It’s no secret my opinion of the media is lower than the bottom of Mole Man’s socks, but it never fails to amaze me when they ask for more drilling equipment to go even lower. And when you’re talking about low, you can’t help but mention CNN, the third-rated cable news network today. Yep, the self-professed cable news leader is regularly getting beaten in the ratings by both news and non-news networks.
But that’s not the reason for this blog post. Instead, I’m going to focus on one of CNN’s puppets…I mean hosts, Chris Cuomo. As in the-brother-of-Anthony-Cuomo Chris Cuomo. As in the-the-former-Governor-of-New-York Andrew Cuomo. As in…just kidding.
Anyway, recent documents related to the “Luv Guv’s” sexual abuse allegations drew a pretty straight, solid, highlighted with every color of the neon rainbow line between the two brothers, with Chris giving Andrew advise and information about at least some of his accusers using some of his media connections. Although the media and Leftist politicians being in bed together isn’t anything new, the fact this was done so brazenly yet covertly has CNN looking for lighted mining helmets.
So far, the Left’s reaction has been a mixture of apathy, insinuations everyone would help a relative, and…attacking Fox News. But none of these address the central issue: a member of the news media used his connections and network’s reputation as straight news to help a politician who shares his ideological sympathies through a major personal and political scandal, all while doing it behind the scenes where the public wouldn’t know about it. It’s not illegal, but it is highly questionable ethically and professionally.
Which means CNN is in the clear since they have neither.
Seriously, though, the Cuomo Brothers, Fredo and…well, Other Fredo, aren’t helped by the fact they lied by omission and expected the “we’re family” excuse to work. Listen, I love my family as much as they do, but when they’re involved in criminal behavior, helping them hide it doesn’t make me a good family member; it makes me an accomplice. And if any family member would force or coerce me into a situation like that, well, let’s just say my Christmas card list just got shorter.
What the Left doesn’t want to acknowledge is how Chris’s actions compound an already crappy situation. Although the media (including Chris) did their best to sweep the fact Andrew’s leadership (or lack thereof) lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of elderly people under the biggest rug they could find, it’s a lot harder to treat multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in the same manner thanks in part to a little movement the media promoted called #MeToo. Granted, rich and powerful people getting away with crime is as common as Antifa protestors being unemployable by most of society, but #MeToo was supposed to put everyone on notice not to be a sexual predator. Many of the same people who are Fredo-shielding Chris have been railing against similar allegations levied against President Donald Trump and demanding he be held accountable, often with much less evidence than what Andrew is facing.
If that sounds like a whataboutism, it kinda is. It’s also factually accurate and speaks to the political matter at hand. No matter how much a Leftist politician sucks, the Left will protect him or her, but only as long as the politician a) continues to be an asset, b) takes actions they wish they could duplicate, and c) can be used to bludgeon conservatives or anyone else who thinks the politician’s actions are scummy as heck. With Andrew, you get the trifecta!
At least for now. The Law of Diminishing Returns is still in effect, even after criminal or civil law ceases to be. Andrew’s political career isn’t done yet, but the fat lady is warming up backstage as we speak. The same may be said about Chris’s media career. As of this writing, CNN has indefinitely suspended him “pending further investigation.” Meaning, until this all blows over. The fact CNN is doing this now as opposed to, oh, when his brother was in the news for sexual misconduct is like closing the barn door after the horses have gotten out, moved to a new ranch, and sent you their forwarding address. And it should not be lost on any of us that Chris isn’t fired. He’s merely sitting at home and most likely continuing to get paychecks for doing only slightly less than he does on air.
And if he comes down with the new COVID variant, guess who will get a shot back on CNN again.
That’s the part that irks me the most, but it’s not surprising given how lenient CNN was with Jeffrey “Don’t Ever Accept a Zoom Call From Me” Toobin. As bad as the allegations against Chris Cuomo are, CNN doesn’t seem to have a consistent standard when dealing with employees who cross lines as egregiously as he did. As others have so astutely pointed out, CNN fired three employees who refused to get a COVID shot, but keep Cuomo and Toobin on the payroll. But at least we know where the line is. You can slap the clown (and that isn’t a threat against Congresscritters) in front of coworkers or use your name and position to score details about sexual assault accusers, but being non-vaccinated is a bridge too far!
Granted, it’s CNN and they can do what they want regarding hiring and firing, but it would be nice to see them put more effort into trying to at least appear consistent with their discipline than they have been so far. Maybe CNN’s new owner, Nick Sandmann, can get them whipped into shape. Until then, we can either get mad that CNN can’t even hold its own people accountable consistently or we can do the one thing that CNN and its fanboys hate the most.
We can mock them.
And we will.
Category: Justice
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
In case you’ve been living under a rock recently (and given housing prices these days, I wouldn’t blame you if you did), there was a little trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Kyle Rittenhouse faced some serious charges and was ultimately acquitted. At the heart of the trial and the situation that came before it is the concept of self-defense. Others have hashed out the various details of the case itself, so I won’t go too far into it because a) they’ve done a better job than your humble correspondent could, and b) you’ve probably heard as much, if not more, about it than I have.
With the Rittenhouse case, people on all sides have been focusing on whether what he did constitutes self-defense from a legal standpoint, but not too many have looked into the political aspect of it. That’s where I come in!
self-defense
What the Left thinks it means – an antiquated and unnecessary idea used to drive gun sales to paranoid right-wingers and gun nuts
What it really means – a principle essential to personal freedom
To put it mildly, things have gotten a little weird out there in the past couple of decades. Between Leftists LARPing as World War II vets and Trump supporters acting like, well, Trump supporters, you’re likely to find yourself in the middle of a conflict that can go pear-shaped before you can say, “Hey, isn’t that a pear?” Throw in all sorts of racial, sexual, and sociological contexts and you have a melting pot on the verge of melting down.
Such was the case in Kenosha, where protestors decided to do what the Property Brothers do, just in reverse. As you might expect, property owners (some of whom could be brothers, I suppose) didn’t like the impromptu Burning Man/Woodstock 99/any weekend with Lindsey Lohan vibe in the city. And the Kenosha police? Well, they were trying to maintain order by letting the protestors run around unopposed. Put another way, Barney Fife was Rambo next to these clowns.
Enter 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse, a young man who lived in Illinois, but worked in Kenosha. If the stories we’ve heard are true, he was asked to help protect a business in Kenosha, but he also wanted to tend to any wounded people there if needed. (Maybe it’s me, but that doesn’t sound like a bloodthirsty killer.) It wasn’t until he felt threatened by the riot…I mean protestors that he fired his rifle. And with one guy pointing a gun at him and another smacking him with a skateboard, it’s clear his life was in danger. Regardless of whether you feel he should have been there, the fact he was attacked and didn’t fire first shows he wasn’t there to get his jollies by killing people. He felt there was no other option than to shoot and he acted accordingly to protect himself in the absence of police.
And that’s why the Left lost their shit.
To the Left, anyone who isn’t one of them is a dullard and needs to have Leftists run his or her life. The minute you show even an iota of initiative to do something yourself is the minute you become dangerous to the Left. After all, if you don’t need government to do everything for you, you won’t need…them.
Thus, the Left has taken up the cause to make bureaucracy as expansive and essential as necessary so more and more of us become wards of the state. And they’ll make it happen by any means necessary, including convincing/coercing people to comply. Whether it’s an additional charge to make a payment with a credit card over the phone or demanding people jump through flaming hoops only to have the state reject a gun permit, the Left’s goal with all of that is to make sure they have their noses in our business for no legitimate reason. Just ask Glenn Beck about the hassles he endured just trying to put up a fence on his property in the Northeast.
So, when someone decides to cut out the middle-man and pass the savings directly on to, well, himself/herself, the Left loses money and power, which makes them more than a little cranky. You see, the Left believes in self-determination so long as you abide by whatever they deem appropriate. Kyle Rittenhouse didn’t, and as a result is being held up as what’s wrong with the Right, an enemy that needs no courtesy or even an obligation to get even basic facts right. He’s an “other” just as anyone else who defies the Left.
And, as a result, Rittenhouse may get Nick Sandmann rich soon. But that’s a blog post for another time.
Self-defense is the ultimate fuck-you to the Left. After all, the Left think only the police and military should have firearms. You know, the same police that are racist and the same military that is a tool of the elites? Mind-blowing hypocrisy aside, this is to a) make it harder for people to defend themselves, and b) creating a need that only government can fulfill. The only problem with that is time. Anyone who has spent any amount of time at the DMV knows the speed of government is usually inert. No matter how quickly your need is, the police will get there when they get there and not a second sooner.
Provided they come at all or aren’t hamstrung by politicians. Anyone want to turn your community into San Francisco East? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you don’t, but it’s the way the Left wants us to live: where the law-abiding are always the victims of the lawless. If you take up arms to protect yourself from being a victim, the Left can’t take it.
And that’s why you should do it, if you want to.
Really, it’s not a good reason why, but it’s certainly attractive. The best reason is because you have a right to be secure in your person, and if the government or its agents can’t or won’t respect that right, you shouldn’t be shamed into submission. If we take nothing else from the Kyle Rittenhouse situation, it’s that the best way to not be a victim is to understand what power you have and to never let anyone take it from you.
Oh, and that Leftists suck at keeping track of the facts of a criminal case before spewing ignorance.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Being a member of law enforcement at any level isn’t a cakewalk, especially in these politically charged times. This is doubly so for the men and women on the front lines of our southern border, who tend to catch heck for sneezing in the general direction of an illegal immigrant.
This past week, a photo of a Border Patrol agent on horseback apparently whipping an illegal immigrant from Haiti made the rounds, setting off a firestorm of criticism. Even though there were no actual whips in the photo, the Left whipped up resentment towards the Border Patrol. Yes, the same people who want to defund the police, abolish ICE, and say no human is illegal thinks the people enforcing our borders are meanie-heads.
And as we’ll see, it’s no coincidence these issues are connected.
Border Patrol
What the Left thinks it means – the tyrannical arm of the US government, targeting poor defenseless people trying to make a better life in America
What it really means – a group of people trying to hold the line against illegal immigration without much support from politicians
America has been a beacon of hope for many an immigrant for centuries. But as anyone who has ever owned a bug zapper will tell you, a beacon can attract less desirable elements who will use every trick in their arsenals to take advantage of our largesse. Unlike the bug zapper, though, we tend not to electrocute illegal immigrants. Instead, we take them into our country without stopping to think about the consequences.
To try to curtail the criminal element and deter future border jumpers, ICE and the Border Patrol work around the clock trying to get a handle on things. Unfortunately for them, we as a country haven’t gotten a handle on things since the 1980s. Politicians from the Left and the Right have failed to put a dent in the waves of illegal immigrants coming into the country and using our resources. Thanks to current President and hairplug spokesmodel Joe Biden, ICE and the Border Patrol have their short-staffed hands full.
Provided, of course, the Left doesn’t smack their hands for trying to do their jobs. Just look at their “solution” for dealing with the Border Patrol agents who were accused of whipping Haitian immigrants: take their horses away. Thus, making their jobs more difficult. All because the Left jumped to a conclusion Robbie Knievel wouldn’t even try with full medical coverage. But that’s par for the course for the Left in this situation.
See, the Left has a vested interest in keeping a steady stream of illegal immigrants coming into the country like teenagers to a K-Pop concert. This interest takes on multiple forms, but they all wind up fulfilling the Left’s political and social goals, thanks in to figures like Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven, Saul Alinsky, and our good friend Uncle George Soros. All four of them have had a pretty strong hand in shaping Leftist ideology for decades, and it doesn’t end well for us. Here is a brief description of what they’ve added to the Leftist hivemind.
Cloward and Piven – developed a strategy to overwhelm the social support system to create more poverty and upset within the country, causing discord and fomenting revolution
Alinsky – the author of Rules for Radicals, which outlines ways for Leftists to make progress on social and political issues
Soros – advocate/creator of the Open Society Institute, which advocates for no borders whatsoever and everyone being a part of one global society, as well as an effort to control state election offices to help Leftist politicians get elected
With Soros and his disciples promoting the idea there shouldn’t be borders, it allows Leftists to promote ideas that will give the green light for illegal immigrants to come here. Once here, the Cloward and Piven strategy kicks in, putting a strain on existing programs through sheer volume. When critics come out against the first two concepts, Alinsky’s rules come into play. The result? More potential Democrat voters, which allows the cycle to continue. It’s brilliant in its deviousness.
And what’s one group of people who can throw a King Kong-sized monkey wrench into all of this? The Border Patrol. If they’re allowed to do their job, it will curtail the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country and getting all the bennies the Left is willing to give them because…reasons. So, instead of figuring out a way to…you know…change the laws on the books, the Left focuses their attention on the ones least capable of fighting back.
Including purposely mischaracterizing a photo to make it look worse than it actually was.
Unfortunately for the Left, the narrative is starting to break down like the Socialist Socialite after losing her battle to defund the Iron Dome in Israel. The primary source (i.e. the photographer who took the picture the Left is using to bash the Border Patrol) is saying the photo is being taken out of context and doesn’t reflect what really happened. Furthermore, the Border Patrol and eagle-eyed horse riders are pointing out the lack of whips in the photo itself. Even so, Twitter Leftists and their governmental counterparts are clinging to the original lie…I mean story. There are a few reasons for this, but one that should be at the top of the list is confirmation bias.
For those of you who have a life, confirmation bias is when a person believes a certain way because it affirms what they already believe. The Left already believes the Border Patrol is a bunch of racist thugs anyway, so it’s not that much of an effort to believe in the narrative in spite of the evidence to the contrary. That, and the fact the Left hate to admit they’re wrong more than The Fonz. Imagine that. A group of dishonest idealogues that already hates law enforcement trying to paint a group of law enforcement agents in a bad light? Who knew???
Well, those of us outside the Leftist hivemind did. While we wait for Jen Psaki to circle back and tell us another lie, keep the Border Patrol in your thoughts and prayers. They need them now more than ever.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
There are some weeks when your humble correspondent struggles to find an appropriate Lexicon entry based on the events of the day. Other times the Topics Gods shower me with topics.
Let’s just say I hit the motherload of motherloads this week. From the Socialist Socialite wearing an expensive dress with “Tax the Rich” on it while attending an event catered to the wealthy to the FBI being shown to be the Keystone Kops with federal funding, there was no lack of content. But I’m going to focus on a new Leftist turn of a phrase that came up during a recent confirmation hearing.
President Joe Biden nominated Jennifer Sung for a position on the 9th Circuit Court, and during the hearing she was questioned about a letter from Yale Law School students and alumni that she signed regarding then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that said he was “intellectually and morally bankrupt” and that “people will die” (a direct quote from the letter) because of his stances on abortion and gay rights. Sure, she’s a nutter, but on the bright side the 9th Circuit Court is going to easily retain its title of Worst Circuit Court EVER.
In attempting to defend her position, Sung used the term “rhetorical advocacy.” Leftists glommed onto this, accusing anyone who found it nonsensical of being too dumb to figure out what it means. Unfortunately for them, I’m a word guy, so I will take a crack at it.
rhetorical advocacy
What the Left thinks it means – supporting a position in a general, high-level way
What it really means – a stupid way for a Leftist to get out of a public statement
The year was 2018, and then-President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the open seat on the US Supreme Court. At that point, the Left lost their collectivist hivemind because Kavanaugh was…a conservative! Before you could get Christine Blasey Ford on an airplane, the Left went to town trying to find a way to take down Kavanaugh.
Enter Ms. Sung and the aforementioned letter. At the time, the letter didn’t make the news because it didn’t meet the Left’s definition of news. To them, Kavanaugh being “intellectually and morally bankrupt” was an article of faith and, thus, didn’t need to be questioned. The funny thing? If Kavanaugh were a Leftist, that bankruptcy would be a resume enhancer.
Three years later, Ms. Sung’s signature is coming back to haunt her own judicial nomination. Even if you buy the idea of rhetorical advocacy, the problem of whether the words themselves were hyperbole comes into play. Granted, I haven’t been spending the past 3 years keeping track of the number of deaths directly related to Kavanaugh’s position on social issues, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the number is in the neighborhood of, oh, zero.
As the late Rush Limbaugh said, “Words mean things.” If Ms. Sung were concerned about the language used in the letter, she had a personal obligation not to sign the letter. Yet, she did because she never thought it would come to light. Oops.
Rhetorical advocacy is a ten-cent word that sounds impressive, but really isn’t. Once we break down the parts of the phrase, we can see what I mean.
Rhetorical involves the use of language, written or spoken, to convey an idea. This Leftist Lexicon post is an example of what I mean. Maybe not a good example, but an example all the same. Advocacy involves the support of an idea or cause through thoughts, words, and deeds. Put the two words together and you get…a redundancy. Advocacy uses rhetoric, and rhetoric can be used to advocate for a desired outcome. When you put it in the context of the letter Ms. Sung signed, the two terms are interchangeable.
This leads to the question of why the Left has adopted this meaningless term while mocking those who don’t think it’s all that great. Fortunately, there’s a simple answer: it’s to give them cover for their bullshit. Remember, Leftists love to play word games to make themselves sound smarter than they actually are. By throwing together the two words in question, it makes the result sound high-minded and intellectual. As we’ve seen, it’s neither, and it’s not that effective when it comes to providing cover.
I have a simple philosophy when dealing with people: take them at their word until they give me reason to doubt it. Although I disagree with Ms. Sung’s conclusions regarding Justice Kavanaugh, the fact she’s shying away from the words she signed off on now that the letter has come to light tells me she’s not willing to own up to them. Cowardice in the face of potential career advancement is no virtue, no matter what fancy-sounding words you use to soften the blow. I would have rather had her say, “I signed that letter because I agreed with the sentiments within it” because it would have been honest. Absolutely wrong, but honest.
Putting all that aside, the fact the Left is attacking those of us who think “rhetorical advocacy” is a bunch of bullshit is a sign they have no valid argument for the letter, nor Ms. Sung’s nomination. Who would want a judge on any level of the judiciary that can’t stand behind a statement without parsing it through an ideological lens? Any verdict offered by such a judge would be suspect and grounds for an immediate appeal to a higher court.
Which, if you think about it, makes her perfect for the 9th Circuit Court.
MeToo, But Trump!
In case you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard Andrew “I’m Not Fredo, But I’m as Smart as Him” Cuomo has resigned as the Governor of New York after allegations of sexual harassment and assault against female employees. And that’s after a year of the Left and the media (but I repeat myself) slobbering over how well he deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
No word from around 10-15,000 elderly constituents who died as a result of Cuomo’s ineptitude. Granted, I’m not a doctor and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but even I understand that putting infected people near others who are highly susceptible to the infection isn’t a good idea. But that’s a blog post for another crime…
After the allegations came to light, Leftists came forward and…waited for the Attorney General’s report to come out before taking the stunning and brave position that Cuomo needed to step down. Even now, though, Leftists are finding ways to discredit the findings to avoid looking like they were wrong. But their favorite is “What about Trump?” because apparently the former President did far worse than Cuomo is alleged to have done and with greater frequency.
Here’s the thing. The allegations against Cuomo have been investigated and found to be credible, credible enough for law enforcement to further pursue the former Governor. The allegations against Trump, though scandalous and equally as disgusting, have not been investigated fully, so we don’t know how valid they are. Yet, the latter’s allegations are treated as gospel truth while the former’s allegations are being taken through the spin cycle (and I’m not talking about laundry, either).
The obvious duplicity is low-hanging fruit, but there another angle not a lot of people have taken so far, and it involves the MeToo and Time’s Up movements. These movements were designed to help women come forward and fearlessly call out sexual abusers in positions of power.
You know. Like…oh, I don’t know…Andrew Cuomo?
That’s where the Left’s lack of consistency comes into play. While waiting for the facts come out is the right tactic, the Left doesn’t apply that standard consistently. In looking at the timeline of the “Luv Guv’s” actions, there were enough red flags to trigger bulls for miles around, but no one within Leftist circles took the care to notice and apply their own logic. With Trump, the mere allegations were enough to warrant a full-blown investigation into each and every claim, no matter how shaky the evidence was. Ditto for Brett Cavanaugh. But when it came to Cuomo and when it comes to other Leftist figures, it’s a wait and see if anyone remembers after the stonewalling concludes.
At the heart of the matter lies the Left’s attitude towards women. As long as they can use you for their ends, Leftists will always be behind you (which, as we’ve seen with Cuomo, may not be the best place for them). The depth of that support, however, isn’t that great because the Left will always view you as helpless and incapable of succeeding without their help. And anytime women fail, the Left has any number of ready-made excuses that protect women by deflecting blame.
Just don’t see through the Left’s bullcrap or assert yourself without their help. Otherwise, you’re not a real woman to them. And, yes, I’ve seen Leftists say that to women who disagree with them, including a former Secretary of State.
I’m not sure, but I think that’s misogyny.
When you consider this, it makes the Cuomo story into a whole new and creepy direction. And it leads to another question: how many women have to endure the kind of behavior Cuomo and other Leftist males before the Left shapes up? Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath. As with every group within the Leftist hivemind, women are treated as chess pieces to be moved and sacrificed as desired. Although I’m sure there are women who would be flattered at the attention of a powerful man, it doesn’t make it any less troublesome for the Left.
Nor does it make the “But Trump” defense any more valid. A scummy action is a scummy action, regardless of political affiliation. If even one of the allegations against Trump is investigated (by someone other than Leftists on Twitter) and found to be legally actionable, I will be among the first to demand charges be filed. And Leftists will, too.
The only difference? I won’t be a hypocrite when I do it.
Sometimes Less Is Moratorium
Last week, the nation’s Capitol was awash in moratorium fever, and not even a cowbell would have quelled it. House Democrats started beating the drums about the end of the eviction moratorium put in place due to COVID-19 and told us it was important that it get extended by the end of July. Of course, they knew about this in June, but they just had to get it taken care of with mere hours to spare.
Any parent who has worked until 2 AM on a science project due later that day for a son or daughter knows this feeling.
As much as I would love to dunk on the process in this case, the actual subject of this piece is the eviction moratorium itself. What started off as an act of kindness in the midst of a fracking pandemic has become a hot button issue where very few people pushing for the moratorium extension have fully thought out the implications. (I know. I’m as shocked as you are that a dumb Leftist idea wasn’t planned.)
The eviction moratorium seeks to forgive past due rent due to the economic impacts of the pandemic. With businesses either slowing down or going out of business altogether, it made sense to allow some flexibility. The only problem with that is some people will take advantage of it. What was considered a safety net was quickly and easily turned into a hammock, all with the help of people like the Leftists pushing to extend the moratorium. Between the handful of economic relief checks and the changes to the unemployment process, it became easier and more profitable to sit at home and let the government take care of the details than it was to find a new job.
Oh, and to spend the “free” money on big-ticket items instead of, you know, paying the rent as outlined in the rental contract.
Wait a minute…am I saying the renters had to sign a contract to live in someone else’s property? Yes, yes, I am. Maybe they didn’t cover this at Leftist colleges and universities, but a rental agreement is a contract and getting Big Daddy Government to step in on your behalf doesn’t negate the contract. At least, not yet. If Leftists get their way, the federal government will be able to undo any contract it wants, even ones they’re not a party in. That in and of itself should scare you, but if not, I can put on a Frankenstein’s Monster mask and say it because, damn it, I care.
But this has a much larger impact than what the Left want to believe. Instead of sticking it to landlords, who are often regular people instead of megacorporations, the moratorium extension has the power to make it so the megacorporations get to own more rental property. Here’s how. When you are the owner of rental property, your income is dependent upon rental income coming in on a regular basis. COVID-19 put a King Kong-sized monkey wrench into this situation. Instead of being able to count on rental income, the owners either had to take the lumps without expecting to get paid or wait for a government bailout. And since the latter doesn’t quite fit with the Left’s strategy or their understanding of basic economics, the landlords had to eat the losses. Great if you’re a renter struggling to find a use for a Bachelors degree in Albino Native American Feminist Slam Poetry Studies, but bad if you’re the landlord.
If the moratorium becomes a permanent thing, it’s likely fewer people will rent out properties, provided those properties aren’t foreclosed upon due to…non-payment! Once the properties get foreclosed, usually anybody can snatch it up including a little organization called BlackRock. BlackRock just happens to be one of the largest property management companies in the country. Oh, and I forgot to mention they have former employees working in the Biden Administration as economic advisors after serving in government roles under President Barack Obama.
Scummy as hell, but hey. No mean Tweets, right?
Now, here’s the Rod Serling style twist. By pushing for the federal government to extend the eviction moratorium, Leftists are making it possible for a corporation to corner the rental property market. Brilliant! But I’m sure the Socialist Socialite has already figured that out and is lobbying against the moratohhhhh yeah, she’s in favor of it. Just goes to show you people can get a degree in something and still not know a damn thing about it.
Anyway, the Leftists pushing the moratorium haven’t thought through the issue carefully enough to be informed. Then again, that’s never stopped them before, so it’s not that hard to imagine they would spout off about the moratorium without considering the economic and legal implications which will screw over members of their base while enriching at least some of their donors.
At least there aren’t mean Tweets, though, amirite?
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
If there is one thing the Left excels at, it’s sucking at life. But if there’s another thing they’re good at, it’s hyperbole. If there is a problem they can market, it’s the most horrible problem ever! After the 2020 Elections and the results being more questionable than a Media Matters hit piece, many Republican-led states looked into passing voting laws designed to address the issues they saw. As expected, the Left overreacted, calling these new laws a threat to our democracy.
Then again, the Left thinks a threat to our democracy is anything from new voting laws to fines for overdue library books. It’s gotten to the point it’s become a rallying cry to get their supporters energized enough to take a day off work and…sorry, I couldn’t even type the rest of the sentence with a straight face.
Now’s as good a time as any to add the term to our Leftist Lexicon.
threat to democracy
What the Left thinks it means – a group or idea that can potentially unravel the social and political fabric of America
What it really means – an overused catchphrase that is both unintelligent and inaccurate
There is one thing I forgot to mention in my introduction. The Left is good at connecting two things that have no actual connection whatsoever. Remember, these are the folks who maintain speech can be violence, but actual violence is speech, and mostly peaceful speech at that! So, it’s not surprising the Left would try to conflate new voting laws with events that will destroy our country, move us closer to a fascist/totalitarian state, and, Marxist Utopia forbid, lead to another Nickelback album.
The problem is these new laws have gotten a bad rap (by the same Leftists who told us the 2020 Election was the most secure in history) because the Left…lied about them. Whether it’s Georgia’s proposed law that allegedly bans people from getting water while in line to vote (it doesn’t) or Texas’s proposed law that allegedly restricting access to vote (it doesn’t), the Left has people thinking any Republican effort to curtail the potential for voting fraud are politically-motivated, racist, ageist, and overall evil.
And, surprise surprise, this is by design. The Left doesn’t have any substantive arguments against the proposed laws, or at least none that doesn’t make them look like idiots. Let me put it this way. There are Democrats who are exposing the Left’s lies on these bills. No matter how you slice it, that’s not a good look.
As deceptive as this is, unfortunately it works with a lot of people outside of the Left’s bubble because it preys upon the fact most of us fell asleep during Civics 101. We are not a democracy, nor have we ever been. Whether we will be one later…well, let’s just hope it doesn’t happen unless you want to be Piggy in a live-action version of Lord of the Flies. Many Americans think we are for the reason I mentioned earlier, and it makes it harder to convince people of the truth.
And, no, a democracy and a republic are not interchangeable, nor are they close enough to be synonymous with each other. In a democracy, the people have a direct voice within the government, while the people have an indirect voice within the government through the election of representatives in a republic. A slight difference, but one that means a lot in the grand scheme of politics. For there to be a threat to democracy, there must be a democracy to threaten.
The other aspect of the Left’s latest squawking point left to tackle is why the Left makes so many seemingly minor molehills into metaphysically dangerous mountains. For this, let’s focus just on the voting laws. The purpose of the laws is to prevent people and parties from undermining elections. That is troubling to the Left because these laws shut down many of the tricks they’ve used to win elections in recent years. That gives Leftists a vested interest in shutting down these laws, even though the specifics of these laws make sense. It’s like watching a debate between Ben Stein and an agitated honey badger. One will present the facts in a measured tone, and the other will rip your throat out if you get too close. And if you’ve ever had your throat ripped out by Ben Stein…
But just like the honey badger, the Left doesn’t care about the facts. They need people to be afraid because fear makes people malleable to the point they abandon critical thinking and focus on self-preservation. And with the Left thinking they know what’s good for you more than, well, you do, they’re going to do whatever they can to get you under their control. Then, after you die, they will control how you vote. Isn’t that nice?
Unfortunately, it’s worked again, and many people are lead to believe the new voting laws prevents people from voting, but only certain people (i.e. non-whites). The facts aren’t as sexy as the fear, so the sexy wins. But as we’ve found out with supermodels, sexy isn’t the same as smart. While the fearmongers screech about how these new restrictive laws prevent people from giving voters in line water, they leave out a little detail: it applies to everybody connected to a political campaign or movement. If it’s the Girl Scouts doing it, no problem. If it’s the National Organization for Women stumping for Biden/Harris, that’s a problem. The devil is in the details, kids, and the Left just so happens to not like to give all the details as they tell you Republicans want people of color to die of thirst while in line to vote.
Meanwhile, we here in “flyover country” have this nifty little thing called tap water that we can put in our own containers and drink to our hearts content. (Offer void in Flint, Michigan.)
As with most Leftist ideas, the best weapon is common sense. Why are the Left so up in arms about voter laws in Republican states that are often looser than voter laws in Leftist strongholds? It’s pure politics, baby. If the Left wants to turn states like Texas and Georgia blue in our lifetimes, they need to keep their cheating on the down-low. New laws mean the Left’s goal to flip red states is going to be delayed as they try to figure out new ways to cheat. To put it simply, the Left is counting on you to be scared so their status quo doesn’t change. They’re not interested in saving democracy; they’re interested in saving Democrats!
Sorry for saying the quiet part out loud, Leftists, but if you’re not going to level with us, I’m going to level with us and, spoiler alert, it’s not going to end well for you. Take your faux-patriotic self-generated OHMYGODWEREGONNADIE bunk and stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Namely, under Jerald Nadler’s beltline.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
The eyes of the world were on Minnesota earlier this year, and not because the Twins and the Vikings have been mathematically eliminated from the post-season on the same day. Former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on three counts related to the death of George Floyd, and the Left cried tears of joy because justice was served (according to them). Yet, there are some, including your humble correspondent, who don’t quite agree with the sentiment, thanks to people like Maxine Waters voicing opinions prior to the jury being sequestered to deliberate.
We’re going to be dealing with some lofty concepts here, kids, so grab a cold beverage and strap in.
justice
What the Left thinks it means – an outcome that reinforces our collective societal will and punishes those who try to subvert it
What it really means – an outcome where the process and the verdict support a fair result
To make things perfectly clear, I happen to agree with the verdict. What Derek Chauvin did on camera crossed the line between securing a suspect and police brutality. It’s hard to argue that (although I’m sure there are plenty of people willing to try). If the case were tried purely on the evidence, the result would be the same.
Ah, but there’s the rub. This case wasn’t tried purely on the evidence. The Court of Public Opinion, which has a track record that makes the 9th Circuit Court look like Solomon, has been trying and retrying this case pretty much on the daily. Whether it’s elevating George Floyd to heroic/deity levels or using the case as a means to promote everything from defunding/abolishing the police to rooting out white supremacists en masse, the Left has been milking this situation for all it’s worth. Judging from the recent home purchase of a Black Lives Matter founder, it’s worth quite a bit.
Even with the video evidence, there is still an important step to consider: ensuring both sides get a fair hearing. The Court of Public Opinion typically isn’t the venue for such discourse, so it falls to the actual court system. And that’s where the Chauvin verdict goes off the rails like Gary Busey driving an Amtrak route. Thanks to Leftists like Maxine Waters, Ilhan Omar, and President Joe Biden, the environment surrounding the trial made a fair hearing impossible. There is some question of whether the jury was sequestered to the point they wouldn’t have heard the aforementioned Leftists’ comments, so we can’t be sure one way or the other.
And that, ladies and gentleman, is how you plant the seeds for an appeal.
Leftists were so hellbent to get a conviction that they didn’t take into consideration what they were doing to deny justice, the very thing they claim they wanted out of the Chauvin trial. Although lack of self-awareness isn’t a bug in the Left so much as a feature, it took an amazing amount of blockheadedness to agree to the idea to let some of the most divisive politicians in modern history and Joe Biden weigh in on what the jury “should” do.
Speaking of which, Speaker Pelosi? Call your office, provided you’ve extracted your feet from your mouth after thanking George Floyd of “taking one for the team.”
Anyway, the Left’s approach to justice, real or whatever make-believe version they want to promote today, is based on their general approach: the ends justify the means. In the Chauvin case, the Left wanted a guilty verdict so they can continue to perpetuate the notion police officers are killing innocent black victims constantly. (Of course, actual data shows that’s not happening, but Party of Science, kids!) As long as this perception is considered to be reality, the Left can keep bringing it up as a means to get money and power without actually doing anything about it.
Think about that last part for a moment. The Left needs these problems to continue for their own purposes. And if it takes people dying to make that happen, so be it! Who would have thought the party that supports abortion on demand would have such disregard for human life?
Meanwhile, the Left keeps slapping “justice” on everything to the point the word loses its meaning. You know, just like they did with racism! Environmental justice, social justice, economic justice, racial justice, about the only thing they haven’t touched on is actual justice, and let’s be glad they haven’t or it would get screwed up worse than it already is. And if the Derek Chauvin verdict is any indication, they may have their sights set on it.
The issues they face, however, are a bit deeper than they are. For all the times they’ve taken up for convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal and the number of lawyers in their midst, you’d think they’d have figured out the American criminal justice process. Just because you hold your breath and stomp your feet doesn’t mean you get the verdict you want. There is still a matter of evidence and procedure that have to be followed or else you get a conviction that gets overturned faster than a pancake at IHOP. And that’s by design, my Leftist friends. Actual justice doesn’t begin and end with the judge’s gavel; it begins with following the steps to ensure all parties involved have a chance to be heard and present a case. I know that kinda puts a crimp in your “execute first and ask questions…well, never, really” approach, but it does make things a lot handier when it comes to, you know, actually getting a legal ruling that won’t get overturned due to a lack of procedural integrity?
In other words, if you follow the rules and don’t let Maxine Waters say something incredibly stupid about an ongoing trial, you don’t have to worry about the verdict you want getting thrown out. Granted, that may be a hell of an ask from the Left, but we can hope.
Regardless of how you feel about the Derek Chauvin verdict, it’s hard to say whether justice was actually served. On the one hand, he has been convicted of contributing to George Floyd’s death. On the other, the environment surrounding the trial made the conviction all but certain, but not in a good way. When that happens, it’s a good thing Lady Justice is wearing a blindfold or we’d be due for a series of rampant scale-whippings.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
There are a lot of things I could say about the recent storming of the Capitol Building, but not a lot of them are flattering. Even so, my criticisms would be a mixture of legitimate concern and more than a little mockery as Donald Trump supporters tried LARPing as Antifa for a few hours. But, I’m not sure I would go as far as the Left has in how they’ve presented the protest-turned-plundering and selfie expedition. Instead, the Left has made the entire affair into a breach of our country’s laws.
Yep, our Leftists friends found a new word in their 365 Reasons To Complain Calendar: insurrection. As you might expect, there are differing opinions on whether what happened at the Capitol rises to that level, but the Left has pretty much decided it did. And if you disagree with them, you’re obviously supporting insurrection against the country and, thus, are just as guilty. If the Left is correct on this, prison overcrowding is going to get a lot worse.
Are they right? Let’s find out!
insurrection
What the Left thinks it means – trying to overthrow a government through violent and destructive means, mainly by Trump supporters
What it really means – anything that the Left sees as threatening to their power base
I did a little digging online to make sure I had a workable definition of the word, and merriam-webster.com came through for me. Their definition of insurrection is as follows:
an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government
Keep this in mind for later because it’s going to be relevant. Unlike the rest of my writing.
Insurrection is a violation of federal law, so it’s a pretty serious charge and shouldn’t be thrown around lightly unless you have reason to do it. And, no, merely being a Trump supporter isn’t a good enough reason. Still, this might be considered a semantic argument rather than anything based on the law. It won’t satisfy the Left, but here is the legal definition as found on legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com:
A rising or rebellion of citizens against their government, usually manifested by acts of violence
Oooh. Might be in a little trouble there, folks.
Well, to paraphrase a former President, it all depends on what your definition of rebellion is. At the heart of both of the definitions posted above is the concept of rebelling against the government. And it’s in how the Left views the government where things get stickier than an explosion at a cotton candy convention.
The Left believes government is the be-all and end-all of everything, from paying for pet projects involving the mating habits of the rare Argentinian albino fourteen-toed tree sloth to promoting values that advance the Left’s agenda. If you disagree with that notion, even if it’s because there is no such thing as an Argentinian albino fourteen-toed tree sloth, the Left sees that as a threat to the government as a whole and, by extension, themselves.
Except, of course, unless it’s people on their side of the political spectrum, like Black Lives Matter and Antifa. When they take over a federal building, cause destruction, and advocate overthrowing the entire government, it’s cheeky and fun, not evil and seditious like when the MAGA crowd does it! It’s totes cool! And, unfortunately for them, it’s also the very definition of insurrection, albeit taken to a much larger extreme.
Where Trump supporters might have some wiggle room is the actual purpose of the protests at the Capitol Building. To them, Donald Trump is the government (among other things). Everyone else is either an ally or part of the “Deep State.” In order for the legal definition of insurrection to be met, it would have to be against the government, and since the protests were in support of Donald Trump, they could argue (please check local listings for likelihood this will work) they were protesting the Deep State and their actions are consistent with that. Granted, this is a bit of a stretch, but it can’t be dismissed out of hand.
Along the same lines (and with equal stretching) is the argument the protestors weren’t trying to overthrow the government, but rather a specific function of the government. In this case, it’s the certification of the Electoral College vote. Although there is likely to be at least one pocket of protestors who might be stupid enough to admit they were trying to overthrow the government, most of the people there weren’t.
Wait a minute…I’ve heard that same argument before…something about Antifa/BLM…but I’m sure the people who advanced that argument with them are right there defen…nevermind.
The Left and the Right are guilty of guilt by association here, so their current positions are as valid as a homemade PowerBall ticket. From where I sit, there are very few Trump supporters who can and should be charged with insurrection, but there are also very few BLM and Antifa members who can and should also be charged along with the Trump supporters. The issue is ideological blinders prevent both the Left and the Right from being honest about who should get charged. As you might have guessed by now, I have no problem charging the guilty, even if/when I agree with them. That’s because the law isn’t supposed to be ideologically tinted. Lady Justice has a blindfold on because that’s how justice is meted, or at least should be. If we hold our allies to one standard and our opponents to another, that’s not justice; that’s favoritism.
I’m not going to hold my breath for the Left to catch up on this, but I will continue to hold the only standard that needs to be held in this case: if you do the crime, you do the time.
Oh, and keep your eye on the sparrow.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Yep, this is another Election 2020-related blog post.
The latest news out of the Election That Won’t Die revolves around 126 Republican Congresscritters who supported a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump’s election team against four states due to election irregularities (you know, like…throwing away military votes for the President). This has the Left up in arms. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said these Republicans have “brought dishonor to the House.”
But that’s not good enough for Leftists. Leftist Twitter (but I repeat myself) exploded with claims these House Republicans are guilty of sedition. Probably not the best week to invoke this, given Rep. Eric Swalwell sleeping with a Chinese spy while he was running for the House, but let’s go with it. Do they have a point this time? Let’s delve deeper into sedition, hopefully without contributing to it.
sedition
What the Left thinks it means – advocating for revolting against and toppling the established order
What it really means – another example of how the Left doesn’t understand irony
For the past 4 years, Democrats and Leftists have been calling President Trump illegitimate and demanding he be removed from office because he didn’t win the popular vote and/or various crimes he and his family are alleged to have committed. They “know” Trump had help from Russia to steal the 2016 elections. In fact, they went so far as to hold protests across the country delegitimizing the Trump Presidency, up to and including violent overthrow of the government or blowing up the White House.
Yeah. These are the folks I trust when it comes to sedition.
On the plus side, Leftists are concerned with people who want to overthrow our government. On the down side, they’re going after the wrong folks. I’ll be the first one to tell you I thought the lawsuit was dumber than letting Jeffrey Epstein babysit, but does it rise to the level the Left wants you think it does? The short answer is no. The longer answer is still no, but has a lot more words connected to it.
The President’s lawsuit, although ill-advised, isn’t an attempt to overthrow the government or its rightful leadership. Neither is the support from House Republicans because…and this is the part the Left keeps forgetting…Trump is still President until January 20, 2021. This little detail makes the sedition charges harder to stick. After all, why would the support for the President’s lawsuit be seditious when the person bringing the lawsuit itself is the President? No violence called for. No threats against the President’s life or the lives of government leaders. Just support for a lawsuit.
Can you say “overkill”? I knew you could.
Even if you expand the focus to the lawsuit and its supporters hurting the government, it falls flat because of the forum used to address the President’s concerns: the courts. You know, the courts…that are established in the Constitution? If President Trump is trying to get people to rebel against the government, he’s doing a crappy job of it. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the Left is reaching more than Reed Richards.
The funny thing (at least to me) is how quickly the Left is adopting conservative ideas. Since it’s their ideology that stands to gain or lose the most over the outcome of the lawsuit, they want to preserve the status quo of a Biden victory over Trump. If the courts agree with the Trump campaign (which, to date, they haven’t, making them the second most losing team in history behind the Cleveland Browns, but work with me here), that overturns everything the Left wants to accomplish. No Green New Deal, no tax hikes on the wealthy, no free health care and tuition, just four more years of Trump’s Tweets and Leftist meltdowns. Don’t worry, though. Leftists will still have their meltdowns because that’s what they do in lieu of gainful employment.
Once you get past the hyperbole, the Left’s concept of sedition in this case is frightfully strong in words, but frightfully weak in application. In a few short years, they’ve gone from “Dissent is patriotic” to “Dissent is treason.” Yet, the First Amendment gives people the right to not only criticize the government, but to redress grievances with the government. Under Republican Presidents, the Left uses, if not abuses, both concepts demanding they be heard. Under Democrat Presidents, however, they seem to “forget” these parts of the First Amendment exist. Funny how that works out, isn’t it?
This is by design, of course. Leftists believe anyone who doesn’t stay in line like a Rockette is intellectually and morally inferior, which justifies their actions (at least in their minds). To extend this thinking a bit further, anything a non-Leftist does is anti-American and dangerous to the country. And when that non-Leftist is connected to Trump in any way, it becomes an imperative to discredit them, if not outright punish them for not thinking the right way.
George Orwell called. He wanted to let you Leftists know “1984” wasn’t an instruction manual.
Regardless of my feelings on the Trump campaign’s lawsuit regarding the 2020 election, there is no way it rises to the level of sedition, even if you water the definition down like a drink at a strip club. It’s more of the Left conflating objections to their ideology with objections to the country. After seeing some of the Left over the past four years, it’s safe to say the two are mutually exclusive.