2019: The Left Goes Over the Edge

Dark Angel Politics

J.R. Dunn  "The left has always been a movement in danger of going straight over the edge. You can see it in the rhetoric, the agenda, the public behavior, and the quality of people it attracts. Many of us have been waiting for years for it to blow up like a Soviet-era nuclear reactor. But although individual leftists have redlined (Hillary, Anthony Weiner, your name here), the movement as a whole has repeatedly pulled out before going into the abyss. There always seems to be a rescuing hand extended from somewhere or other. (More on that later.)

"That’s why 2019 was such a satisfactory year – much more satisfactory than most. Because 2019 was the year that the left plunged toward oblivion, howling madly, engines exploding, and fuel tanks ablaze.

"You voice doubts, comrades? Well then, come along with me for a short stroll through some of the highlights of the past twelve months.

"• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – The Future of the Progressive Movement is an ex-waitress who is frightened of a garbage disposal. Almost her first act in office was to cost New York City tens of thousands of jobs by running Amazon out of town. It was followed by a series of solecisms, idiocies, and contradictions unequalled in the American political record. If this marks the new progressive politician –  human black holes destroying rationality and coherence by their very existence – then bring ‘em on.

"• Tlaib and Omar – This pair has proven inadequate to their mission, which was to make Jihadi terror look normal and all-American, preparatory to a flood of their type entering government on all levels. Instead, somebody forgot to whitewash their connections to some of the vilest Jihadi outfits on the planet, including Hamas and the Moslem Brotherhood. Quite apart from that, we have the fact that they’re dirty in every other sense as well, with Tlaib awarding herself spare campaign funds and Omar… Well, she turns out to be that kind of girl that can’t touch anything at all without turning it inside out in eight separate dimensions. At this point, it’s not even clear what her name is, or what Somalian murder squad she’s actually related to. The two of them have managed to duck consequences so far, but it’s still early days.

"• Greta Thunberg – The climate exploitation movement finally found its world representative in an emotionally unbalanced sixteen-year-old. This pretty much speaks for itself. All we need add is that it’s a clear sign of desperation from a collapsing movement: “We’ve tried the scientists, we’ve tried the pols, we’ve tried the UN… let’s throw in the twitch and see how she does.”

"• Eric Swallwell – Apart from IBS symptoms, Swallwell has carved for himself a historical niche as the first politician to threaten to use nuclear weapons against fellow Americans. That was bad enough, but you have to add in the number of condemnations he received from the Dems, which hover around ‘zero.’ The party thinks they’ve successfully buried this. They are mistaken." . . .Much more here...

Journalism Dies In Political Bias

"We will NOT be owned by YOU!

From the fertile mind of Rich Terrell

Overnight Open Thread: Iranians And Others Across Region Celebrating Tonight, With Hashtag Thanking Trump, #TnxPOTUS4Soleimani

Weasel ZippersAsra Q. Nomani, PI

✔@AsraNomani

Who is breathing a sigh of relief that Gen Soleimani is dead? Dissidents, feminists & secularists from Iran, Iraq, Syria & Lebanon.
He was a Shia Osama bin Laden with a national treasury & flag.
Who is crying foul? Obama alum Ben Rhodes, CodePink & Squad cocreator Cenk Uyger

Amin@amin13626

#TnxPOTUS4Soleimani #realDonaldTrump ...
Behalf of the people of Iran who fighting against the #IslamicRegim

 آیدیناتور@Da_Aidinator

As an Iranian, I wanted to thank you with all my heart @realDonaldTrump, for putting an end to #Soleimani. You just made the world a better place to live

The Nine Most Absurdly PC Moments of 2019

Katherine Timpf, NRO

. . . "Obsession with political correctness has been causing some pretty ridiculous outcomes for years now, and 2019 was no exception.
"Here, in no particular order, are the nine most absurdly PC moments of 2019:
"A liberal author said that “normal” people must stop wearing any kind of red hat — because all red hats are too scary. 
"A prominent liberal author demanded that “normal” people (that is, people who don’t support Trump) avoid wearing any kind of red hat. Because red hats can, at first glance, look like MAGA hats — which she also, by the way, compares to swastikas — all red hats are apparently “making people scared.”
"A scholar said we have to let some people choose their own ages in order to “reduce ageism.” 
"In an article in The Journal of Medical Ethics, a Finnish bioethicist argued that people should be allowed to legally change their age if they feel like they’re actually another one.
"Experts recommended that we stop using the word “cyclist,” on the grounds that it “dehumanizes” people who ride bikes.
"Apparently, we’re supposed to refer to them as “people on bikes” instead.
"A Women’s March in a mostly white city was canceled for being too white.
"The county where the march was scheduled to take place is approximately 74 percent non-Hispanic white.
"(After the cancellation, a new march was planned for the same day by a different organizer — and the original organizers reportedly boycotted it. Jeesh.)
"A self-described “Fat Sex Therapist” compared fitness instructors to Nazis during a speech at St. Olaf College.
"She also called any science suggesting that obesity is bad for you “fatphobic science,” and compared putting children on diets to rape.
"The word “but” was declared a “trigger” at a Michigan State University training.
"Apparently, the word “but” should be replaced with “and” — even though, you know, that’s a different word with a different meaning
"Harvard protesters insisted that practicing objective journalism was “endangering undocumented students.”
"The campus newspaper had dared to ask U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement representatives for comment on a story about an “Abolish ICE” protest." 
"Colorado State University instructed students “to avoid” using the words “America” and “American.”
"Apparently, doing so “erases other cultures”
"Apparently, Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten are a “vision of heterosexuality without straight people.” (As if that makes even the slightest amount of sense.)A Yale professor claimed that gay white men are actually symbols of heterosexuality."

The Most Absurd PC Moments of the 2010s

Katherine Timpf:  Katherine Timpf is a reporter for National Review Online. 
  

8. Some feminists decided that “pussyhats” were both racist and transphobic. Why? Well, because not all women have vaginas, and not all vaginas are pink, of course.

"A lot has happened in the last decade — including a lot of things being called racist, sexist, offensive, or insensitive.
"Here, in no particular order, are 24 of the most absurdly politically correct moments of the decade:"

"1. A college diversity-training course taught that it was culturally insensitive to expect people to be on time.
 "A Clemson University training course taught its attendees that it is offensive to expect people to be on time, because “time may be considered fluid” in other cultures.-

"2. The phrase “trigger warning” was deemed a trigger.
"According to a piece in Everyday Feminism, “trigger warning” is actually in itself a trigger — because it could “be re-traumatizing for folks who have suffered military, police, and other forms of violence.” (The piece recommended using “content warning” instead.)"

3. A professor was accused of sexual harassment for saying that effort is 10 percent of the grade. 

"A Brooklyn College of City University of New York professor says he was forced to change his syllabus after he was accused of “sexual harrassment” for stating that effort was 10 percent of the grade.

"4. A campus survey included a trigger warning to caution college students that it may contain “anatomical names of body parts.” 

"The survey was distributed at several major universities — because, apparently, college students just might not be able to handle the kinds of words that most kids hear in their middle-school biology classes.

5. University researchers demanded that we accept people who “identify as real vampires.”

"Apparently, it’s the least we can do to prevent anti-vampire discrimination.

"6. A Seattle-area councilman was concerned about the city hosing poop off of its sidewalks because he thought that it might seem too racially insensitive.

"The area in question reportedly stank like “urine and excrement” — but one councilman was worried that hosing it down could be a microaggression.

"7. A bathing-suit advertisement was criticized for being “sexist” because it depicted a woman in a bathing suit.

"I thought it was normal for product advertisements to depict the product that they’re selling — but apparently, I was wrong." . . .

One of my top five was this:

 "11. A school in Seattle reportedly insisted that Easter eggs be called “spring spheres.  Maybe calling them, simply, “eggs” would still have been too religious? Hard to say." See for yourself

The Dangers of Elite Groupthink

Victor Davis Hanson

Knowledge can be found at all ages, and in all places. And ethics has nothing to do with degrees or pedigrees.

"The Washington Post recently published a surprising indictment of MSNBC host, Stanford graduate, and Rhodes scholar Rachel Maddow.
"Post media critic Erik Wemple wrote that Maddow deliberately misled her audience by claiming the now-discredited Steele dossier was largely verifiable — even at a time when there was plenty of evidence that it was mostly bogus.
"At the very time Maddow was reassuring viewers that Christopher Steele was believable, populist talk radio and the much-criticized Fox News Channel were insisting that most of Steele’s allegations simply could not be true. Maddow was wrong. Her less-degreed critics proved to be right.
"In 2018, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R., Calif.), and the committee’s then-ranking minority member, Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), each issued contrasting reports of the committee’s investigation into allegations of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign team and the misbehavior of federal agencies.
"Schiff’s memo was widely praised by the media. Nunes’s report was condemned as rank and partisan.
"Many in the media went further. They contrasted Harvard Law graduate Schiff with rural central Californian Nunes to help explain why the clever Schiff got to the bottom of collusion and the “former dairy farmer” Nunes was “way over his head” and had “no idea what’s going on.”
"Recently, the nonpartisan inspector general of the Department of Justice, Michael Horowitz, found widespread wrongdoing at the DOJ and FBI. He confirmed the key findings in the Nunes memo about the Steele dossier and its pernicious role in the FISA application seeking a warrant against former Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page.
"In contrast, much of what the once-praised Schiff had claimed to be true was proven wrong by Horowitz — from Schiff’s insistence that the FBI verified the Steele dossier to his assertion that the Department of Justice did not rely chiefly on the dossier for its warrant application." . . .

Integrity and the American press

Stilton's Place

No Benghazi here; Trump is not Obama or Hillary

Image by Oleg Atbashin of The People's Cube

"This is not a warning, it is a threat"   . . . "Progressive groups are trying to call the Baghdad attack President Trump's Benghazi.  That is disingenuous at best.  There is no equivalence at all.  There are indeed significant differences.  President Trump provided immediate assistance, and no one, most assuredly not the ambassador, has been murdered and dragged through the streets.  The president and his administration have not sought to blame the violence on some nonsensical event like an obscure video, but rather placed the blame squarely on those who perpetrated the act and their supporters.  The president is not running from pillar to post holding meetings and press conferences.  He has mobilized a huge response force and let the identified belligerents know that if they keep it up, they will meet this force personally.  Said the president, "This is not a warning.  It is a threat." 

"That is how a leader keeps Americans safe and protects American interests. " 

Thanks Obama! How American Tax Dollars AGAIN Financed the Attack of Our Own Embassy  "Crazy Uncle Joe claims there were absolutely no scandals with he and Barry at the helm.

"There certainly are plenty now Joe, as if there weren’t before.
"It turns out that American tax dollars likely financed the attack on our own embassy in Baghdad." . . .

PICTURES: US sends first wave of 750 paratroopers to the Middle East in response to attack on embassy  . . . "The official account for the 82nd Airborne, America’s Division tweeted on Wednesday: ‘Early this morning more than 650 All American Paratroopers and equipment began their deployment to the @CENTCOM (U.S. Central Command) area of operations.

" ‘This is why we exist. Your @Strike_Hold (1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division) Paratroopers have trained and prepared for events like these. @OIRSpox (spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve), they are on the way.’ "

Robocalls get Trumped

Judge awards $229,500 for robocall harassment. Should you sue?  "For millions of Americans, robocalls are a barely tolerated nuisance. But when one Texas woman received 153 robocalls from a cable company, she didn't tolerate it, she complained – and was awarded almost a quarter of a million dollars. 
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan has ordered Time Warner Cable to pay Araceli King of Irving, Texas, $229,500 for harassing her with more than 100 robocalls even after she complained about them, behavior the judge called "particularly egregious."
"According to the ruling, Time Warner Cable violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, a law meant to curb robocall and telemarketing abuses." . . .

Trump signs the bill that ought to ensure his re-election "There is an excellent reason why the media largely are ignoring the bill that President Trump signed on Monday: when voters hear about it, they will want to vote for him out of sheer gratitude.

"Simply put, one of the most annoying aspects of life at home, robocalls, are now subject to federal legal sanction.  S. 151, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act:

This bill implements a forfeiture penalty for violations (with or without intent) of the prohibition on certain robocalls. The bill also removes an annual reporting requirement for enforcement relating to unsolicited facsimile advertisements.

The bill requires voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall promulgate rules establishing when a provider may block a voice call based on information provided by the call authentication framework, but also must establish a process to permit a calling party adversely affected by the framework to verify the authenticity of their calls. The FCC shall also initiate a rulemaking to help protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or texts from a caller using an unauthenticated number.

This bill requires the Department of Justice and the FCC to assemble an interagency working group to study and report to Congress on the enforcement of the prohibition of certain robocalls. Specifically, the working group will look into how to better enforce against robocalls by examining issues like the types of laws, policies, or constraints that could be inhibiting enforcement.

The bill requires the FCC to initiate a proceeding to determine whether its policies regarding access to number resources could be modified to help reduce access to numbers by potential robocall violators.

"Thanks, President Trump!  You've got my vote."   Thomas Lifson

2020 and Democrats: what do they have in store for us?

In 2020, Democrats again plan to mess with the military  . . . "In addition to the psychological risks associated with allowing so-called transgender people into the military, the actual costs are high too. During the Obama era, the military (i.e. you, the American taxpayer) was paying for sex reassignment surgeries and hormone therapy. In addition, the after-effects of surgery and hormones create their own problems, problems that must inevitably affect the service-readiness of many who have had taxpayer-funded surgery and treatments.

"The Democrats’ dogged focus on messing with military readiness should be at the forefront of every voter’s mind during both primaries and general election."

Newly-Elected Democrats Let Their Masks Slip, Revealing The Fascists Beneath
"Liberals, and Democrats in particular, are great at creating false equivalencies.  Their latest attempt at this is to equate the heinous 2012 attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, and the feckless response of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama with the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and President Trump’s no-nonsense response.

"Without replaying the whole sordid Benghazi event, suffice it to say that a coordinated, orchestrated, and deadly attack against two U.S. facilities in Benghazi claimed the lives of four U.S. personnel including a U.S. ambassador.  The response before during and after the attack was shameful.  No additional security was provided to the sites prior to the attacks despite repeated pleas from the ambassador, no help was forthcoming during the attack and there was no response after the attack other than a disgraceful press tour.

"Contrast this with President Trump’s defense of Americans.  On Friday, an Iranian-backed militia attacked a U.S. base and killed an American contractor and wounded many others. On Sunday, U.S. fighter jets attacked and demolished five militia bases in Iraq and Syria, killing 25 people." . . .

Hollywood Not Sending Us Their Best

Thank heaven we have "Law & Order: SVU" to expose NRA members!In the brain of a “queer, Jewish feminist,” the thought process is: I personally don’t enjoy this perfectly traditional, masculine, Anglo-Saxon sport of hunting; therefore, I will portray American male hunters as butt-raping their own sons.

Ann Coulter   "America’s apparently unstoppable gusher of mass Third World immigration is on track to deliver a sick, dystopian future, where some people will do very well -- cheap maids and all -- but women and children will fare quite poorly.

"(Finally! A story where women and children really ARE “hit hardest.”) (That’s Joe Sobran’s gag on a typical New York Times headline.)
"With the major media actively covering up the crimes of immigrants, and big tech companies censoring people who point out the peculiarities of other cultures, there seems to be a major campaign on to prevent Americans from noticing.
"Luckily, we have “Law & Order” to tell us the truth -- technically to prompt me to tell the truth by correcting their scripts, in which sex traffickers, little boy rapists and women-hating mass shooters are invariably Trump-supporting white American males.
"Beautiful actors and actresses spout dialogue written for them by “queer Jewish feminists” -- according to one writer’s self-description in response to my recent “Law & Order: SVU” column.
"I had pointed out that sex traffickers of 9-year-old illegal alien girls -- while prevalent in our new “diverse” country -- have never, ever, ever been what the show advertised: married white American businessmen.
"Celine Robinson responded on Twitter:

“I could not be more proud that ann coulter hates an episode of TV that I wrote. Nothing makes my heart sing like a fuming racist all-capsing about the progressive messaging she cannot stop due to her eternal and total irrelevance.

"Yours,"A half French, queer, Jewish feminist”

"I can’t help but notice that they don’t let viewers get a gander at Celine. No, they use hot actors and actresses -- pretty much the molecular opposite of a “queer, Jewish feminist” -- to express the multiple hatreds of a “queer, Jewish feminist” to the TV viewing public.

"You can view Celine’s photo here: . . . "
"It's always Opposites Day at “Law & Order: SVU”!

"Today, I will review another totally believable episode, from Season 20, titled “Man Up/Man Down.” In this show, a blond, blue-eyed married American man anally rapes his teenaged sons when he takes them ... hunting. Yes, hunting. The only thing missing was the MAGA hat.
"Checking my research on child rape in America, I see this has happened NEVER.

Obama and his Democrat friends love the happenings in Baghdad

Stilton's Place checks in: "In yet another effort by the "non-candidate" to get her face on the news, Hillary Clinton announced that she, along with daughter Chelsea Hubbell Clinton, was creating a new film production company which would "plan to focus on stories by and about women," as if the Hallmark Channel hadn't already beaten that estrogen-heavy genre to death." . . .

No matter how you look at it, the Left's ferocious bias against President Trump, one unleavened by a smidgen of objectivity, leaves them incapable of understanding events playing out in real time – and means that the media is incapable of intelligently or accurately reporting on the news of the day.   Andrea Widburg 

Andrea Widberg 1:  Baghdad shows the Left can't keep its stories straight  "President Trump continues to make Leftists decompensate in ways that can be worrisome but also are occasionally refreshing.  In the latter category, Leftists are so desperate to diminish President Trump's actions in the wake of the attack on the American embassy in Baghdad, they are abandoning their long-held narrative that President Obama's response to the Benghazi attack in 2012 was virtuous or, at least, unremarkable.

. . . In other words, while Benghazi became a watchword to conservatives for President Obama's malignant negligence, America's Democrat establishment, whether in politics or the media, held that it was just a case of bad things happening that were not President Obama's fault.  . . .

Andrea Widberg 2: Trump stands tall against Iranian attacks in Iraq

Let’s hope that Trump is able to avoid an embassy takeover or similar disaster. And if there is an embassy takeover, let’s hope that Trump handles it a whole lot better than Jimmy Carter did 40 years ago.

He was here at the White House with Prime Minister Maliki because he’s a transportation minister, yeah, transportation minister