Headlines

It’s Kamala’s party now

U.S. weekly jobless claims jump back above 1 million

Continued school closures are linked to union influence, not science

Portland riots continue during DNC, ICE offices, police attacked

Russian opposition figure Navalny in coma after poisoning

Coronavirus live updates: Teachers threaten strikes in Detroit and NYC, WHO warns of resurgence in Europe

At least two DNC meetings ship ‘under God’ in pledge of allegiance

Kamala so woke: ‘There is no vaccine for racism’ ...

U.S. will trigger ‘snapback’ mechanism to reimpose Iran sanctions

U.S. and China to hold trade talks in the coming days, Chinese commerce ministry says

After 400+ canceled orders, Boeing receives first 737 MAX order for 2020

Barack Obama abandons hope and change in DNC speech

STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Quotable Quote

My wife found the following on Facebook ... and it was so on the money, I had to share it. I hope its author, George R. Halsey, a friend of a friend, doesn’t mind. ...

“I understand what it means but I wonder if racism really benefits the racists. It’s really a great burden. For 90% of the white people in the south who could not own slaves or large amounts of real estate, slavery meant poverty for white people. In the North it benefits no one I believe. There is a political group who stoke up racism among disadvantaged whites to make sure they look for solutions in the wrong direction and not where the power is.”

Interestingly, one of the reasons that Abraham Lincoln’s father was an abolitionist was that he could not find work in the slave-state Kentucky and had to move his family to Illinois.

STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Afterward: There is an interesting parallel between the reaction to slavery ... and the push back against very cheap Chinese labor arising out of globalism. Me thinks things are not over yet.

Virtue Signaling

I hesitate to point this out, in the midst of our current racial hysteria, that the “noose” that was found on the only black NASCAR driver, Bubba Wallace’s garage stall at the Taladega Speedway over last weekend was nothing more than a garage door pull-down rope ... the same as was found on all the other garage stalls for the white drivers ... see: Conservative Treehouse Entry.

The unanimous hand-wringing response to this obvious overblown normality seems like nothing more than a opportunity to virtue signal by the other NASCAR drivers ... since they must all realize the actuality of this event.

In other words, to have pointed out the truth, like above, would have labeled one a “racist” by much of our manic media. So what does one do?

Understandably, just go along to get along. Kinda like the passive crowd standing around, watching the Salem witches being burned at the stake.

Afterward: Pity the poor maintenance person who put up that particular garage door pull-down ... maybe even years ago.

Letter to a Young Friend

Xxxxxx,

Last week we all had a “conversation” about racism and white privilege. You just experienced what growing up is all about ... the give and take about ideas and opinions. You will have many of these conversations ... even arguments in your lifetime (not many more with us, however) and, both Jeanette and I were impressed with your passion and your grasp of the salient points. Are we right ... or are you right? The answer to this question is not as important as your (and our) allowing for the free exchange of ideas. It is only when the opposites in such dialectics (the Socratic Method) refuse to listen to each other’s point of view, that things go down hill.

We think that you made your points with force and, you may not realize it now, but the two of us agreed with about 90% of what you said. Take the time to try to absorb what we were saying ... and once you do ... and then still reject it ... we will understand and admire you even more.

(A good test of whether you understand our position is, if you can, without agreeing with it, restate it effectively in your own words ... again that Socratic thing.)

All our best,

George and Jeanette

A Cool Head

I realize it is not cool to have a cool head amongst all the boiling-hot emotion surrounding the George Floyd henious murder in Minneapolis recently. But, that’s who I am and I must live with it.

To summarize my uncool cool-headed thoughts:

- There is no question that George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin in a particularly grisly and unforgivable way ... as the whole world could see from multiple bystander videos ... and that they have concluded that this murder was racially motivated.

- Because these two men knew each other for a year or more ... and because one of the other three policemen there was black ... there is reason to suspect that the motive for this murder could have been other than racial animus. We may never know this until Chauvin’s trial many months from now ... if ever.

- But the initial reaction of the Minneapolis police department and legal authorities there was suspiciously wrong-headed ... trying to minimize Chauvin’s culpability ... again fanning the flames of injustice.

- Be that as it may, the general perception that this was a racial incident has reopened this societal wound ... causing an enormous emotional outpouring determined to remedy prejudice against blacks once and for all ... particularly in law enforcement ... clearly a just cause ... which has resulted in mass demonstrations.

- Early on, these peaceful protests were hijacked by politically-motivated riots, opportunistic looting and misguided hot-headed anarchists ... which unfortunately besmirched the purpose of these demonstrations ... creating the cultural and political divide in which we now find ourselves immersed ... and motivating many solutions.

- Some of these solutions are obviously unworkable ... trying to either eliminate police departments entirely ... or severely limit their ability to enforce the laws (such as “taking a knee” in front of protesters) ... many of which, if enacted, will not produce happy results ... particularly within minority communities.

Bottom line: Societies seem to need to engage in such hot-headed group catharses periodically. I can’t find my way to participate ... for which I most likely will be burned at the stake.

Headlines

Fringe groups point finger back at Trump, Democrats

GDP is now projected to fall nearly 53% in the second quarter, according to Fed gauge

Police chief: I knelt to show black lives matter ...

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer: Trump ‘cowardly, weak anddangerous’

Episcopal bishop says Trump’s message is ‘antithetical to the teachings of Jesus’

Coronavirus: Tokyo issues stay-home alert, Canada film industry seeks government support

Cops drop to knee before protesters ... Troops gather around DC ...

St. Louis police: 4 officers shot in overnight riots

FoxNews’ Tucker Carlson goes after Trump and Kushner over protests

Civil rights leaders say they’re are ‘disappointed and stunned’ after call with Facebook’s Zuckerberg

Cop shot in the head on Vegas strip ...

Left rips New York Times over front page: ‘Endorsement of fascism’

The Debate

I tortured myself last night by watching about an hour of the final Democrat debate in New Hampshire. What a bunch of myopic nothingness! I swear that the only candidate that was not embarrassingly pandering to “blacks, browns and people of color” was Amy Klobuchar (well maybe a little.) I must have heard the word “racism” snarled a hundred times. 

The rest of the arm-waving rhetoric was centered around various schemes to extract more tax money or silly ways to spend it. Do any of these candidates think beyond our shores ... or other than how to get minorities to vote for them? What about China’s hegemomy, federal deficits, stopping illegal immigration, entitlement spending, Muslim extremism, North Korea and Iran nukes, economic growth strategies, NATO policies, Middle East peace, etc.

One would think that the sun rises and sets on a very few domestic issues ... mostly of the vote-buying nature. What a waste of TV viewers’ time. The Democrats need to do something drastic if they don’t want to be swept away in November!

Racism

Accusing someone of racism on scant or no evidence ... or merely to enjoy political leverage ... displays an animus that is as immoral as actually being a racist itself. — Anon.

Headlines

Joe Biden bets it all on the Obama coalition

North Korea wants to denuclearize but wants guarantees, Putin says after Kim talks

DHS releasing 1,400 illegals into USA every day ...

Bernie campaign chair comes out against voting rights for terrorists

‘Racism and sexism’: Women of color slam white male tilt of Dem primary

Tesla misses big on first-quarter earnings as demand fell for its electric cars

Shock poll: Biden opens up 8-point lead on Trump

UK police ‘screen out’ nearly half of  crime reports

Mulvaney: ‘I don’t recall’ telling staffers not to mention election security to Trump

US markets could move 15% higher, investor says

Picture emerges of well-to-do young bombers behind Sri Lankan carnage ...

Poll: Only 31 percent of Americans claim Medicare for All a ‘top priority’

Headlines

Omar uproar swamps Pelosi

China’s Huawei sues the US, claiming it shouldn’t be blocked from selling to federal government

Illegal immigration on pace to triple 2017 levels ...

Leftists tally for Ilhan Omar: Right to criticize ‘apartheid’ Israel

White House tries to charm Democrats on new NAFTA

Amazon to close  all of its 87 pop-up stores in the US beginning in April

Tense Epstein hearing airs sex claims against Dershowitz ...

Warren: Calling criticism of Israel anti-Semitic has a ‘chilling effect’

Michael Cohen gives House Intel docs showing previous testimony was edited

Longtime ‘Jeopardy’ host Alex Trebek reveals he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer

Billionaire dies during penis enlargement surgery ...

Coulter: ‘Idiot Republicans’  surrender when Democrats mouth the word ‘racism’

Quotable Quote

The Jussie Smollett hoax is a result of the demand for racism outstripping the supply — Texter to the Howie Carr Show

Butter Side Down

Just like movie stars, making millions of dollars for their realistic reciting of the creative works of others, eventually believe that they have become these make-believe heros and can behave accordingly ... a similar mania is sweeping the sports world. Now a number of mostly black football and basketball players believe that injecting politics into the sports arena is their God-given and constitutional right. They exhibit their displeasure with America and its supposed injustices by sitting or taking a knee during the playing of the Stars Spangled Banner at the begining of their contests.

Of course such disloyal demonstrations are their right ... but it is also the right of President Trump to call them out for disrespecting the country that has so lavishly rewarded them for their physical talents. Yes, they have supporters among our increasingly looney left. But there are also legions of citizens who view such antics as the equivalent of telling them to f-off ... that they are racists or jingoistic or whatever. The question then becomes -- are there enough of lefty snowflakes and conservative jock sniffers who will continue watching the performance talents of these children to justify their continued lofty salaries?

My guess is no. And that these anthem dissenters may eventually find that their toast has fallen on the floor butter side down.

Afterward: There are far more productive ways for athletes to protest perceived evil ... live moral lifes as examples to our youth, support blind justice, donate their time and money to the education and betterment of their race ... and finally, proudly display their love of country.

Newest Newspeak

Hate is love ... peace through violence ... suppressing free speech is Constitutional ... being attacked is incitement ... denouncing the KKK is racist ... rioting is peace-loving ... castigating neo-Nazi is anti-Semitic ... killing cops is justified payback ... enforcing immigration law is xenophobic ... embracing Afro-American leaders is racism ... refuting fake media news is anti-American ... black-masked fascism is patriotic ... fighting terrorism is Islamophobic ... telling it like it is, is lying -- some of the newest Newspeak

Is This You?

H. Lewis Amselem, in the  Diplomad 2.0 Blog, thinks liberals are nuts. (He calls them lefties or progs.)  To back up this charge he has penned a gem of a paragraph explaining himself;

As far as I can tell they are for children but also for killing unborn ones with no restriction, no apology, and no need for a fee. They are for LBGT and women's "rights," but ally themselves with Muslims who practice FGM, oppose abortion, treat women like cattle, and promote and engage in honor killings, and advocate death for LBGT people. They are for women's rights, but want men who think they are women to use women's washrooms. They are for free speech, but shut down anybody who disagrees with them, and, of course, ally themselves with Muslims who oppose freedom of speech and thought as part of their core dogma. They are against racism but try to stir up old racial animosities and conflicts that had long been resolved, buried, and forgotten. They are for poor working people, but oppose the tax and the regulatory structures that create jobs. They are for poor working people but favor unrestricted immigration that drives down wages, crowds out jobs, and absorbs the funds of public welfare schemes. They want free education for all, but oppose letting poor and middle class people have the right to choose their schools, unlike the rich people who do. They shout "Love Trumps Hate!" as they bash opponents with bricks and poles. They have spent decades denouncing the military, the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI as oppressors of the people, but now want those agencies to sabotage an elected president. The wealthy ones denounce gun ownership and walls but live behind protective shields of men with guns and walls around their exclusive properties. Hollywood stars who made millions living in the land of make-believe denounce non-existent Trumpian "brownshirts" and bravely proclaim their resistance! They are for the environment and prove it by flying to environmental rallies in their private jets. They, well . . . you can go on with this sad litany.

Is this you?

Afterward: Just read a poignant comment on this same blog entry -- "Trump's election did not create the Left's hatred, it revealed it."

Dissing Us

President  Obummer's reception in China at the current G20 summit was, to say the most, shockingly disrespectful. To me, a possible reason for these almost unprecedented diplomatic slights is simple ...  at the top of our president's agenda is his denigrating ... through word and deed ... of the country he represents ... or, to put a shine on his lassitude, "leading from behind." For a deeper analysis of these shameful Chinese reception incidents, see: Powerline Blog.

And we're not just being dissed by China ... Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea openly spit on us at every opportunity. And even many of our former allies, the Philippines, Israel, Brazil, Egypt, and Turkey are crossing the street to avoid tipping their hats to our president ... and thus to the United States.

Why have we become such pariahs to such a wide swath of the world? And all in just eight short years! I've got it! It must be that all these world leaders are, at heart, racists!

Fire Hydrant Talks

Thursday night, in order to push forward his agenda of prison and criminal sentencing reform ... and lifting his leg once again on the fire hydrant he calls the police ... Barack Obummer emoted some very misleading statistics trying to show how racist America's law enforcement system is. On Friday Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute was on talk radio providing the real numbers ... most of which knocked Obummer's assertions into a cocked hat ... see: Rush Limbaugh Interview and National Review Article.

The show she was on was the Howie Carr Show here in Boston and Howie treated us to another interesting statistic. Apart from his body language and tonal disparity, Barack Obummer spent over 16 minutes Thursday night, before the Dallas shootings, disparaging, on Polish television, American police forces as racist for the shooting in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge. Friday morning, in response to the heinous shootings in Dallas in which five police officers were murdered, Obummer spent less than four minutes with his monotonal and perfunctory remarks some of which were directed at blaming guns for this mayhem. Obummer was over four times more vocal about those first two black killings than he was about the five police deaths in Dallas.

The One who promised in 2008 to be an uniter is, as an unfortunate fact, a natural-born divider.

Racism

Please read in detail about what recently happened at Dartmouth College where a group of black students went on a rampage denouncing their white classmates with profane vitriol ... see: Campus Reform Story. Now, as an exercise in turnaround is fair play, imagine that this was a demonstration of white students at Howard University ... and replace the chanted word "white" with "black" and you will see racism in its purest and ugliest form.

Yes, these black-student protesters at Dartmouth clearly do not have fully-formed senses of social consciousness ... and probably will eventually live to regret their impetuousness. But they nevertheless put a KKK stamp on their repulsive actions that will quietly resonate in the ivied halls of Hanover.

I do however doubt that the administration there will have the gumption to give them their due ... rather taking the attitude so prevalent these days that "blacks will be blacks." But, to me, lack of push-back against such disgusting demonstrations only makes matters worse ... giving these miscreants a sense of what they did was sanctioned and even encouraged. This is exactly the wrong message from a college that should know better.

Stupid Statistics

With great fanfare and a slavishly uncritical media, outgoing Attorney General, Eric Holder, tried to make up for his department's lack of prosecuting that Ferguson, Missouri police officer, Darren Wilson, by making the case that the whole Ferguson police department was a bunch of racists. One particular he stated was that although Ferguson is 63% black, 86% of all traffic stops there were of black people ... ergo the police force is singling out blacks ... exhibiting their inherent racism ... see: New York Times Story. This kind of statistic proves absolutely nothing ... other than it might be that blacks disproportionally break Ferguson's traffic laws. Conveniently, A.G. Holder does not look into this possibility.

If Holder had instead stated that 39% of all Ferguson residents were under the age of 30, yet 56% of all traffic stops were people in this age group ... would this mean that the police there were discriminating against young people? Of course not ... so why are we subjected to his racist statistical extrapolation? Clearly the American public has had the drum-beat of these type of racist accusations for many years without any serious rebuttal ... and thus, we now accept such media tripe as gospel.

Yes, Holder's quoting of some racists e-mails does indicate that there are some bad apples in the Ferguson police department ... but the entire organization? I am more than certain that there is an undercurrent of anti-white police officer rhetoric circulating among Ferguson's young black community. Does this make the entire black community there racists? Of course not ... as was proven during the grand jury testimony when many blacks came forward with testimony which went against the "Hands up, don't shoot" perpetuated myth.

Also the Ferguson police department is faulted for not having proportional representation of the town's races. If this type of statistical syllogism has any merit, then why cannot one say that since 78% of NBA players are black whereas blacks represent only 12.3% of the U.S. population ... that this basketball association is exhibiting reverse racism? Can it not be that black players just tend to be better at this sport?

Why don't we look at such statistical misdirection in the face and conclude that Al Sharpton, Eric Holder and much of the media are also exhibiting as much or more racist tendencies than the Ferguson police department?

One might also read Paul Mirengoff's analysis of this statistical silliness in Powerline Part I . Watch for Part II.

Racism

Much like Michelle Obama once was, this chap was also subjected to blatant racism ...

(from reddit)

Tribute

“Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” -- Thomas Jefferson (his response to the Barbary pirates demand for money to keep them from attacking U.S. shipping.)

Tribute is nothing more than ransom paid to keep some entity from harming you. There are many instances of this practice … from the Mafia demanding a percentage of the profits of businesses as “protection money” to Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and other race baiters shaking down American businesses so that they are not accused of “racism” … see: ABC News Story.

Now the Muslims are getting into the payoff racket with demands for “Halal certification” which is a statement that a food purveyor has met the standards of the Islam faith. In exchange for paying a fee schedule, these purveyors are “allowed” to sell their products or services to the Muslim community … see the Australian schedule of demands: Q Society Story and in Malaysia: Malaysian Halal Rate Schedule. Unfortunately, many suspect that this certification money finds its way into funding much Muslim terrorism around the world.

In fact the recent jihad attack by a Muslim radical from Iran on a Sydney, Australia coffee shop seems somehow connected with this shop’s refusal to pay Halal tribute … see: Atlas Shrugged Story. Unfortunately, the number of businesses who do pay this Halal bribe seems to be large and growing.

What did Lenin say, “The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them?” But, in this case, we seem to be giving them the rope.

Afterward: For validation of Sharpton's sleezeball style see: NY Post Story. Also my wife had an interesting comment, "Aren't taxes a form of protection money?"