'The S-word': how young Americans fell in love with socialism

UK Guardian  "At 18, Olivia Katbi was answering the phones and emails in a Republican state senator’s office in Ohio. Then the legislator threw his weight behind a particularly contentious anti-abortion law. “I realised that the party I’m working for is evil. After that I identified as a Democrat but I wasn’t really happy with their policies either,” said Katbi, now 25.

"Back then, she couldn’t articulate her reservations about President Barack Obama. There were the drone strikes, and the limitations of his healthcare reforms. But mostly it was a frustrating sense he wasn’t serving her interests so much as those of a monied elite. So in the 2012 presidential election, Katbi voted for Jill Stein, the Green party candidate. But that didn’t change the world.

"It was only last year, when Bernie Sanders made his run under the banner of democratic socialism, that it all started to fall into place.

“ 'My politics were to the left of the Democratic party but I didn’t realise there was an entire ideology, an entire movement that was there. It had never occurred to me,” said Katbi. “Bernie was my introduction to the concept of democratic socialism. It’s not like I associated it with the cold war. It was a new concept to me completely. That was the case for a lot of millennials, which is why the movement has grown so much.' ” . . .

Jill Stein? Really? Has everyone heard her ideas and realized the silliness in them? Think of "occupiers" defecating on the American flag and on police cars, the mounds of debris and property destruction they left in their wake, the violence they perpetrate on those daring to express disagreement with them?

To sum up, I see silly leaders being followed by silly supporters, feared only for the damage they can wreak on civilized society.

Have college professors not taught about the seven decades of misery young socialists following Lenin and Marx inflicted on Russia and the nations conquered by that country? Have they not seen Venezuela and her socialist makeover that ground a prosperous nation into economic wreckage?

The Tunnel Dweller

Case in point: Jill Stein Blames North Korean Nuke Actions on U.S. ‘Economic and Military Domination’   . . . "Stein said the first step to solving the North Korea situation is to “freeze the war games” in exchange for a freeze on the North Korean missile and nuclear programs in addition to removing the THAAD missile shield. She called for “negotiation not escalation.' ”
Well, it has worked so well in the past.

Why Trump Was Right to Reverse Obama’s Policy on Military Gear for Police

Heritage  

. . . "Equipment provided through this program is currently being deployed in Texas to save lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Such equipment also resulted in lives saved during police operations in response to the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino in 2015 and at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in 2016," says Heritage expert John Malcolm. " . . .

John Malcolm, Vice President, Institute for Constitutional Government

The Onion reports: Antifa Organizers Announce Plans To Disrupt Neo-Nazi Rally Or Whatever Else Going On That Day

Legal Insurrection reports that Antifa is becoming an object of ridicule  "If you’ve watched any of the footage of Antifa over the last year, one thing is clear. They’re serious. They think their form of activism – if you could call it that – is serious, too. They have little to no sense of humor about themselves."With that in mind, it has been quite remarkable to watch them become an object of ridicule in venues which are known to be liberal." . . .

The Onion

"BERKELEY, CA—Vowing to derail whichever event it is by any means necessary, local Antifa organizers announced plans Monday to disrupt an upcoming neo-Nazi rally or whatever else is going on that day. “We will stop at nothing to prevent these vile f--king neo-Nazi hatemongers from gathering, or, if not them, someone else,” said Sarah Jackson, 26, adding that the only way to end the spread of fascism is to physically confront Nazis, peaceful right-wing protesters, or just random people going about their daily lives. “We need to tell these Hitler-loving f--ks or whoever else is standing there, ‘Get out of our city!’ Remember, we’re talking about white supremacist terrorists, people running errands on their lunch breaks, or a group of tourists, so if we have to throw a punch or two, then so f--king be it.” At press time, black-clad Antifa demonstrators screaming “Fascists, go home!” had swarmed a Scandinavian street festival."

It Wasn’t Comey’s Decision to Exonerate Hillary – It Was Obama’s

 

Andrew C. McCarthy

  . . . "On April 10, 2016, President Obama publicly stated that Hillary Clinton had shown “carelessness” in using a private e-mail server to handle classified information, but he insisted that she had not intended to endanger national security (which is not an element of the [criminal statutes relevant to her e-mail scandal]). The president acknowledged that classified information had been transmitted via Secretary Clinton’s server, but he suggested that, in the greater scheme of things, its importance had been vastly overstated. 

"This is precisely the reasoning that Comey relied on in ultimately absolving Clinton, as I recounted in the same column: 

On July 5, 2016, FBI director James Comey publicly stated that Clinton had been “extremely careless” in using a private email server to handle classified information, but he insisted that she had not intended to endanger national security (which is not an element of the relevant criminal statute). The director acknowledged that classified information had been transmitted via Secretary Clinton’s server, but he suggested that, in the greater scheme of things, it was just a small percentage of the emails involved. 

"Obama’s April statements are the significant ones. They told us how this was going to go. The rest is just details." . . . Read more.

What single-payer looks like, up close and personal

Benefitspro

Jack Hellner   (Entire article posted)    "My wife and I took my 91-year-old mom to the emergency room yesterday because she had a bad pain in her back and said she now needed 24-hour care.  After ten hours waiting, she was finally admitted.

"As I heard her continuous, continuous screaming and crying, when her blood pressure went to 220/130, at which point she asked God to help her and that it was time to go, and as she had two morphine shots, other pain relievers, and finally a muscle relaxer, I learned that none of that would allow her to be admitted under Medicare.

"A C.T. scan showed that in a fall, she had caused an acute fracture in a vertebrae.  She had literally broken her back.  The same bureaucracy was at work when I was told that this alone would also not be accepted as a legitimate cause for a stay at the hospital, according to Medicare.  You see, a broken back, according to the bureaucrats at the government, merits only observation, not admittance, because three days in the hospital might cause Medicare to have to pay for 20 days of acute nursing home treatment.

"Thank goodness my mom also has a UTI, is dehydrated, isn't eating, and isn't confused, because that might be good enough for Medicare.  The doctors are not even sure that all of this will qualify mom for Medicare coverage, but obviously, she will be headed to an acute care facility this week whether we have to pay for it or they do.  She certainly can't go home.

"Anyone who believes that Medicare for all or single-payer insurance is the solution and that there would be no limits for many of the gravely ill has been seriously misled.  There are limits all over the place within Medicare.  I would rather argue with any private insurer than attempt to argue with the government because with the government and its massive, unaccountable bureaucracy, I will lose.

"The reason Democrats took off all limits to care for private insurance companies within Obamacare was to get rid of competition and to get to single-payer.  Smaller companies cannot afford no annual and no lifetime risk rules, so competition disappears as a few behemoths remain.  In contrast, it is OK with Democrats if Medicare limits its risks and slaps on massive rules; it just won't tolerate that if it is done in the private sector.

"All of you who want the government to control health care should think of the British baby Charlie Gard, whose the parents have no choice under Britain's National Health Service, not even if they want to pay, because this is what single-payer looks like.  Or think of anyone here with a broken back.

"We need our freedom back."

Hat tip to Margi Hawks.

Confederatephobia Now Has Deranged Leftists Demanding Military Bases & Schools Be Destroyed

Tony Branco

Overpasses for America!   "America’s ambulance chasing hate group, The Southern Poverty Law Center has declared three of America’s largest Army bases Confederate monuments “with the potential to unleash more turmoil and bloodshed” if activists don’t “take down” the Army bases.

"The SPLC included Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia on a list of 1,500 “Confederate monuments” that the SPLC claims could inspire more violence like what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia last month. All three bases are named after Confederate military leaders.

"The list makes no mention of renaming namesakes of Confederate monuments; taking the monuments down is presented as the only option. The recent leftist campaign against Confederate namesakes and monuments has included a willingness among some far-left actors to destroy government property to accomplish their goals."
. . . 
"The SPLC’s map of “Confederate monuments” resembles the group’s “hate map” that has repeatedly smeared conservative organizations as “hate groups” and inspired domestic terrorist Floyd Lee Corkins II to shoot up the Family Research Center in 2012."

Via James Windsor at Guardian Eagles

American Silliness: Sept 2, 2017

Discarded Banana Peel Causes Racial Hysteria at Ole Miss  . . . " 'To be clear, many members of our community were hurt, frightened, and upset," the interim director of fraternity and sorority life wrote in a letter obtained by the newspaper. The president of one sorority told the newspaper that "bananas have historically been used to demean black people." I always thought bananas were historically used to make banana pudding." . . .
"These students are a long way from adulthood."

Study Blames Global Warming, Not Cell Phones, For Spike In Car Accident Deaths  . . . "Global warming was responsible for thousands of road deaths in 2015, according to a new study, contradicting many public safety experts who blame increased cell phone use for the spike in traffic fatalities." . . .
Well, it's on the internet so it must be true.


L’Oreal Fires First Transgender Model After She Goes On Rant About All White People Being Racists…
I could go to jail for daring to edit a single important word in the above link. Pronouns, people, pronouns!

"A TRANSGENDER model who claimed “ALL white people are racist” in a shocking Facebook rant days after being unveiled in her new role has been sacked by her bosses.".

Having seen too many videos of rioters, looters, youths playing the "knock-out game", and the beating of truck driver Reginald Denny during the LA Rodney King riots, I'm sure has played a part this person's racial outlook. And, of course, listening to Michelle Obama's addresses. TD

Hillary holds a fire sale   . . . "Which calls to mind that at a mere $2,000 a pop, Hillary seems to be holding a fire sale, especially since the ticket, at least in Canada, covers places for two people. Without an office to sell and favors to dispense, she shrinks precipitously in her price to the public. It must be some sort of humiliation since she's always for sale for something - to go from $5 million to a lousy $2,000 is enough to make one throw an ashtray. It's tough times when you are shilling very little of value." . . .

Stilleto-gate:

comicallyincorrect.

"HA! Melania Trump gives media ANOTHER chance to lose their minds by leaving for Texas in stilettos"   "Today, the First Lady’s giving the media another chance to beclown themselves:"

Image by The Slammer

Deleting History. Do not mock the "slippery slope" warning.

Leftist "cultural revolution"

E.M. Cadwaladr   "Patriotic Americans must stand together, good and bad, clean and unclean. War is being waged on Western civilization. In that struggle, we can neither be excessively polite to our globalist enemies nor fritter away effort repudiating the bigots among us – real or imaginary. Western civilization has survived its share of bigotry. It has yet to survive what “progressives” have in mind for it.

. . . "Leftists have no respect for history because they’ve never actually read any. They’ve only read the likes of Howard Zinn. They’ve been indoctrinated from the cradle. Anything done before last year was racist, misogynist, transphobic, and laughably outdated. What the West is experiencing now is little different from China’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s: mobs of emotionally enflamed young people encouraged by their socialist elders to tear the culture down. Leftists don’t need history to guide them -- that is what the propagandist media is for. Their past, present, and future are all cynically constructed lies. The person who knows history contradicts those lies. The person who knows history can see the writing on the wall.

"I neither hate nor love Robert E. Lee -- but if they tear his monument down today, they’ll be burning the U.S. Constitution tomorrow, triggered by the historical artifact of the three-fifths clause. Today they burn cars -- tomorrow they’ll burn people. People made into nonpersons by the simple expedient of calling them racists or fascists. We cannot expect our local councilmen or hired city managers to protect us. Their only interest is in keeping their own pampered, unprincipled hides out of the fire. We must stand together as our ancestors did -- one nation under God."

Public School Teachers Behind Violent Antifa Group

Daily Caller

. . . "By Any Means Necessary, which has played a key role in riots in Berkeley, Sacramento and elsewhere, has dozens of public school teachers among its members, including among its most prominent leaders.

"The FBI and Department of Homeland Security began paying closer attention to Antifa groups in general after BAMN and other extremists started a riot and attacked marchers at a white nationalist rally in Sacramento last July, Politico reported on Friday. The Sacramento violence left at least 10 people hospitalized, several of whom had knife wounds.

"One of BAMN’s most prominent organizers is Yvette Felarca, a Berkeley middle school teacher and pro-violence militant. Felarca currently faces charges of inciting a riot for her role in the Sacramento violence." . . .

I'm sure BAMN did not like this either:

Trevor Noah Condemns 'Vegan ISIS' Antifa: 'You’re Also Punching Your Cause'.

However he still gets a dig in on President Trump just to keep his street cred with Hollywood.

FBI, DHS Officially Classify Antifa Activities As "Domestic Terrorist Violence"

Scott Ferrarello at Moretti Underground

Zero Hedge   "President Trump was crucified by the mainstream media a few weeks back after hosting an improvised press conference and saying there was "blame on both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of a counterprotester.  The comments resulted in most of Trump's advisory councils being disbanded, as CEO's around the country pounced on the opportunity to distance themselves from the administration, and heightened calls from CNN for impeachment proceedings.

"The problem is that while Trump's delivery probably could have been a bit more artful, the underlying message seems to be proving more accurate with each passing day and each new outbreak of Antifa violence.

"As Politico points out today, previously unreported FBI and Department of Homeland Security studies found that "anarchist extremist" group like Antifa have been the "primary instigators of violence at public rallies" going back to at least April 2016 when the reports were first published." . . .

Peleliu Island Revisiting a Forgotten Battlefield

Peleliu
"Documentary Full Movie 2014 Revisiting a Forgotten Battlefield - Peleliu Island (Full Documentary)"

From the HBO series "The Pacific"

CNN: Credit when credit is due. Like now.

CNN Accused Of Staging On-Air Rescue By… Guess Who  "Infowars fans must’ve been apoplectic when they heard a “Clinton News Network” — their term for CNN — reporter, Drew Griffin, and his news crew had rushed to save a man in a truck being swept away by flood waters on Tuesday morning.

"But they had nothing to fear, as their conspiracy theory god, Alex Jones, came to the rescue with a new twisted story accusing CNN of staging the whole thing.

"Jones’ lemmings wasted no time in pushing out the ridiculous theory and “proof.”

. . . "Anyone watching CNN live that morning — I was — saw how harrowing and affected by what happened everyone involved was. Griffin was clearly stricken by the idea that the man would likely no longer be alive if the crew hadn’t happened to be there and happened to have a rope with them.

"Unfortunately, Jones, Watson, and their ilk feel no shame pushing such fake news tripe simply to push their own “CNN is the devil” narrative." . . .