Bush funeral: Reconciliation and civility Update: Except for Hillary

I have to admit appreciating Michelle Obama's greeting of Trump. After watching so many divisive victimhood excerpts from her commencement addresses I did not picture her as this gracious. The Tunnel Dweller

Monica Showalter

"Update from Thomas Lifson:

In contrast to the politeness of everyone else, Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge the arrival and greeting of President and Mrs. Trump as they joined the other presidents sitting in the front row of the George H.W. Bush funeral at the National Cathedral. President Trump leaned over his wife to shake hands with President and Mrs. Obama, who graciously reciprocated. Bill Clinton, sitting on the other side of Michelle Obama, did not reach out to shake hands, but at least looked in the direction of President Trump. But not Hillary Clinton.

The woman defeated by Donald Trump stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the arrival of the president of the United States only a few feet away. Neither a glance nor a nod broke the frozen expression of anger on her visage.

"No foot-stomping Wellstone funeral, no bitter McCain funeral. The Bushes are keeping it classy, with class something they've always been known for, and it's nice to see that they haven't changed. Their bitter political spats with President Trump are not going to dirty this up. They want the event to really be about President Bush and no one else."

Attacking Sully

She then imposed the false narrative of a power struggle between a dominant master (who had Parkinson's and needed a service dog to help him function throughout his day) and a helpless creature conscripted into training and forced to help 41.

James Aaron Brown "Ruth Graham, in an article published at Slate, demonstrated one of the worst vices of American media. Specifically, she sought to provoke and entertain the audience she writes for by unnecessarily criticizing Sully H.W. Bush, the service dog to George Bush, the 41st president of the United [S]tates.

"As the photo of Sully resting in front of 41's casket reached into every American's home and phone, Ruth felt that her greatest contribution would be to point out that Sully was simply an employee and not a beloved family pet.  Furthermore, she sought to do what many in her camp might do: impose a postmodern and deconstructionist interpretation upon a photo.  She then imposed the false narrative of a power struggle between a dominant master (who had Parkinson's and needed a service dog to help him function throughout his day) and a helpless creature conscripted into training and forced to help 41.  Her rationale?  This is what Sully was trained to do as an employee." . . .

Why was Sully lying in front of the casket of 41?  According to Graham, "it's a bit demented to project soul-wrenching grief onto a dog's decision to lie down in front of a casket."  Well, if we use science, then we will take stock of previous observations and compare similar accounts of dogs with funerals.  We will then look at studies or seek out experts like Dr. Coren to see if there is any meaningful correlation.  If we don't apply our own confirmation bias, as it seems Graham did in her article, we will find that Sully is doing what many a child with the same cognitive abilities and what other dogs in Sully's situation do.
If our society's goal is to entertain ourselves with false criticism, Slate proves this point.  . . .

 Critics did not like Graham's tacky article. Was she assigned this article, or did Slate's editors just happen to like it?
Other opinion articles by Graham

The final flight of President G.H.W. Bush

Rich Terrell

The downing of GHW Bush's plane in WW2 and his rescue.

George H.W. Bush World War II Service: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

George Herbert Walker Bush was a teenager when he became a Naval aviator during World War II. (Getty)

How could you not get a kick out of this piece of video? Remember the President vs broccoli?

American Thinker

Why Democratic Socialists Could Never Produce the Instant Pot

Intellectual Takeout

If Ocasio-Cortez cared about her constituents, she might take time to learn how entrepreneurs, with the freedom to use resources to serve consumers, have lifted billions out of poverty in the past few centuries. If the goal of democratic socialists to abolish capitalism is reached, we’ll never hear of future Dr. Wangs.

. . . "In November, Ocasio-Cortez asked her 1.2 million Twitter followers to post their favorite Instant Pot recipes. Perhaps she should ask her Twitter followers to explain to her how markets work to produce innovations like Instant Pots. There are no innovation recipes that guarantee entrepreneurial success.

"In my essay, “The Instant Pot and How Empathy Is at the Core of Capitalism,” I explored how Dr. Robert Wang risked $300,000 of his savings to invent the Instant Pot. No doubt Ocasio-Cortez sees herself as a highly empathetic person as she sets out to redistribute other people’s money, but Dr. Wang’s company was built on putting empathy into action with his own money.

"Empathy, as Dr. Wang knows, is the open secret of business success. Empathy, not greed, is the essence of an entrepreneurial mindset that fosters innovation to meet the urgent needs of customers.

"To those who assume capitalists are greedy, it may seem startling to call profit-seeking entrepreneurs compassionate. For many, compassion begins with politicians redistributing income. Yet empathy is a gateway to compassion. When an entrepreneur sees clearly the unmet needs of others, action to alleviate the need is possible.

Ocasio-Cortez’s platform calls for Medicare for all, housing as a right, and a federal jobs guarantee with a $15 minimum wage. Her motivation is not merely an expanded social safety net. These are just her first steps toward the abolishment of capitalism.

"We can wonder what government agency she envisions will conjure up innovations as good as the Instant Pot. Will future Dr. Wangs apply to a government board for funding? And since Ocasio-Cortez sees a desperate need for more healthcare and housing, how could precious funding be deployed to build something that satisfies unarticulated needs?

"If you use an Instant Pot, you already know its unique features. Burn protection is a design feature of the Instant Pot. Little steam escapes, and the result is perfectly cooked food without minding the stove. In my household, like many others, the Instant Pot has revolutionized cooking and eliminated pot scrubbing." . . . Read the full article

This article has been republished with permission from Foundation for Economic Education.

Related: Venezuela Reveals the Natural Progression of "Democratic Socialism"

Venezuela shows that socialism requires time to reduce a prosperous economy to misery and rule over its ruins.

..."Francisco Toro, writing in the Washington Post, tries to whitewash socialism in the wake of the destruction of Venezuela. He sends a message to “true believers” of the cause, from violent, hooded fanatics behind Soviet flags to eternally-offended worshipers of the ultra-left Senator Sanders or the comparatively moderate followers of Hillary Clinton." . . .

Bush's Finest 30 Seconds: The Willie Horton Ad

Ann Coulter  "The press in America is even worse than we imagine. We sense that they’re biased and stunningly incompetent. They are those things, but so much more. Our media’s version of the news is mathematically and precisely the opposite of the truth.

"The death and burial of George H.W. Bush is only the latest example.

"In the puffery and revisionism that accompany funerals, the man who gave us David Souter, an unnecessary war, tax hikes he promised not to impose and the Americans With Disabilities Act (aka The Destruction of Small Libraries Throughout New England Act) has been elevated to saintlike status.

"But the one incident the media decided to excoriate Bush for was, in fact, his finest moment: the Willie Horton ad.

"If we let the media get away with this, they will have once again redefined what constitutes acceptable discourse in America and cemented the notion that our political process should never be soiled by such a campaign ad — the one thing Bush got right in his entire public career.

"Far from representing the “low road,” the Willie Horton ad was the greatest campaign commercial in political history. The ad was the reason we have political campaigns: It clearly and forcefully highlighted the two presidential candidates’ diametrically opposed views on an issue of vital national importance." . . .

. . . "(An independent group unconnected to the Bush campaign produced an ad seen by 16 people showing Horton -- appalling the press by using his mug shot, rather than his First Communion photo as prescribed by The New York Times' standards and ethics policy for black criminals.)" . . . (Below)

Perhaps France should avoid Obama-type leaders in the future

French surrender on carbon tax upsets allies  . . . "Trump gloated on Twitter, “The Paris Agreement is fatally flawed because it raises the price of energy for responsible countries while whitewashing some of the worst polluters … in the world. I want clean air and clean water and have been making great strides in improving America’s environment. But American taxpayers – and American workers – shouldn’t pay to clean up others countries’ pollution.”

"The president misses the point. This is not about protecting the environment. If it were, the globalists would pile on Red China to clean up its act. This is about crippling our economy instead." . . .

French President Macron Suspends Gas Tax But He May Have Won The Too-Little-Too-Late Award  . . . "For the past three weeks, France has been hit by large scale riots (see my post on the subject). The cause of the riots is that a stagnant French economy that is strangling in government regulation was made even worse by French President Emmanuel Macron’s virtue-signaling decision to slap a 23% tax on fuel to combat “climate change.” This left many families literally unable to eat some days each month." . . .

It can be harder to take movements seriously when they are promoted by silly celebrities, needing approval from their silly peers. TD

Bob Dole Salutes President Bush One Last Time

Townhall  . . . "Dole, 95 years old, shares many things in common with President George H. W. Bush, who died on Friday at age 94. For starters, they are both World War II heroes and they both ran for president in the 1980s, with Bush finally prevailing in 1988." . . . 
. . . "As you can tell from the video, Dole respects his fellow veteran and political rival and wanted to give a proper sendoff." . . .
Senator Dole in World War 2, severely wounded in Italy:  

The reign of Queen San Fran Nan

Establishment Media Bias Blames Its Victims

Tony Branco

The American Spectator  Increasingly the public sees through the media’s arrogance and double-dealing.

"Liberals love victims… except those of establishment media bias. The American public astutely recognizes the bias, even as the establishment media adamantly refuses to acknowledge it. This ironic role reversal — from publicizer to perpetuator — reveals the true goal in the left’s love of victims and the establishment media’s role in advancing it.

"No group exalts victimhood like the left. In its view, there is no greater sin than to “blame the victim.” Yet, this is precisely what the establishment media does to those who dare confront its evident bias.

"Those with the temerity to expose the obvious are immediately labeled for relegation — haters, racists, misogynists, xenophobes, homophobes, traitors to their group, ignorant, or themselves biased — simply fill in the blank. To rephrase Shakespeare: The fault lies in themselves, not in their media stars.

"This increasingly occurs as evidence of establishment media bias grows. The proof comes from the public the professes to serve. Americans see the establishment media as biased — particularly against conservatives.

"Just before the election (10/25), Rasmussen released a poll showing 56 percent of Americans thought reporters were trying to influence the election when they wrote about a congressional race — and by 4-1, they were perceived as trying to help the Democrat. Just days later, Morning Consult wrote that 64 percent of voters said the press had done more to divide the country than had President Trump (56 percent).

"An internet search provides countless confirmation of this perceived bias. No wonder. Only those sharing the same anti-conservative bias cannot see the establishment media’s. Ignoring larger liberal failings and harping on — if not concocting — even picayune conservative ones were obvious through the Obama administration, the 2016 presidential campaign, and the Trump administration’s first two years.

"The establishment media’s treatment of the public it claims to serve starkly exposes what the left does with power once it actually attains it. Despite professing a desire to sow fairness and harvest harmony, liberals beat any plowshare into a sword as soon as they get it." . . .

Well, at least Hollywood still loves the Clintons

Is the Clinton stadium tour going to be canceled?  "So far, half of the events scheduled for the stadium tour of Bill and Hillary Clinton have been canceled.  Even worse, both of the two out of four events canceled were in the United States, and the two conversations delivered to audiences were both in Canada.

"Advance ticket sales for last night's scheduled event in Sugarland, Texas, a suburb of Houston, were so dismal that prices were slashed by 90% for the cheapest seats.  But even that level of discounting apparently didn't prevent another prospective sea of empty seats, such as the 83% empty arena in Toronto that had to be humiliating for the fading former first family." . . .

The contract between the Clintons and the tour-promoter, Live Nation, a publicly owned New York Stock Exchange-listed company with over ten billion dollars a year in sales, is confidential, so I don't know if the Clintons have a guaranteed minimum compensation.  But it is a pretty safe guess that poor attendance and deep discounts for ticket prices mean that the tour is losing money for Live Nation with each poorly attended show.  It is not cheap to rent stadiums, hire staff, provide security, and charter jets for the Clintons.How much money would a publicly owned company be willing to lose in order to save face for the Cintons, now that they are unlikely ever to regain use of the Oval Office?

 Full article here.

The Clintons Are Now The 'Spinal Tap' Of The Political World  . . . "At one point in the movie "This Is Spinal Tap"— a "rockumentary" about a fictitious aging British heavy metal band on tour in America — documentarian Marty DiBergi asks the band's manager, Ian Faith, about the band's waning popularity.

Marty: The last time Tap toured America, they were, uh, booked into 10,000 seat arenas, and 15,000 seat venues, and it seems that now, on their current tour they're being booked into 1,200 seat arenas, 1,500 seat arenas, and uh I was just wondering, does this mean uh ... the popularity of the group is waning?Ian: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no ... no, no, not at all. I, I, I just think that the ... uh ... their appeal is becoming more selective.

"Based on the first leg of their big 13-city cross-country tour, the Clintons' appeal is becoming very selective, indeed." . . .

Source: Lucianne

 Does SNL's kate McKinnon still think of Hillary as her "dreamboat"?

Russia’s Not the Biggest Threat to Our REPUBLIC, California Is

Independent Sentinel  "The politicians are so very worried about Russia corrupting elections, so please tell me why they aren’t worried about California. Communists and Socialists are stealing elections. In the California system, no one can or will check for voter fraud. It’s literally impossible.
"Orange County, a conservative area of California, turned deep blue this mid-term. Much of the change resulted from ballot harvesting, but there is so much more to know. For instance, according to the tallies, every Democrat voted in Orange County and one district had 120 percent show up to vote.
"Ballot harvesting accounted in part for the loss of Orange County and districts elsewhere in the United States. Thanks to a new bill signed in 2016 by former (leftist) Governor Jerry Brown, ballot harvesting is now in place in California and it greatly facilitates rampant voter fraud.
"California’s AB 1921 allows voters to give any third party — not just a relative or someone living in the same household, as was previously the law — to collect and turn in anyone else’s completed ballot." . . .

Turns out this was the banner year that EVERYONE is mailed a ballot and you can vote anywhere #CitizenAudit One voting location:

These ballot drop-off locations reported on in the article, and the areas voting for Gavin Newsome over Cox.

Oh, by the way...If You’re Looking For The Documented Evidence Of Voter Fraud In Broward County, Here It Is  "So, there have been a lot of reports about the fiasco that took place during the midterm elections across the nation as several states experienced what can only be explained as clear voter fraud, and some are still facing it.  However, Broward County, as usual, became one of the highlighted areas of voter fraud in Florida.  Now, we are no longer speculating about voter fraud, we have documented evidence of it." . . .

Angry French middle-class rioters and clueless liberals in America

It is hard to visualize Californians rioting over things like this; they're too mellow. Unless of course, someone opposes illegal immigration or gay marriage, then it's Katy, bar the door (Millennials may have to Google that term). TD

The French flinch: French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced Tuesday that the government is suspending a gas tax that roiled the country in widespread violence and chaos.

No leftist introspection so far. After Paris riots and green tax retreat, warmists at yet another UN Meeting escalate rhetoric, warn of the end of 'civilization'

. . . "And never mind the decline in global temperatures the last two years.  There are models that can rationalize that away.Trust the experts!Meanwhile, watch what the warmists do, not what they say.Here is what Bernie Sanders says about global warming: . . .

. . . "Glenn Reynolds, law professor and proprietor of Instapundit, has it exactly right when he says: "I'll believe global warming is a crisis when the people telling me it is a crisis start acting like it is a crisis!"

"Here we were able to elect a man whom the elites loathe – but who is making our government act again (as it used to and as it was designed to) on our behalf."

. . . "The trigger was a grossly high tax on gasoline, this to satisfy the green lobby – one designed to "wean" the French people off fossil fuels."But who uses such fuels?  Who depends on automobiles to get around?"Not the elites making the decision.  They live in cities such as Paris.  No, it was the nobodies who live in the sticks."

 Protesters chanted "We want Trump!"  . . . "If people cannot afford to drive their vehicles and possibly heat their homes, climate change is going to be of little significance to them. Climate change is a failed science predicated on money, money and profit for the wealthy industrialists and governments that push this propaganda.
"Oh, and lets not forget former presidents, like Barack Obama who said climate change is not being “fixed” because – “We could reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent, and it’s not like we would all have to go back to caves and live off fire … The reason we don’t do it is because we are still confused, blind, shrouded with hate, anger, racism, [and] mommy issues.”
"Climate change also has other insidious aspects to it, climate change is:" . . . Read on...
"Mommy issues"?