Americans Don’t Read… and That’s Affecting Our Elections

Annie Holmquist

. . . "But so what, right? In our enlightened digital age, what harm does it really bring if American literacy is tanking?

"A lot of harm, according to John Adams, particularly when it comes to elections. In 1761, he noted:

“The very Ground of our Liberties, is the freedom of Elections. Every Man has in Politicks as well as Religion, a Right to think and speak and Act for himself. No man either King or Subject, Clergyman or Layman has any Right to dictate to me the Person I shall choose for my Legislator and Ruler. I must judge for myself, but how can I judge, how can any Man judge, unless his Mind has been opened and enlarged by Reading. A Man who can read, will find in his Bible, in the common sermon Books that common People have by them and even in the Almanack and News Papers, Rules and observations, that will enlarge his Range of Thought, and enable him the better to judge who has and who has not that Integrity of Heart, and that Compass of Knowledge and Understanding, which form the Statesman.”

"Considering the state of the modern election circus, would you say it’s high time for Americans to step up their literacy game?" 

How PC Moralism Cuts Us Off From Our Cultural Heritage

Intellectual Takeout

 To today's Politically Correct generation, books should not be read because they are good, but only because we agree with them. Because of this, our society is becoming increasingly inbred--which is why we see so many intellectual hemophiliacs: people who can't sustain the wound of disagreement, lest they bleed to death.

"Anyone who has read classic literature knows that there are things in old books that offend our sensibilities. And this isn't a new phenomenon either. Every generation sees something in the thought and writing of previous generations that it doesn't like or that it finds offensive. 

"The difference today is not that there are any more things about the past we don't like, but in our reaction to them.

"Writing in the New York Times Book Review, Brian Morton takes note of the increasing tendency among young people to condemn out-of-hand any piece of literature that contains an intolerant character or distasteful idea.

"In the article, titled "Virginia Woolf? Snob! Richard Wright? Sexist! Dostoyevsky? Anti-Semite!" Morton mentions meeting a college student who couldn't bring himself to read more than fifty pages into Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth because he encountered an anti-Semitic character.

"Every generation down to the last one took the warnings of the occasional disagreeableness of the past under consideration and then read old books anyway. You were not expected to find these things appealing, but it was always expected that you understand the mentality behind them, a mentality you could only understand if you read about it.

"But today's readers are different. Says Morton:" . . . Read more...

AOC: The Perfect Graduate of Today's Biased Colleges

The real problem is our colleges (and earlier education, obviously) that are turning out the likes of AOC on an assembly line of the sort that drove Charlie Chaplin mad in Modern Times.

Roger L. Simon "In the immediate sense, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be the best thing to happen to the Republican Party since Abraham Lincoln. Her Green New Deal is as much dead in the water as it is brain dead and constitutes a fabulous talking point for the GOP to run on in 2020.

"But there is a point of concern — and in the long run a more important one.

"AOC represents the natural outgrowth of our extraordinarily biased higher educational system. She is its valedictorian, its Social Justice Summa Cum Laude. Give her the SJWPhD honoris causa and, while you're at it, give the United States of America to China. They won't have to fire a shot.

"Think I exaggerate? Consider the level of writing and thinking in her Green Deal in whatever ever-changing iteration, with or without the banning of cow flatulence and air travel, and notwithstanding the guaranteed income for those unwilling to work. (Isn't that already the case with internet trolls — but I digress?) This document, if one can call it that, resembles nothing more than the kind of swill presented to — and highly approved by — professors in today's grievance-obsessed colleges, where Shakespeare and Milton are dismissed or rejected and actual thought (i.e., intellectual reasoning) is ridiculed as manifestations of "white privilege." . . .

California schools advise their students to make CNN their source of news!

High-powered Dem Andre Fladell: What’s hurting the country the most is dysfunctional and disgusting CNN  "Palm Beach County Democrat and political powerbroker Andre Fladell is as angry at CNN’s fake news as Donald J. Trump.

"And, it sounds a little different when it’s coming from one of the most powerful Democrats in the Sunshine State.

“ 'What’s hurting the country the most, in my opinion, is the dysfunctional and disgusting reporting of a cable channel called CNN,” Fladell said during a meeting earlier this month of the United South County Democrats.

"Once awarded the honorary title of “Prince of Palm Beach” by the county’s commissioners, Fladell is a legendary political operative recognized across Florida, in part for the way he united six warring Democrat clubs and establishments into a united faction: the South County Political Cooperative. His history is a fascinating one, to say the least."

"He is, in short, a man of immeasurable influence and power among liberals, which makes his remarks about the news media — and especially CNN — that much more glaring. Listen to some of his speech below:"   . . .

Liberty Bugle

Lemon then became defensive of Obama’s characterization of law enforcement across the country as broadly biased against blacks and “people of color.”

. . . Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke made left-wing CNN’s Don Lemon visibly uncomfortable on Sunday night as he described the neo-Marxist Black Lives Matter as pushing a “hateful… anti-cop ideology.” . . .You can confront Lemon with obvious examples of his biases and he will lie just as Hillary would, unabashedly.

Even Media Matters calls out Lemon! CNN's Don Lemon Highlights The Media's Bias When Reporting On Black Victims And Criminal Records

Acting AG Matthew Whitaker: Football impresario, stomper of Democrats

Ed Timperlake  "The Judiciary Committee hearing on February 8, 2019, held by Chairman Nadler (D-N.Y.) with committee witness Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, became an epic historic failure.  Acting A.G. Whitaker's testimony is for the ages.

"It is simple: just watch clips from the hearing while taking note of the video of the Iowa Hawkeyes scoring a touchdown on a pass thrown to Number 46, Matt Whitaker.  If a person is capable of doing what Number 46 did under tremendous pressure, then the hearing was easily a symbolic walk in the park for the Acting A.G.

. . . 

"The former Iowa varsity Rose Bowl player symbolically ran every play he knew on the Democrats of the committee, while keeping a true Iowa nice style.  It was a day of symbolic smash mouth football while at times channeling his brilliant fake punt for a TD.

" 'Five minutes for lunch"?  They did not see that coming.

"A moment for the ages is captured in a lasting quote by witness  Whitaker in his reminding the chair that if Nadler sets the rules, then he also must play by the rules.  "Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up" will soon be part of congressional legends." . . .

Green New Deal Would Barely Change Earth’s Temperature. Here Are the Facts.

Heritage  (illustrations added by TD) "Here’s the most important fact about the Green New Deal: It wouldn’t work.
"Ultimately, fully implementing the Green New Deal would have no meaningful impact on global temperatures.
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., released their much-anticipated blueprint for a Green New Deal Thursday.
"And make no mistake: If implemented, the Green New Deal would bring huge changes to our country. According to an FAQ put out by Ocasio-Cortez’s office, this new deal is “a 10-year plan to mobilize every aspect of American society at a scale not seen since World War 2 to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.” 
"The plan additionally asks Americans to “upgrade or replace every building in U.S. for state-of-the-art energy efficiency” and to “build out highspeed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary.”

"That’s not even all. Far from being just an energy and climate resolution, the Green New Deal resolution is a wish list for big government spending, expansive government control, and massive amounts of wealth distribution.  As Ocasio-Cortez told NPR, “the heart of the Green New Deal is about social justice.” 
"Ultimately, this deal would fundamentally change how people produce and consume energy, harvest crops, raise livestock, build homes, drive cars, travel long distances, and manufacture(sp) goods. And it wouldn’t even work.
"Green New Deal Wouldn’t Change Climate Significantly 
"But here’s the key thing: Even if Americans were on board with this radical change in behavior and lifestyle, it wouldn’t change our climate.
"In fact, the U.S. could cut its carbon dioxide emissions 100 percent and it would not make a difference in abating global warming." . . .

Accused murderer spared abortion charge thanks to Cuomo’s new law

NY Post

"Prosecutors initially included a charge of abortion against the Queens man arrested Friday in his pregnant girlfriend’s murder — but rescinded it because of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new Reproductive Health Act.
"Queens District Attorney Richard Brown sent out a press release saying Anthony Hobson, 48, would be charged with second-degree abortion as well as murder in Sunday’s fatal stabbing of Jennifer Irigoyen, 35.

"But a DA spokeswoman later told The Post that the abortion charge “was repealed by the Legislature, and this is the law as it exists today.”

"Cuomo signed the RHA into law on Jan. 22, the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

"The law removes abortion from the state’s criminal code and puts it into public health law." . . .

The way things are

The popular vote must never, um, trump the electoral college.

American Silliness: 2/9/2019

Weasel Zippers is a constant source of this sort of thing.

Mandatory Train Travel And Regulated COW FARTS: The 'Green New Deal' Is Even Crazier Than You Thought  "The full elimination of all fossil fuel consumption, including natural gas, within the next ten years. This includes the full elimination of motor vehicles that operate on fossil fuels, including any vehicle with a combustion engine, be that vehicle a car, truck, boat, or plane. It's not super clear whether Ocasio-Cortez and her cohorts realize that electric cars also run on fossil fuels (the Green New Deal requires all parking lots to have electric vehicle charging stations, regardless).". . . 

Major League Baseball deems ‘disabled list’ too offensive  "Say goodbye to Major League Baseball’s disabled list.  "The league will rename the disabled list the “injured list,” according to an ESPN report, for fear the term “disabled” could offend." . . .

NBC Meteorologist: Earth Would ‘Just Be Fine’ if Humans ‘All Disappeared’ 
Except for me, of course.  Language advisory, regrettably, in this video.

Dem Rep. Ilhan Omar Demands USA Powerlifting Be Investigated For Barring Men From Competing Against Women . . . "Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar recommended Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison investigate USA Powerlifting for barring biological males from women’s events, according to a Jan. 31 letter she sent USA Powerlifting.
"Omar called it a “myth” that men who identify as transgender women have a “direct competitive advantage” and copied Ellison on the letter, “with a recommendation that he investigate this discriminatory behavior.' ”   How unIslamic.

Dem. Rep. Green: VA Blackface Controversy Shows Why Trump Should Be Impeached

College photoshops billboard to make students look more diverse  "This illustrates the importance of diversity to higher ed. It’s like an undeclared religion in academia."

Watch: Cory Booker Goes All In For Ocasio Cortez’s Green New Deal: Like Fighting Nazis

Weasel Zippers  "In-kind contribution to the Trump 2020 campaign."

Twitter Turns on Ocasio-Cortez After SOTU Behavior

Kira Davis calls AOC "America's child".  Kids will be kids.

Western Journal  "Twitter Turns on Ocasio-Cortez After SOTU Behavior Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is known for having a popular presence on Twitter among her nearly 3 million followers, But the freshman congresswoman is taking some heat for her behavior at Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Ocasio-Cortez, like many of her female colleagues, wore all white to the yearly address, in solidarity with her fellow feminists. However, it was her refusal to show appreciation for some of the more basic human interest issues addressed by President Donald Trump that caught the attention of many people on Twitter. Fox National security strategist and radio host Sebastian Gorka noted Ocasio-Cortez’s refusal to applaud even for the most humanitarian of issues. Political commentator Ryan Fournier tweeted While Trump’s address might not have been appreciated by the youngest congresswoman in history, it was well received by the American people. A CBS poll showed that 76 percent of those who listened to the address approved of the president’s speech, only 43 percent of which were Republicans."

Rick Moran: The wild and wacky mind of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  . . . "It is telling that she hasn't a clue what she herself believes.  In order to have a personal philosophy — conservative, liberal, socialist — you must have the knack for introspection, the ability to step outside yourself and examine what you really believe.

"But introspection is an intellectual exercise, and, lacking evidence to the contrary, Ocasio-Cortez has no intellect to exercise.

"She doesn't know what she believes.  Does she even know who she is?

. . . 

OCASIO-CORTEZ: "Because we are standing on native land. And Latino people are descendants of native people, and we cannot be told and criminalized simply for our identity or our status."

"Standing on native land"?  Well, at least she's not advocating a return of California to Mexico. "   . . .

Wait! Not so fast there! AOC gets here ideas from many who advocate exactly that. Voters have put into power a woman who does not like her own country as founded and learns at the feet of many others of the same mind. TD

Matthew Whitaker’s ‘Not Acceptable’ Judiciary Hearing Responses Set Off Sheila Jackson Lee

Daily Caller

“ 'The rules are that you are here, so I need to ask the question and I need to have my time restored so that you can behave appropriately,” Jackson Lee continued. “I will behave appropriately as a member of the judiciary committee.”

Jackson Lee’s response was triggered after she asked the House Judiciary Committee if her time to question the witness was restored and Whitaker replied that he was not sure." 

Then Mr. Whitaker got into this with House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler . . . 
"President Donald Trump appointed Whitaker to serve as the acting attorney general after former attorney general Jeff Sessions was forced to resign. With the elevation, Whitaker assumed control of oversight of the Mueller’s probe." . . .