of Sexuality to cover an ever-widening array of alphabet soup (LGBTQPAN+) is to make most of us confused and on the defensive lest we impugn a privileged sub-group. Foo on that. What you do among yourselves is of no concern to me; but try to demand special status for your sub-group and I JUST SAY NO. There, I knew I'd find a spot to say that.
Further examples are welcome in the comments.

This is a little late for a response to Sarah's blog on marriage. But I want to explain how my 40 year marriage is different and more old-fashioned type of marriage.
As I figured out I probably wouldn't get thrown out of USNA (for Aptitude and Conduct, not grades) I decided I wanted a life partner to join me for the rest of my life after USNA.
In parallel, but not related, USNA integrated women into the Brigade. I was in charge of the Drama Club ticket office (back in the day Heinlein was a member) and wanted a girl to help answer the phone to show we were gender integrated. A plebette (probably bad that we called them that) was looking to help behind the scenes (she was, and still is, a talented costumer) so I asked her if she could help with the ticket office until costumes arrived. She said yes. We worked closely selling tickets for the first show (Caine Mutiny Court Martial) and as we spent several hours each afternoon answering the phone and filling mailed in orders I eventually realized she was a pearl of great price. l
After a couple of months I aid "I think I love you" and gave her a quick, friendly kiss on the end of the nose. It worked because she returned a brief, but real lip kiss. (Of course any familiar relationship between a plebette and a Senior was very VERBOTEN. So we had to keep our feeling secret for the rest of the year. We spent time together on breaks and the occasional weekend day at her great aunt's home in Annapolis. She resigned after 2nd semester ended (her calling was Fashion Design, so it wasn't a good fit for USNA.) We came out of the closet for graduation week, got engaged that Christmas and the rest is history.

That long history is because "THE PAST IS PROLOGUE."

I decided I wanted a life partner, not just a sex partner; and in parallel I wanted to show that the ticket office was gender integrated.
Our relationship progressed from working together, to friendship, to affection for a nice woman, to some romance at infrequent intervals (due to USNA rules and the pressures of the education and military training requirements), to courting (again long distance as I went to initial Nuclear Power training and Char went back to the U of Utah for a year (and planned an August wedding.) 
That Christmas was the first where I didn't go home; instead I went to SLC and got engaged. She came out to NY State to visit me during her spring break, but I didn't get to travel until after Nuclear Prototype training was done in early August. And this was before internet - we wrote snail mail daily and talked on the phone for hours once a week.

BOTTOM LINE AT THE END

We were both not looking for a sex partner, but a life partner. We met, grew close as friends, developed a romance, made a commitment to "cleave to each other, forsaking all others", got married, then had our children. This is the old-fashioned way and our relationship is infinitely stronger than if we had met and moved in together.
Being a horny (but poor) sailor, once we were married we did enjoy a deep intimate relationship. And OBTW, I married a saint who know She was marrying a Sailor with all that entails, but stuck with me anyway. I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL.

SAY NO (again)
  -- Spike Souders
Liberals would like to move my country away from a Limited Government, Federal Republic of the Several States into a pure "Democracy" where the enlightened majority of "right thinking" people will set the laws for all of us.
I DISAGREE
Changing the Constitution is a non-starter as too many states would be effectively disenfranchised as the large, liberal states like New York and California and their foolhardy policies that are already wrecking their state's economies and causing smart people to flee. Lets NOT make the policies national so we can wreck the whole country's economy and so there is no where to flee to. Too many of the smaller states would NEVER approve that Constitutional Amendment.
The sneaky they are attempting the subversion of our Constitution is to get the individual states to assign their Electoral College votes to the winner of the National majority vote. So far 14 states have already agreed to do this. (Including mostly Democratic (Communist) bastions like California.)
So far Virginia (my current home) and Pennsylvania (the state of my childhood) have not fallen for this. I want the citizens of the states I'm associated with to
                                JUST SAY NO.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: the winner of the Presidential election should be (and always has been) the individual who got the majority of votes of the citizens IN THE MAJORITY OF THE STATES*. The last 2 times the Republican "lost" the popular vote they lost overwhelmingly in California but "won" the net majority in the other 49 states. The "National Popular Vote" is a propaganda construct of the Liberal (Communist) elite and their propaganda arm and is correctly of no importance in a diverse country. That is why we have the Electoral College.
We need the Electoral College to prevent the tyranny of a CALIFORNIA super-majority from controlling the other 49 states.
__________________________
* Except for John Quincy Adams who was elected by the Congress when no candidate won a majority of Electoral votes (IAW our Constitutionally prescribed procedures.)