The Coronavirus Seventeen Weeks Later - Maybe It's Time?

You can't claim we haven't had a good run. After all, the country just celebrated its 244th birthday. That is a long time. As they say, all great civilizations come to an end. But America was different. It was a country based on an idea - that all men (and all people) are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These ideas, along with the founding documents upon which they are based, and the Founding Fathers who wrote those documents, are all out of vogue now. So, maybe it's time to let it all go. Let's take a look around.

Seattle. One City Council member said this: "We are coming for you (Amazon) and your rotten system. We are coming to dismantle this deeply oppressive, racist, sexist, violent, utterly bankrupt system of capitalism - this police state. We cannot and will not stop until we overthrow it and replace it with a world based on solidarity, genuine democracy and equality - a socialist world." Keep in mind that the speaker is an elected official in one of our country's major cities.

Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. In Baltimore, protesters tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus and threw it into the harbor. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is of Italian heritage; and her father and brother had been mayors of Baltimore. In D.C. she said that the taking down of the Columbus statue "doesn't diminish my pride in my Italian heritage." When asked if it would not be better to have a commission decide what statues should come down and where they should go, Pelosi replied with a brusque "people will do what they do." It should come as no surprise that the Speaker (next in line to the presidency after the Vice President) would not condemn the vandalism of public property. After all, she also refused to condemn Ilhan Omar for making one anti-Semitic remark after the next, making excuses for Omar instead. But, it's just property and Jews - nobody cares about them anyway.

Los Angeles. During the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, numerous Jewish shops and synagogues were vandalized. On the walls of one synagogue were the words "Free Palestine," and "fuck Israel." In the Fairfax area, a heavily Jewish area, numerous shops and Jewish schools and other synagogues were also vandalized. Said the area's City Council member: "As we watched the fires and looting, what we didn't get covered were the anti-Semitic hate crimes and incidents. Under the guise of protests, some advanced their anti-Semitic agenda." Had the council member asked me, I could have told him that Jews are not one of the favored minority groups of the left, nor of the media.

Everywhere. Goya Foods is the largest Hispanic owned company in the US. Its CEO, Robert Unanue, was recently at the White House with other Hispanic business and political leaders to help celebrate President Trump's "Hispanic Prosperity Initiative." The purpose of the executive order was to increase funding for charter schools and private schools, and provide tax benefits for "opportunity zones" in urban areas. The Goya CEO made the egregious offense of daring to say that the country is "truly blessed" to have Trump as a leader. In today's "cancel culture" any praise of the President is downright evil. Igor Volsky, a VP at the Center for American Progress, Tweeted what Unanue said, and added: "Make your shopping decisions accordingly." In supporting a boycott of Goya, AOC added "Oh look, it's the sound of me Googling 'how to make your own Adobo'" (a Goya product).

Piling on was none other than former presidential candidate Julian Castro, who was also the Secretary of HUD under President Obama. Castro encouraged his followers to reconsider the purchase of Goya products. This boycotting of those who do not adhere to a strict party line is one of the core principles of the left - and of the Democratic Party. Don't believe me? See my August 2, 2012 post discussing how big city mayors (all Democrats) across the country said they no longer wanted Chick fil-A in their cities. Why? Because the owner of Chick fil-A dared to say that he believed in the traditional definition of marriage. It should be clear to all that the left will seek to punish you for your words and thoughts. I should add that in the CNN story reporting on Goya, you would not learn that the company announced that they were donating one million cans of chickpeas and one million pounds of products to food banks across the US. CNN did not want to take the chance that anyone would think well of Goya Foods after the CEO praised the President.

New York, and wherever the paper reaches. Recall that The New York Times apologized for the offense of publishing an Op-Ed by US Senator Tom Cotton, because black staff said the mere publication of the article made them feel unsafe. Peter Beinart, a left-wing writer and columnist, had an Op-Ed in the Times titled "I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State." Now he says that there should be one state - called Israel-Palestine consisting of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Beinart asserts that Jews would still have a homeland, just not a state. But you know what, just like the Democrats don't need the USA, they also don't see a need for Israel. 191 members of the Democratic caucus in the House signed a letter to Israeli leaders warning of serious repercussions in relations if they were to annex the Israeli communities across the so-called 1967 borders. 23 of the 25 Jewish House members signed the letter. Peter Beinart is also Jewish. (But Jews who will not defend Israel or their own people is a topic for another day.)

CNN. Do black lives really matter? Don Lemon has his own show on CNN. Recently, former NFL player turned actor, Terry Crews, was a guest on the show. Lemon was quite unhappy with Crews for daring to suggest that all black lives matter, with this Tweet: "#ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER 9 black CHILDREN killed by violence in Chicago since June 20,2020." How dare Crews insert the word "ALL" in his Tweet. Lemon made it clear that Black Lives Matter is about police brutality. It is not all encompassing. Oh no? So including LGBTQ rights, the Green New Deal, Palestine, canceling rent, defunding the police and other matters can be included - but not the killing of black children. I guess Lemon sure told Crews (who is also black).

Across the country. We've seen police be verbally assaulted. We saw the police forced out of their own station in Seattle in the CHAZ/CHOP. Now, police officers are being physically attacked and shot at across the country. Here are just a couple examples. In New York City, one officer was put in a headlock by a perpetrator. As my friend, a retired officer, likes to remind me, the danger is not just the assault, but the risk that the perpetrator can get the officer's gun. In Aurora, Colorado, police were trapped in their own station when people put chains on the doors. It was subsequently discovered that nearby were cans filled with gasoline. The police were trapped inside for 7 hours, during which time 911 calls went unanswered.

The New York Times, again. On July 11, there was an Op-Ed by professor Amna Akbar. After discussing defunding the police, and also discussing the Green New Deal, the professor turned to rents. "So when organizers make the demand to cancel rent, they are conjuring up a state whose primary allegiance is to people's needs instead of profit. The demand raises the possibility of a world where housing is an entitlement rather than a commodity. It aims to shift power from landlords to tenants, in the service of housing for all." No obligation to pay rent is the equivalent of taking the landlord's/owner's property. So private property is gone, and all housing becomes government housing. As I explained above, private property ownership is not valued by the left. Although, do not expect all the liberal homeowners to voluntarily give their property to those in need.

New York City, again. The Mayor (I need to be polite and not call him a stupid nut job) decided it was a good idea to paint "Black Lives Matter" in large yellow letters on Fifth Avenue right in front of the Trump Tower. Mayor De Blasio told Trump: "Black people built Fifth Avenue and so much of this nation - we are honoring them." No you are not, you moron. You are honoring a far left group that has a far left agenda. This was nothing other than a stunt to stick it to Trump, while you are defunding the NYPD, the premier police force in the world. You want to honor black lives? Then how about honoring the most vulnerable - children - killed by violence in your city and across the country. But those deaths are often caused by other blacks, so the Mayor can't be bothered about them.

The polls show Biden has a large lead on Trump. If Biden wins, the Democrats will likely maintain control of the House, and win back the Senate. That puts Biden, Pelosi and Schumer in charge. Biden recently told us that we "won't just rebuild this nation - we'll transform it." I get it. Socialism. Political group think - think like us or else. Rewrite history. Anti-Israel. Shut down businesses who refuse to follow the party line. Never allow opposing viewpoints to be uttered. One might argue I gave isolated examples. That's what "liberals" always tell me. But I'm talking about elected officials. I'm talking about the premier paper in the country, The New York Times, and one of the premier media outlets, CNN. And I'm talking about the Speaker of the House. These are people who drive the agenda. If they take over all the branches of government...well, as I said, we had a good run.