This American Moment; Black Lives, Power Politics, and the Unborn

John Piper

. . . "The primary lesson that I draw from this history for America at this moment is the reality, the preciousness, and the power of truth in the public square. When I say America at this moment, I am thinking of 1) the killing by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota, 2) the sniper killing of five police in Dallas, 3) the FBI non-indictment of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after her repeated, FBI-acknowledged falsehoods and “extremely careless” handling of classified material, and 4) the continued defense by national leaders of the legitimacy of killing children in their mother’s wombs.

"The events underline the vital necessity of embracing the reality, preciousness, and power of truth in the public square at this moment. Let’s take them in reverse order — power, preciousness, then reality.

The Power of Truth

"The fact that most people carry cameras now — in their smartphones — has made the killing of black men by the police a matter of powerful truth. Of course videos can lie. They are only part of the story, often limited to a short clip of the end of a larger event, offering us only one angle. But they also deliver truth, undeniable truth. Whatever stories and rationales for these killings are brought forward, they will have to square with the visual truths of these videos." . . .

Piper concludes with these words:

These advocates for freedom from truth cover their evisceration of truth-claims by crying out against the oppression of the poor and weak. But in nullifying truth, they strip the poor and weak of the one great weapon they still have: the truth that there is such a thing as justice, and this is not it. Truth is a mighty weapon in the hand of the weak. The powerful have been playing academic word games for seventy years with deadly fallout.

Obama and Bush weigh in on the shootings in Dallas

George W. Bush Responds To ‘Heinous’ Ambush: ‘Murdering The Innocent Is Always Evil’

"Sparking one commentator to remark, “We miss you now more than ever, W,” President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, issued a statement of sympathy and support in the wake of Thursday night’s ambush that claimed the lives of five Dallas Police officers and injured seven others.

John S. Roberts, writing on Young Conservatives, noted after reading the statement the Bush family posted on Facebook and shared with the media, “While Barack Obama is blaming ‘powerful weapons‘ for the deaths of five police offices at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, the last real leader of the United States sent out this message.”

“If a good man like you were still in the White House, we’d have a counter-BLM task force by now, patrolling the streets to remove these dangerous terrorists from civilized society. Unfortunately, we don’t have a good man in the White House,” wrote Alex Gravlin.

Following Dallas Shootings, Obama Once Again Pushes His Gun Control Agenda

Obama Deems Police Guilty Until Proven Innocent  "Obama went on to categorized the shootings as non isolated incidents and symptoms of systemic racism within law enforcement."

Meet The Cops Who Were Just Murdered In Dallas

Daily Wire

Patrick Zamarripa, 32-years-old

Brent Thompson, 43-years-old

Michael Krol, 40-years-old

Michael Smith, 55-years-old

Lorne Ahrens, 48-years-old

Black Power Group Claims Responsibility For Dallas Shooting  

Dallas Police Believed to Be First to Use Robot Lethally

WSJ

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, in background, looked on as Police 

Chief David Brown spoke at a news conference Friday after the fatal

 shootings of five police officers.

. . . "Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Friday that officers decided to use a bomb-disposal robot that was jury-rigged with explosives after negotiating with the suspect for several hours and then exchanging gunfire with him. Police identified the gunman as Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan.

“ 'We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot, and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was,” Chief Brown said at a news conference. “Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger. The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb.”

The battlefield cross and those who are offended by it

Smithsonian
"The first appearance of the "battlefield cross" is a matter of conjecture. It might have been during the Civil War, to signify a dead soldier to be gathered and buried during a truce called for that purpose. Soldier dead were buried in graves in temporary cemeteries near the battlefields, identified by simple wooden plaques. The configuration of the rifle pointed downward with a helmet perched on the stock was a more common sight during World War I and World War II. While the battlefield cross still acted as marker so that the Graves Registration Service personnel could remove the body for burial, it also began to serve as a memorial. Although it is called a cross, the memorial has no overt religious context."

Carved wooden temporary grave marker of Lieutenant Charles R. Carville, a member of the 165th New York Volunteers who died at Port Hudson May 27, 1863, during the American Civil War. Division of Armed Forces History, Nation Museum of American History.

. . . "Interpretations vary regarding the meaning of the components, and how they are placed. The rifle facing downward means the soldier was killed in action; a rifle with a bayonet stuck in the ground tells us the soldier went down fighting. It’s not hard to interpret the placement of the boots or the presence of the dog tags: the soldier has marched the final march to battle, and he will never be forgotten."

BATTLEFIELD CROSS TOO INAPPROPRIATE FOR PARK IN MICHIGAN [VIDEO]  A "couple of people" were offended at the cross!

 "Friends of American Veterans submitted a proposal to complete their Veterans Memorial at the Central Park in Milford, Michigan. However, the group has not received approval specifically because the monument features an M-16 rifle that is viewed as too inappropriate for the park."

"Though some council members are uneasy with the idea of displaying a statue of a military weapon in their park, Councilwoman Jennifer Frankford believes that we wouldn’t have the freedoms we have today if it weren’t for the boots, the gun, and the helmet.

"Frankford alongside with Bear Hall, founder of the FAV and Korean War veteran, have raised over $12,000 is three months to help fund the construction of the memorial. Veterans who donated are furious and are asking why someone who gave their life to protect and serve this country shouldn’t be remembered."

“ 'If people are worried about their kids seeing a gun, take away their video games… don’t let them hunt,” Ron Nevorski, another Friends of American Veterans member told the Free Press."

A mother's solace: A letter from a World War I enemy

Smithsonian

" 'You will look upon my writing, no doubt, as something unusual, and rightly so, for it is indeed not exactly usual for a former enemy of his own accord to report about his opponent in the World War. I was myself a German officer in the World War.' "

"Emil Merkelbach was the leader of a German balloon squadron stationed in o 'ccupied northern France in August 1918. Balloons were used by both the Allied and Central powers during the war as a way to observe enemy targets at a greater distance and from behind the front lines, allowing armies to more accurately aim their long-range artillery. Antiaircraft machine guns defended the balloons from the ground and patrolling airplanes protected them from the air. Armies' reliance on balloon observations, and the firepower employed to protect them, made balloons both an important and dangerous target for fighter pilots like Louis Bennett Jr., Mrs. Bennett's son."

. . . 

"During the ten days he served in combat before being killed in action, Louis shot down three enemy planes and nine balloons, four of which he shot down in one day. These feats not only earned him the distinction of being named a flying ace, and West Virginia's only World War I ace, but also placed him among the top of all World War I flying aces. Merkelbach saw Louis's impressive skill and total fearlessness first-hand on the battlefield, which he remembered years later and which eventually prompted him to write to Mrs. Bennett."

Read the full story at the link, which closes with these words:  Although never given an official award for his service, Louis Bennett Jr.'s courage and skill clearly inspired those around him to honor his memory in their own way: from the enemy German army that buried him with full military honors, to his mother who memorialized him across multiple countries, and finally to Emil Merkelbach, an enemy officer, who was inspired to write a glowing, respectful letter in memorial four years after they had fought on the battlefield.

"I hope that the foregoing lines, a memorial to your son, will be received by you living—he was my bravest enemy. Honor to his memory. With respect, Emil Merkelbach" 

SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE ON DALLAS MASSACRE OF COPS: “Obama fuels this…”

Has there been a shred of national benefit from this man's administration?

FedUp  “ 'He (Obama) didn’t cause this, but you know what, he fuels this sort of misplaced anger” – Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke"

Ex-Secret Service Agent Excoriates President Obama After Dallas Shootings  "Over the course of Barack Obama’s two terms as president, he has often been the subject of accusations that he is “anti-cop,” most prominently from Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke.

"One name that can now be put in the fierce critic category with Clarke is former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino, who said that in the wake of President Obama’s comments following the massacre of police officers in Dallas Thursday night, he is “done” with him.

"On Friday morning, Bongino told Fox and Friends, “I’m done with President Obama, and frankly so are my law enforcement friends. I literally don’t have one law enforcement friend at the federal, state or local level who has anything nice to say [about the president].' ”

The War on Cops Comes to Dallas

We are not in a mood to tolerate another of Obama's scoldings.

Andrew C. McCarthy  "President Obama has wasted no time politicizing the attack. From Poland this morning, he punctuated his remarks praising the heroism and sacrifice of police, with the familiar demagoguery: We all need to be concerned about “racial disparity in the justice system” (as if there were no drastic racial disparities in offense behavior, and therefore that the police discriminate against African-Americans in enforcing the laws); and of course, “When people are armed with powerful weapons, it makes attacks more deadly and more tragic” (as if the real problem here is guns rather than radical ideology).
. . . 
"Did Black Lives Matter participate in this pre-planned mass-murder operation? We don’t yet know who executed this attack, and we must wait for details, which should be forthcoming soon enough. But to suggest that lethal attacks on the police are not made more likely by the hateful anti-cop climate stoked by Black Lives Matter — with the indulgence and often the encouragement of government officials and opinion elites — is to be detached from reality."

Chaffetz’s FBI referral on Hillary perjury a time bomb?

Thomas Lifson  "It was an astonishing moment when FBI Director James Comey told the House Oversight Committee that his “comprehensive” investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email practices had not bothered to consider her sworn testimony before Congress. Testimony that was odds with the conclusions reported by Comey.

Rep. Chaffetz spoke derisively:

"Do you need a referral from Congress to investigate her statements under oath?" Chaffetz asked, to which Comey responded, "Sure do."

With a chuckle, Chaffetz said, "You'll have one. You'll have one in the next few hours."

"And so another FBI investigation of Hillary Cinton criminality is underway.  Cynics may say that Comey will only apply the same logic: that Hillary didn’t really know the situation, and so she had no mens rea responsibility for the untruths she spoke. She believed they were true.

"Of course, this means that she didn’t bother to check facts before speaking under oath. That she was an entirely incompetent Secretary of State.

"I think it is hopeless to expect a criminal referral from the FBI to the DOJ. But I can hope that Comey delivers another speech on what Hillary knew and didn’t know, and why she was so irresponsible that she can’t be held legally responsible."

 "Before the election, please."

Email Scandal: Was The Fix In For FBI's Investigation Of Hillary?

FBI Director Refuses To Answer Simple Question About Hillary Clinton

Fox NewsVerified account‏@FoxNews

Watch Chaffetz challenge #Comey on whether #HillaryClinton would be granted security clearance at the FBI.

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Calls for Black Lives Matter to be recognised as 'terrorist organisation' after Dallas shootings

White House petition comes after five police officers shot dead during protest by the group.  "More than 4,000 people have signed a White House petition urging the US Federal Government to formally recognise the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign as a "terrorist organsiation". The calls come as five police officers were shot dead by snipers during a BLM protest in Dallas on 7 July.

"The petition was started one day before the shooting, however, it gained popularity following events in Dallas. Anyone aged 13 or older can sign a petition on the website and the White House will respond to the request should it gain 100,000 signatures by 5 August"

Before the gunman, named as Micah Johnson, was blown up he told a negotiator he had opened fire because he wanted to kill white people.

UPDATED: BLM supporters: Dancing on the dead bodies of cops

Rick Moran  "InfoWars has gathered a couple of dozen tweets from supporters of Black Lives Matter that have to be read to be believed. I hope you have a strong stomach.

"First, a video of BLM protesters in Dallas celebrating in front of police following the killings.

Video at the link.

"And the sentiments expressed in the following tweets are just a sampling of the raw hate being expressed by BLM and their supporters. "(WARNING: Graphic, unedited language)

UK Daily Mail video

Black Lives Matter supporters celebrate Dallas shootings on Twitter

"A post at the International Business Times said: “The shootings unfolded after President Barack Obama said he was troubled by law enforcement officers who target blacks and Latinos.' ” . . .

What does Obama blame? Guns, not BLM

OBAMA SUGGESTS 'POWERFUL WEAPONS' PROMPTED DALLAS

"President Obama from Warsaw on Friday weighed in on the fatal shootings of five police officers and wounding of seven more, as well as of two civilians, by saying the attack was inexcusable, unjustified and tragic – but then suggested easy access to weapons was at least partly to blame.

"He first expressed outrage and condolences.

Then comes his usual: “. . . Anybody involved will be held accountable.”

He weighed in on the shooting of Alton Sterling on Friday night before the Dallas shooting.

He did so in his usual style before the blood was dry and before the facts were in.  "Obama spoke in his characteristic style on such occasions. He lectured; he condescended; he assumed facts not in evidence; he rode his racial hobby horse. If anyone thought the moment might call for something in the way of reconciliation, he would have been well advised to look elsewhere." . . . 

"Obama also demonstrated his traditionally poor timing. Within hours of his statement in Warsaw five police officers were murdered and seven others shot by snipers in Dallas. We pray for those who are still struggling for their lives this morning.

"From Warsaw Obama has now given a formulaic statement on the events in Dallas. “We still don’t know all the facts,” Obama noted. I can’t find this statement on the White House site. The Dallas Morning News reports on it here." . . .

No comment as yet from Mr. Obama that the suspects hate white people and want to kill them  "Dallas police chief David Brown told reporters at a press conference that the suspect who engaged authorities in a standoff before being killed by a robot that blew up a bomb built by the sniper "hated white people" and wanted to kill more white officers."
. . . 

"The real fear is that cops across America might become even more trigger-happy.  Well trained policemen won't let this attack alter their approach.  Unfortunately, there are many policemen across America who are not well trained and may take a more aggressive attitude toward blacks.

"The job of policeman is hard enough without adding race as a factor."

Loretta Lynch Calls For Gun Control, Says Support Police, But Calls Anger At Police ‘Justified’, Protesters Shouldn’t Be Blamed…

Powerful Statement By Dallas Police Chief: “We Don’t Feel a Lot of Support Most Days…Please, We Need Your Support’