Some of our military do not want to be used as bargaining chips of patriotism

Buzzfeed . . . “ 'The president’s got to unify the country, that’s his job, but do it in a different manner and don’t use veterans for it unless you’re going to put them on the national stage and say 'hey, let’s work on more important things than NFL overpaid pansies',” he said.

"Personally, Jones says he would stand for the anthem to honor the sacrifice of fellow troops – but that’s not the point." . . .

"Others blamed the athletes, not Trump, for injecting politics into sports in the first place.

" 'Your desire to focus on division and anger has shattered what many people loved most about the sport,” Tara Kyle, the widow of “American Sniper” Navy Seal Chris Kyle, wrote in an open letter to the NFL on Facebook.

"The dismay of many veterans at the assumption that they somehow are offended by expressions of protest at football games shouldn't come as a surprise. The melding of sports with patriotic pageantry is a fairly recent phenomenon." . . .

I don't see it as disrespect of veterans. It is plain, simple giving the middle finger to America and our founders. The ceremonies now seem to be a tribute to  Howard Zinn's teaching.  The Tunnel Dweller


Lingerie Football League Responds to NFL: ‘We Stand!’

The face of the future? Silicon Valley engineer who created Google street view founds a RELIGION worshiping AI

UK Daily Mail  "A Silicon Valley titan who helped create Google Street View and engineered Waymo and Uber's self-driving cars is taking new steps to solidify technology's place in the future.

"In 2015, Anthony Levandowski, 37, founded a religion called Way of the Future. It has only been revealed now as state officials in California wait for him to respond to the necessary IRS filings he must provide for it. 

"Way of the Future has no website or headquarters but, according to Wired which obtained copies of his original filings, Levandowski is its founder and CEO. 

"The documents give its purpose is to 'develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence'. " . . .

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen.

Boo, Hissssss

Power Line Blog  "Michael Walsh likes to say of the left, “They never stop; they never sleep; they never quit.” Which is why Michael advises that our constant disposition should always be: crush the left.

"A small but telling case in point is Alger Hiss. Is there anyone still around who thinks he wasn’t guilty of being an agent of Soviet influence, if not much worse? You’d have thought that Allen Weinstein’s Perjury and the direct evidence from the post-Soviet access to the Venona transcripts would have settled the matter more firmly than climate science gravity.

"But amazingly there are still true believers. One of them is the novelist Joan Brody, who has just published Alger Hiss Framed: A New Look at the Case That Made Nixon Famous. Seriously? Apparently so.

"I’m not about to read anything so self-evidently silly, and fortunately you don’t have to either, because Harvey Klehr, the Mellon professor of politics at Emory University and author of several fine histories of Soviet espionage, has done it for us and reports on the miserable experience in the current issue of The New Criterion. He does not mince words:

Her book is not only very bad history, but also embarrassingly stupid. She betrays a remarkable ignorance of the American legal system and American government, makes numerous errors, relies on quacks and discredited commentators, and entertains breathtaking conspiracy theories. . .

The arch-villain is Richard Nixon, who stands at the center of a conspiracy so immense that its full dimensions have not been apparent to anyone else who has ever written on the case; it was a “vicious, politically-motivated frame-up, and it has never been exposed.”

Mic Drop: Hillary Tweets To Send Navy To Help Puerto Rico, Benghazi Hero Responds

Weasel Zippers

Tim Allen on Last Man Standing Cancellation: 'Nothing More Dangerous Than a Likable Conservative'

TVLine

"In a new interview, Tim Allen is speaking out against ABC’s decision to cancel Last Man Standing after six seasons, and the failed deal to revive the family comedy on cable network CMT.

“ 'It’s hard,” Allen says during a sit-down on Norm Macdonald Live. “I have no idea why [ABC] did what they did.” But that doesn’t stop him from suggesting that the decision came down to his conservative politics.

“ 'I always wanted Last Man Standing to be like [All in the Family],” he says. “Archie Bunker pushed boundaries, but Carroll O’Connor was not that guy at all. [Mike Baxter was] a version of that guy. But there’s nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative.”

"Averaging 6.4 million weekly viewers with a 1.1 demo rating, Last Man Standing was ABC’s second-most watched comedy (behind Modern Family) but No. 8 in the demo. “[They] hadn’t won a Friday night in 15 years,” he says. “They put us out to pasture on Friday and we won Friday. Big night for us. Big night for them.”

"Remarking on the failed CMT deal, which due to the comedy’s price tag fell apart more than a month after the ABC cancellation, Allen says, “You couldn’t have handled this situation worse. I’ll survive, but there’s 190 [people] who worked [on Last Man Standing]. They didn’t let them know until late June. It was handled very badly.' ”. . .

UPDATED: West Point Distances Itself From Graduate Who Advocated for Communism While in Uniform

UPDATE:  Chelsea Manning Inspired Communist West Point Graduate To Infiltrate The Military

. . . "The “long march” comment refers to a strategy of institutional infiltration and subversion coined by student activist Rudi Dutschke but originally developed by Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist thinker whose thought developed in the wake of the failure of economic determinism to bring about a revolution."After Rapone posted his comment, another Reddit user warned him not to talk so publicly about where he was stationed.“ 'I know comrade, but I feel like we should not hide any longer,” Rapone answered." . .

Independent Journal Review

Over the weekend, a picture of a West Point graduate holding his cover with the words “Communism Will Win” written on the inside while dressed in his graduating uniform exploded on social media. As IJR previously reported, the caption on the photo read “#VeteransForKaepernick.”

When people questioned whether it was real or if he really meant it, Spenser Rapone — the officer in question — posted a second picture that shows him wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt underneath his West Point uniform.

On Tuesday, the military academy officially responded to the controversy.

“The U.S. Military Academy strives to develop leaders who internalize the academy's motto of Duty, Honor, Country, and who live the Army values,” West Point said in a statement. “Second Lieutenant Rapone's actions in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army.”

“As figures of public trust, members of the military must exhibit exemplary conduct, and are prohibited from engaging in certain expressions of political speech in uniform,” it added.

West Point revealed Rapone's chain of command is aware of the violations and they are “looking into the matter,” with the school ready to assist them if necessary.

Plundered and looted by the mullahs, Iran's angry people protest

Hassan Mahmoudi

Obama deserted these people....

And gave his support to these:

On Monday, workers from the Arak’s Hepco Company also gathered on the rail track route of Arak to Tehran. Some 900 workers of the factory were not paid salaries since the previous winter. Hepco is one of the largest manufacturers of heavy equipment, such as road construction, mining, and agriculture machinery in the Middle East. The factory has been in operation for 42 years and is a large, specialized factory. Under the guise of 'privatization, it was handed over to the regime’s inner circles and agents, and has undergone catastrophic decline over the past 10 years.

. . . "Then the workers of this factory gathered at the entrance of the Tehran-Arak road Monday and closed the road. Anti-riot motorized and infantry guards, plainclothes police and regime guards beat them in a brutal attack and arrested dozens with their siege. "

How often have we seen a narrow dispute in an authoritarian nation turn into a revolution?
Obama stabbed Iranian freedom demonstrators in the back by siding with the Islamic mullah-controlled Iranian regime and letting the peaceful movement be violently crushed. To wit:

Perhaps the Iranian people see hope in Trump. Why Obama Betrayed the Iranian People  

History will not be kind to Obama for his siding with evil and brutally aggressive oppression over freedom. Pamela Geller

 "Why did President Obama refuse to support the demonstrators in Iran in 2009, but supported the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere more recently?
"In 2009, demonstrators filled the streets of Iran, denouncing the regime and crying out for freedom.  It was a glorious opportunity for the leader of the free world to demonstrate his support for free people everywhere and strike a decisive blow against the bloody regime that had considered itself at war with the United States for three decades.

Getty Images

"But Barack Obama didn't help them.  Quite the contrary.  The leader of the free world was too busy extending his hand to those same mullahs.
"It was monstrous when Obama stood by and did nothing during the abortive Iranian revolution; instead, he bought ice cream and posed for photo ops on the golf course while the only revolution against Islamic rule in a Muslim country was taking flight in Iran.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton revealed one reason why last week: the Obama administration's Iranian advisers told them not to express support for the protesters." . . .
. . . 
"No strike on Iran.  No sanctions.  Just diplomacy -- with a genocidally inclined and fanatically intransigent regime whose contempt for Obama's overtures made the president look increasingly beggarly as his presidency wore on."

Bokbluster

Our controversial commentary of the day

Kneeling as psychodrama therapy for the rich, black, and guilty  "The otiose craze for wealthy black people and their "supporters" to disrespect the American flag by kneeling in public – momentarily play-acting tragedy and grief in front of a TV camera – is psychodrama psychotherapy for the guilt they richly deserve to feel.  The histrionic fad started by Colin Kaepernick that has infected athletes, entertainers, and politicians like Representative Sheila Jackson Lee is expiation for the unconscious guilt these privileged people have earned for their heartless betrayal of black Americans.  Kaepernick's phony first plotline, that the worst problem for black people is the police, engenders defensive anxiety in its sheer stinking falsehood.  The big, deadly lie that white racism is to blame for all the problems of black Americans and that black people remain helpless victims in 2017 is so patently false.  As with all delusional systems, its maintenance causes rage and anxiety when challenged.

"That anxiety is being relieved through anti-American spectacle.  The Democratic Party can still pass off blame-whitey-forever dogma because the left-wing wealthy and powerful benefit greatly from it.  Rich black people cling to toxic lies because blaming white people absolves them of gratitude for America and the bother of real charity or service to their own community.  Having rejected Christianity, the left wing has no inspiration for charity.  Leftists can relieve guilt about their own excesses by showboating concern for the downtrodden while making minimal personal sacrifice for anyone.  A little psychodrama, preferably on national television, is just what the doctor ordered." . . . By Deborah C. Tyler

Rand Paul: How to Achieve Peace on the Korean Peninsula

The National Interest   

Both North Korea and China need further assurance that the United States has no desire to topple the Kim regime.

"To every problem there exists a solution—even for a problem as vexing as the two Koreas. Recently, the rhetoric has ratcheted up, and I, for one, fervently hope that diplomacy and problem-solving can avoid war.

"To solve a problem that seems to stump everyone, it is often necessary to consider what others refuse to consider. To solve the Korean problem, it may take considering options that both sides don’t like and think won’t work. If the problem had easy answers, then someone else would have fixed it by now.

"So, notwithstanding that South Korea may not like this option, North Korea may not accept this deal, or that it might not work for a variety of reasons, I respond: “Tell me a better plan.”

"For the Korean standoff and North Korean nuclear bellicosity, I offer this potential solution: invite China to be part of an international force to monitor the Demilitarized Zone in exchange for cessation and dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program.

"It is often written that what China fears most is that the collapse or defeat of North Korea would lead to U.S. troops on China’s Yalu River border. Take that fear out of the equation by inviting Chinese troops to participate in keeping the peace.

"For that matter, if North Korea would dismantle its nuclear program, invite them to contribute monitors, as well as South Korea, to an international monitoring contingent." . . . 

"China holds the key to peace in Asia. Understanding how to engage China holds the key to avoiding war on the Korean Peninsula. Let’s hope all sides involved will take a look at their positions and do what it takes to avoid war."    Full Article

(This op-ed has been couriered to our State Department, the Chinese, Russian, South Korean and Japanese embassies and transmitted to intermediaries of the North Korean government.)  Rand Paul is a U.S. senator from Kentucky.

His father and erstwhile presidential candidate, Ron Paul's Iran policy as declared was "if we are nice to Iran, they will be nice to us". 
This smacks of previous failed arrangements with the Kims. If China enforces the arrangement this will be a never-ending sword over America's heads and any conflict with China will carry the threat of their releasing the Norks from restrictions. The Tunnel Dweller

Share via Email Public university students accused of sex assault must get some chance to confront accusers (at least in ‘he said/she said’ cases)

Eugene Volokh  "From today’s Sixth Circuit decision in Doe v. University of Cincinnati:

University of Cincinnati students John Doe and Jane Roe [pseudonyms] engaged in sex at John Doe’s apartment. John contends that the sex was consensual; Jane claims it was not. No physical evidence supports either student’s version.

After considerable delay, defendant University of Cincinnati (“UC”) held a disciplinary hearing on Jane Roe’s sexual assault charges against graduate student John Doe. Despite Jane Roe’s failure to appear at the hearing, the University found John Doe “responsible” for sexually assaulting Roe based upon her previous hearsay statements to investigators. Thereafter, UC suspended John Doe for two years — reduced to one year after an administrative appeal….

The Due Process Clause guarantees fundamental fairness to state university students facing long-term exclusion from the educational process. Here, the University’s disciplinary committee necessarily made a credibility determination in finding John Doe responsible for sexually assaulting Jane Roe given the exclusively “he said/she said” nature of the case. Defendants’ failure to provide any form of confrontation of the accuser made the proceeding against John Doe fundamentally unfair.  . . . Full article here.

Via Wolf & Pravato Law Offices

Can We Please Stop Pretending the NFL Protests Have Anything to Do with Free Speech?

Can We Please Stop Pretending the NFL Protests Have Anything to Do with Free Speech?  . . . "To be perfectly clear, doing so is an exercise in stupidity.  The First Amendment provides Americans protection to enact displays of protest, certainly.  The question that goes continually and aggravatingly unaddressed is, protection from whom?

"It would be wishful thinking, I suppose, to imagine that Americans who support the NFL protesters might take the fifteen or twenty seconds necessary to google and read the First Amendment. 

"It reads:

Congress shall make no law regarding an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

" 'Congress shall make no law."  The framers inscribed a document related to the powers and limitations of the federal government.  Therefore, it is only logical to understand that this refers to the federal Congress.  The federal Congress shall make no laws to infringe upon these rights.

"So where is the federal law that outlaws kneeling during the National Anthem at a pro football game?  If there were such a law, it would run afoul of the First Amendment.  But there is no such law." . . .

VFW, American Legion Condemn NFL’s Disrespect of National Anthem  . . . “There is a time and place for civil debate, and wearing team jerseys and using sporting events to disrespect our country doesn’t wash with millions of military veterans who have and continue to wear real uniforms on real battlefields around the globe,” said VFW leader and Vietnam War veteran Keith Harman." . . .