For reasons that are unimaginable, many Liberals and virtually all Progressives are anxious to eliminate Free Speech here in the USA. It is, I believe, all about control.... thought control. There is a bizarre desire to eliminate all opposing ideas and, most certainly, all opposing political ideas.
The effort of any and all groups to eliminate opposing ideas is not new. It's as old as mankind itself. The United States, however, was founded on the exact opposite principle: FREE and OPEN exchange of ideas, political points of view and opposing thoughts. In our relatively short history the exchange of ideas has been robust and often firey.
But the Progressives now have a new weapon to eliminate debate and stop all opposing speech without crossing the hallowed "free speech" line. It's called "you hurt my feelings" gambit, also known as the "safe space" demand.
Curiously, in demanding a "safe space where the supposed victim can avoid having their feelings hurt, the progressives wantonly destroy their opponent's entire lives. They don't just "hurt their opponent's feelings" they cause the opponent to lose their job, perhaps their entire career, be removed or expelled from school, and ruin their reputation. And they do this without any proof that this opponent ever caused the slightest harm to any one.
The bottom line is you damned well better keep your mouth shut or you will be ruined forever. Of course you still have your blessed "freedom of speech" provided you never use it.
There have been dozens of horrific examples of these assaults in recent weeks. One of the most egregious however is the attack by the progressive citizens of Revere, Massachusetts of a local high school cheerleading captain, Caley Godino. Godino's offense? She actually took an interest in local politics instead of spending her time on SnapChat or watching One Direction videos.
God knows we cannot let our children have any opinions. And we certainly can't let them Tweet those opinions on their own Twitter page. Those opinions might hurt someone's feelings. Those opinions might threaten someone's "safe space." Note the word "might" in my analysis. No one actually ever said they were harmed in any way.
Godino sent out one Tweet in response to her high school teacher's Tweet about the poor turnout in a recent election.
"When only 10 percent of Revere votes for mayor cause the other 90 percent isn't legal," Godino replied sarcastically, maybe even a little snarkily, in her tweet.
Of course all hell rained down on Godino after she dared to voice her opinion. Some other unnamed and protected students complained to the school "authorities" and, in order to shelter and protect these unnamed students, the mighty forces of the school district stepped in to make certain Godino would never, ever voice her opinions again.
Revere Superintendent Dianne Kelly says the district believes in freedom of speech, but cannot support what she calls insensitive language.
"If you're going to stand up and say something that other people will find offensive, then you need to be prepare to deal with the ramifications of that," Kelly said. The ramifications? Kelly kicked Godino off the cheerleading squad for the rest of the year.
Allow me to translate. What Ms. Kelly means is she will never allow any free speech on her watch. Debate is forbidden. Opposing ideas are never to be allowed. If you dare to voice your opinion, you high school career is over and your life will be a living hell. Thank you for molding America's future leaders, Ms. Kelly.
Caley Godino's opponents never had to name themselves. They were and are anonymous. They never had to defend their political positions or engage in debate. They never were forced to tell Godino why her opinions were wrong or why their's were right. The very debate upon which America was founded was never allowed to happen. That might have violated someone's "safe space. "
ULTIMATE IRONY: The mascot of the Revere High School is the "Patriots."
PRINCIPLES ARE WHAT MATTERS
NOT POLITICAL PARTIES WHICH OFTEN DISTORT THE ISSUES
Showing posts with label Liberals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberals. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Cultural Genocide
The lives of our political opponents matter. Not their physical lives, we don't care about that. It's their cultural lives, their cultural symbols, their values, morals and mores that matter. To defeat our political enemies we must utterly destroy all the factors that give their lives value, meaning and structure. And, let's be honest, we do want the complete and utter destruction of all who might disagree with us in any way.
This attitude of complete cultural destruction has led the left to try to eliminate everything remotely connected to the pop culture "Confederate Flag" icons of the conservative and especially southern society.
This excuse for such destruction of an icon is, of course, the senseless murder of the nine black church members at the hands of white supremacist Dylann Roof in Charlotte last week.
But, as horrific as those murders were, they are not the subject of this post. Instead it is the remarkable reaction that has swept our entire culture in just a few short days, to effectively ban all things remotely connected to the Civil War.
As a Sociology major in College this is simply stunning to behold. This is the equivalent of a paleontologist discovering the bone of an undiscovered species of dinosaur. Rarely do you get to see what can only be described as a tidal wave of coordinated social activity happening across all political spectrums, all races, all economic classes, all at once.
This isn't simply South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley suggesting the Confederate Flag be removed from the Statehouse grounds. That might have started the chain reaction, but look how far its come!
Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Sears and more are pulling everything Confederate off the shelves. States are pulling down flags and statues and memorials. Film critics are calling for the withdrawal of the movie "Gone With The Wind," allowing it only to be shown in museums and only on special occasions. Amazon and Walmart are "suggesting" authors or publishers revise their cover art if it contains anything related to the Civil War. Will we ban books from schools and public libraries?
Polygon, the gaming news website, reports that Apple was quickly affected by the societal groupthink with a form of censorship that is breathtaking to behold:
"Now, it appears that Apple has decided to join them by pulling many Civil War wargames from the App Store. As of the writing of this story, games like Ultimate General: Gettysburg and all the Hunted Cow Civil War games are nowhere to be found. Apple is famous for reaching for the axe rather than the scalpel when it comes to political issues (like rejecting Hunted Cow's Tank Battle 1942 for depicting Germans and Russians as enemies), so this move doesn't come as a great surprise."
Can we erase history? It appears Apple is going to try. But they are not alone. When Republican Governors like Robert Bentley of Alabama personally remove Confederate Flags and further suggest any school named after a Civil War General be renamed, memorials removed and school mascots banned, you realize we have a seed change turning into a tsunami
Until two or three days ago, Walmart admits it had virtually never had a complaint about pop culture Confederate merchandise. The public outcry, mostly on social media, happening that quickly.
People tend to jump on the bandwagon. They love to be on the "winning side." What they may have never noticed Thursday, becomes issue #1 by Friday.
How long will this last? Will there eventually be blow back. So far only (former) Senator Jim Webb has offered any caution or defense. Certainly his thoughtful and nuanced response absolutely dooms any hope he had of a Presidential candidacy.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Pat Sajak's Brilliant Tweet
I really appreciate those who have mastered the art of Twitter. Occasionally you find someone who can be brilliant in 140 characters. I've read dozens of tweets I admire and a few I felt were brilliant. But Sajak's is pure genius.
Naturally, many on the Left worked hard, strained and stretched their credibility to mount faux outraged attacks on Pat Sajak as if they were just too damned stupid to instantly realize Sajak's satire was aimed directly at them. I do not believe there is anyone who claims to be a Liberal that is actually that dumb. I just wish my fellow Liberals didn't feel compelled to insult the intelligence of their fans, followers and progressive supporters.
Sajak certainly won the battle of wits here, but he accomplished much more. In 140 characters Sajac taught us a lesson about insults, racial and otherwise, that we all need to learn.
I now believe global warming alarmists are unpatriotic racists knowingly misleading for their own ends. Good night.
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) May 20, 2014
Naturally, many on the Left worked hard, strained and stretched their credibility to mount faux outraged attacks on Pat Sajak as if they were just too damned stupid to instantly realize Sajak's satire was aimed directly at them. I do not believe there is anyone who claims to be a Liberal that is actually that dumb. I just wish my fellow Liberals didn't feel compelled to insult the intelligence of their fans, followers and progressive supporters.
Sajak certainly won the battle of wits here, but he accomplished much more. In 140 characters Sajac taught us a lesson about insults, racial and otherwise, that we all need to learn.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Justice for .......
Justice for Sterling..... Sterling Sims was just five years old when he was gunned down along with his 31 year old mother, Chavonne Brown, on June 28, 2013. There are no suspects. There have been no arrests. There has been no news coverage, beyond local press. No one is protesting. No one is carrying signs with Sterling's name or picture. No one is demanding the Police Chief resign. There will likely never be any justice.
Justice for Antonio..... Sixteen year old Antonio Fenner appears to be guilty of walking down the street in his own neighborhood, near his home on July 1, 2013. He was shot and murdered by gang bangers apparently shooting at a 32 year old gang member on the same street. Naturally they missed the gang member that was the object of the attack. It is rumored that "everyone knows" who committed the murder, but there are no suspects, no one will "snitch." There will never be justice for Antonio.
Justice for Damani ..... Damani Henard was just 14 years old when he committed the crime of attending his own high school, riding a bike. He was shot and murdered just outside his school on July 3, 2013. Once again there are no suspects, no arrests, no outrage, no protests, no national news coverage, no riots, and no news. No national media pundits are calling for the Justice Department to get involved. There will never be justice for Damani. You will likely never read his name again.
Justice for Ed ..... Fifteen year old Ed Cooper was guilty of playing in the park with his friends when a gang of men piled out of a van and fired at the children, scattering the crowd. Ed was shot as he ran but continued to run for cover. He died in a vacant lot down the street just a few days ago, on July 9, 2012. Suspects? Of course not. Arrests? No and yet no one is protesting about the lack of justice. There will be no justice.
I could go on, literally forever, but I am sick to my stomach. I hate the media, I hate the lazy police departments, I really hate the supposed "leaders" like the Reverend Al Sharpton who only are interested in a crime if it fattens their wallets. I certainly hate the Zimmerman protesters who will riot, assault police, destroy property and even commit murder themselves in their rage, but will never actually do one damned thing to help the genuinely needy in this country. And I hate our communities who refuse to invest in our towns and people to give them a good education, jobs and to make them safer.
Truth? We can't handle the truth. Thousands upon thousands of young black male children and teens are killed every year by other black men, children and teens. Few of these horrific murders are ever committed by women.... and almost none are ever committed by whites.
Justice for Antonio..... Sixteen year old Antonio Fenner appears to be guilty of walking down the street in his own neighborhood, near his home on July 1, 2013. He was shot and murdered by gang bangers apparently shooting at a 32 year old gang member on the same street. Naturally they missed the gang member that was the object of the attack. It is rumored that "everyone knows" who committed the murder, but there are no suspects, no one will "snitch." There will never be justice for Antonio.
Justice for Damani ..... Damani Henard was just 14 years old when he committed the crime of attending his own high school, riding a bike. He was shot and murdered just outside his school on July 3, 2013. Once again there are no suspects, no arrests, no outrage, no protests, no national news coverage, no riots, and no news. No national media pundits are calling for the Justice Department to get involved. There will never be justice for Damani. You will likely never read his name again.
Justice for Ed ..... Fifteen year old Ed Cooper was guilty of playing in the park with his friends when a gang of men piled out of a van and fired at the children, scattering the crowd. Ed was shot as he ran but continued to run for cover. He died in a vacant lot down the street just a few days ago, on July 9, 2012. Suspects? Of course not. Arrests? No and yet no one is protesting about the lack of justice. There will be no justice.
I could go on, literally forever, but I am sick to my stomach. I hate the media, I hate the lazy police departments, I really hate the supposed "leaders" like the Reverend Al Sharpton who only are interested in a crime if it fattens their wallets. I certainly hate the Zimmerman protesters who will riot, assault police, destroy property and even commit murder themselves in their rage, but will never actually do one damned thing to help the genuinely needy in this country. And I hate our communities who refuse to invest in our towns and people to give them a good education, jobs and to make them safer.
Truth? We can't handle the truth. Thousands upon thousands of young black male children and teens are killed every year by other black men, children and teens. Few of these horrific murders are ever committed by women.... and almost none are ever committed by whites.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Where are Our Liberal Fighters?
The NSA snooping scandal get worse every day. It turns out rampant spying without any court oversight is happening on a widespread scale. Using a loose interpretation of a single FISA Court ruling data is being collected on American Citizens and used constantly and consistently. We clearly have a government completely and totally out of control.
Amy Davidson, writing in The New Yorker, called the FISA ruling a secret FISA court order "a gift certificate for one year of warrant-free spying "
Curiously we don't have a single evil dictator or despot. That's the good news. President Obama is aloof, incompetent and largely unaware. As I've written several times before, Barack Obama isn't the President, he just plays one on TV. But he is not evil.
Looking at his reception at the G8 last week and his laughable speech to a tiny crowd in Berlin, his star is fading, like every television star whose time has passed. But I digress.
The bad news is that the government has become this powerful and evil all by itself. A badly written law here, an over zealous bureaucrat there and you have institutional evil, a government totally out of control. The Constitution is meaningless. Your rights, rights you actually had until five or six years ago, are gone and perhaps gone forever.
What worries me most is that our protectors, our guardians of justice and liberty have gone silent. They have disappeared into partisan political oblivion. The Liberal Media, the ACLU, the great Liberal crusaders have all gone silent, mumbling nonsensical platitudes in the dark.
Have you read the essays or listened to the Progressive pundits over on MSNBC? I've read some of the most frightening, convoluted defenses of the status quo I have ever seen. No logic, no defending the down trodden, no standing up for the rights of the common man, just mumbling about how it was bound to happen anyway.
The leaders who fought so eloquently, so vocally and occasionally fought so violently against the war in Viet Nam, now tell me everything is perfectly OK as long as we're not doing anything illegal anyway. "If you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear."
One of the greatest Progressive voices on Twitter is the brilliant and unyielding Shoq. He is a voice I greatly respect. His black cat avatar is beloved by thousands and feared by his opponents.
I recently engaged Shoq about his defense of the government's abuse of spying power and ignoring of our traditional Constitutional rights. Quick to misinterpret my questions as an attack on President Obama, his instantly replied that Obama had done nothing wrong and, indeed, Obama has done nothing.
But, I asked, how can allow this power to fall into the hands of the next President, most likely a Republican. Shoq's reply was simple but I fear terribly naive "We must be careful of who we elect...."
Shoq has written a lengthy essay about the NSA and the attacks on the NSA Spying by Glenn Greenwald and The CATO Institute here. It's an interesting read that puts a great deal of blame for the current controversy on the Koch Brothers. You'll also always find links to Shoq's latest blog essay on the right column of my blog.
Other Progressive have multiple views of the NSA scandal, almost all defensive. First they mount a defense to protect President Obama or the "government" in general. Then they defend the indefensible attack on our liberty and freedom with the "... unlike President Bush, Obama got a court opinion, and he's really a good guy..." scenario.
The great Liberals of my youth who mounted the illegal protests against the Viet Nam War at the Chicago Democratic Party Convention, the Liberals who used an illegal leak to bring down the Nixon Presidency because of the SPYING at Watergate, those Liberals who dared to break the law in their fight for our rights in Selma, Birmingham and Jackson, those Liberals are gone.....
Amy Davidson, writing in The New Yorker, called the FISA ruling a secret FISA court order "a gift certificate for one year of warrant-free spying "
Curiously we don't have a single evil dictator or despot. That's the good news. President Obama is aloof, incompetent and largely unaware. As I've written several times before, Barack Obama isn't the President, he just plays one on TV. But he is not evil.
Looking at his reception at the G8 last week and his laughable speech to a tiny crowd in Berlin, his star is fading, like every television star whose time has passed. But I digress.
The bad news is that the government has become this powerful and evil all by itself. A badly written law here, an over zealous bureaucrat there and you have institutional evil, a government totally out of control. The Constitution is meaningless. Your rights, rights you actually had until five or six years ago, are gone and perhaps gone forever.
What worries me most is that our protectors, our guardians of justice and liberty have gone silent. They have disappeared into partisan political oblivion. The Liberal Media, the ACLU, the great Liberal crusaders have all gone silent, mumbling nonsensical platitudes in the dark.
Have you read the essays or listened to the Progressive pundits over on MSNBC? I've read some of the most frightening, convoluted defenses of the status quo I have ever seen. No logic, no defending the down trodden, no standing up for the rights of the common man, just mumbling about how it was bound to happen anyway.
The leaders who fought so eloquently, so vocally and occasionally fought so violently against the war in Viet Nam, now tell me everything is perfectly OK as long as we're not doing anything illegal anyway. "If you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear."
One of the greatest Progressive voices on Twitter is the brilliant and unyielding Shoq. He is a voice I greatly respect. His black cat avatar is beloved by thousands and feared by his opponents.
I recently engaged Shoq about his defense of the government's abuse of spying power and ignoring of our traditional Constitutional rights. Quick to misinterpret my questions as an attack on President Obama, his instantly replied that Obama had done nothing wrong and, indeed, Obama has done nothing.
But, I asked, how can allow this power to fall into the hands of the next President, most likely a Republican. Shoq's reply was simple but I fear terribly naive "We must be careful of who we elect...."
Shoq has written a lengthy essay about the NSA and the attacks on the NSA Spying by Glenn Greenwald and The CATO Institute here. It's an interesting read that puts a great deal of blame for the current controversy on the Koch Brothers. You'll also always find links to Shoq's latest blog essay on the right column of my blog.
Other Progressive have multiple views of the NSA scandal, almost all defensive. First they mount a defense to protect President Obama or the "government" in general. Then they defend the indefensible attack on our liberty and freedom with the "... unlike President Bush, Obama got a court opinion, and he's really a good guy..." scenario.
The great Liberals of my youth who mounted the illegal protests against the Viet Nam War at the Chicago Democratic Party Convention, the Liberals who used an illegal leak to bring down the Nixon Presidency because of the SPYING at Watergate, those Liberals who dared to break the law in their fight for our rights in Selma, Birmingham and Jackson, those Liberals are gone.....
Thursday, May 09, 2013
The Truth About Cable Network News
Here's an incredibly short post (by the usual Wizard standards) about Cable Network News. I just want to share the ratings for last Wednesday, a relatively typical night for Cable News, although slightly inflated because of the U.S. House of Representative's Benghazi hearings.
Included are the shows on Comedy Central because, quite frankly, that's where many Americans get their news.
FOXNEWS THE O'REILLY FACTOR 3,383,000
Included are the shows on Comedy Central because, quite frankly, that's where many Americans get their news.
FOXNEWS THE O'REILLY FACTOR 3,383,000
FOXNEWS THE FIVE 2,937,000
FOXNEWS BRET BAIER 2,638,000
FOXNEWS SEAN HANNITY 2,628,000
FOXNEWS GRETA VAN SUSTREN 2,363,000
FOXNEWS FOX NEWS WITH SHEPARD SMITH 2,240,000
CNN HEADLINE NEWS NANCY GRACE 1,576,000
COMEDY CENTRAL THE DAILY SHOW 1,450,000
CNN ANDERSON COOPER 1,391,000
CNN WOLF BLITZER 1,382,000
COMEDY CENTRAL THE COLBERT REPORT 1,250,000
CNN PIERS MORGAN 1,085,000
CNN ERIN BURNETT 944,000
CNN HEADLINE NEWS DR DREW 940,000
MSNBC RACHEL MADDOW 877,000
MNSBC LAWRENCE O'DONNELL 826,000
MSNBC CHRIS MATTHEW 703,000
MSNBC AL SHARPTON 624,000
MSNBC CHRIS HAYES 573,000
There are two reasons FOX NEWS dominates the ratings. First they are much more entertaining. Each host has fun and schedules a mix of lighthearted news and discussion with heavier commentary.
Second, they are, by far, fair and honest given the RIGHT WING perspectives of the hosts. The shows tend to be facutal and often present both sides of the issues being discussed.
As a LIBERAL I can watch FOX, laugh at them and, occasionally cuss at them and always learn from them.
As a Liberal, I am appalled that 877,000 people watch Rachel Maddow, the single most dishonest person in major broadcasting. I've learned the hard and painful way that if Rachel Maddow says it, it's likely not true, at best half true.
We Liberals DESERVE voices as HONEST and as ENTERTAINING at the conservatives have over on FOX. We DESERVE BETTER THAN WHAT WE GET ON MSNBC.
MSNBC CHRIS HAYES 573,000
There are two reasons FOX NEWS dominates the ratings. First they are much more entertaining. Each host has fun and schedules a mix of lighthearted news and discussion with heavier commentary.
Second, they are, by far, fair and honest given the RIGHT WING perspectives of the hosts. The shows tend to be facutal and often present both sides of the issues being discussed.
As a LIBERAL I can watch FOX, laugh at them and, occasionally cuss at them and always learn from them.
As a Liberal, I am appalled that 877,000 people watch Rachel Maddow, the single most dishonest person in major broadcasting. I've learned the hard and painful way that if Rachel Maddow says it, it's likely not true, at best half true.
We Liberals DESERVE voices as HONEST and as ENTERTAINING at the conservatives have over on FOX. We DESERVE BETTER THAN WHAT WE GET ON MSNBC.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Solving Gun Violence
A tragic and horribly misplaced approach of today's liberal and progressive leaders is to blame inanimate objects or cultural attitudes or corporations (which today's liberals see as inanimate objects) or, rarely, government for any and all of today's ills. But we avoid any assignment of personal responsibility at all costs. Even if the cost is in human lives.
Gun deaths and gun violence is no exception.
First we blame the guns themselves. And, of course that allows us to blame the NRA. From there it's easy to blame the gun manufacturers, gun sellers and gun owners (as a group, of course, and primarily if they're legal, registered gun owners).
Quickly we blame lax gun laws, gun shows and gun registration. We blame large ammunition clips and semi-automatic weapons.
Next we blame the lack of jobs, poverty in general, or as Reverend Jessie Jackson did this week, a "lack of dreams."
Curiously we don't blame Hollywood or the media culture of violence very often. I'm guessing that's because many of the people in Hollywood are wealthy liberals who contribute verbally and, rather rarely, financially to our causes. Best not bite the hand that feeds. But that's a very minor side point.
But we avoid any assignment of personal responsibility. We do not, under any circumstances blame personal lifestyles, personal choices or personal decisions. We never allow any blame that would insult or hurt an individual or the choices they have made or failed to make.
If a person drops out of school, that's the school's fault. A school system is a great inanimate object. But we never blame the teachers, or even dare to measure a teacher's ability or success. That's personal and we don't do personal.
Because of our tragically failed approach to problems we have the great tragedy of gun violence in our society. And the iconic symbol of our failure in curbing gun violence is not Newtown, Connecticut, but Chicago Illinois.
Chicago had 500 hundred murders this year, 87.5% of which were "gun related." And they took place in city with the tightest, toughest gun laws in America. Babies, children, teen and adults were all killed, with the toughest gun laws in place.
Did you realize that virtually no murders are committed by people with "concealed carry" permits? Nationally. Almost none. It turns out that murders are committed by criminals. Who knew?
I personally have no problem with tougher gun laws. I believe some new gun laws will emerge from Congress this next year and they'll have my strong personal support. They won't solve any problems, but my fellow liberal will feel better.
But no gun law currently being proposed or discussed will prevent the tragedy in Newtown or reduce murders in Chicago (or anywhere else).
Both Ann Coulter and the vilified NRA know exactly how to stop future Newtown's from happening. We will condemn them with our strongest voices of righteous indignation. We will call them "racists" and "neanderthals" and then we will quickly and quietly implement their solutions because they are right. Curiously, Ann Coulter is almost always right.
And Larry Elder knows how to solve the poverty problem, which does lead directly to the gun and gang violence in Chicago. Our problem is that, as liberals, we've decided to take personal responsibility off the table and, therefore we cannot consider Elder's solutions. Let me print some of what Elder has to say:
Poverty rarely occurs in two parent families. School drop-outs are reduced, too. Be honest, a single parent doesn't have the time or financial resources to attend school meetings, join the PTA and lead fund drives for more resources. They often don't have the time to help with homework.
Poor single parents are good people, but they are handicapped financially and functionally. They love their kids, but they are stressed to the limit.
We cannot and must not legislate marriage. But, as a society, we need to realize strong family units are a key to a healthy society. And, as liberals, we must look beyond the inanimate and toward the personal if we are truly to make an impact and begin to actually solve problems.
Gun deaths and gun violence is no exception.
First we blame the guns themselves. And, of course that allows us to blame the NRA. From there it's easy to blame the gun manufacturers, gun sellers and gun owners (as a group, of course, and primarily if they're legal, registered gun owners).
Quickly we blame lax gun laws, gun shows and gun registration. We blame large ammunition clips and semi-automatic weapons.
Next we blame the lack of jobs, poverty in general, or as Reverend Jessie Jackson did this week, a "lack of dreams."
Curiously we don't blame Hollywood or the media culture of violence very often. I'm guessing that's because many of the people in Hollywood are wealthy liberals who contribute verbally and, rather rarely, financially to our causes. Best not bite the hand that feeds. But that's a very minor side point.
But we avoid any assignment of personal responsibility. We do not, under any circumstances blame personal lifestyles, personal choices or personal decisions. We never allow any blame that would insult or hurt an individual or the choices they have made or failed to make.
If a person drops out of school, that's the school's fault. A school system is a great inanimate object. But we never blame the teachers, or even dare to measure a teacher's ability or success. That's personal and we don't do personal.
Because of our tragically failed approach to problems we have the great tragedy of gun violence in our society. And the iconic symbol of our failure in curbing gun violence is not Newtown, Connecticut, but Chicago Illinois.
Chicago had 500 hundred murders this year, 87.5% of which were "gun related." And they took place in city with the tightest, toughest gun laws in America. Babies, children, teen and adults were all killed, with the toughest gun laws in place.
Did you realize that virtually no murders are committed by people with "concealed carry" permits? Nationally. Almost none. It turns out that murders are committed by criminals. Who knew?
I personally have no problem with tougher gun laws. I believe some new gun laws will emerge from Congress this next year and they'll have my strong personal support. They won't solve any problems, but my fellow liberal will feel better.
But no gun law currently being proposed or discussed will prevent the tragedy in Newtown or reduce murders in Chicago (or anywhere else).
Both Ann Coulter and the vilified NRA know exactly how to stop future Newtown's from happening. We will condemn them with our strongest voices of righteous indignation. We will call them "racists" and "neanderthals" and then we will quickly and quietly implement their solutions because they are right. Curiously, Ann Coulter is almost always right.
And Larry Elder knows how to solve the poverty problem, which does lead directly to the gun and gang violence in Chicago. Our problem is that, as liberals, we've decided to take personal responsibility off the table and, therefore we cannot consider Elder's solutions. Let me print some of what Elder has to say:
“To avoid poverty, UCLA public policy professor James Q. Wilson said that everyone — not just blacks — must do three things: finish high school, don’t become a parent until at least the age of twenty, and get married before having a child. Do this and you will not be poor,”
Elder said. “I once asked Kweisi Mfume, then the head of the NAACP the following question: ‘As between the presence of white racism and the absence of black fathers, which poses the bigger threat to the black community.’ He immediately responded, ‘The absence of black fathers.’ Screaming about racism won’t solve this problem.”
“And if every white person, as my friend Walter Williams likes to say, suddenly became as pure as Mother Teresa, the problem of a 50 percent urban high school drop out rate would remain,” he added.I want to be clear. I favor gay and lesbian marriage. But Elder is right, we need two parent families. Two men, two women or a man and women, I don't care. But marriage need to occur before childbirth. And life long commitment is a key.
Poverty rarely occurs in two parent families. School drop-outs are reduced, too. Be honest, a single parent doesn't have the time or financial resources to attend school meetings, join the PTA and lead fund drives for more resources. They often don't have the time to help with homework.
Poor single parents are good people, but they are handicapped financially and functionally. They love their kids, but they are stressed to the limit.
We cannot and must not legislate marriage. But, as a society, we need to realize strong family units are a key to a healthy society. And, as liberals, we must look beyond the inanimate and toward the personal if we are truly to make an impact and begin to actually solve problems.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Animal Farm
It's tough to be a liberal today. The liberal movement has been hijacked by zealots who require that you abandon not just your principles, but also your brains and your hearts, replacing them all with hatred so vile and putrid you rot from within. Of course the first and most important principle the new left demands you relinquish is independent thought. Sharing and embracing new ideas, exploring options, self exploration, critical review, all are forbidden by today's left. Only uniformity of thought is allowed.
Freedom of choice is also forbidden. Our leaders know exactly what is best for us and to think outside those boundaries is strictly forbidden.
Our elected leaders our the enforcers of these rigid and unyielding rules. Not only will they control the physical environment in which we live, but they act as thought police as well, demanding ridgid adherence to the freedoms they believe are important while demanding that any other freedom be relinquished.
Thought police require massive armies to enforce the required beliefs. It behooves our fellow citizens to insure we are thinking clearly and not allowing forbidden thoughts to enter our minds. Society can only move forward once we are all walking on the same path and thinking the same thoughts.
Today that path of glorious uniformity begins on The Freedom Trail. You can be certain there will be no Chick-fil-A's to tempt your body or your soul off the path to liberal righteousness.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Religious Zealotry
These are modern times. Religious Zealotry is no longer confined to the worship of a god or goddess. It can be an equally blind dedication to any idol, a dedication that moves beyond admiration or even belief and into worship at the expense of all other goals, ideas, morals and principles.
While we are all familiar with the traditional religious zealotry of the far right conservative Christians and the Islamic Fundamentalists, there is equal and even more destructive zealotry on what we call the "left" or Progressive end of the political spectrum.
Because such zealotry is blind, the zealots often don't realize they are violating their very own stated principles and ideals. Lately I've seen way too many examples of the leftist zealotry and it makes me terribly uncomfortable.
As a Liberal I strongly believe in diversity, tolerance and acceptance of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and even diverse value sets and lifestyles. This view or principle is stated often by ALL who claim to be liberals and progressives. You can see it and read it and discuss it on every liberal blog and progressive forum. Tolerance and acceptance are the holy grail of Liberal beliefs.
Except........ it seems the VAST and VOCAL majority of self proclaimed liberals and progressives don't believe a damned word of it. It seems their beliefs on any issue is actually a RELIGIOUS DOGMA that cannot and must not ever be violated. These so-called Liberals are nothing more than the Taliban of the Left.
One need look no further than famous (and incredibly talented) actor Brad Pitt's mother to see the Taliban of the Left in action.
Jane Pitt wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper in response to another letter. In what ought to be a liberal example of TOLERANCE she actually admonished a conservative Christian for his prejudice against the Mormon religion. Jane Pitt urged fellow Christians to vote for the man who shared their ideals of being "pro-life" and opposing "gay marriage," even if Mr. Romney didn't share their exact Christian faith.
Now, to be certain Jane was vocal and aggressive in her opposition to President Obama attacked his positions on these same issues.
Of course I personally disagree with Jane Pitt's position on both gay marriage and abortion. But, tragically, many of my fellow (not really) liberals and progressives took it much further.
Hollywood rose up and attacked Mrs. Pitt with vile and horrific glee. And the Twitterverse was even worse:
“BRAD PITT’S MOM WROTE AN ANTI-GAY PRO-ROMNEY EDITORIAL. KILL THE B***H.”
“Brad Pitt’s mom, die”
“F*** you, Brad Pitt’s mom. The gay community made your kid a star, you whacko.”
“Brad Pitt’s mother…what a brainless old b***h…”
“Brad Pitt’s Mom Slams Obama, Gays. That stand makes her a deluded, dumba** Fascist Repuke”
“I hope Brad Pitt has been supporting his mother and decides to cut her off. What a b***h.”
“Brad Pitt’s mom can choke on a (redacted).”
Jane Pitt has also received numerous death threats and the attacks are unrelenting. The Hollywood attacks have been played out all over television.
What disgusts me most is that (so far) Brad Pitt himself has been silent. He can't bring himself to step up to the plate and defend his mother. In fact the only prominent Hollywood voice to defend Mrs. Pitt is Jon Voight, Brad Pitt's Father-in-Law (Angelina Jolie's father).
As usual, conservative firebrand Michelle Malkin has said it best: "Hollywood and the American left love diversity, except when it offends their “progressive” value system."
An excellent article on Jane Pitt's letter and the Hollywood backlash can be found in The Huffington Post
UPDATE 7/12/2012: Brilliant blogger B. Daniel Blatt also defends Jane Pitt over on The Gay Patriot. This short essay is a must read confirmation of the misplaced hatred of the left in attacking Mrs. Pitt unfairly.
While we are all familiar with the traditional religious zealotry of the far right conservative Christians and the Islamic Fundamentalists, there is equal and even more destructive zealotry on what we call the "left" or Progressive end of the political spectrum.
Because such zealotry is blind, the zealots often don't realize they are violating their very own stated principles and ideals. Lately I've seen way too many examples of the leftist zealotry and it makes me terribly uncomfortable.
As a Liberal I strongly believe in diversity, tolerance and acceptance of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and even diverse value sets and lifestyles. This view or principle is stated often by ALL who claim to be liberals and progressives. You can see it and read it and discuss it on every liberal blog and progressive forum. Tolerance and acceptance are the holy grail of Liberal beliefs.
Except........ it seems the VAST and VOCAL majority of self proclaimed liberals and progressives don't believe a damned word of it. It seems their beliefs on any issue is actually a RELIGIOUS DOGMA that cannot and must not ever be violated. These so-called Liberals are nothing more than the Taliban of the Left.
One need look no further than famous (and incredibly talented) actor Brad Pitt's mother to see the Taliban of the Left in action.
Jane Pitt wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper in response to another letter. In what ought to be a liberal example of TOLERANCE she actually admonished a conservative Christian for his prejudice against the Mormon religion. Jane Pitt urged fellow Christians to vote for the man who shared their ideals of being "pro-life" and opposing "gay marriage," even if Mr. Romney didn't share their exact Christian faith.
Now, to be certain Jane was vocal and aggressive in her opposition to President Obama attacked his positions on these same issues.
Of course I personally disagree with Jane Pitt's position on both gay marriage and abortion. But, tragically, many of my fellow (not really) liberals and progressives took it much further.
Hollywood rose up and attacked Mrs. Pitt with vile and horrific glee. And the Twitterverse was even worse:
“BRAD PITT’S MOM WROTE AN ANTI-GAY PRO-ROMNEY EDITORIAL. KILL THE B***H.”
“Brad Pitt’s mom, die”
“F*** you, Brad Pitt’s mom. The gay community made your kid a star, you whacko.”
“Brad Pitt’s mother…what a brainless old b***h…”
“Brad Pitt’s Mom Slams Obama, Gays. That stand makes her a deluded, dumba** Fascist Repuke”
“I hope Brad Pitt has been supporting his mother and decides to cut her off. What a b***h.”
“Brad Pitt’s mom can choke on a (redacted).”
Jane Pitt has also received numerous death threats and the attacks are unrelenting. The Hollywood attacks have been played out all over television.
What disgusts me most is that (so far) Brad Pitt himself has been silent. He can't bring himself to step up to the plate and defend his mother. In fact the only prominent Hollywood voice to defend Mrs. Pitt is Jon Voight, Brad Pitt's Father-in-Law (Angelina Jolie's father).
As usual, conservative firebrand Michelle Malkin has said it best: "Hollywood and the American left love diversity, except when it offends their “progressive” value system."
An excellent article on Jane Pitt's letter and the Hollywood backlash can be found in The Huffington Post
UPDATE 7/12/2012: Brilliant blogger B. Daniel Blatt also defends Jane Pitt over on The Gay Patriot. This short essay is a must read confirmation of the misplaced hatred of the left in attacking Mrs. Pitt unfairly.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Silence of the Lambs
Above is a Photo-shopped image of George Zimmerman
being used by the @killzimmerman account on Twitter
I'd like to believe that everyone wants justice for Trayvon Martin. His death at the hands of George Zimmerman (in the photo-shopped picture above) is tragic and very possibly criminal. I hope a thorough investigation is possible, but I'm beginning to have my doubts. The problem isn't the Federal and State judicial system which is working hard (if belatedly) to provide answers, it's the mob violence being championed by the leaders on the left.
I find what's happening on the "left" side of the political spectrum here in the United States to be upsetting, even distressing. People I thought shared the values of justice, honesty, fairness, restraint, kindness, cooperation and dialogue have become an American Taliban, fundamentalists demanding everyone hold their narrow minded bigoted views or face certain annihilation.
That many of these people call themselves "Liberal" is a tragic joke. A joke that as of today is no longer funny.
These people are a disgrace to liberalism. They are, in fact, a disgrace to the human race.
The list starts with virtually every so-called journalist and on-air personalities on MSNBC. It extends to the bastions of the liberal blogosphere with The Huffington Post and Daily Kos and flows down stream to the tens of thousands on Twitter and Facebook who are demanding the death of George Zimmerman without benefit of an investigation or a trial. The New Black Panther Party has placed a ONE MILLION DOLLAR bounty on Zimmerman's head., dead or alive.
You'll find no condemnation or even mild criticism of this action anywhere in the left media or blogosphere. The same folks who spent weeks condemning Sarah Palin for using "cross hairs" on a political map, don't think the call for vigilante justice against Zimmerman is ever worth a sentence in their blogs. It isn't worth one minute of their valuable air time on television.
And if Zimmerman is killed, these same so-called liberal pundits will rush to the defense of the perpetrator, blaming the "system" for it's failure to bring swift justice for young Trayvon.
Curiously, these same liberal activists will protest by the thousands outside a prison to protest the execution of a convicted murderer, but they're happy to cheer lead the murder someone who hasn't had the benefit of a trial.
One Twitter user has adopted the name @killzimmerman and spews hate and death threats 24 hours a day. Twitter, which routinely shuts down accounts for minor infractions of it's terms of use, hasn't touched this account, let alone shut it down.
A Twitter thread using the hashtag #killzimmerman has thousands of entries, most demanding Zimmerman's death.
The media, especially MSNBC are deathly silent. They not only don't care, they are actively rooting for violence, especially Reverend Al Sharpton.
And what I've written here is just the tip of the iceberg. The coordinated effort to silence all who disagree with them is massive, well funded and frightening. More on that in a future post.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Paul Ryan, Washington DC's Lone Adult
Over on the Democratic Party side of Washington, DC there was rejoicing in a new PPP Poll that showed when the public was made aware of Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's arguable mistreatment of his dog Seamus, over 28 years ago, Romney's approval rating tanked.
Seriously, my Liberal and Progressive friends on Tiwtter are simply giddy with excitement. Leave it to Mitt Romney's dog to sniff out a path to Obama's victory.
Our future is now safe.
Meanwhile, on planet Earth, Representative Paul Ryan has prepared and proposed the most realistic, bold and brilliant budget in the last 20 years. To do what Ryan has done takes thought, analysis, honesty and courage. And no polling.
Ryan will be savaged by Democrats who deserve no place in government, cowards and liars, manipulators and pollsters who will not only allow our country to fail, but will ride Seamuss into the very gates of hell.
One does not need to agree with Ryan's every idea, but he should be held in high regard for discussing the real issues of our economy and our exploding debt.
Democrats have failed to produce a budget for three years and they've already signaled that will fail to do so again. It's so much easier to criticize than to propose ideas and stand behind them. And that's the Democrat plan.
Here are just a few lines from the Washington Post Story linked here and above:
House Republicans laid down a bold but risky election-year marker Tuesday, unveiling a budget proposal that aims to tame the national debt by reshaping Medicare and cutting deeply into Medicaid, food stamps and other programs for the poor, while reshuffling the tax code to sharply lower rates.
Congressional Republicans plan to use the document to demonstrate their willingness to tackle the nation’s difficult fiscal problems head-on. They argue that restraining future borrowing is a moral imperative and that entitlement programs for the elderly and the poor must be redrawn both to reduce red ink and to ensure that federal benefits continue to be available.
The proposal, authored by Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), calls for spending cuts and tax changes that would put the nation on course to wipe out deficits and balance the budget by 2040. The national debt would continue to rise but would shrink to the historic norm as a percentage of an expanding economy.
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