Mary Poppins is branded racist by US academic over famous rooftop scene because when she gets covered in soot she 'gamely powders her nose and cheeks and gets even blacker'

I'm afraid to ask how much sillier things can get. TD

UK Daily Mail

"Dame Julie Andrews’s performance as Mary Poppins is racist, says a US academic who accuses her of ‘blacking up’ when her face is covered with soot as she dances with chimney sweeps.

"The scene in which Poppins joins Dick Van Dyke’s Bert and his fellow sweeps on a rooftop for the song Step In Time is one of the best-loved moments in the 1964 Disney classic.

"But writing in the New York Times under the headline ‘Mary Poppins, and a Nanny’s Shameful Flirting With Blackface,’ Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner attacks the scene. Not surprisingly, the film’s legions of devoted fans have reacted with disbelief.

Racist photo!

"The literature professor acknowledges that Poppins’s face is covered with soot because she has gone up the chimney with her charges, Michael and Jane Banks." . . .

. . . "Fans online have reacted with fury to the professor’s views. One derided the piece as ‘a candidate for the stupidest New York Times article for some time’.

"Another said: ‘Mary Poppins wasn’t flirting with black face! It was soot in their faces from being up a chimney!!!! Stop spreading racism claims on non-racist things like this.’ A third wrote: ‘Come on now, leave Mary Poppins out of this! Chimney sweeps in London DID have coal dust on their faces. Didn’t make them, or Mary for that matter, racist.’ " . . .

Will the racism never stop?

Yearbook outrage, infanticide yawn

Stilton's Place

Silvio Canto, Jr.  "As we argue over 35-year old yearbook photos, we forget about a larger issue.
"Let me confess that I'm willing to cut a politician a lot of slack over a 35-year-old photo.  I'm not defending the photos, but it's not fair to destroy a man's career over photos that were taken when President Reagan was in his first term.  To be fair, the governor has not dealt with the issue honestly, either.  He should have owned the photos and simply say it was a youthful mistake and to be judged by the rest of life.

"The real issue for me was the Democrats and their reaction to infanticide, as Charlie Hurt discussed:

Turns out, killing babies is not so popular.

What is truly amazing is how many Virginia Democrat politicians had to touch that hot stove before they got the message that even mainstream Democrat voters do not approve – no, they are appalled, aghast and unbelieving – at the mere notion of an elective abortion during delivery.

It's between, you know, the mother and her "doctor," Death Squad politicians tell us.

For years, we have been chided for talking openly about fearing the Obamacare "Death Panels" that would reign after the government takes over every last corner of our health care system.

Turns out that not only are the Death Panels real, they're not just for old people and expensive sick people.  Democrat politicians want them for newborns, too.

"The infant would be kept comfortable," the Grand Wizard of Death Squads, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, tells us in chillingly antiseptic tones.

"It was not popular with the people of Virginia, as the bill did not make it out of committee.  Nevertheless, the Democratic response is silence across the board.

"Why aren't the media asking Democratic politicians about later-term abortions?

"Better than that, where is the Democrat seeking national office willing to break with the left on this issue?

"It seems to me that there is an opening for such a Democrat, someone who is willing to say infanticide is reprehensible.

"As for the Virginia governor, he will probably resign, and who knows about Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, who has his own problems as well?

"In the larger picture, the Democrats' silence about late-term abortion or keeping the baby comfortable on a table is horrific."

Woman Accusing VA Lt. Gov Fairfax of Sexual Assault Retains Law Firm Who Represented Christine Blasey Ford

Legal Insurrection

"Virginia’s Governor Northam is not the only top-ranking state politician in the hot seat. Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax is facing a sexual assault allegation from 2004, one that’s been revisited publicly.

"Tuesday, Fox News reported that accuser Vanessa Tyson has retained the same firm that represented Justice Kavanaugh accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. " . . .

Remodeling America

Victor Davis Hanson

Gotta have the flag, no matter what harm they plan to inflict on this nation.

. . . "In less melodramatic terms, we are watching a rare revolutionary phase in American politics as leftists have devoured Democrats. Progressives ate liberals. And progressives are now being devoured by socialists, and soon no doubt socialists will be eaten by hard leftists, Communists, anarchists, and nihilists. In such revolutionary logic, perhaps only Antifa will emerge as pure.

"The result is that the 2020 election will offer the starkest choices in the past 50 years, far eclipsing the radical contrasts of 1972. The current parade of would-be Democratic presidential hopefuls is already apologizing for their past sins of Democratic centrism, in fear of being politically guillotined.

Green Poverty

"Senator Kamala Harris has pledged to follow the “New Green Deal” currently championed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In other words, if enacted, the Democrats, within ten years of passing the bill, would favor ending all “nonrenewable” sources of electrical generation (natural gas, oil, coal, and nuclear) — or 83 percent of all the current ways that we produce electrical energy. Would the government go after classic Corvettes, confiscate Priuses, and electrify NASCAR? Outlaw gas lawn mowers and chain saws? Confiscate leaf blowers? Would Nancy Pelosi board a private solar- or battery-powered jet? Would Silicon Valley yachts rely on wind and sail?" . . .

Awful: Senate Dems Block Anti-Infanticide Bill

Leah Barkoukis  "Sen. Ben Sasse and his Republican colleagues did not receive the unanimous consent they were looking for on legislation that would’ve outlawed infanticide. "Democratic Washington Sen. Patty Murray blocked the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” presented by Sasse, that would’ve given infants who survived abortions medical care and protections under the law.
“Frankly, this shouldn’t be hard,” he said.
 . . . 

"Murray argued the legislation is not necessary because there are already laws on the books that prohibit infanticide. 

“ 'This is a gross misinterpretation of the actual language of the bill that is being asked to be considered and, therefore, I object,” said Murray.

"After her objection, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa lamented that the Senate “can no longer unanimously condemn murder.' ” . . .

Murray

NR: Senate Democrats Block Bill Prohibiting Infanticide  . . . "Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington objected to the bill on the floor, preventing it from receiving unanimous consent. Murray claimed that the legislation is unnecessary because there are already legal prohibitions on infanticide. Murray was the only Democratic senator to come to the Senate floor this evening and left immediately after objecting.

. . . “ 'It is hard to fathom the extremism of politicians in New York and now Virginia who would deny the protections of law to the most vulnerable members of our society, the innocent unborn, even up to birth,” Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said of the recent legislation that would expand the right to post-viability abortion. “Is this really the extremism of the Democratic party?”
“Some are tempted when they see this rising tide of barbarism and cruelty to feel despair, but I am not,” Hawley said. “I think of the words of Lincoln who spoke of the unfinished work of this nation. . . . We must press forward in this generation for our revolutionary faith.' ” . . .

Update:  Lone Dem Senator Blocks Bill Banning Infanticide For Babies Who Survive Abortions   "On Monday, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), blocking a Senate bill that would require doctors to give aid to babies who survived abortions, objected to the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and her one vote was enough to prevent the Senate from passing the bill in a unanimous consent vote, LifeSiteNews reports."

Messages to be sent by those attending tonight's SOTU

Scream at a senator, get invited to the State of the Union address  "Professional agitator Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the George Soros-funded Center for Popular Democracy (sic), who demonstrated her feminist credentials and logical thinking by shrieking at then-senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in an elevator to oppose the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, is receiving her...reward.  (Yeah, yeah, silly you, you probably thought she'd receive a slight punishment for such rudeness.)  Flake caved; Archila scored for women.

"And so Archila will be an honored guest at today's State of the Union address, courtesy of...aw, you know whom, none other than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). " . . . 

Democrats Hope to Make a Statement at State of the Union  "While Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson will not attend the State of the Union, others are sending a message to the president with their guests." 

Special Guests for President Trump’s Second State of the Union Address

One of Melania Trump's State of the Union guests is a 6th-grader named Joshua Trump she says gets bullied because of his name
His classmates must all watch CNN or TV talk shows.

NY Times: What to Watch For in Trump’s State of the Union Address

The Democrat response to the SOTU  Dems' State of the Union Responder: Those Covington Kids Behaved Badly, And Trump's Racism is to Blame  Abrams "lost fair and square, refused to concede, and is being rewarded with a high-profile platform. The clip above is a useful example of how knee-jerk partisans will learn the lessons they want to learn, no matter what the evidence may demonstrate. Part of the problem with the Covington affair, which feels like a distant memory already, was the eagerness of many in the press to extrapolate "larger truths" from a cultural flashpoint that they instantly decided was illustrative of something they fervently believed. As more information trickled in, the media storyline shifted from "aren't these young Trumpers awful?" to, "look at these conservatives unfairly 'pouncing' on our collective rush to judgment!" Ross Douthat noted on Twitter yesterday that journalists were happy to storm headfirst into the Covington cultural blaze, yet their treatment of Democrats' radical abortion bills has been exceptionally cautious and tepid by comparison:" . . .

Ocasio-Cortez Names Her State Of The Union Guest

Daily Caller  "Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed Monday that she will bring the activist who notably cornered and shouted down former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator as her guest to the State of the Union.

“ 'I’m proud to announce that my #StateOfTheUnion guest will be [Ana Maria Archila],” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Ana Maria is the NY14-er who famously jumped into the elevator with Sen. Flake to elevate the stories of survivors everywhere.”

. . . 

“ 'She’s living proof that the courage within all of us can change the [world],” Ocasio-Cortez continued. 

"Archila is a co-executive director for the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), a left-wing advocacy group that promotes progressive politics. The Open Society Foundation, which was founded and funded by George Soros, is one of CPD’s largest funders, giving millions to the organization over the past few years.

"CPD rose to prominence in 2018 during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. The organization was notable for launching an anti-Kavanaugh campaign, which included mobilizing protesters to shout down Republican lawmakers.

"Archila received media attention in September after she cornered Flake in an elevator on his way to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing to vote on advancing Kavanaugh’s nomination. 

"Flake, a key swing vote in Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, ignited a firestorm after he voted “yes” to advance the nominee to the full Senate with the condition that an FBI probe would briefly investigate an accusation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. "Archila is largely credited with changing Flake’s mind from a straight yes to the aforementioned conditional yes." . . .

Soros Elevator Activist and Illegal Alien Ana Maria Archila Made $178,071 in 2016 as a Far Left Activist  . . . "The women who were screaming at Senator Jeff Flake in the elevator are Soros-funded astroturfed activists.

"Their names are Maria Gallagher and Ana Maria Archila.

"They celebrated after Flake caved!
"And they raised over $30,000 on CrowdPac for their elevator antics." . . .

Stone Arrest Exposes the Cancer Eating American Criminal Justice

Conrad Black

"Last week’s arrest of Roger Stone at the behest of Special Counsel Robert Mueller incites me to recall Joseph Welch’s famous question of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy at the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you no decency?”

"Sending 29 FBI agents in bullet-proof protective gear and brandishing submachine guns at 6 a.m. to the house where Stone—who is 66 and does not own a firearm—lives with his wife, two dogs, and three cats, to effect another shakedown arrest for alleged untruths uttered by Stone to a congressional committee since Mueller was installed in his totalitarian sinecure, was disgusting and un-American.

"The charges could have been laid—and if there is the slightest truth to them, should have been laid—by contacting Stone’s lawyer during normal business hours and asking him to produce his client for charging and processing. So slight was the risk of flight (Stone claims his passport has expired), the judge set bail at an easily manageable (for him) $250,000, which was produced at once. The entire hideous procedure, as if Stone were a suspected violent criminal with vast resources, at the head of a heavily armed and dangerous organization, and in a home extensively guarded by armed and experienced gangsters and with a helicopter in the backyard, was an outrage that must shock every civilized American, as it astounds the civilized world.

"There was absolutely no need or excuse for such an absurd and repulsive use of force in effecting the arrest of a man with no history of violence who is an improbable flight risk and certain to surrender quietly and respond to allegations against him through due process in the courts. Moreover, he is fully entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence." . . .

The Super Bowl politically-correct, Kaepernick-suck-up-half-time-grovel show

Super Bowl Ads Lecture America On Girl Power, Wind Power And Objectifying Mermaids  "Super Bowl advertisers used the massive platform to lecture Americans on a number of topics — from using clean energy and respecting the media to the proper treatment of mermaids in the age of #MeToo.

"CBS, the network that hosted the big game, promoted “girl power” with an ad about girls playing football — and sponsor Budweiser took the time to note that the world-famous St. Louis-based company is now brewing its signature beers with wind power.

No love for Levine: Shirtless Maroon 5 frontman is blasted for 'terrible' Super Bowl halftime show with 'lame' lantern message of 'Love' in nod to Kaepernick, and a tribute to late SpongeBob Squarepants creator
These people vote:

. . . "Travis Scott joined the band with a quick tribute to the late SpongeBob Squarepants creator Stephen Hillenburg, before dominating the stage with his song Sicko Mode and crowd surfing. Scott was introduced by footage of Squidward from the show's 2001 episode Band Geeks, where the Bikini Bottom Superband play at the Super Bowl." . . . 

There have been many brutal New England Patriots takes over the years, but Daily Beast writer Corbin Smith might have produced the dumbest yet.  . . . "Essentially, Smith believes you shouldn’t root for the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII because they’re a team of “MAGA scum.” We won’t waste time breaking down the stupidity of Corbin’s take, we’ll just present you some of the more notable excerpts from his piece".

. . . "You ready? 

— “Their star quarterback, coach, and owner all supported Trump. But that’s not the only thing that makes the Super Bowl LIII-bound Patriots the preferred team of white nationalists.”   Very much more on this...

 CBS Rejects Patriotic Pro-Flag Super Bowl Ad
Al Sharpton Accuses 'So Called' Super Bowl Fans of Racism  . . . "Sharpton used this time to call out football fans for being racist because they didn't approve of black players kneeling for the National Anthem. The protest, instigated by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016, was a demonstration against police violence against black Americans." . . .

Don Surber opines that Trump won the Super Bowl  "Presidents usually give the network televising the Super Bowl a 20 minute interview. Margaret Brennan of CBS did an admirable job interviewing him. I am sure his answers to her questions shock viewers who consume only Fake News" . . .

The morality of Democrats *

Once the public is comfortably numb killing newborn babies, how much easier will it be to justify killing already born infants with severe birth defects or other illnesses not manifest until after birth? Or denying medical care to the elderly under the guise of compassion?  Far-fetched?  Ask the last president. Brian Joondeph

Ghenghis Gary

Infanticide Abortion May Be Only the Beginning  . . . "Not satisfied with a contentious truce between the pro- and anti-abortion factions in the U.S., the left wants to rub the noses of most decent Americans into new levels of legalized barbarism.

"The latest push from Democrats, perhaps emboldened by winning the House last November, is to make abortion "unsafe, repugnant, and common."  Several states, including New York and Virginia, have pushed abortion to the limits of humanity, by legalizing, or attempting to do so, literal infanticide, killing full-term babies up until and including at the time of delivery."  . . .

*Beware the Morality of the Democrats . . . "If you really want to ponder morality, ask yourself this: What has been the fate of those who challenged previous totalitarian regimes on truly moral grounds?  They were re-educated, or worse.  There is no place for morality in an atheistic power cult.  Don’t be fooled by those who insist that your morality should conform to theirs.  Listen to your soul, and keep fighting back."

Northam Yearbook Photo Reportedly Leaked By Med School Classmate Disgusted by Abortion Comments  . . . "Everyone wondered how the racist photos of current Virginia Governor Ralph Northam surfaced. We have now learned that a former med school classmate reportedly shared the information with a reporter after feeling repulsed by Northam’s recent pro-infanticide stance." . . .

Tony Branco

This is CNN: Chyron shows disgraced Democrat Ralph Northam as Republican

Leftism: High on Buzzwords, Low on Thought

Bruce Walker  . . . " 'Homophobia" is a rickety neologism intended to encompass virtually every variety of analysis of that leftist insistence that homosexuality and its offspring "transgender" and so forth have no problems.  In fact, there are at least three different and usually conflicting approaches to this issue." . . .
. . . "As we approach the 2020 election and see that more and more potential and declared Democrat candidates are women, get ready for the dull, dreary, lifeless leftist malediction "sexist!" to be forced more and more into political debate.  What was the original argument behind feminism and sexism?  Both sexes were oppressed by being forced into roles that...blah, blah, blah.  This original argument meant that ending sexism liberated both sexes." . . .

"Sexism"? You mean like Sen. Hirono's remarks?



. . . "Whines from spoiled, rich dopes like Hillary that men earn more money than women are exactly like the similar screeches by Nazis of higher Jewish income – the idea that income was related to effort or skill is summarily dismissed in both cases.  The fact that women own more and spend more than men is never mentioned."