Friday, February 22, 2019

Spare me all the pieties about Jussie Smollett


"The rush to exploit the alleged but phony hate crime was unseemly because of all the holes in the story. But blinded by hatred of Trump, and anxious to benefit themselves, people like Don Lemon of CNN and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris sought to benefit themselves."


Thomas Lifson
"[Disclaimer: Jussie Smollett, like all defendants, is entitled to the presumption of innocence in his forthcoming trial[s].  The following analysis is based on the assumption that the evidence presented by assistant state's attorney Risa Lanier is valid and that the charges against him are true.  Registered voters in Cook County, who are members of his potential jury pool, are strongly cautioned that reading further may make them ineligible to sit in judgment at trial.]"

. . . "According to the information presented by police superintendent Eddie Johnson and prosecutor Risa Lanier, greed was one root of the hoax.  Smollett's pay per episode of Empire has been variously reported as as low as $65,000 and as high as $125,000.  Either figure puts him in the dreaded one percent at the top of the income distribution.  Progressives love to lecture us about the injustice of high incomes but always exempt their own.  Being a progressive is akin to the papal indulgences of the Middle Ages.

But there is another obvious motive: political — hatred of Donald Trump.  Drudge has been featuring a picture of him that says it all:"
. . . "While all reports of crime, including "hate crimes," deserve thorough investigation, the fact is that fake hate crime reports are epidemic — Tawana Brawley, Duke lacrosse, UVA fraternities, and many other lesser known instances.  An entire website, http://www.fakehatecrimes.org, is devoted to the epidemic, and they currently have 349 items, including Smollett.  I have repeatedly made the point that there is not enough hate to go around, because our politics and society reward people who claim to be victims." . . .

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