Why you rarely believe celebrity apologies on social media -

  BBC Worklife

On social media, posts of contrition from public figures are endless. They usually flop.

"At a recent concert in the European country of Georgia, rock band The Killers found themselves in the middle of a decades-long political conflict. On 16 Aug, lead singer Brandon Flowers invited a Russian audience member on stage and asked the crowd to treat the fan as a "brother". The request was met with immediate boos and even walkouts; the backlash continued after the show.

"The next day, the musicians issued a swift social media apology via X, formerly known as Twitter. They wrote, in part: "We recognise that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers' audience and fans are 'brothers and sisters', could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and apologise."

"That social media apology came the same week Tiffany Gomas apologised on Instagram for delaying an American Airlines flight; and members of the cast of the reality show Below Deck: Down Under apologised on their individual social accounts for an incident of sexual harassment that took place while filming the current season.

"In a social media-centric world, apologies have become compulsory; increasingly, audiences are demanding responses from celebrities and CEOs alike to address a range of missteps, such as mass layoffs, extra-marital affairs, the use of racist or hateful language or even criminal activity.

"It's a change from the world of sterile press releases from publicity reps. Instead, public figures now use social media to convey their contrition. They intend these apologies to meet their audiences where they are – be it Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X or even LinkedIn – with the hope the platforms will help to mimic the good faith of a face-to-face mea culpa." . . .

Republican silence just won't stop

 

For Trump: A screaming silence from 18 of Congress’ most vulnerable Republicans (msn.com)   "The more Donald Trump gets indicted, the less certain Republican congressmen want to talk about him — especially if they’re serving in decidedly vulnerable districts that Trump lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

"No fewer than 15 of the 18 Republican House members whose district voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election have failed to make a single public comment in response to either of the two indictments handed down in August against Trump, a Raw Story review of news coverage and major social media shows.

"The group has become known as “the Biden 18,” and with Republicans clinging to a tiny majority in the U.S. House, their political fates are central to the GOP’s quest to retain power there.

"Only famed fabulist Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has spoken up forcefully for Trump . . ."

Prosecutorial Bolshevism - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics 

 President Trump has warned us all about exactly this form of tyranny when he said, "They are not after me. They are after you and I'm just in the way".  "Democrats embrace this attempt at one party dictatorship with unbridled enthusiasm. Witness their uninhibited glee at the multiple examples of prosecutorial misconduct that Ben Stein references in his column. Indeed, if this attempt at defeating President Trump's re-election is successful why would the left not pursue the same strategy in the future against any of their opponents ?

Drebes: State Republican lawmakers' silence on Trump legal woes isn't risk-free - St. Louis Business Journal (bizjournals.com)     
"Republicans running in statewide primaries are faced with a decision: Do they continue to embrace Trump, unbothered by his penchant for playing fast and loose with the truth and the law, even as the wheels of justice slowly roll toward him?" . . .  

World War Two aerial photos opened to public for first time -

  BBC News   A collection of photographs taken during World War Two have been opened to the public for the first time.

The aerial images were taken by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) Photographic Reconnaissance units while stationed at bases across England in 1943 and 1944.

The 3,600 photographs offer a birds-eye view of the country as it changed during the war.

This includes bomb damage to towns and cities as well as Old Trafford football stadium in Greater Manchester.

This view of Salford includes landmarks like the Manchester Ship Canal and Salford Docks. Bottom-right are Old Trafford football and cricket grounds and White City stadium

The collection has been made available to the public for the first time in an online, searchable map on the Historic England Archive.

BLACK MEN FLOCK TO TRUMP AFTER FULTON COUNTY SPECTACLE

 Power Line (powerlineblog.com)   "We’re told ad nauseam that the Democrats’ political persecution of former President Donald Trump was engineered to gin up sympathy among Republican primary voters and guarantee him the nomination. In the general election, however, independent voters, disgusted with Trump’s “lawless” behavior, would align with Democrats and President Joe Biden would cruise to victory. 

"There are some serious flaws in this logic and they’re just starting to manifest.

"The spectacle of Trump’s motorcade winding its way to the Fulton County Jail last Thursday, followed by the release of his “defiant” mugshot instantly catapulted him to “legend” status. It may have already gained him the sympathy of independents and even some Democrats. 

"But it has most definitely elevated his status in the eyes of the black men who lined the street as the motorcade passed.  They see the mugshot as a symbol of “the man” sticking it to “the people,” a feeling they are intimately familiar with.

"And just a small percentage gain in support among this important group could turn the election.

"On Friday, rappers Chief Keef and Lil Pump showed their support for Trump on social media. Lil Pump posted his own mugshot next to Trump’s on Instagram with the caption, “Free Trump.” Chief Keef posted a photo of Trump flashing a gang symbol, saying, “he good in da hood” and predicted that if Trump ever gets convicted, he would “run the prison.” . . .

Kill a Trump supporter; get a promotion

Watching Democrats ride roughshod over decency, morality, and justice, one must hope that Prager is right that there is a larger justice, one bigger than anything people can bring to bear.

 Andrea Widburg- American Thinker   On January 6, 2021, two people were killed in the Capitol, neither of whom was Officer Brian Sicknick. One was Rosanne Boyland, who was crushed to death as unidentified police dumped protesters on top of her. The other was Ashli Babbitt, a small, unarmed woman who was shot to death in cold blood by Lieutenant Michael Byrd when she started to squeeze her way through a broken interior window. Byrd was not charged. Now, he’s getting promoted. The message is clear: In the Swamp that is D.C., which is the heart of the Deep State, you’re either with them or against them.

Roll Call reports:

The Capitol Police are poised to promote a lieutenant who shot and killed a pro-Trump rioter on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as an officer who vividly testified before a House select committee about the violence she encountered during that attack.

Michael Byrd, who fatally shot rioter Ashli Babbitt as she tried to break into the Speaker’s Lobby, will be promoted to captain, according to an internal announcement reviewed by CQ Roll Call that lists more than 30 employees moving up the ranks on Sunday.

"Because Roll Call works for the swamp, it smears Babbitt as a “follower of the unfounded far-right, pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory,” as if that judgment somehow justified Byrd shooting her to death. Of course, there was no internal investigation. And you know that, if Byrd had been white and Babbitt a black BLM supporter, Byrd would be rotting in prison right now." . . .

. . .

"The Worst President in the Last 100 Years" - Victor Davis Hanson

President Biden's "Disgusting" Lack of Compassion After Maui Wildfires, with Dr. Nicholas Kardaras - YouTube   "Megyn Kelly is joined Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, addiction expert and author of "Digital Madness," to discuss President Biden’s “forced” trip to Maui, Biden’s lack of compassion for Maui and other issues where he needs to show empathy, Biden taking more vacation time while Hawaiians suffer, and more."

Some comments to the video above:

What a stinging indictment of his slimy character. How ANYONE with a shred of integrity can side with him eludes me.

A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims...but accomplices" - George Orwell

The bigger question is….why do we tolerate it? Why do we tolerate this kind of behavior from our elected officials? Why isn’t Congress falling all over themselves to remove him from office since we’re now the laughingstock of the world?

Biden has ‘lost touch with reality’ after 'no comment' response to Hawaii wildfires - YouTube

Barack Obama the Vindictive Enforcer -

Every policy decision, from the diminishing supply chain to destroying energy independence to the economic crippling of the middle class to the devastating invasion at the border to the vaccine mandates, hints at the forced exoneration of Obama's hurt feelings  — on steroids. J.D.

Jeannie DeAngelis; American Thinker    "The definition of "vindictive" is to have or show a "strong or unreasoning desire for revenge."  As an observer of the ongoing humiliation and persecution currently directed toward Donald J. Trump and anyone who supports him, what America may now be witnessing is an unparalleled display of malicious revenge.

"One might ask, "Who is driving this retribution?"  The most obvious answer to that question is that it must be a self-absorbed force with a notorious reputation for spiteful exoneration.  Judging from past conduct, that force would be none other than former president Barack Obama.

"This man thrives on adulation.  Even the casual observer is aware of Obama's inability to accept criticism.  Refuse to genuflect, and Mr. Obama's ire is immediately directed like a laser toward the defiant.  Just ask "tea baggers" or victims of a weaponized IRS.  Judging from Obama's self-identification with his ideology, retribution isn't just politics; it's personal.  Defy him, and the former president looks for any forum, weapon, policy implementation, or cruel injustice to vindicate his vendetta and somehow manages to accomplish this either publicly or privately.  The man's skin is so thin that, if not for his godlike status among his minions, his juvenile reactions would be considered embarrassing.  

"Obama's list of vendettas is long and ugly — just ask the SCOTUS, Dinesh D'Souza, honest journalists, conservative groups, the nation of Israel, Vladimir Putin, suburban property owners, individuals with private health insurance, WWII veterans, prolifers, ex-military, Second Amendment advocates...and the list goes on and on.

"Think back.  From the start, "I won" Obama planned to "fundamentally transform" the United States from "the world as it is" into the "world as it should be," which, judging from its present condition, is beginning to resemble the Marxist hell-hole of his dreams." . . . 

. . ."On a much grander scale, the Trump indictments evoke memories of the type of maliciousness Obama displayed when Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu was left sitting alone in a White House meeting room for more than an hour while a rude former president disappeared upstairs for meatloaf with the wife and kids.  On that occasion, Netanyahu was chastised for the sin of daring to differ with punk Obama's "13 demands" concerning settlements in East Palestine. 

"In the end, this man-child will not rest until his egotistical reprisals are satisfied, and America still has a long way to go.  Barack Obama has already proven that if you deviate from his way of thinking, there's hell to pay.  Obama has also proven that he hates America, detests patriotic Americans, loathes the U.S. Constitution, and will set the world on fire to exact psychopathic revenge on his detractors.  Therefore, on behalf of the global elite, who better than a vindictive Barack Obama to do the dirty work necessary to bring the last vestige of freedom to its knees?"

From back in 2020: Obama’s Assessment of Trump Ignores HIs Own Administration’s Lawlessness | National Review    

Comparisons of Trump’s rhetoric and actions to an authoritarian’s have ranged from the hysterical to the nuanced. But Obama’s assessment of Trump is not only dramatic and overtly partisan. It is a whitewashing of his own administration’s lawlessness and overreach. It is sheer projection.

The Bidens and the Democrats; do they have any decency, nor sense of guilt?

 Victor Davis Hanson: The Biden Clan's Con Is Coming To An End

If a cognitively and criminally challenged Biden cannot finish his term, we will finally learn the full story of 15 years of Biden family corruption. The Bidens will lose the only impediment -- Joe Biden's political machinations -- left in the way of an honest, full-blown felony investigation into what is likely the most corrupt presidential family in American history.

 A ‘Vote for Joe Biden Is Really a Vote for Kamala Harris’ (msn.com)

"Despite years of Biden family and media disinformation, we are finally learning that President Joe Biden really did fire Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin for looking into state corruption involving the oil company Burisma and Hunter Biden -- and ultimately Joe Biden himself.

"As vice president, Biden, in his own words, bragged that he had threatened to cancel the deliverance of American foreign aid to Ukraine unless Shokin was dismissed.

"So what is Congress to do now -- un-impeach and exonerate an innocent impeached Donald Trump, and instead impeach a guilty Biden for essentially the same allegations?

"After all, the Left redefined the impeachment bar in 2019 as leveraging foreign aid to Ukraine to benefit one's political career.

"And that is exactly what Joe Biden did to ensure his son could continue to raise millions for the Biden family with foreign governments while being shielded from political consequences.

"An impeached Trump also was accused of using the power of government to go after his likely 2020 presidential rival by suggesting that Joe Biden and his family were corrupt and should be investigated by Ukrainian officials for fraud and bribery.

"Despite Joe Biden's denials, Trump was right: there was plenty of evidence to link Ukrainian unwarranted payoffs going into Biden family coffers.

"So Trump in 2019 had good reasons to ensure that none of the Bidens were still burrowed deeply into the Ukrainian payoff machine." . . .

The Steele Dossier and the End of Shame In American Politics – JONATHAN TURLEY

Many have long marveled at the incapacity for shame in politicians. That missing emotion was most famously captured by lawyer Joseph Welch in the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?” The answer is that we now live in a post-shame era where the only shame is yielding to the impulses of decency or decorum. The Russian collusion scandal served its purpose and Adam Schiff would be the first say that there is no shame in that.

 John Kennedy Goes Nuclear On Biden in Scathing Rant (townhall.com)   . . ."The Republican Senator mocked the White House's frail picture they paint Biden to be, yet he "aggressively enabled" his son's business ventures. 

Kennedy condemned the "sleaze" of the Biden family, who is getting away with selling out the U.S. and pocketing millions from foreign leaders. At the same time, Americans suffer from the president's damaging policies. 

He urged House Republicans to uncover the findings and bring justice to the American people, emphasizing the need for facts and fairness. 

House Republicans censured Adam Schiff. He couldn't be happier - Los Angeles Times

But Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE going over to this bloc is sad stuff, given that it need never have happened -- they were solid allies of the U.S. until Joe Biden came along and insulted and alienated them. Worse still, he showed them what a U.S. military alliance is worth -- by abandoning our allies in Afghanistan, not just the domestic Afghans, but even their European allies who had been bullied into it.

Can the Trump-Hating Psycho Prosecutors Be Stopped?

 In a fairer time, drastic measures such as politicized hate impeachments, raiding former presidents’ private residences, and abusing governmental powers to maliciously prosecute one’s front-running political opponents were frowned upon. Sadly, today’s far-left Democrats are so militant and radical that no norm is too venerable for them to wipe their backsides with. Stephen Kruiser

("Fani", not Fanni.) "Willis was born in Inglewood, California. Her father was a member of the Black Panthers and a criminal defense attorney.^[5] When Willis was in the first grade, her family moved to Washington, D.C. Her parents divorced, and her mother eventually moved back to California. Willis mostly stayed with her father.^[1] Willis studied political science at Howard University, graduating cum laude in 1993, then moved to Atlanta^[1] to attend Emory University School of Law, graduating in 1996 with a Juris Doctor.^{[4]". . .}

Can the Trump-Hating Psycho Prosecutors Be Stopped? – PJ Media   "Welcome to the unhinged American progressive remake of “Groundhog Day” as a political nightmare. Here is Athena’s succinct and perfect explanation of the plot:

In what has now become emblematic of the moral and societal implosion of the United States of America at the hands of the radical Leftists running the Establishment, former President and front-running presidential candidate Donald J. Trump has turned himself in and been arraigned at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta.

"I’m sure that I’ve written this before, but it bears repeating: this is wearisome. A once-great country is being subjected to the manifestation of the emotional imbalance that’s brought on by being progressive. I wrote in my classic book “Don’t Let the Hippies Shower” that progressivism is “the toddler mindset manifested in adulthood.”

"What we are seeing from these Trump-hating prosecutors is a lot of snot-bubble-tantrum acting out.

The mugshot heard ‘round the world: Eight truths that the mugshot reveals - American Thinker   "There are eight absolutely true statements about Trump’s indictment and arrest in Fulton County, Georgia. I’ll get to all of them in a minute, but I’ll start with the most obvious: Never take a mugshot photo of an innocent man with at least 75 million fans, a large percentage of whom are brave and have a great sense of humor.

"Let’s start with the mugshot itself and Trump’s defiant reaction. (By the way, people are saying, “Well, you did surrender,” meaning Trump turned himself in. That’s literal to the point of stupidity. Trump obviously means that we shouldn’t surrender in the larger fight, and he fully understood that his defiant mugshot is a weapon in that larger fight.) . . .

There’s More To Story Than ‘Climate Change’ — The Media Must Keep Pushing And Asking Questions About The Lahaina Fires

 Issues & Insights  

 "The legacy media, quick to attribute every natural disaster to climate change, has actually done some good reporting recently on the tragic wildfires that destroyed the town of Lahaina and killed probably more than 100 people as many are still missing. Media reports were not so honest at first.

In the initial days after Lahaina burned, of course, outlets like The New York Times breathlessly said climate change made Hawaii “a tinderbox.”

This is despite the fact that, regardless of the public perception of Hawaii that the Times authors give, “a far cry from the dry landscape normally associated with fire threats,” the island state is actually one of the most fire-prone in the country. This is due in large part to its unique geography, which allows eastern trade winds to dump water on the eastern volcanic slopes – leading to the familiar verdant rainforest. But the western sides of Maui and the other islands in the chain are a lot drier naturally, and are home to dry grassy hills.

This effect was compounded by a passing hurricane to the south. Because the wind goes from a high-pressure zone to a lower-pressure zone, the low pressures of Hurricane Dora far to the south aided in the accelerated downhill wind speeds on Maui. These high, dry winds knocked around power cables that may have led to the initial sparks, which were then turned into firestorms that swept downhill and through town. 

Hawaiians Let Joe Biden Have It in Brilliant Response to His Take on Maui Fire –

  RedState

"We've seen a lot of reactions from folks in Maui who have not been happy with the response from the local and the federal government, and particularly not with the response of Joe Biden, to the disastrous fire that hit the area and killed at least 115 people, with many more still missing. 

"We saw protesters line the roads to tell Biden he was "late," and with signs saying "no comment" -- reflecting what Biden said when he was asked about the number of dead in the Maui fire while he was onone of his many vacations in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. They even gave him the finger and yelled, "F**k you!" as Biden rode by. That was after the no comment, laughing, and not even getting the name of the island the fire was on correct. 

"Then, after Biden spoke on the island, he made it even worse. He botched the names of the officials, and he claimed the response had been great when it had all kinds of problems. He looked like he was completely zoning out and made inappropriate jokes. But perhaps worst of all, he then made their disaster all about himself, comparing the situation to the time that he had a small kitchen fire at his house. He falsely claimed he had "almost lost" his wife, his 67 Corvette, and his cat.

"Not surprisingly, it just infuriated a lot of people that, on top of everything else, this guy showed up for a photo-op, made that disgusting statement, and then high-tailed it out of there about five hours later, back to his vacation in Lake Tahoe. Some, like Kristen Goodwin, who is a Democrat, said that there were "no words in response to something like that." She said that she wouldn't be voting for him again, that she'd even vote for Trump rather than him, after this." . . . 

Stilton's Place: Ash Not What Your Country Can Do For You (stiltonsplace.blogspot.com)

"Mainstream media pundits were recently taken aback when it became utterly and finally clear that President Joe Biden has now reached mental depths so low that he can't even respond to the easiest questions imaginable.

"As a case in point, a reporter asked Biden for remarks about the holocaust-style wildfire in Maui that incinerated at least 99 innocent victims with over 1000 people still missing and 75% of the burned-out ruins unsearched.

"Even a brain-injured sloth would have said something like "my heart goes out to the victims and their families" or "As a people, all of America feels this pain and all of us will work to rebuild these homes and lives" or "I will do everything in my power to bring comfort and relief to all who were affected by this tragedy."  Or if he wasn't feeling voluble, how about "it's very sad" or "terrible, just terrible."

"But instead, Joe only fired back "No comment!" and flashed a disturbing grin before wandering off aimlessly. 

"Following this same strategy, condolence card makers like Hallmark are now well-positioned to save rivers of ink when the front of a card says "On the passing of your Mother..." and the inside just says "No Comment." . . .

The ghouls of MSNBC

Watch: MSNBC Obsessively Talks About 'Racism' Every Single Day in April (breitbart.com)

David X. Henry   

Funny that MSNBC still presents Joy Reid as a "racial conscience," considering she was unanimously condemned by both parties for the ugly racism she's hurled at Clarence Thomas. But to MSNBC's president (

@RJonesNews

), that's the "right kind" of racism.

 'Insufferably stupid and malicious': Joy Reid DRAGGED for RACIST take on Trump's mug shot (watch) – Twitchy

"People like Trump persecuted Black and brown people in New York. It's what they did for fun, it's what they did for pleasure," Reid says. "To me, this is justice.@JoyAnnReid recounts how Trump wanted the exonerated Central Park Five dead. pic.twitter.com/KPgCKoSaao

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 25, 2023

The Reaction of MSNBC's Nicole Wallace to Trump's GA Booking Shows What Ghouls They Truly Are – RedState    . . ."But you have to hand it to Trump. He flipped the script on them. He came back to Twitter with a big message posting the mugshot and calling out the "election interference." He also said, "Never Surrender."  CNN detailed their fears that he was going to use it for fundraising, and it's hilarious that's exactly what he's doing. He has t-shirts, mugs, and even bumper stickers with it. He's got it up on his website. So the left's desire for the scalp has resulted in a flood of support for his campaign. Talk about karma. "

  . . . "As Bill D'Agostino observed in that tweet, she's a ghoul if she thinks this is funny and that Trump going to a violent jail is something to laugh at. Who thinks that way? Talk about a garbage reaction. She also doesn't seem to get that this doesn't reflect well on the officials who are trying to go after Trump, that they have a facility in such shape. 

"Many called out what a despicable reaction this was, not only because of Trump, but how the deaths were just used as a foil to foster the Trump hate. 

"People like Trump? What exactly does she mean by that? White people? White men? Wealthy white men? Does she realize he was a Democrat in the 80s when the Central Park Five tragedy took place? 

"She's just so bad at all of this. 

"And yet, MSNBC keeps her on."