The Academy Awards are this weekend. Almost no one has even heard of the movies up for Best Picture.

 

Reason  . . . "It's funny I should mention that movie, since it's about how Hollywood is smug, cynical, self-absorbed, and completely deluded about its own political relevance and purity. Of all the explanations for why the Oscars has failed to capture the public imagination in recent decades, this is the one that has received the most attention. 

"And not without reason either. The films in contention have, by at least one count, become more political in recent years, and it's probably true that the discussion around those films has become more political, at least for the Extremely Online. Movies have become grist for the culture-war-take mill; I've ground out a few in my time. 

"And then there are the speeches themselves, about which The New York Times recently had this to say: "Increasingly, the ceremonies are less about entertainment honors and more about progressive politics, which inevitably annoys those in the audience who disagree. One recent producer of the Oscars, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential metrics, said minute-by-minute post-show ratings analysis indicated that 'vast swaths' of people turned off their televisions when celebrities started to opine on politics."

"Fair enough. People love to hate celebrity politics; at this point, hating celebrity politics may well be more popular than the Oscars." . . .

Any awards release with political overtones faces a conundrum: To win the Academy Award, it must court Hollywood liberals, which can mean alienating the ticket-buying public at large.

"The Oscars Sink To New Level of Ridiculous (Had me laughing)"

An airport brawl seems like a microcosm of America

 Andrea Widburg  "A few videos are making the rounds showing a wild brawl taking place at one of the gates in Miami International Airport.  We don't know what started the brawl, although the media are reporting that the police did eventually arrest one person for disorderly conduct.  The primary victim, however, does not want to press charges, so the matter will almost certainly disappear.

"What makes one of the videos so compelling is the fact that it seemingly represents the breakdown of law and order across American cities." . . .

. . . "This is what America seems to have become in 2021: a place unconstrained by any societal norms, in which even once peaceful venues become the setting for wildly antisocial behavior.  Moreover, there are almost no men with chests to step in and make things right.

"If you're not familiar with the phrase "men without chests," it's from C.S. Lewis's 1943 book, The Abolition of Man.  In it, Lewis writes,

We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.

"It's a densely written book, which makes it hard to read because it begins by attacking what we've come to know as moral relativism or postmodernism — that is, denying objective facts
and values and replacing everything with subjective feelings.  In that context, his men without chests weren't weaklings.  They were, instead, men who no longer stood for anything because moral relativism left them without values they could hang on to as guides through life.  Notions such as bravery, honor, decency, loyalty, and chivalry are meaningless if everything is supplanted by feelings.

"And so, at the airport, brutal men fought because they've been raised in a world without objective values of decency and morality. " . . .

Pictured, right: Amazon "In the classic The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis, the most important Christian writer of the 20th century, sets out to persuade his audience of the importance and relevance of universal values such as courage and honor in contemporary society. Both astonishing and prophetic, The Abolition of Man is one of the most debated of Lewis's extraordinary works. National Review chose it as number seven on their 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Twentieth Century."

Joy Behar of "The View" solves the issue of guns

 "Idiot Joy Behar Suggests Columbus Cops Shoot ‘Shot in the Air,’ Police Union Slams Her for Being an Idiot"  . . . "Leftists have made it clear there is NOTHING police can do that will get in the way of their political agenda. Let’s say police did fire a warning shot. Instead of Bryant being stopped, it would be the other girl who was stabbed to death. Then the shrill yaks on The View would be attacking the cop for NOT stopping the murder. It would probably be the cops’ fault for not stepping in the way of the knife.

"A combination of politics and not wanting to admit they screwed up is making media personalities side with someone who was about to kill someone else. Just because that’s the anti-cop side. These are the idiots who control our “national” discussion." . . .

Joy Behar: Don't tell Americans before you take their guns "Politicians seeking to confiscate guns from Americans shouldn't share their plans with the public beforehand and should seek to maintain an element of surprise, Joy Behar said on "The View" Monday." . . .

Fraternal Order of Police VP blasts Joy Behar's comments about policing: 'not grounded in any facts'

Why don't we have a discussion about warning shots, Joy? They're prohibited in every single police agency and, oh yeah, a simple law of physics: what goes up must come down. So those bullets are going to come down somewhere. And this other idea of shooting someone in the leg, first of all, someone had the femoral artery in their leg. Not only that, we shoot center mass because that is the largest target. If that officer misses and hits the girl next door and the one who is the actual victim in all of this, how is that going to play out?

Behar does have a verbal track record:  ‘The View’ star Joy Behar mocks Mike Pence’s Christian faith: ‘That’s called mental illness’

You can say anything stupid as long as the guy who controls the Applause machine works for you. TD

"Biden Has Always Been a Doofus"...

Youtube Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas and Newt Gingrich expose Biden for the incompetent phony he always was, and still is.

When Democrats rule...

                                                                        Ghenghis Gary

Here's Why Democrats Can Never Be Trusted With the Majority Again; Also at the Patriot Daily Press  . . . "When Barack Obama had one-party rule we got a government takeover of healthcare. Joe Biden now has one-party rule, and we’re seeing efforts to eliminate the Senate filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, make Washington, D.C., a state, and federalize elections. All of these things have just one goal: preserve power for the Democratic Party." . . .

George Floyd Square Is a Crime-Ridden Disaster, Black Business Owners Speak Out "With the guilty verdict levied against Derek Chauvin, the quasi-religious shrine to George Floyd in Minneapolis is continuing to cause major issues for those who actually live there. While outsiders pour in and crime spikes, including at least one murder in the square, those who actually live in the area are paying the price.

"Now, black business owners are speaking out and asking for something to be done to help their situation." . . .

Black business owners at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis pleading for help as crime spikes and revenue plummets https://t.co/XQGF3zmyLH

— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) April 24, 2021

Conservative Group 'Welcomes' Kamala Harris to New Hampshire With Blistering 'Wrong Border' Newspaper Ad  "Kamala Harris traveled to “hostile territory” in New Hampshire on Friday to shill for the “Biden-Harris,” so-called “infrastructure” plan, where she was promptly greeted by conservative protesters. Their principal target was not the “infrastructure” plan, but rather Harris’s refusal to travel to the southern border to address the Biden Border Crisis." . . .

Dems are out to destroy a Chauvin defense witness’s life and reputation "George Floyd had a lethal dose of fentanyl in his body. His post-mortem blood oxygen level was a robust 98%, despite significant heart disease. He was complaining that he couldn’t breathe long before the police, following a violent struggle, got him to the ground in the Minneapolis-approved position for excited delirium. Accurate, previously unseen footage showed that Officer Chauvin’s knee was on Floyd’s shoulders, not his neck. Oh, and an alternate juror said that she was afraid the mob would go after her for a non-guilty verdict. On these and other facts, the prosecution got a guilty verdict. Armed with it, the Democrats are now working to destroy a former medical who dared to testify in Chauvin’s favor.

"Here’s the story according to the Daily Mail:" . . .

That’s how Democrats roll. They have sent a warning to conservatives or independents in America that, if they run up against the Democrats on a single issue and lose, they will be destroyed. Does that mean we shouldn’t take principled stands, show courage, and fight the good fight? Of course not. It means only that, like Calgacus before us, we must understand the stakes. 

From Twitter:  

@KenRoth  

·

Apr 23

In a welcome contrast to Trump-Pompeo homophobia, Secretary of State Blinken will allow US diplomatic posts around the world to fly the Pride flag at key moments to showcase US support for LGBTQ rights. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/22/pride-flag-lgbtq-rights-state-department-biden-reverse-trump-embassies/

 Biden Admin Invites Young Mexican Communist to Crap All Over US and Push Marxism at their Online Climate Conference  from Sky News, Australia.  She reads somebody else's words, as you can see.

Where's the Accountability For California's $31 Billion Unemployment Scandal?

Poll: Americans Not Buying Into Democrats' Anti-Gun Panic Rhetoric  . . . "The anti-gun lobby is just one of the many puppet masters pulling the strings of the empty vessel occupying the Oval Office. They made their intentions known quite early and leaned on Biden to do something quickly. He obeyed his masters via executive action earlier this month.  He had to do it that way because federal gun control legislation rarely gets passed (more on that in a moment)." . . .

We’ve Lost Count Of How Many ‘Last Chances’ We’ve Had To Save The Planet

"That these people, including the John Kerrys of the U.S., who are as useful as a broken leg, have not been driven from their positions of influence and authority is a near tragedy." . . .

 Issues & Insights

"John Kerry said earlier this month that we’ve reached “the last best opportunity we have to get real and serious” about global warming. What’s the difference between him and a loon walking down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue wearing one of those sandwich boards proclaiming the end of the world is nigh? We’re struggling to see any.

"Kerry, the Biden administration’s special presidential envoy for climate – an office that amounts to much less than a bucket of warm spit – is part of a chorus of fearmongering that goes back more than three decades. 

“ 'In 1989 the United Nations gave us 10 years to save the world,” science site Watts Up With That posted last year. 

"Guess blogger Eric Worrall then went on to list more than a dozen “last chances” to stop global warming.

“ 'If we do not heed this last chance, I’m sure there will be another last chance in the near future, just like all the previous last chances,” he said.

"Dire, way-off-base predictions have been the hallmark of radical environmentalism for at least a half century. Reason’s Ronald Bailey took “a look back” in 2020 at the first Earth Day and the forecasters “who got the future wrong.” He notes that the world did not have to halve the planet’s population or stop economic growth completely “to prevent the imminent ecological cataclysm.' ” . . .

Babylon Bee; Greta Thunberg Eyes That Shoot At SUVs

Corporate Media And Other Race-Baiters Have Incited More Violence Than Trump Ever Did

"That’s because they don’t so much report as create. They don’t get clicks and clout by uncovering and reporting what actually happened, but by feeding people and politicians’ pre-existing narratives. That’s why every lede  and headline seems to be some variation of Black Lives Matter talking points."

 The Federalist

When you can convince people racism is rampant, you ignite a flame of division and destruction that can only end with bodies on the ground and cities leveled.

. . . "This week, that name was overshadowed by Ma’Khia Bryant, a black teenager who died at the hands of law enforcement in Ohio. In both cases, leftist politicians and Twitter-verified “journalists” couldn’t get the story out fast enough, absent facts, video, or nuance — but the headlines wrote themselves: “Racist Cop Shoots Unarmed Minority.”

"Also in both cases, the stories turned out to be completely wrong. On Wednesday we learned that Bryant wasn’t just standing in her driveway unarmed, or just casually holding a knife, or even dueling with another armed kid in a “knife fight” when the officer discharged his weapon. After the officer arrived, she lunged with a knife at another black girl she had pinned against a car, after having already charged a different girl nearby. She was armed and dangerous. And the officer, although accused of being a racist pig by even the White House, instead saved at least one black girl’s life.

Not only did journalists kick off the Toledo narrative with the same racist-cop rhetoric, but when officer body camera footage was released, showing what appeared to be the boy holding a firearm right before the officer shot him, CBS News cropped out that part of the video and failed to note that he was armed in its write-up of the incident. Meanwhile, politicians peddled the line that Toledo was “unarmed.” . . . 

Full article...

Kellogg’s continues its quest to be America’s most woke corporation

Andrea Widburg  "It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was really just a little over four years ago, immediately after Trump’s election victory, that Kellogg’s pulled all of its ads from Breitbart News because its conservative readers were not “aligned with our values as a company.” Well, it’s 2021, and Kellogg’s is back to reminding everyone that they don’t just sell sugary breakfast products; they also sell wokeness by the spoonful.

"Last week, while our eyes were on the Derek Chauvin trial, Kellogg’s announced that, in honor of Gay Pride Month (yes, it’s almost that wearisome June again), it has a new rainbow cereal:" . . .

. . . 

Woke made manifest: In a welcome contrast to Trump-Pompeo homophobia, Secretary of State Blinken will allow US diplomatic posts around the world to fly the Pride flag at key moments to showcase US support for LGBTQ rights. https://t.co/8MvvUi5S9H pic.twitter.com/4n1AC14xsq

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) April 24, 2021

‘Biden is an IDIOT in my opinion’: Black American police officer SHOCKS BBC pundit by voicing opinions he clearly did NOT expect about Chauvin

Twitchy  "This is exceptional.

"And what makes it even more exceptional is how clearly surprised and uncomfortable the BBC pundit is with Officer Tatum’s answers and opinions.

"Watch. You’ll thank us:" . . .

"Dude is absolutely SPOT ON about Biden.

"And everything else he said.

"Trying to frame our entire country by the behavior and actions of two men … it’s irresponsible, dirty, and lazy.

"Please note we did not make a Kamala Harris joke with that whole irresponsible, dirty, and lazy dig.

"Ok, so we sort of did by saying we didn’t but … never mind." 

The BBC got a black police officer on to discuss Chauvin's convictions, they clearly weren't expecting the truth bombs and ended the interview prematurely.
Video Part 1 pic.twitter.com/321jkVkwFl

— Voice Of Wales (@VoiceOfWales) April 22, 2021

Tucker Carlson Says Things, Brian Stelter Gets Really Upset

 RedState

"Tucker Carlson said some things, and Brian Stelter got triggered. That’s basically a recurring theme at this point, with CNN having an entire division that obsesses over the top-rated, cable news host.

"That division is led by Brian Stelter, a journalist of such quality that he even writes his own chyrons sometimes.

"In today’s episode of “what did Tucker say to make people gnash their teeth,” we have some light criticism of the media that got Stelter’s undergarments all in a bunch (at least he kept his pants on this time).

"Tucker Carlson hates the media. What a stunning revelation? But Carlson also happens to be right. The media are made up of cowards who refuse to report on certain stories because of what they fear will be negative political consequences for their side, and rest assured, they have a side. I mean, maybe the “cringing animals” quip was a bit much, but on second thought, it wasn’t a bit much.

"Stelter is like a small dog nipping at the heels of a giant. Tucker doesn’t even have to interact with the guy. After all, why give someone with such low ratings the attention?

"Of course, Stelter’s assertion that journalists are punching up is nonsense. CNN got caught harassing an old lady for hosting a Facebook event it claimed to have been promoted by some Russians. Meanwhile, the latest example involves a healthcare professional who got doxxed and targeted because of a $10 donation to Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense fund." . . .

Black assailants' lives matter, Black victims' lives don't

Why Does No One Seem Glad the Girl in the Pink Sweatsuit Is Still Alive?

Civis Americanus  "LeBron James apparently deleted a tweet in which he posted, "YOU'RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY" with a picture of police officer Nicholas Reardon, who shot Ma'Khia Bryant, who is on body cam video brandishing a knife within a foot of another Black person (the one in the pink outfit).

"This underscores the accuracy of what the student who was forced out of "canceler" Hardin-Simmons University posted about Black Lives Matter.  If Bryant had succeeded in killing the other Black woman, the latter would be just one more anonymous crime victim as opposed to a useful martyr to the Cause.  If Hakim Littleton, who is on body cam video pointing a gun at a cop's head, had succeeded in killing the officer instead of being shot dead by the cop's partner, the officer would be just one more anonymous dead "pig" as opposed to a useful martyr to the Cause.

"The body cam video of Reardon shows, meanwhile, that he probably saved the Black victim from death or serious injury by placing four shots into the body of her assailant, and nowhere else, even though Bryant was essentially on top of the victim. That might be easy enough to do on a firing range with inanimate shoot/don't shoot targets with enough practice, but it's a lot harder when you have to do it with an innocent person in your line of fire and perhaps less than a second to save her life.

"Our country used to call police, firefighters, and paramedics who save the lives of innocent people "heroes" — and some of us still do.  Officer Reardon deserves a commendation, but the "woke" left prefers to call cops who take any Black life, even a perp threatening another Black life, racists, murderers, and white supremacists.  This includes Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, who libelously accused the officer who shot Michael Brown in self-defense of "murder."  Both are attorneys and should know full well that a false public accusation of murder is libel per se." . . . More here.

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way.  The author is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.

Trump SAVAGES LeBron James For Threatening a Police Officer's Life "On Wednesday,

NBA Lakers star LeBron James tweeted something that looked very much like an incitement to murder a police officer. James rushed to conclusions about the shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, a black girl who appears to have been lunging at someone with a deadly knife when the cop shot her. James later took down the tweet, but he claimed that this shooting represents yet more evidence of systemic racism.

"President Donald Trump took him to task on Thursday night." . . .

Seattle Antifa Hate Group Threatens to Burn Down Church Over Event With Charlie Kirk

"It’s unclear how the terror threats were communicated to the church leadership, but Pastor Archer said the fact that the cops don’t have the manpower to help and the governor doesn’t have the political will to fight back means the church would have been left to the antifa arsonists and vandals of antifa and BLM."

 PJ Media  "A Puyallup, Wash., church has canceled an event featuring conservative speaker Charlie Kirk after antifa activists threatened to burn down all of its buildings and torch the neighbors’ properties too.

"Motion Church planned an event with Kirk, the head of Turning Point USA and a Christian speaker, on May 2.

"The church, in a community south of Seattle, ministers to the homeless, lost, and addicted people in addition to hosting regular services and events at the church for families, and those seeking to know Christ more.

"But hosting Charlie Kirk was just a bridge too far for the antifa terror group." . . .