Sunday, March 31, 2019

THE ECONOMIC POLITICAL ILLUSION OF SOCIALISM

T Whitfield at ©2018-2019:Sarah Watching
Discussing Charles Colson: This is the context for what Charles Colson writes next in the chapter titled “The Political Illusion.” [See if anything from this description of the 1970 D.C. bureaucracy sounds familiar to the D.C. bureaucracy today, almost 50 years later. The purpose of this article is not to compare how things have not changed, but it is instructive for historical reference to note the similarities.]




. . . Socialism Is More Than Big Government; It’s All Government

"At its most basic level, socialism is government control of all institutions that provide goods and services to the people. Government fully controls education, manufacturing, production, food distribution, infrastructure, healthcare, etc. etc. You can see, and are probably experiencing, why socialized healthcare in the U.S. was a huge first step toward a vast socialist existence—premium increases, less healthcare, taxed for other people’s healthcare, more bureaucracy. Anything controlled by the government, by default, increases the cost, if for no other reason than to pay for the program administration. But of course, cost is affected in other ways as well.

Socialism is Government-Only Capitalism

"Because socialism is incompatible with capitalism, there is no competition. Why would the government compete against itself? Why should doctors and healthcare providers be a cut above “the rest” if in reality “the rest” do not exist, since all work for the government and will receive the same stipend?
"Why should laws and regulations aim at controlling drug prices if the government owns the drug companies, sets drug pricing, receives reimbursement for drugs; so the more drugs cost, the more the government receives back?
"Why should patients be treated fairly, in a reasonable amount of time, as a human being, if the hospitals and doctors are overworked and underpaid due to the lack of government approved resources? Why do you think people from Canada come to the U.S. for healthcare and dental services?
Why do you think people from Canada come to the U.S. for healthcare and dental services?
"Certainly, the purpose of this article is not to explain the distorted thinking of socialists. That would take a rather large library. But the purpose of this article is to serve as a warning—things are not always as they appear."

The Seduction Of Socialism

"Socialism is attractive to the down-and-out, the poor, the unwise, whether from a lack of education or a lack of life experience. But government is not an economic answer. On the surface, the government taking care of all its “happy and well-adjusted citizens” sounds good. But as Mr. Colson said, money rarely makes it to the needy. Socialism has never been successful in any country where it has been imposed. The only thing it is successful at is destroying a country’s economy and the will of the citizenry, if they happen to still be among the living." . . .

My uncontrollable sobbing while watching 'Unplanned' scared my wife

Honestly, I am amazed that Pure Flix was able to get Unplanned into so many theaters, knowing how hotly opposed this movie will be. In fact, I have learned that the number rose from 900 to 1,100 theaters (at last report) due to popular, advance demand. I also heard that one theater canceled the showing but had to reinstate it after a local outcry.
A scene from "Unplanned," in theaters March 29, 2019.
Michael Brown  "This weekend, history will be made as the Unplanned movie will open in more than 1,100 theaters across the nation. And you can expect the backlash to be intense. And I mean very intense. The foundations of the pro-abortion movement, in particular, those of Planned Parenthood, will be challenged. Evil will be exposed and hope will be exalted.
"By all means, make your plans to flood the theaters this weekend, not just for your own benefit, but to help send a message to the movie industry that this movie needs to be seen. That means it needs to be widely available.

"If you’re not familiar with the background to Unplanned, it tells the real-life story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, who is now a pro-life champion.
. . . 
"Without giving anything away, let’s just say that an important scene in the movie occurred earlier than I expected. (For those concerned about bringing children to Unplanned, first, there are far more graphic images of aborted babies found online than anything seen in the movie. Second, if your kids are old enough to have an intelligent discussion with you about abortion, they are old enough to see the movie.)
"As the scene unfolded – it is something witnessed at Planned Parenthood clinics every day of the week and it was scientifically fair and honest – I was completely overcome, sobbing uncontrollably. Yet there was nothing manipulative or contrived about the scene in the least. Just the simple reality of an abortion. And I lost it." . . .

If you see the movie rated "R", this is why.


A scene from the movie "Unplanned"
'Unplanned' is a movie the radicals do not want you to watch  . . . "Then there was the testimony of former abortion clinic worker Abby Johnson. While she testified forcefully at that hearing, her comments in a prior speech struck me the most. She had worked in a clinic for several years without being fully aware until one day she assisted in an ultrasound-guided abortion and could see directly on a monitor exactly what happens in the womb during a first-trimester abortion.   
“ 'Can you see the arms and legs? Yes,” she said. “Can you see the fingers and toes? Yes, absolutely. You see that baby’s heart beating. You see the whole baby on that screen.' ” . . .   

UPDATE: 'Unplanned' Actress Ashley Bratcher Had a Message for Hollywood on Their Threatened Boycott of Georgia Over Heartbeat Bill . . . "Bratcher, a Georgia native, addressed her letter to actress Alyssa Milano, who had spearheaded the boycott threat.
“ 'Mother to mother, actress to actress, and as a proud Georgian, I’ve got some things to say to you,” she wrote. “Hollywood may be silent on women’s rights but Georgia, the new home of the movie industry, is making its voice heard loud and clear. I’m incredibly proud of my home state for taking a stand in the fight for life amidst backlash and dubious threats.”
"Bratcher went on to reference her shocking personal story of recently discovering that she had almost been aborted.
“ 'I can’t help but think how you would feel in my shoes,” she wrote.
“ 'Having just learned months ago that my life was spared on an abortion table, it definitely put a few things in perspective for me. You had the privilege of being born in 1972. My generation was not so lucky. Over 61 million lives never reached their full potential. How many doctors, scientists, philosophers, and even actors like you and me, never had the chance to leave their beautiful marks on the world?' ” . . .

'The Leggings problem': can we just never hear about them again?

The Guardian




"For years, Maryann White suffered in stoic silence. She prayed that fashions would change and the legging problem would go away. Alas, athleisure only became more popular. Eventually White could stand it no longer; distraught and desperate, she wrote a letter to Notre Dame’s student newspaper imploring female students to “turn their backs(ides) on leggings”.
“I’m not trying to insult anyone,” White writes in the letter, published on Monday. “I’m just a Catholic mother of four sons with a problem that only girls can solve: leggings.”
"White explains that while her sons “know better than to ogle a woman’s body”, leggings make not-ogling impossible. She recounts a traumatic episode while attending mass at the university, when she was confronted by a group of young women wearing tight clothing. “You couldn’t help but see those blackly naked rear ends. I didn’t want to see them – but they were unavoidable.” Which honestly sounds like something she should have saved for the confession booth, rather than the letters page of her sons’ student newspaper.


“ 'Leggings are so naked … so exposing,” she concludes. “Could you think of the mothers of sons the next time you go shopping and consider choosing jeans instead?”
"Rather than heeding White’s plea, the louche ladies of Notre Dame held a Leggings Pride Day in protest and shared pictures of themselves wearing tight pants with the hashtag #LeggingsDayND. “The Leggings problem,” as it has been termed, has made national news.

This new generation makes one fear for this nation



Goodbye George: GW students vote to 'remove and replace' mascot


"The George Washington University student body voted Thursday to "remove and replace" its mascot, the George the Colonial. 
According to the GWU Joint Elections Commission, 54 percent of students who voted in this spring’s Student Association elections supported the removal of the Colonial as the school’s mascot. It was not immediately clear what students plan to replace the Colonial mascot with or even if school administrators will act on the results of the referendum.  
“There's a huge difference between a colonial, which is our mascot, and anyone who lived during colonial times, and colonialism, which is what students are saying this mascot is representative of, which is not the case at all."    
Campus Reform asked GWU to comment on the matter but did not hear back in time for publication. 
"The original push to change the mascot started last spring with an online petition, which garnered over 500 signatures.  Ashley Le, who served as GW Student Association President at the time, encouraged university administrators to listen to students' concerns on the matter. The total number of signatories that the petition has amounted to less than 2 percent of the GW student body.
"Last spring, two-time GW alumnus Michael La Place published an op-ed in The GW Hatchet, titled, “GW must stand by Colonials nickname." In his piece, he said that “being identified as a Colonial fills me with pride.” Earlier this school year, GW hired Jordan West as diversity coordinator. In an article about West’s hiring, Le told The Hatchet that West discussed the issue of changing the “colonials” moniker at their fall retreat." . . .

Founding Fathers under attack: Students demand Thomas Jefferson statue removal
. . . "The statue has been the center of controversy on the campus and has been defaced with “DECOLONIZE” and “Black Lives Matter” signs and stickers. According to a media advisory sent by the Jefferson Has Gotta Go (JGG) campaign, the protest was held outside Hofstra Breslin Hall at the statue. Organizers included “students of Hofstra University, staff from Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, and supporters of Hempstead community.' ” . . .

Poor Uncle Joe; they're piling on him now. Because he is white...and a man

At least by being a Democrat he should be spared the leftist lynch mob and the indignant celebrities like, for example, the camera-savvy Alyssa Milano. But, unlike the assembly of current leftists, he has been the one closest to being a normal, traditional Democrat politician.  Not altogether good in and of itself. TD

Joe Biden gets a sexual assault accuser of his own  "Over the years, we've cracked a few jokes about VP Biden, from his gaffes to his quick hands.
"Yesterday, we learned that a woman is accusing V.P. Biden of a little too much touching, or something like that.  Her name is Lucy Flores: . . .
. . . 
"Well.  Then she goes on the victim trip about surviving in a culture of "white men" and "machismo."
What can I say? 
"I believe that this entire incident speaks volumes about the modern Democratic Party.  My guess is that the party just does not want a white man named Biden on top of the ticket.  So the Dems are dropping this story now as V.P. Biden is contemplating a run for president.
"Who knows where this story will go or whether there is more coming?  In the meantime, President Trump must be watching and enjoying the show."

CNN, MSNBC Ignore Allegations Against Biden  . . . "The former vice president is currently leading in nearly every presidential poll."
Joe Biden's skin-crawling touching of little girls and grown women now an election issue  . . . "Unfortunately for Biden, he cannot deny this creepy behavior. There are plenty of videos and still shots of Biden, kissing, groping and putting his hands on children and grown women in public.



. . . "Only three days ago Politico reported Biden was the top choice of 29 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents surveyed in a Quinnipiac poll.
"Flores's accusation should be a game changer for touchy-feely Biden. Will the mainstream media give the man some call “gropin' Joe'' a pass?
"The liberal website Vox.com insists the MSM will not cover for Biden.  In a March 29 article entitled "Flores isn't alone," the Vox writer states:
 ...It's no secret in Washington that Biden has touched numerous women inappropriately in public. It’s just never been treated as a serious issue by the mainstream press.
"Biden does have his defenders who view the unsolicited hair sniffing, touching and kissing as lovable and endearing. Dick Harpootlian, a South Carolina state senator and Biden supporter said this about his friend:
All of us who have been around Joe Biden — he hugs men, women and children. He is a hugger. That’s just the generation he comes from, and that’s his personality. You shouldn’t read anything into it other than he was doing what he has done to me, to my daughter, to my wife, to Barack Obama.. . .
Looks Like It’s On: Elizabeth Warren Says Joe Biden Has To Give Answer For Allegation Of Inappropriate Touching  . . . So you would think that other Democrats would cheer that response, right? Believe all women? Not so much." . . .

"Who’s sabotaging Creepy Joe’s campaign?"  . . . "Kyle Smith is asking the correct question. Who is the beneficiary of Uncle Joe’s #MeToo demise?  The Clintons?   Bernie and the Socialistas?  The author of The Cut piece and their staff are clearly Bernie supporters. Or, even possibly, former President Obama and still Chief of Staff Valerie Jarrett clearing the way for their preferred candidate?" . . .
Let’s hope that whoever is exposing this corruption may continue to do so. Creepy Joe Biden has already been far too close to the most powerful job in the land than he should have been. He doesn’t need to get any closer.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Smollett loses NAACP award. Ingraham confronts Brazile about the scandal and gets gibberish

BPR


. . . "Smollett neither attended the event nor won anything.
"Guess who did attend the event, though …
Newly minted Fox News contributor Donna Brazile.
"Speaking with network host Laura Ingraham shortly before the start of the dinner Friday night, the longtime Democrat activist and proven Democrat cheat, of course, defended the NAACP.
"Listen:"

“He received his nomination before he faked his crime,” she argued.
And?
She then suggested that perhaps Smollett really is innocent.
Keep in mind that even local prosecutors believe he’s guilty. They claim they let him off the hook to focus on violent crimes.
“As you know, I have had so many emotions. Emotions about the fact that perhaps he was a victim of a homophobic racist attack,” she said before being cut off by Ingraham.
“You still believe that?” the host asked. 
Brazile responded by rambling about her relationship with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, the potentially corrupt official reportedly responsible for Smollett’s premature acquittal. 
Ingraham interrupted again to highlight the severity of the actor’s crime.

Why Are Fox News Viewers So Angry About the Donna Brazile Hire?
My own opinion is simple that Brazile does not rank with the Jonah Goldbergs, Mollie Hemingways, and Jason Rileys inhabiting the All-Star Panel. Brazile is a political hack and nothing more than the like of Sally Kohn, who once appeared on the panel by some fluke of judgement. She sheds no light on any topic and belongs only in the Democrat spin room after any election.
. . . "The AP report quoted Brigitte Gabriel, the head of a right-wing lobbying group, saying Pirro “did nothing wrong.” Taken together with the Brazile hire, Gabriel warned of the “the direction Fox News is headed.” On social media, the knives came out for Hannity following his Brazile interview.
. . . 
"In brief, the decision at Fox News to bring in a liberal voice and take a conservative favorite off the air had made the network’s fans very angry. It will be interesting to see if Brazile stays aboard — and Pirro remains suspended — much longer." . . .

"Hollywood Erupts After Georgia Heartbeat Bill Passes: ‘F*ck This’ "

Breitbart  "Hollywood threatened Georgia with a boycott if the state passed a bill that limited abortions to the first six weeks. Peach State lawmakers passed the bill and left-wing celebrities are erupting.

"As Breitbart News reported Friday, Hollywood has lined up to warn the state that they would take their business out of Georgia if the “Heartbeat bill,” H.B. 481, passed, a bill that would ban abortion after a heartbeat could be detected in a fetus.
"In a letter written by actress-turned-activist Alyssa Milano*, stars threaten to “do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women if H.B. 481 becomes law.”
"Ben Stiller, Amy Schumer, Rosie O’Donnell, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Sarah Silverman all signed the letter.
"After the Georgia House voted to pass H.B. 481 Friday, Milano simply said, “Fuck. This.”

*I still recall the image of actress Alyssa Milano, getting some great publicity by choosing the ideal place to sit in the Kavanaugh hearings. Her self-righteous glare giving her plenty of coverage at the expense of the Judge and his family. 

Her seat was established with the TV cameras in mind. How do we know? She had an anti-Kavanaugh slogan on the back of the object in her hand: (Left)

Joe Biden Is Done (Updated)

National Review



"Joe Biden is a creepy old goat. Everyone knows this. There is much photographic evidence of him crossing the line with women. He’s also a liar and a buffoon. But the Democratic party’s public-relations arm, aka the mainstream media, has never before had any incentive to hold Biden up to scrutiny. Why bother? When he became veep, any attack on Biden risked looking like casting aspersions on the man who made him his number two, and the media could not countenance any naysaying about the judgment of the Precious.  

"For the next few months, though, we’re in an amusing interstitial period when the media actually has a reason to attack their fellow Democrats: any hacks out there who think their party can do better than Biden (or Sanders, or Warren, or Harris, or etc.) can rip into their disfavored candidates in order to give an assist to their preferred picks. All of this goes away as soon as the Democratic pick for 2020 becomes evident, but until then we’ll be seeing some actual vigorous reporting.

"Today, because the feminist-leftist staff of The Cut at New York magazine think the Dems can do better than Biden, there’s a devastating first-person account of what it’s like to be a woman and have Creepy Joe sneak up behind you (plus a column, which ran an hour later, saying, “Joe Biden Isn’t the Answer.”) Lucy Flores, then 35, was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Nevada when Biden appeared at an event with her. She says,

"I felt him get closer to me from behind.  . . . "
I still remember the classless mockery he showed during the Biden-Ryan debate in 2012:


Update:  Joe Biden's endless gaffe-riddled apology tour
. . . "How do we know all of this? Because Biden’s always been a one-man gaffe machine. (That’s one reason his two previous presidential bids went nowhere.) He’s older now and so even more prone to verbal slips. Combine that with the 500-mile ideological minefield that any white man with Biden’s record would have to traverse in order to placate the woke police and we’re left with a near-certain likelihood of an interminable series of mini-scandals, one after another, prompted by awkward, pesky questions about the candidate’s past and his utter incapacity to parry them with even a modicum of deftness. His campaign is bound to fall prey to a terminal case of foot-in-mouth disease.

"Biden will apologize. And then apologize again. And then again. Endlessly. Gracelessly. Until he finally gives up and goes home."

They don't believe in America

If true, why do they want to live here? They should move far, far away.
Don Surber  "Eric Holder was born in the Bronx at a great time to be a black American. Second-class citizenship ended when he was 13. After graduating from Stuyvesant High School, he went on to Columbia University, followed by Columbia Law School. By the time he graduated in 1976, he had interned at the NAACP and the U.S. Attorney's office.
"Holder would become the first black attorney general, having been appointed by the first black president.
"And yet, Holder tweeted sarcastically, "Exactly when do you think America was great?" . . .


"Holder is a sneering cynic who hates America, which is odd since this nation has done so much for him. On top of everything, he was a federal judge.
"Part of the reason for his hatred of country may be because he has seen America's seamier side having served in two Democrat administrations. He wrote the pardon that billionaire fugitive from justice Marc Rich bought with a million dollar donation to Clinton's library.
"Holder's bitterness toward the country resonates throughout Washington and the Democrat Party. They see Americans as rubes. Holder and the rest portray the nation as irredeemably racist, genocidal, and intolerant." . . .

It’s a Coup, Not an Investigation — And It’s Not Over

Rush Limbaugh  


. . . "This was never an investigation. There was nothing to find. There was no collusion. There was never any evidence of it. There was no need for a special counsel. It was a political appointment to satisfy some Democrats and to get rid of Trump. There was no need for an investigation because there had not been any evidence produced of collusion.

"All they had was the dossier, so it wasn’t even really an investigation. It was a coup! It was an organized effort to poison the political landscape against Donald Trump. Robert Mueller knew before this investigation began there was no collusion. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. They begin the so-called investigation and after a month it’s abundantly clear there’s no collusion, and yet Mueller keeps going. He doesn’t shut it down. He doesn’t make any interim announcement that the investigation has found no evidence of collusion. Kept it going.
"This was not an investigation. It was made to look like one. It was categorized as one, characterized as one, reported on as one, but when you get down to brass tacks, it was not even an investigation. It didn’t take two years to discover what Mueller reported, that there was no collusion and no evidence of obstruction. Well, Mueller didn’t report that. Left it up to Barr to conclude. Barr concluded it based on what he read in the report. It was nothing more than the poisoning of the political landscape.
"Now what’s happening, the Drive-By Media not shamed, not feeling any remorse, not feeling any disgrace over being totally wrong about this, because it wasn’t an investigation. It wasn’t that they were wrong. It is that they have failed, at least so far. The objective: Get rid of Trump. They have failed at that. Now it’s on to the next phase of getting rid of Trump.
"So it wasn’t an investigation, and it wasn’t honest reporting about an investigation. It was all of these people aligned on the same side moving an objective, in this case a silent coup to poison the landscape, the American people against their president and try to convince them he was a traitor and a Russian agent. That bombed out." . . .

Spygate: The Inside Story Behind the Alleged Plot to Take Down Trump

Rich Terrell
The Epoch Times  "Efforts by high-ranking officials in the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and State Department to portray President Donald Trump as having colluded with Russia were the culmination of years of bias and politicization under the Obama administration."


"The weaponization of the intelligence community and other government agencies created an environment that allowed for obstruction in the investigation into Hillary Clinton and the relentless pursuit of a manufactured collusion narrative against Trump.
A willing and complicit media spread unsubstantiated leaks as facts in an effort to promote the Russia-collusion narrative.


Justice Department Inspector
General  Michael Horowitz. 
. . . "The Spygate scandal also raises a bigger question: Was the 2016 election a one-time aberration, or was it symptomatic of decades of institutional political corruption?
"This article builds on dozens of congressional testimonies, court documents, and other research to provide an inside look at the actions of Obama administration officials in the scandal that’s become known as Spygate.
"To understand this abuse of power, it helps to go back to July 2011, when DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz was appointed."

NBC/MSNBC political news honcho accused of trying to suppress news on behalf of the DNC

Tucker Carlson, under concerted attack by Media Matters and others seeking to drive him off the air, has broadcast devastating rebukes to the two corrupt networks for their conversion into adjuncts of a political party, not legitimate news operations. 

Thomas Lifson  "CNN and MSNBC, the two cable news networks currently in crisis over their pushing of the Russia hoax for years, have another huge worry on their hands: they have been exposed as agents of the Democratic Party's national leadership.  First CNN, and now MSNBC (as well as its parent, NBC News), have been shown to be acting on orders from the Democratic Party." . . .
. . . 
"The newer scandal now rocking the world of broadcast "journalism" is the charge that the managing editor of politics for NBC and MSNBC, Dafna Linzer, acted on behalf of the Democratic National Committee to suppress the reporting of a scoop by a freelance reporter." . . .



. . . "Read the whole thing — or watch Tucker take apart and explain the significance of this scandal, and then discuss the incident with his guest, Chris Plante.  Both segments are rewarding:" . . .
. . . 
"Before we beatify Ali, read Peter Barry Chowka's work on his role in sabotaging the career of Eric Bolling, then at Fox News, herehere, and here."