It seems that America is drifting further and further towards totalitarianism by the day. However, if you look at what is happening in Europe and Australia, it is clear that things can (and probably will) get much worse. While fighting the coronavirus has been the pretext for most of the recent thuggish government action, it certainly doesn’t account for all of it. Take this story from Sweden, for example.
From the article:
Sundquist, who is the most cited professor at her university regarding social research, is now being investigated for publishing an unauthorized research report, and may face prosecution for coming to the conclusion that the vast majority of rapes are committed by immigrants to the country.
Got that? An academic is being prosecuted in Sweden for publishing research. Not challenged. Not criticized. Not even cancelled. Criminally prosecuted for conducting and publishing “unauthorized” research. In Sweden, deviating from the State-approved “science” can actually land you in jail.
And what was the researchers big crime? Falsifying data? Defrauding their funders? Spreading (gasp) disinformation? Nope. In fact, nobody is calling their results into question in any way. The data they collected is totally valid. The conclusions drawn are sound. Their big crime was asking a question the Swedish government didn’t want their citizens to know the answer to.
“I don’t see anywhere that ethical permission is sought to test the hypothesis if immigrants are overrepresented in statistics on convicted rapists,” the body said. The scientists were also criticized for insufficient evaluation as they failed to indicate how their research should “reduce exclusion and improve integration.”
– Swedish Ministry of Truth (or whatever these tyrannical bastards actually call themselves)
Call my crazy, but it seems like a good way to “reduce exclusion and improve integration” would be for the immigrants to stop committing so many fucking rapes. SCIENCE!!!
The Swedish people aren’t stupid. They surely know why the number of rapes in their country has exploded in the last few years. But in true Orwellian fashion, it is forbidden to discuss. The Swedish bureaucrats have decided that taking in “disadvantaged” immigrants from Muslim countries is more important than the health and safety of the native citizens. And nobody is allowed to question that decision.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Western “democracies.” The Free World, indeed.
The superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools, Dr. Nikolai Vitti, is very concerned that the State of Michigan might pass a law banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory in K-12 education. With no elections coming up, the left can now stop pretending that CRT isn’t a real thing they are trying to ram down our throats.
Our curriculum is deeply using (sic) critical race theory, especially in social studies, but you’ll find it in English Language Arts and the other disciplines. We’re very intentional about creating a curriculum, infusing materials, and embedding critical race theory within our curriculum.
Dr. Nikolai Vitti – DPS superintendent (whose grammar skills suggest he could be a DPS graduate)
Detroit Public Schools have been a bad joke for my entire lifetime. If there actually were an institutional system of racism in America, Detroit Public Schools would have to be it’s headquarters. It is hard to imagine an institution that has done more to keep inner city black people down than DPS. Graduates are unable to do basic math, write a proper letter, or even read. In fact, students aren’t taught any of the basic skills needed to succeed in America. But at least they are properly indoctrinated in grievance politics.
Democrats got their clocks cleaned in the election a couple of weeks ago, where even a reliably Blue state like Virginia went Red. Part of the reason is undoubtedly the unmitigated cluster-fuck that was Joe Biden’s first year as “president.” But it was also due in large part to the left’s total embrace of Critical Race Theory and WOKE(!) political activism in K-12 education. It turns out even most Blue State parents don’t want their children indoctrinated with divisive and racist Marxist bullshit. Whoda thunk?
Far from learning their lesson, it sounds like the Democrats plan to double down for 2022. My reaction: Yes, please! Push your unhinged, divisive, and racist ideology even harder. Let Americans know what you really believe. Not all Democrats have their heads in the sand. Plenty of voices are raising the alarm bells.
But the loony left base of the party doesn’t want to hear it. CRT is central to their entire worldview. To the hard core progressives, Critical Race Theory isn’t a racist and divisive ideology with no relation whatsoever to reality, designed to tear the country apart and collapse our institutions and culture. Critical Race Theory is just historical fact that the evil white supremacists want to perpetuate. To them, it is the ugly truth about America’s inherent racism that white people want to hide from their own children. Or a racist dog whistle that isn’t even taught at all. Or both at the same time. Logical consistency was never the left’s strong point.
A recent Business Insider article explores the Democrats’ thinking on CRT. The article starts off with a predictable trope. That this isn’t even a real issue at all, and the problem Democrats have is just messaging and fighting off Republican smears. The CRT debate has nothing to do with actual policy, they claim.
They’ve called it a “racist dog whistle” and a “lie.” But those messages haven’t helped Democrats tamp down the uproar Republicans are fueling over “critical race theory,” now a misused catch-all term for teaching on race and diversity in K-12 schools that’s firing up protests at school board meetings around the country.
And of course, they had to do the obligatory gas-lighting, describing CRT as “a misused catch-all term.” Nobody gives a fuck if CRT as used in the common vernacular is different from the original legal theory of Derrick Bell. When people talk about CRT, everybody understands exactly what it is they are objecting to (or advocating for.) Playing silly semantic word games is just a pathetic attempt to change the subject and shut down any debate.
In Virginia, Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin exploited the term and pledged to “ban” it in classrooms on his first day as governor, even though critical race theory — an academic approach to examining racial bias — is most often taught in law schools. Republicans plan to lean into the issue in the 2022 election cycle.
Well, they would be stupid not to lean into the issue in 2022. Especially if the Democrats are dumb enough to double down on it.
Democratic strategists say the party should hit back harder against “divisive” GOP claims while not losing sight of the priority for voters; the economy.
LOL. Democrats want to teach elementary school kids that their country is racist to it’s core, and that all the white kids are oppressors and all the POC kids are oppressed. But it is the Republicans that are “divisive.” Projection, thy name is Democrat.
Democrats haven’t yet pushed back on this issue enough, but the “good news” is the party’s response is effective and there’s time to make the case before the 2022 elections, said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist. They just need to make the case “relentlessly,” he said.
Great insight! The problem with CRT adherents is that they aren’t relentless enough. If only they weren’t so calm and reserved, they could be more effective in getting their message out. I can see why this guy is a professional “strategist.”
“Voters run from the Republicans when Democrats peel back the onion on what these claims really mean,” he said. “It’s not just that Republicans want a bigger role for parents in education, it’s that Republicans are willing to let White supremacists write curricula.”
In addition to being relentless, progressives need to call out concerned parents as racists. That is a sure way to win back their votes. Of course. It all makes such perfect sense now. This guy is a political genius.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House campaign arm for Democrats, downplayed the threat to the party in congressional races. This fall, they tested responses to false claims about critical race theory in K-12 schools. The messages they say resonate most with battleground voters: Democrats want to teach the truth about US history and honor those who fought to make the country better
So the DCCC believes that better gas-lighting will fix everything. The Democrats main problem is that the claims about CRT in K-12 schools are not false at all. Parents can see the books and homework their children bring home. They can see what their kids are being force fed. And they don’t like it. But you Dems just keep telling yourselves that it is only a “messaging” problem.
Democrats keep insisting that teaching CRT is just teaching history. And they seem to actually believe it. They believe their warped perception of America is objective truth. They have convinced themselves that it is everyone else who is racist. The ones who can’t help but notice that it is progressive Democrats who make literally everything about race. And the ones who oppose the actual Webster’s Dictionary-type of racism going on in the here in now, instead of inventing new ways for benign things to be racist.
While it might be amusing to see the Democrats take an ass-whooping of Biblical proportions in 2022, the toxicity of WOKE(!)ness on American society should not be underestimated. The long term effects, especially on impressionable young minds, will resonate for decades. And in fact, that is exactly what the progressive left is counting on. This shit has got to end.
Closing arguments have concluded in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. His fate will now be decided by a jury. If there is any justice, they will move quickly to acquit Mr. Rittenhouse. The prosecution utterly failed to produce any credible evidence that Rittenhouse was not acting in self defense at any time during the shootings in Kenosha last year. And that isn’t due to incompetence or a lack of evidence. There were multiple videos of the entire incident recorded from multiple angles. They couldn’t prove Rittenhouse was not acting in self defense because it simply isn’t true. In fact, if there were less evidence the prosecution would have been able to make a more compelling case. Based on the plethora of evidence that does exists, this case should have never even been brought to trial.
But it was brought to trial. The media and the left had a pre-written narrative that explained it all. Kyle was a white supremacist (zero evidence) who opposes racial justice (zero evidence) and was angry at the protesters (contradicted by evidence) and murdered some of them at random in cold blood (contradicted by the evidence.) To the media and the left, the case is that simple. The protesters/rioters were the good guys. Anyone who opposed their destruction and mayhem was bad. Their template is straight out of the Critical Race Theory playbook. It goes like this: The white “victims” shot by Kyle were protesting for Black Lives Matter. (Or so the narrative goes. The fact they were actually just criminals who enjoy burning shit up doesn’t really matter. In the narrative, they were virtuous white allies of the BLM movement.) Kyle was not out supporting Black Lives Matter. In fact, he was impeding the BLM protestors from expressing their righteous anger (via burning cars.) Kyle was not being “anti-racist.” Therefore, his actions were racist. And racists have no right to self defense. Anyone involved in what is essentially a hate crime (according to CRT) has already committed “violence” and can not possibly be justified in defending himself. Since he is already by definition the aggressor. So the left and the media (BIRM) already know Kyle is guilty because of what side he was on. The actual facts of the case don’t even matter. To the left, they are just a distraction from the bigger picture. The prosecution of Kyle Rittenhouse is a purely political prosecution.
Unfortunately for the prosecution, there is clear video evidence that everyone Kyle Rittenhouse shot at that night was actively assaulting him. The defense has seemingly pinned their hopes on convincing the jury that Rittenhouse somehow provoked the attacks on him. There is a mountain of evidence that contradicts this fantasy. And the only evidence offered up in support was a blurry photo that was digitally “enhanced” (aka altered.) The defense also spent plenty of time impugning the character of Rittenhouse to the jury. The made him out to be a wanna-be hero. A cos-play crusader who exaggerated his own accomplishments and skills while inserting himself into a situation he wasn’t really equipped to handle. Which is completely true. But irrelevant. The fact that 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse was ill-advised to be in the middle of a riot in the first place in no way justified the rioters attacking him. Or stripped Rittenhouse of the right to defend himself when they did. But it does make Kyle seem less sympathetic. And to some jurors, that can make all the difference.
I reviewed some of the video evidence when it first came out last year. At the time, I thought Huber and Grosskreutz were clear cases of self defense. The only one that I thought might be iffy was the first incident because Rosenbaum wasn’t armed, we couldn’t see the actual shooting, and there was some missing context. Since then, it has come out that Rosenbaum was a convicted child rapist who spent a long time in prison. Which doesn’t mean you can shoot him, but it certainly speaks to his character and potential for violence. Rosenbaum was released from a mental institution earlier that very day. Rosenbaum is seen in multiple videos being belligerent and threatening the people protecting the car dealership. We know Rosenbaum specifically threatened to kill Kyle and his buddies, on at least two separate occasions that night, if he caught any of them alone. We know he stalked Rittenhouse and tried to ambush him when Kyle was isolated from his group. We know that Kyle tried to flee from Rosenbaum rather than confront him. We know that Rosenbaum chased Kyle down the street and across a parking lot. We know that Rosenbaum was able to run faster and catch up to Kyle. With new video angles that weren’t released until the trial, we can see that Kyle only turns to face Rosenbaum when he is only a couple of feet away. Kyle continues to back-peddle to get away from Rosenbaum as they pass between the cars. We know that another man was pursuing the pair and fired a shot into the air a couple of seconds before the fatal encounter. We know from the video and eyewitness testimony that after Kyle spun around Rosenbaum screamed “Fuck you!” and lunged forward to grab Kyle’s rifle. We know the first shot hit Rosenbaum’s hand at point blank range, consistent with him trying to grab the gun. And that Kyle fired 3 more times in rapid succession as Rosenbaum continued towards him. The first 3 shots hit Rosenbaum from the front, with one shattering his pelvis. The last shot hit Rosenbaum in the back from above as he was falling forward towards Kyle. The prosecution made a big deal about the final shot to the back. A shot to the back always looks bad when you are claiming self defense. However, given the video evidence, it is perfectly understandable. The whole incident happens incredibly fast. Watch the video at full speed and see for yourself. The second or third shot shattered Rosenbaum’s pelvis and would have definitely ended any threat he was to Kyle. However, in the dark and moving fast, Kyle would have no idea what kind of damage he had done to Rosenbaum. Even at that close distance, two of the first 3 shots did only superficial damage. It is ridiculous to think Rittenhouse could know Rosenbaum was disabled and going down instead of getting low to tackle him within a fraction of a second under those circumstances. In concealed carry classes, students are taught that they are justified to keep firing as long as the attacker is still an imminent threat to them. To me, that is unquestionably what Mr. Rittenhouse did in this instance.
The prosecutor also made a big deal about the firearm Rittenhouse used being an AR-15. This was clearly an attempt to capitalize on the propaganda campaign the left has waged against the AR-15, labeling it a weapon of war. In fact, the ADA made the argument that just having the rifle on his person was a reckless and provocative act by Rittenhouse. He also made a lot of statements that were just firearms illiterate. He claimed that the AR-15 was a “large caliber rifle.” In fact the opposite is true. The .22 caliber bullet fired by the AR-15 is one of the smallest available. He bizarrely claimed that the Glock pistol Grosskreutz pointed at his head wasn’t a threat because Rittenhouse’s AR-15 was so much more powerful. This is stupid on so many levels. Actually, at smell-each-others-breath distances, the person with the Glock probably has a slight tactical advantage. The rate of fire for the Glock is the same as an AR-15 (i.e. as fast as you can pull the trigger.) Being smaller and lighter, the Glock is arguably easier to maneuver and quicker to get on target and fire at very close range. Sure, the rifle round has more energy and will tend to cause more damage all else being equal, but at that distance either bullet is going to cause massive injuries. Getting shot with either one will ruin your day. A 9mm pistol round to the melon would almost certainly be instantaneously incapacitating and most likely fatal. To say Grosskreutz wasn’t a threat is beyond asinine. Aiming and accuracy at long distances is where the AR-15 would dominate. If they were in a fire fight separated by 30 yards, then yes, huge tactical advantage to the black rifle. At hand-shaking distance, neither one is going to miss. It was all going to come down to who could fire first. In addition to the rifle, the prosecutor also demonized the ammunition used, repeatedly emphasizing it was “full metal jacket” and implying that makes it exotic and somehow extra dangerous. All it means is that the lead core of the bullet is fully encased in copper. The main benefit is that it greatly reduces the amount of toxic lead left behind in the gun’s barrel. There is nothing sinister about full metal jacketed bullets, whatsoever. Almost every single type of plinking and target round available is full metal jacket, whether it is for rifle or a handgun. About the only widely available cartridge that could not be described as “full metal jacket” would be a hollow/soft point round for self defense/hunting. (You can only imagine how over the top the demonization of that kind of ammo would have been.) But “full metal jacket” sounds scary and exotic to the uninformed. There is even an uber-violent war movie with the same title to add to the fear-mongering. It is hard to imagine a prosecutor could be so ignorant about guns. His demagoguing was almost certainly a cynical attempt to capitalize on any anti-gun sentiments the jurors might harbor.
Based on the evidence, Rittenhouse should go home a free man tomorrow. I think he probably will. But you never know what a jury is going to do (see the O.J. Simpson case for a particularly egregious example.) The Rittenhouse prosecutors obviously knew their case sucked. Instead of making a coherent argument for Rittenhouse’s guilt, they used an everything-but-the-kitchen sink approach. Throwing every random angle they could think of against the wall in the hope that something would stick. All they need is one of their diversions to resonate with one of the jurors, and they will at least win another shot to re-litigate their case. When the facts aren’t on your side, it’s not a bad approach. In fact, it’s exactly what O.J. Simpson’s defense team did. There was no way the Dream Team could possibly explain away all of the evidence against O.J. in a plausible and logically consistent manner. But Cochran & Co. could poke holes in each piece of evidence individually, as if it existed in a vacuum. It is also worth noting that the prosecutors in the Rittenhouse case weren’t above bending the rules, either. Winning trumps justice, especially when the spotlight is on, I guess.
A 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist drove across state lines, armed with an AR 15.
He shot and killed 2 people who had assembled to affirm the value, dignity, and worth of Black lives.
Lastly, you can not dismiss the tremendous pressure the jury is under to reach the “correct” verdict. They have all certainly been exposed to at least some of the left’s heated rhetoric over the last year. Even the President of the United States has openly denounced Kyle as a white supremacist. Then there is the looming threat of violence. Both to their city and to themselves. The Judge even had to warn the jurors that someone was taking video of them on a break.
Based on the facts, this case should have been laughed out of court. Hopefully it will ultimately be decided on the facts, and not on prejudice, emotion, and politics. I have my doubts.
Update
As of noon Wednesday, still no verdict from the jury. They have been deliberating for quite some time now, which is not a good sign for the defense. The longer this goes on, the more likely the result will be either a hung jury or a guilty verdict on at least some of the charges. I keep thinking back to the O.J. Simpson trial. For sure, prosecutors Marcia Clarke and Chris Darden made some mistakes during the actual trial itself. But they really lost the case before the trial even began when they essentially allowed the defense to hand-pick the jury. Their naïve belief was that the evidence they would present would be so overwhelming, that any jury would vote to convict. They foolishly thought the OJ trial would serve as an example of how the police/prosecutors and citizens of L.A. could work together and re-establish the trust that had been shattered by the Rodney King incident.
Juries are supposed to rule based on facts, evidence, and the law. Not on emotion and personal bias. But juries are made up of human beings. And humans have an uncanny knack for rationalizing away facts to reach the conclusions they prefer. In all areas of life, not just the law. The National Guard being on the scene in anticipation of more rioting if the mob doesn’t like the verdict doesn’t lend to impartial thinking, either. We shall see how this turns out. Right now it doesn’t look to good for the cause of justice.
Update #2
The verdict is finally in: not guilty on all counts. This is a good day for the right to defend oneself and the rule of law in general. It will be interesting to see if we ever find out why the deliberation took so long. The leftist freak-outs occurring all over the media and internet are irrational, unhinged, and totally expected. Thank God the case was decided on facts, evidence, and the law. And not by feelings, tribalism, messages that need to be sent to the militant right, social justice, equity, white supremacy, or any of the other nonsense the mob thinks should trump the constitutional rights of a fellow citizen. Heck, even this Bernie Bro gets it. He might be my new favorite lefty.
Finally, the conduct of the DA’s office was nothing short of shameful. Kenosha voters would be wise to clean house next election cycle. A year ago, I identified the mayor and governor as the real villains in this story. The evidence that has surfaced since then has only confirmed that impression. Sympathetic politicians across the nation let the left wing mob burn and loot their cities, without regard for the danger and hardship suffered by their own citizens. If the politicians had simply let the police and the national guard do their job, none of this would have ever happened.
Remember a few years back when the financial crisis in Greece was in the news? The Greeks, not known for their strong work ethic, were struggling to succeed in the new unified economy. And because they were tied to the Euro instead of having their own currency, there was nothing they could do on the monetary policy side to help save their sinking economy. The Greeks were basically at the mercy of the Germans to bail them out. And the German government demanded harsh austerity measures be imposed on the Greek citizenry in return. The Greeks, feeling entitled if not particularly motivated to work, were outraged by this imposed austerity. They took to the streets and staged massive protests against this government imposed austerity.
I remember thinking to myself how pathetic and impotent those protesters looked. Despite their huge numbers and bluster, they were completely helpless to change their situation. Like millions of tiny plankton drifting with the currents and tide. And I remember thanking God that I was born in a free country where my success or failure isn’t decided by a bunch of government bureaucrats. That I was an American, a free citizen in charge of my own destiny. Able to rise as far as my talents and ambitions would allow. Free to chose the kind of life I wanted to live.
To the globalist left, and their adherents in the Democratic Party, the level of autonomy afforded to American citizens is problematic. They believe that Americans produce and consume too many goods and use too many resources. That our (relatively) unregulated and unguided free market economy encourages mindless overproduction and consumption. That we need to reign in our lifestyles, make do with less material wealth, and live in a more equitable and sustainable manner. And that the government should impose the necessary changes whether the citizens agree or not (spoiler alert: they don’t.)
This ideology of globalist collectivism is now ubiquitous on the American left and permeates the platform of the Democrat Party. From turning our economy over to EU climate bureaucrats, to allowing massive immigration from 3rd world countries, to thwarting domestic energy production, to mandating the kind of car you must drive and the types of food you may eat. The left wants to fundamentally transform America into something unrecognizable and decidedly less free. A perfect example of this type of thinking is this recent article in Bloomberg. The author pushes all of the criticisms of American values and culture that make the globalist left smile.
The author starts out by mocking Americans’ expectation to be able to just go to a store and buy the goods and services they desire. Citizens of other countries can make do without. Why should Americans be so privileged? I’m sure it has something to do with racism or white supremacy. Ugly Americans!
But suddenly, Americans can’t spend like they used to. Store shelves are emptying, and it can take months to find a car, refrigerator or sofa. If this continues, we may need to learn to do without — and, horrors, live more like the Europeans.
In addition to your cars and food, your home is another problematic issue for the left. Why do Americans need such large homes? And air conditioning, even in the Northern States? Really? Starting with Obama’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing push, the American left has started to wage a stealth war on the suburbs. The people must be forced into right-sized dwellings in the big cities to keep them from taking up too much space and traveling excessively. Sustainability demands it. SCIENCE!!!
And these numbers reflect big changes in Americans’ lifestyle. The average U.S. home was 1,700 square feet in 1980, by 2015 it was 2,000 square feet, even though the number of people in the average household shrank. In 1980, 15% of households didn’t have a TV, now only about 3% don’t. In 2015, 40% of American households had three or more TVs, including 30% of households earning less than $40,000 a year! In 1980, only 13% of households had 2 or more refrigerators, in 2015 30% did — including many low-earning households.
Compare and Contrast the Messages of the Two Parties
The author then switches to the supply chain debacle which was caused by government ineptitude and mismanagement of the covid pandemic. The supply chain was just fine for many years with similar levels of consumer demand. It was politicians, not overconsumption, that broke it. And since it is Bloomberg, the author can’t admit that it was Donald Trump who renegotiated trade deals and applied tariffs which were wildly successful at bringing manufacturing back to America. She claims the Biden Administration (turns head/spits) intends to expand the policy. Call me skeptical given the “smart set” in DC have been against both for decades. If President Poopy Pants does continue Trump’s policies, he will undoubtedly do it in a stupid and counterproductive way.
The pandemic revealed vulnerabilities of this hyper-efficient global market. Ports are backed up causing shortages — for the first time in many Americans’ lives. The odds are that eventually the port issues will be resolved (we hope). But there are reasons to believe the age of over-abundance is over. Even before the pandemic the U.S. government offered more subsidies and imposed more tariffs to encourage companies to produce more goods domestically, and the Biden administration wants to expand the effort to promote resilency (sic).
“Do it for the children” used to be the refrain when some busy-body wanted to shame you into acting in a way that they approve of. Nowadays they use “Do it for the planet.” I’m going to take the first piece of advice in telling leftists like the author to go to hell. I want my children to inherit the liberty that our forefathers left for us. The planet will be just fine.
Finally, if we are truly serious about protecting the planet, being a good global citizen will take more than driving an electric car or installing solar panels. It means consuming less so that we throw less away. Maybe that means getting by with only one refrigerator or avoiding fast, disposable fashion.
This next paragraph is a howler. Bummed about having zero freedom, being crammed into a tiny urban apartment, with few possessions and a carefully rationed allotment of energy? No problem. Just take a long bike ride!
Americans tend to overspend or buy cheap substitutes rather than save up for longer-lasting, better-quality goods. That’s a function of the accessibility of cheap goods, of having more space to store our purchases, and also of a culture where buying stuff feeds the empty part of our souls. European souls are not necessarily more fulfilled, they just find other, more eco-friendly ways to shut out the darkness — like going on a long bike ride.
Take this as a warning middle America. The globalist left is coming for you. Hard. Our ancestors fought off the most powerful military in the world to secure our liberties… many of whom went to battle without even having proper shoes. The least we can do is fend off a bunch of pencil-necked authoritarian technocrats for the next generation.
Bill Maher is an old school liberal. He likes big government social programs. And he generally finds Republicans to be dumb and cruel. In short, he is exactly the kind of guy who used to feel right at home in the Democrat Party.
However, Maher still genuinely believes in classical liberal principles. He values free speech over safe spaces and censorship. He thinks we should strive to be color blind as a society instead of dividing ourselves up by skin tone. He believes socialism sucks. And he loves America. The actual America that exists today, not some progressive fantasy of what it could be. These all used to be mainstream values in the Democrat Party. Unfortunately for Maher, and those like him, these ideas are anathema to the progressives who now control the party.
Which is why Maher has been getting attacked by the left recently, and hilariously accused of “shifting right” in his politics.
To me, when people say to me sometimes, like, ‘Boy, you know, you go after the left a lot these days. Why?’ Because you’re embarrassing me!
– Bill Maher
Democrats are all on board for socialism now. Just stick the “democratic” modifier in front of the word “socialism”, and it’s internal contradictions and legacy of failure and suffering are magically erased! It wasn’t that long ago that Nancy Pelosi was mocking AOC’s Green New Deal as the “green dream.” Pelosi understood that it was economically and scientifically illiterate, as well as politically poisonous. Now it is part of the mainstream Democratic platform. I don’t think Pelosi suddenly discovered the brilliance of the Squad’s insane manifesto. She bowed to the political reality that the crazies run the show for the Democrats now.
Critical Race Theory and WOKE(!) politics are also part of the mainstream Democratic platform now. The propaganda arm of the Democrat Party (i.e. the media) understands how unpopular these toxic and racist ideologies are. That is why they refuse to acknowledge they even exist and are being implemented all across the country. But the young Democrat base believes in them fervently, so the leadership can’t denounce them. So instead, they gaslight and obfuscate.
There were some grumblings from the moderates after the shellacking the Dems took a couple weeks ago in Virginia. Many of whom blame WOKE(!) politics for provoking their ass kicking. But the Party will continue down the path it is on. All of the moderates in the Democrat Party are fossils. All of the young blood in the party are hard-left progressives. That’s where the energy is. That’s what the future leadership will look like.
Both sides always say that it is the other guys who have gotten more radical. Democrats constantly accuse Republicans of it, and vice versa. It’s mostly a diversionary tactic to convince voters you’re willing to work with the other side, but the current crop is just to crazy to deal with. But in this case, I think it is obvious the Democrats really have taken an abrupt and dramatic lunge to the left over the past decade or so. Bill Maher hasn’t changed. His opinions and attitudes are indistinguishable from a decade ago. When Barak Obama was campaigning for the presidency, he declared that marriage was between a man and woman. Were any Democrat to make that claim today they would be canceled, not just for being homophobic, but for implying that there are only two genders. And Bill Clinton? He would be burned at the stake if he were judged by todays WOKE(!) standards.
I don’t think you can say the same about Republicans. The styles and demeanors of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump are polar opposites. But on policy, there is barely a dimes worth of difference between the two. If decorum and civility are all that you care about, then I would totally agree Republicans have become more coarse over the last few years. But if policy and vision are what matters, it is the Democrats who have shifted radically. I personally don’t give a shit about respect and civility when it comes to politicians and their media lackeys. They deserve neither. DC is a cesspool of corruption, incompetence, and depravity and should be treated as such.
Maher and the other old school liberals can complain all they want, but the Democrat Party is not coming back to classical liberalism. Whether he realizes it or not, Maher is the one who is out of touch with the mainstream. The WOKE(!) progressives are the mainstream of the Democrats now. The Party has gone all in on progressivism. His logical appeals for a return to sanity won’t phase the radicals. They will just be dismissed as more reactionary “whiteness” that needs to be stamped out. And when the gulags are built, Bill Maher’s name will be near the top of the re-education list.
The right-o-sphere is making hay about an awkward comment Joe Biden made during a Veteran’s Day speech.
The gotcha phrase everyone is pouncing on is “attitude of the great Negro… at the time… pitcher in the Negro Leagues”, by claiming Biden was referring to a black man as a “great negro.” Which would certainly be politically incorrect.
It seems pretty obvious, to me at least, that Biden was trying to convey that the great pitcher Satchel Paige played in the old Negro Leagues, which is just a historical fact. And because he is a dementia-riddled stuttering old dumbass, the words came sputtering out of his clueless face as a string of out-of-sequence broken sentence fragments. Which is yet more evidence that Biden is a dementia-riddled stuttering old dumbass. Not that he is a racist. Trying to turn it into something more than that is exactly the kind of cheap ploy the left uses constantly to smear the right as racist.
One of Saul Alinksy’s 12 rules for radicals was to “make the enemy live up to it’s own book of rules.” By that standard, we should absolutely make the left walk on pins and needles when it comes to race. And interpret everything they say and do through the prism of racism, while always assuming the worst. The problem with that tactic is it means you are no better than they are. It feeds into racial divisions instead of healing them. And it makes you sound as stupid and unhinged as they do.
Joe Biden is one of the most loathsome human beings on the planet. There are a myriad of legitimate, and dire, reasons to criticize and oppose him. We don’t need to invent bogus ones. Let’s be better than that.
Tucker Carlson is about the only cable news program I will watch anymore. The rest are just predictable corporate garbage or shameless political hacks. Tucker covers stories that are important to Americans that most other media won’t touch. He shows the appropriate amount of respect for DC politicians and media (i.e. zero.) And he delivers with a biting sarcastic tone. Tucker also usually provides inciteful commentary to go along with his schtick. Last night, he highlighted a ridiculous video that Microsoft prepared for it’s own employees. Each participant in the video bizarrely describes their own physical appearance before they begin speaking. Allegedly, to accommodate blind people. Why a blind person would need to know the physical appearance of a stranger feeding them corporate pabulum is left unclear. Perhaps so they know which intersectional group to assign the speaker to. Anyways, Tucker (rightly) makes fun of the clownish video. And then chalks it up to corporations competing to see who can be the most WOKE!
I think Tucker missed the mark a little on his analysis this time. Most corporations are still primarily focused on keeping their revenue stream going and turning a profit. Just like always. One of the things that can disrupt that flow of cash is to run afoul of the WOKE! mob. Doing so can result in bad press and boycotts, both of which are bad for business. And the WOKE! mob is nothing if not unpredictable, loud, and relentless. The slightest transgression can set them off. And once their focus is on you, they won’t let up until the next unfortunate target stumbles in and replaces you in their crosshairs.
So how do corporations try to insulate themselves? By creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department, of course. These WOKE! departments are generally headed by a younger person who got a useless degree in gender/queer/whatever studies. This person will generally know nothing about the actual business they are part of. Their small department will generally operate on a tiny budget and have zero impact on how the business actually runs. They don’t have the knowledge or skills to contribute anything worthwhile. But they still need to feel like they contribute something in order to justify their phony-baloney jobs. And that is why you get things like the ridiculous, and pointless, Microsoft video above. (BTW, Tucker interviewed a guest on his show after showing the video. The way he described his own physical appearance before speaking was pretty hilarious. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any video of it.)
My own perception is that while a few corporations actually do enthusiastically embrace WOKE! politics, most just fake it. Their only goal is to keep the WOKE! mob of scolds off of their back. Appeasing the mob is easier and less costly than standing up to it. If you are going to point the finger at anyone for the proliferation of stupid WOKENESS!, blame the online activist mobs and the Universities that keep churning out graduates with garbage degrees and zero practical skills. The corporations are more gutless than WOKE!
I love, love, love this story. A truck driver with zero political experience has just defeated the president of the New Jersey Senate. That in itself is the best news to come out of Tuesday’s election. And the cherry on top? He spent just $153 on his campaign!!! I always figured that if things got bad enough, the low information voters would be forced to wake up and actually pay attention instead of mindlessly voting the way big tech and the media tells them to. This is proof positive that it can be done. The machinery of the political class can be defeated. And money can’t always buy an office. There is still hope.
Update
Oops. Sounds like all the reports claiming he only spent $153 on his campaign are wrong. He only spent $153 on his primary campaign. Sounds like he actually spent about $5,000 on his general campaign. Still chump change for a political campaign, though.
Politics / By Matt
/ November 4, 2021 November 4, 2021
Tucker Carlson made a point last night that I have long believed and wanted to expound on a bit. Carlson stated, in a very concise and explicit way, that politics is an inside game to the political class. They believe that only members of their exclusive club have the right to hold the reins of power. That you must earn your way in through the accepted channels (Harvard, Yale Law, etc.), and follow the rules of the club to participate. And that the general public places a subservient role.
Though they won’t admit it, one of the things the political class really hated about Trump was that he wasn’t a member of the political class. Worse yet, he didn’t want to be. In fact he openly mocked and disrespected them. The fact that a commercial developer and former reality TV star could waltz in and win the Presidency really rankled their drawers. The fact that Trump didn’t listen to them and their collective “wisdom”, yet was wildly successful, just pissed them off even more. Trump would kill the economy they said. Yet the economy boomed and unemployment reached historical lows. Trump was insane to kill Soleimani and World War III was coming they assured us. And Iran suddenly became very quiet. He was at first provoking Kim Jong-un, then later in his term coddling the Korean dictator they complained. Yet the nuclear stand-off that seemed inevitable when Obama left office never materialized. Tariffs are stupid and our allies won’t renegotiate any trade deals they proclaimed. And Trump brought manufacturing back to America. A wall is silly they protested. And yet border crossings plummeted. And the list goes on and on. Trump was even nominated 3 times for Nobel Peace Prizes for working to normalize relations between Israel and it’s Arab neighbors. Something former Secretary of State and rotting zombie look-alike John Kerry swore could never ever happen until we kissed the Palestinians asses. Every single time the “smart set” said something Trump was doing would lead to disaster, it ended up working brilliantly. They had no answer. Only a perfectly timed once-in-a-century pandemic could stop all the winning and give the political class the window they needed to oust him. And even then, they still had to cheat.
Trump shone a bright spotlight on the political class, and exposed just how truly corrupt and incompetent they really are. And they hated him for it. The Presidency is the pinnacle of success that the political class dreams of achieving. They place the office on a pedestal. And a crass real estate developer easily snatched it up and showed them all up in doing it, seemingly on a lark. They can hide behind all the pomp and circumstance, the elaborate buildings, the fancy clothes, and the swooning media fan-boys. But once the curtain is pulled back and the truth is exposed, you can’t un-see it.
