President Trump got his turn as the Republicans had their convention this past week. I confess. Again, I did not watch most of this convention either. I did catch Nikki Haley's speech and thought that she would be a welcome candidate in 2024. I also saw Melania Trump's speech - good, but a little long. I did not see more than a few minutes of the President's speech, but I did read it. Here are a few highlights. "...We understand that America is not a land cloaked in darkness. America is the torch that enlightens the entire world." And: "What united generations past was an unshakeable confidence in America's destiny and an unbreakable faith in the American people." Of course, you would never know from the mainstream media that Trump's speech was in any way uplifting.
I have complained over the years about left-wing pundits and Democrats, and so-called Black leaders, who have delivered in their speeches an awful message to children. Essentially telling children that the system is rigged against them, that they'll never succeed. To discourage young children from trying to achieve their goals is evil. Therefore, my favorite line from Trump's speech was this: "I want every child in America to know that you are part of the most exciting and incredible adventure in human history. No matter where your family comes from, no matter your background in America, anyone can rise with hard work, devotion, and drive. You can reach any goal and achieve every ambition." So much better than Joe Biden's "knee on the neck."
In August of 2019, Kamala Harris reflected her party's desire to make sure that Blacks always feel victimized, when she said this: "Michael Brown's murder forever changed Ferguson and America. His tragic death sparked a desperately needed conversation and a nationwide movement." Elizabeth Warren said something similar. The problem, of course, is that Michael Brown was not murdered. Who said so? Obama's Department of Justice, which concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing in the shooting death of Michael Brown.
But Biden also had no problem in fanning the flames. Here he is on 8/9/20: "It's been six years since Michael Brown's life was taken in Ferguson - reigniting a movement. We must continue the work of tackling systemic racism and reforming policing." Except, the reigniting of a movement was based on a lie. The "hands up don't shoot" lie that suggested that Brown was murdered. Neither the state nor the Feds concluded that he was murdered. Does not matter. Just keep it going. I hope that, rather than the usual 5% of Blacks that vote Republican, that Trump is able to get 25% or more. That Blacks appreciate what Trump has done for their community - in terms of low unemployment, school choice, criminal justice reform and aid to the historically Black Colleges and Universities. And police reform? I have no problem with that - if it does not endanger the lives of the men and women who put on a uniform every day.
I'd like to end this short post with another line from President Trump's speech at the RNC. "In the left's backward view, they do not see America as the most free, just and exceptional nation on Earth. Instead, they see a wicked nation that must be punished for its sins." The focus in our schools should not be on the New York Times' "1619 Project," claiming that the country was born out of slavery. School age children should be taught that people came here for religious freedom. That the American Revolution was fought for political freedom. That the country has always strived to make that "more perfect union." That does not mean we do not teach about slavery - just let's not forget that America's deadliest war, the Civil War, brought an end to slavery. I find it ironic that the mainstream media always wants to paint Republicans and Trump as "dark," while the glass half-empty Democrats are seen as the bright light.
Sunday, August 30, 2020
The Coronavirus Twenty-Four Weeks Later - Media Bias, a Few Words on the Blog and the Impending Civil War
First, as the attacks on me/the blog continue, I have a few comments. A recent criticism alleges my failure to ever condemn Trump. Twice in the last post I criticized Trump. But, I was told, not harshly enough. I was very harsh on Trump when he decided to remove troops from Syria, leaving the Kurds vulnerable. But that's not the point. I have a conservative viewpoint, and I see no reason to pile on, when the mainstream media is non-stop anti-Trump. I have said that if someone wants anti-Trump news and Op-Eds they can get 5 to 10 such pieces a day just from the New York Times alone. One day last week I decided to check to see if my claim about the Times was, indeed, correct. On 8/24/20 I went online to the Times to check out their Op-Eds. Sure enough, seven out of the eleven most recent pieces were anti-Trump. The rest were not pro-Trump, but rather discussed other issues. Here are just a couple: "Trump's Campaign of Chaos," and "Trump's Reality TV Show Would Like You to Forget About Reality for a While." The 7 anti-Trump opinion pieces do not include the so-called "hard news" pieces which are also often anti-Trump.
Howard Kurtz of Fox pointed out that CNN and MSNBC carried nearly every minute of the Democratic convention (about 520 out of about 580 minutes). But for the Republican convention, they kept breaking in with "fact-checking, criticism and punditry." About one hour into the Republican convention, the New York Times told us: "GOP Pushes Falsehoods and Fear at Convention." While one CNN newscaster was standing in front of an image of Kenosha burning, the chyron (the headline at the bottom of the screen) told us "FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING." The irony was inescapable. As one comment said: "...Irresponsible clowns. It's not even funny. Months of enabling violence and destruction by ignoring and downplaying it, thereby eliminating any pressure on politicians to take action."
Meanwhile, at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow could not accept South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's attack on Democrat run cities. Noem: "From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs." Maddow claimed that was "very wrong," and turned to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan for her take. You know, Seattle, with the "peaceful" CHOP/CHAZ. Too bad Maddow did not also have the Mayor of Portland, where they tried to burn down a police station with people locked inside, and where there have been violent "protests" for over 90 days.
Recall in the last post I mentioned the 8/21/20 front page headline in the New York Times: "BIDEN VOWS TO GUIDE THE U.S. OUT OF 'DARKNESS.'" That was the Times telling us that Trump's America is dark. Following Trump's speech, the Times' headline across the top of the front page was: "ACCEPTING BID, TRUMP PAINTS BIDEN AS UNSAFE." The subheadline was "Falsely Warning of Support for 'Anarchists' as He Shows His Grip on the G.O.P." In another story on the front page above the fold is this: "President is Unchastened by Time in Office, Even Impeachment." But the subheadline to the Biden speech was: "Accepting Nomination, He Rebukes Trump and Pledges to 'Draw on the Best of Us." Some of the language is subtle, but the bias is there. Trump "falsely" warns. Biden "rebukes," as a teacher does. And, Trump paints Biden as unsafe - as if Biden and the Dems have not constantly told us that Trump is a danger to democracy.
Here's Don Lemon of CNN, reflecting what Democrats have believed about Republicans since Hillary's "basket of deplorables." "They like what he (Trump) presents. They like the lies, one would have to. If you don't like the lies, then you're not a supporter. They like the shiny objects. They like the racism. They like the misogyny. They like all of it because if they didn't, they wouldn't support him." The Democrats who think (and I use the word loosely) like Lemon cannot conceive of any legitimate reason for preferring Trump over Biden. This helps to explain why they are perfectly at ease with shutting down opposing views - because such views cannot posibly be legitimate. If you think Lemon is alone, here is Elie Mystal writing for The Nation: "Most White Republican voters don't need permission for white supremacy. They're racist themselves and think being racist is just commonsense...The irreducible core of his base is white people who think being openly racist and violent toward Black people is an inalienable right that has been taken from them by 'cancel culture.'" And, talking about the black speakers at the RNC, Mystal said this: "What anger I have for this particular crop of Black tokens comes from the fact that so many of them volunteered..." To recap, whites who vote for Trump are evil, whites who vote for Biden (who once described the segregationist Strom Thurmond as one of his closest friends) are good. Any black who supports Trump is a token and worse I'm sure, because, as Biden told Black people: "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black." This type of "thinking," this group-think, is rampant throughout the Democratic party and mainstream media and Hollywood and academia.
Here is some of the biggest bias not even recognized by many people (Democrats). What do you know about Brandon Stanley, Daniel Shaver or James Scott? Nothing, right? Because they are three White people who were shot and killed by police. Therefore, you did not read about them day after day after day in the mainstream media. (Before anyone starts to send me a nasty email, I continue to condemn the killing of George Floyd, and, absent some unknown exculpatory evidence on behalf of the police, I am also disturbed by the shooting of Jacob Blake.) But, according to the article by John McWhorter in the 7/14/16 Time magazine, Shaver had complied with police orders and was shot anyway. Scott was told to drop his gun, which he did, but did not raise his hands. And Stanley was trying to evade a warrant. No rioting, no looting, no burning down of businesses after they were killed. An opposing viewpoint might be - maybe there should have been. No. I am at a loss to understand why business owners should lose everything because of possible misconduct by the police. That's like saying "I'm angry at Smith so I'm going to take it out on Jones." McWhorter: "...all three were killed by police under circumstances that would almost surely have elicited indignant protests nationwide if they were black."
Here is some more information the mainstream media would not want you to know. From 1/1/17 to 8/6/20, a total of 3,545 people were shot and killed by police in the US, according to Statista. I think we can all agree that we would like to see less than 1000 people a year shot and killed by police. The statistic alone, however, does not tell us whether or not any police reforms might reduce those numbers, and to what extent. Of that total, Statista reports that 40.6% of those killed were white, 21.9% were black, 15.7% were hispanic, 3.8% were "other," and 17.9% were "unknown." Brookings reported that in 2019 in the US, 60.1% of the people were white, 12.1% were black (other sites say 13.4%), 18.5% were hispanic and 6% were Asian. But we know that blacks commit crimes at a significantly higher rate than their percentage of the population might predict. As previously reported in this blog, from 1980 to 2008, blacks accounted for 52.5% of the hoicides in the US, well in excess of their percentage of the population. (According to the US Department of Justice.) The point, which apparently needs repeating, the more crimes you commit the greater the liklihood of having interactions with the police. (Please do not email me to tell me perfectly innocent people have been shot and killed by police. I know. It's awful.)
I have watched the news and have seen that many of the "protesters" are white. That does not make it any better when we see businesses being looted or torched. Here are some more disturbing statistics (from Fox): Homicides are up 24% from the beginning of the year to early August in the 50 largest cities in the US. Murders in New York City are up 35% compared to the same period last year. Shootings are up 87% in New York City. In the City of Chicago alone, 2,700 people have been shot so far this year. As of early August, the largest cities have had a total of 3,600 homicides. The Mayors of New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Washington are all Democrats. Cities that have seen major lawlessness. This year, and breaking with the usual alliance between Democrats and unions, many police unions have announced their support for Donald Trump. If the politicians do not support the police, the police will be fearful of doing their jobs. When that happens, anarchy reigns. And when anarchy reigns, many citizens - armed citizens - are going to take action. (Again, no need for nasty emails. I am not voting for vigilantism. But, let's be real, if the "authorities" will not act, people will do what they need to do to protect themselves, their homes and their businesses.)
In Washington, DC, "protesters" approached people dining at a restaurant outdoors. They demanded that the white diners show solidarity with Black Lives Matter by raising their fists. The "protesters" shouted at them "White Silence is Violence." One couple refused to raise a fist. The "protesters" screamed and swore at them, and called the man a "pasty piece of shit." One woman, a supporter of BLM, who said she had marched with them, did not raise her fist. "I felt I was under attack, and being coerced - which felt wrong." To her credit, the DC Mayor said "What I saw in those videos was highly inappropriate." She asserted that DC residents won't be "bullied out of living their everyday lives." But how would people not feel bullied? How many of us would raise our fists out of fear of being assaulted or worse? This is all reminiscent of a Democratic talking point from 2018 by Maxine Waters (Rep.-CA): "If you see anybody from that (Trump) cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere." What an excellent idea, because a mob can always be counted on to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, Rand Paul, a sitting United States Senator, could not safely cross the street from the White House to his hotel after leaving the last night of the RNC. Paul said he feared that he and his wife would have been severely beaten, if not killed, but for the police officers protecting them from the mob on the street. The irony is that Paul, as a libertarian, supports many of the police reforms that these "protesters" are supposedly seeking. In a bill called the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, Paul seeks an end to the no-knock policy of allowing police to enter homes without some notice or warning. And, in Kenosha, a 17 year old is charged with the murder of two people after carrying a rifle in the streets during the riots there. The charge seems excessive, and appears to have been made without a complete investigation. But I think the message is clear - perceived vigilantes will be dealt with harshly, "protesters" not so much.
To further illustrate the utter contempt and hatred that the left carries for those who disagree, we have actress Bette Midler. After hearing the speech by First Lady Melania Trump, Middler Tweeted this: "Oh, G-d. She still can't speak English. A UGE bore. She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage." What class. Contrast that with the words of Julia Jackson, the mother of Jacao Blake, shortly after he was shot in Kenosha: "My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted...please don't burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son's name...As I was riding through here, through the city, I noticed a lot of damage. It doesn't reflect my son or my family. If Jacob knew what was going on as far as that goes, the violence and the destruction, he would be very unpleased." We would all do well to take a step back and honor this Mother's words.
(Note: The following is a shameless plug on behalf of a friend and reader. Evan Sayet is a well known speaker, author and comedian within conservative circles. He has a new book out called "The Woke Supremacy - An Anti-Socialist Manifesto." It is on sale at Amazon for $9.99. I have already ordered my own copy. I receive no fees or kickbacks or any other remuneration for this plug. Evan previously authored "The KinderGarden of Eden: How the Modern Liberal Thinks And Why He's Convinced That Ignorance Is Bliss." Should you buy one or both of Evan's books I hope that you find them informative.)
Howard Kurtz of Fox pointed out that CNN and MSNBC carried nearly every minute of the Democratic convention (about 520 out of about 580 minutes). But for the Republican convention, they kept breaking in with "fact-checking, criticism and punditry." About one hour into the Republican convention, the New York Times told us: "GOP Pushes Falsehoods and Fear at Convention." While one CNN newscaster was standing in front of an image of Kenosha burning, the chyron (the headline at the bottom of the screen) told us "FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING." The irony was inescapable. As one comment said: "...Irresponsible clowns. It's not even funny. Months of enabling violence and destruction by ignoring and downplaying it, thereby eliminating any pressure on politicians to take action."
Meanwhile, at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow could not accept South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's attack on Democrat run cities. Noem: "From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs." Maddow claimed that was "very wrong," and turned to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan for her take. You know, Seattle, with the "peaceful" CHOP/CHAZ. Too bad Maddow did not also have the Mayor of Portland, where they tried to burn down a police station with people locked inside, and where there have been violent "protests" for over 90 days.
Recall in the last post I mentioned the 8/21/20 front page headline in the New York Times: "BIDEN VOWS TO GUIDE THE U.S. OUT OF 'DARKNESS.'" That was the Times telling us that Trump's America is dark. Following Trump's speech, the Times' headline across the top of the front page was: "ACCEPTING BID, TRUMP PAINTS BIDEN AS UNSAFE." The subheadline was "Falsely Warning of Support for 'Anarchists' as He Shows His Grip on the G.O.P." In another story on the front page above the fold is this: "President is Unchastened by Time in Office, Even Impeachment." But the subheadline to the Biden speech was: "Accepting Nomination, He Rebukes Trump and Pledges to 'Draw on the Best of Us." Some of the language is subtle, but the bias is there. Trump "falsely" warns. Biden "rebukes," as a teacher does. And, Trump paints Biden as unsafe - as if Biden and the Dems have not constantly told us that Trump is a danger to democracy.
Here's Don Lemon of CNN, reflecting what Democrats have believed about Republicans since Hillary's "basket of deplorables." "They like what he (Trump) presents. They like the lies, one would have to. If you don't like the lies, then you're not a supporter. They like the shiny objects. They like the racism. They like the misogyny. They like all of it because if they didn't, they wouldn't support him." The Democrats who think (and I use the word loosely) like Lemon cannot conceive of any legitimate reason for preferring Trump over Biden. This helps to explain why they are perfectly at ease with shutting down opposing views - because such views cannot posibly be legitimate. If you think Lemon is alone, here is Elie Mystal writing for The Nation: "Most White Republican voters don't need permission for white supremacy. They're racist themselves and think being racist is just commonsense...The irreducible core of his base is white people who think being openly racist and violent toward Black people is an inalienable right that has been taken from them by 'cancel culture.'" And, talking about the black speakers at the RNC, Mystal said this: "What anger I have for this particular crop of Black tokens comes from the fact that so many of them volunteered..." To recap, whites who vote for Trump are evil, whites who vote for Biden (who once described the segregationist Strom Thurmond as one of his closest friends) are good. Any black who supports Trump is a token and worse I'm sure, because, as Biden told Black people: "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black." This type of "thinking," this group-think, is rampant throughout the Democratic party and mainstream media and Hollywood and academia.
Here is some of the biggest bias not even recognized by many people (Democrats). What do you know about Brandon Stanley, Daniel Shaver or James Scott? Nothing, right? Because they are three White people who were shot and killed by police. Therefore, you did not read about them day after day after day in the mainstream media. (Before anyone starts to send me a nasty email, I continue to condemn the killing of George Floyd, and, absent some unknown exculpatory evidence on behalf of the police, I am also disturbed by the shooting of Jacob Blake.) But, according to the article by John McWhorter in the 7/14/16 Time magazine, Shaver had complied with police orders and was shot anyway. Scott was told to drop his gun, which he did, but did not raise his hands. And Stanley was trying to evade a warrant. No rioting, no looting, no burning down of businesses after they were killed. An opposing viewpoint might be - maybe there should have been. No. I am at a loss to understand why business owners should lose everything because of possible misconduct by the police. That's like saying "I'm angry at Smith so I'm going to take it out on Jones." McWhorter: "...all three were killed by police under circumstances that would almost surely have elicited indignant protests nationwide if they were black."
Here is some more information the mainstream media would not want you to know. From 1/1/17 to 8/6/20, a total of 3,545 people were shot and killed by police in the US, according to Statista. I think we can all agree that we would like to see less than 1000 people a year shot and killed by police. The statistic alone, however, does not tell us whether or not any police reforms might reduce those numbers, and to what extent. Of that total, Statista reports that 40.6% of those killed were white, 21.9% were black, 15.7% were hispanic, 3.8% were "other," and 17.9% were "unknown." Brookings reported that in 2019 in the US, 60.1% of the people were white, 12.1% were black (other sites say 13.4%), 18.5% were hispanic and 6% were Asian. But we know that blacks commit crimes at a significantly higher rate than their percentage of the population might predict. As previously reported in this blog, from 1980 to 2008, blacks accounted for 52.5% of the hoicides in the US, well in excess of their percentage of the population. (According to the US Department of Justice.) The point, which apparently needs repeating, the more crimes you commit the greater the liklihood of having interactions with the police. (Please do not email me to tell me perfectly innocent people have been shot and killed by police. I know. It's awful.)
I have watched the news and have seen that many of the "protesters" are white. That does not make it any better when we see businesses being looted or torched. Here are some more disturbing statistics (from Fox): Homicides are up 24% from the beginning of the year to early August in the 50 largest cities in the US. Murders in New York City are up 35% compared to the same period last year. Shootings are up 87% in New York City. In the City of Chicago alone, 2,700 people have been shot so far this year. As of early August, the largest cities have had a total of 3,600 homicides. The Mayors of New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Washington are all Democrats. Cities that have seen major lawlessness. This year, and breaking with the usual alliance between Democrats and unions, many police unions have announced their support for Donald Trump. If the politicians do not support the police, the police will be fearful of doing their jobs. When that happens, anarchy reigns. And when anarchy reigns, many citizens - armed citizens - are going to take action. (Again, no need for nasty emails. I am not voting for vigilantism. But, let's be real, if the "authorities" will not act, people will do what they need to do to protect themselves, their homes and their businesses.)
In Washington, DC, "protesters" approached people dining at a restaurant outdoors. They demanded that the white diners show solidarity with Black Lives Matter by raising their fists. The "protesters" shouted at them "White Silence is Violence." One couple refused to raise a fist. The "protesters" screamed and swore at them, and called the man a "pasty piece of shit." One woman, a supporter of BLM, who said she had marched with them, did not raise her fist. "I felt I was under attack, and being coerced - which felt wrong." To her credit, the DC Mayor said "What I saw in those videos was highly inappropriate." She asserted that DC residents won't be "bullied out of living their everyday lives." But how would people not feel bullied? How many of us would raise our fists out of fear of being assaulted or worse? This is all reminiscent of a Democratic talking point from 2018 by Maxine Waters (Rep.-CA): "If you see anybody from that (Trump) cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere." What an excellent idea, because a mob can always be counted on to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, Rand Paul, a sitting United States Senator, could not safely cross the street from the White House to his hotel after leaving the last night of the RNC. Paul said he feared that he and his wife would have been severely beaten, if not killed, but for the police officers protecting them from the mob on the street. The irony is that Paul, as a libertarian, supports many of the police reforms that these "protesters" are supposedly seeking. In a bill called the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, Paul seeks an end to the no-knock policy of allowing police to enter homes without some notice or warning. And, in Kenosha, a 17 year old is charged with the murder of two people after carrying a rifle in the streets during the riots there. The charge seems excessive, and appears to have been made without a complete investigation. But I think the message is clear - perceived vigilantes will be dealt with harshly, "protesters" not so much.
To further illustrate the utter contempt and hatred that the left carries for those who disagree, we have actress Bette Midler. After hearing the speech by First Lady Melania Trump, Middler Tweeted this: "Oh, G-d. She still can't speak English. A UGE bore. She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage." What class. Contrast that with the words of Julia Jackson, the mother of Jacao Blake, shortly after he was shot in Kenosha: "My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted...please don't burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son's name...As I was riding through here, through the city, I noticed a lot of damage. It doesn't reflect my son or my family. If Jacob knew what was going on as far as that goes, the violence and the destruction, he would be very unpleased." We would all do well to take a step back and honor this Mother's words.
(Note: The following is a shameless plug on behalf of a friend and reader. Evan Sayet is a well known speaker, author and comedian within conservative circles. He has a new book out called "The Woke Supremacy - An Anti-Socialist Manifesto." It is on sale at Amazon for $9.99. I have already ordered my own copy. I receive no fees or kickbacks or any other remuneration for this plug. Evan previously authored "The KinderGarden of Eden: How the Modern Liberal Thinks And Why He's Convinced That Ignorance Is Bliss." Should you buy one or both of Evan's books I hope that you find them informative.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)