God Bless The USA
The View from the Middle
Over the past few months we have all been bombarded with claims of how terrible this country is. This country that millions of people risk their lives to get into each year. Some of these claims are absolute lies. Some are exaggerations and some are even true. No person or country is perfect. But what the media and most politicians leave out are the great stories of sacrifice and freedom and accomplishment and acceptance that are an integral part of our history and national legacy. It is what makes this country great and attractive to all of those millions who want to get here.
So, if you only focus on the negative and ignore all the positive you can make even the greatest country in the world sound terrible. Today, however, I received a couple of emails that reminded me of how great we’ve got it in the USA and what a bright future we have. And we have that bright future because of the of the fundamental goodness of our people, the self-correcting system of government our founders put in place and the freedom it guarantees even to those who would protest against it (not those who assault police, destroy property and even murder innocents). Try that in China and see what happens to you!
One email I received was about “The Doolittle Raiders”. This was a group of 80 men who flew 16 planes over Tokyo during WWII. Their original daring plan was to bomb Tokyo and then land in China, because they didn’t have enough fuel to make it back to their aircraft carriers, but that plan was thwarted and they had to take off from even farther out. This made landing in China unlikely, if not impossible. These 80 brave men took off anyway knowing that after their mission was complete they were going to have to fend for themselves in hostile territory. Four planes crash landed; 11 more crews bailed out, and three Raiders died. Eight more were captured; and three were executed. Another died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp. One crew made it to Russia. What an amazing story!! Add to this the thousands of stories and hundreds of books about the bravery and selflessness of Americans on Iwo Jima, at the Battle of the Bulge or on “D-day”. It reminded me of how proud I am of the men and women who fought and died to save Europe and the world from fascism and the brutality of Nazi Germany.
The next email I received was a video of Lee Greenwood and an array of American soldiers. Even with the backdrop of protestors, rioters, looters, arsonists and yes even murderers in the streets of America, it reminded me of how great this country is because it stands for freedom for everyone who lives here. Please read the words to this great song below, and I’ve also supplied a link you can copy and paste into your browser to actually hear Lee and his troupe perform. You will NOT regret listening.
"God Bless The USA"
If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife
I'd thank my lucky stars to be livin' here today
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away
And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA
From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee
Across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA
Well, there's pride in every American heart
And it's time we stand and say
That I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA
And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Japc8M8RQw
THIS is what America needs to hear today! God bless you and God Bless the USA.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Thursday, July 23, 2020
How Can I Lie to Thee, Let Me Count the Ways
How Can I Lie to Thee, Let Me Count the Ways
The View from the Middle
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled “Lies of Omission” where I talked about how the press can mislead us all in more ways than straight out lies. They can just not cover or under report very important stories and I gave examples of where they did just that. One example I gave was the reporting on the May jobs numbers. The “experts” had suggested that we would lose nine million jobs in May and the unemployment rate would go UP to 19.0%. In actuality, we created 2.5 million new jobs and the unemployment rate went DOWN to 13.3%. These results were amazing, but the real story was the gargantuan miss by the so-called experts. CNN literally devoted five seconds to this story and didn’t even mention the vast gap between the projections and the actual results. So, what had to be the biggest story of the day was given five seconds from a network that is devoted to the news 24 hours a day. Really?
Of course, the media can just lie right to our faces also, and they have. Remember the story that President Trump had removed the bust of Martin Luther King from the Oval office. This, of course, was proof positive that Trump was a racist. When it was discovered that this was a lie, all we got was an “Ooops” from NBC that no one even heard. Then there was the claim that Trump said that, “all Mexicans are rapists”. When that turned out not to be true, the story just faded to black. Everyone heard the claim and no one heard any retraction or correction. Finally, Trump was called a traitor and a Russian asset for years by morally suspect John Brennan and James Clapper, but when the Mueller report came out and debunked that claim, there were no apologies or retractions for that either. Yes, the media has lied right to our faces!!
Then there is the deception of the double standard or what I will call “double vision”. It appears that President Trump can perform the exact same action as other Presidents or even candidates, but the reporting of those actions is twisted into a negative light. That happened most recently when President Trump gave a speech in front of Mount Rushmore. I actually watched that speech and found it to be one of Trump’s better moments as he honored Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt with an accurate historical tribute.
In 2008, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama visited Mount Rushmore and both CBS and CNN not only found the visits appropriate but asked both candidates if they pictured themselves joining the Presidential quartet on the Mount someday. For Obama’s visit, the media described the massive sculpture as “quite a sight” and “majestic”. In 2016 candidate Bernie Sanders visited the Mount and said of it, “This is our country at its very best”. He added that it was, “and incredible achievement” and that, “it really does make one proud to be an American.”
But, of course, all this must be changed by the lame-stream media if President Trump should dare to visit this incredible and legendary site. They must twist and contort this marvel of history and art into something disgusting and even reprehensible. So, as President Trump prepared to give his speech in front of Mount Rushmore, as 16 other Presidents have done, CNN decided that the Mount was no longer majestic or incredible or a source of pride, but now, because Trump was there, it was a, “monument to two slave owners, and on land that was wrestled away from Native Americans.” Wow, it’s amazing how blatant theirs bias has become.
And just so my readers understand, this article is not about President Trump. It is about a media that has abandoned their role as arbiters of truth. They have committed to an agenda and they will twist every story they find by making bold-faced lies, lies of omission and using the deception of their double standard to mislead you at every possible opportunity. And this is just the main-stream media. If you are using Facebook or Twitter as your source of news, the dishonesty is only magnified through the use of selective censorship or robotic manipulation which accounts for over half of their traffic and messaging. You must be diligent in your search for truth. You will have to find new sources of the news because the established media is committing journalistic malfeasance on a daily basis. This, unfortunately is our task, lest we become 2020’s version of George Orwell’s “1984”. And if you haven’t read that great book, you should do so now so you know what’s at stake.
The View from the Middle
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled “Lies of Omission” where I talked about how the press can mislead us all in more ways than straight out lies. They can just not cover or under report very important stories and I gave examples of where they did just that. One example I gave was the reporting on the May jobs numbers. The “experts” had suggested that we would lose nine million jobs in May and the unemployment rate would go UP to 19.0%. In actuality, we created 2.5 million new jobs and the unemployment rate went DOWN to 13.3%. These results were amazing, but the real story was the gargantuan miss by the so-called experts. CNN literally devoted five seconds to this story and didn’t even mention the vast gap between the projections and the actual results. So, what had to be the biggest story of the day was given five seconds from a network that is devoted to the news 24 hours a day. Really?
Of course, the media can just lie right to our faces also, and they have. Remember the story that President Trump had removed the bust of Martin Luther King from the Oval office. This, of course, was proof positive that Trump was a racist. When it was discovered that this was a lie, all we got was an “Ooops” from NBC that no one even heard. Then there was the claim that Trump said that, “all Mexicans are rapists”. When that turned out not to be true, the story just faded to black. Everyone heard the claim and no one heard any retraction or correction. Finally, Trump was called a traitor and a Russian asset for years by morally suspect John Brennan and James Clapper, but when the Mueller report came out and debunked that claim, there were no apologies or retractions for that either. Yes, the media has lied right to our faces!!
Then there is the deception of the double standard or what I will call “double vision”. It appears that President Trump can perform the exact same action as other Presidents or even candidates, but the reporting of those actions is twisted into a negative light. That happened most recently when President Trump gave a speech in front of Mount Rushmore. I actually watched that speech and found it to be one of Trump’s better moments as he honored Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt with an accurate historical tribute.
In 2008, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama visited Mount Rushmore and both CBS and CNN not only found the visits appropriate but asked both candidates if they pictured themselves joining the Presidential quartet on the Mount someday. For Obama’s visit, the media described the massive sculpture as “quite a sight” and “majestic”. In 2016 candidate Bernie Sanders visited the Mount and said of it, “This is our country at its very best”. He added that it was, “and incredible achievement” and that, “it really does make one proud to be an American.”
But, of course, all this must be changed by the lame-stream media if President Trump should dare to visit this incredible and legendary site. They must twist and contort this marvel of history and art into something disgusting and even reprehensible. So, as President Trump prepared to give his speech in front of Mount Rushmore, as 16 other Presidents have done, CNN decided that the Mount was no longer majestic or incredible or a source of pride, but now, because Trump was there, it was a, “monument to two slave owners, and on land that was wrestled away from Native Americans.” Wow, it’s amazing how blatant theirs bias has become.
And just so my readers understand, this article is not about President Trump. It is about a media that has abandoned their role as arbiters of truth. They have committed to an agenda and they will twist every story they find by making bold-faced lies, lies of omission and using the deception of their double standard to mislead you at every possible opportunity. And this is just the main-stream media. If you are using Facebook or Twitter as your source of news, the dishonesty is only magnified through the use of selective censorship or robotic manipulation which accounts for over half of their traffic and messaging. You must be diligent in your search for truth. You will have to find new sources of the news because the established media is committing journalistic malfeasance on a daily basis. This, unfortunately is our task, lest we become 2020’s version of George Orwell’s “1984”. And if you haven’t read that great book, you should do so now so you know what’s at stake.
Monday, July 13, 2020
Black Lives Matter, The Organization vs the Idea
Black Lives Matter, The Organization vs the Idea
The View from the Middle
Have you ever noticed that organizations and legislators use names to make their groups or legislation sound better? The people who fight to make abortions easier to access, for example, don’t call themselves “Pro-Abortion”. They call themselves “Pro-Choice”. They do that because they know that people understand that abortion is a bloody, destructive and dangerous act and they don’t want people associating their cause with that ugly picture. Would you support them if they were called the “We Rip Babies from Mothers’ Wombs” movement?
The same goes for the “Black Lives Matter” organization. Do Black lives matter? Of course, they do! Who is suggesting otherwise? It is a safe name because virtually everyone in this country agrees with the sentiment expressed in that name. They might as well have called it the “We Love Puppies” organization. Everyone in America supports puppies, but is that what this organization is all about? Is this organization really about saving Black lives?
Many Black leaders have questioned why BLM has not expressed more outrage over the deaths of Black police officers, like David Dorn, or young black children, like Secoriea Turner who were actually shot by Black Lives Matter protestors. Or how about the slaughter of young Black men in Chicago, Baltimore and New York that occurs every week. If Black lives matter, don’t they also matter. The reality is that Black lives are a side issue at best to these violent, terroristic mobs that are mostly made up of pampered, indoctrinated white millennials these days.
There’s an old saying that suggests that when people tell you who they are or what their intent is, you should believe them. So, when the mullahs in Iran shout, “death to America”. I believe that is what they want. When Russia says, “We will bury you”, I believe them and when China says they want to replace America as the one and only superpower in the world, I believe them too. So, when Patrisse Collurs, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, says that she is a trained Marxist, we should believe her also. So, who is Karl Marx and why does Patrisse worship him?
Karl Marx was a German philosopher born more than 200 years ago and is the father of socialism and arguably, Communism. After all, one of his most famous writings was The Communist Manifesto. His utopian ideas of an incorruptible, benevolent, thoroughly efficient government that runs everything may be great fodder for dorm room “dream-speak”, but you can ask the people of Cuba, Venezuela, China and Russia how all of that is working out. What it has proven in the real world is that government is corrupt, inept and deceitful above all things, and the big losers in his experiment are common people.
Black Lives Matter is a great slogan and a true statement, but it’s a poor name for this group. Marxism is what Patrisse and the BLM organization actually believe in. They believe in the destruction of capitalism, which has liberated more people from oppression than any other system in the world, and the elimination of the nuclear family, which is the foundation of every civil society. Many Black leaders and athletes have denounced the organization for those very positions, including journalist Jason Whitlock and retired all-pro defensive end Marcellus Wiley. BLM has openly said that they will burn down this country if they don’t get what they want, which doesn’t sound democratic, or tolerant or even sane to me. So, let’s take a look at what exactly this violent, radical group wants to burn down!
America is arguably the greatest country in the world today and possibly the greatest country this world has ever seen. America’s $20+ trillion economy is the largest in the world. Our economy, in fact, represents 24% of the world’s economy while accounting for only 4% of its population. We have the world’s most powerful military and we have the planet’s most generous people. The people in the US give over $400 billion to charity each year and our government adds another $35 billion in aid to other countries.
The United States regularly ranks in the top 10 countries in the world in terms of standard of living and has also ranked high in terms of the freedom our country offers our citizens. I think, however, that immigration is the most important measure of how great our country is. America allows over a million legal immigrants into our country every year and millions more risk their lives to come here illegally. There are over 50 million immigrants living in our country today which ranks us #1 in that category and that is four times the #2 country’s total. That 50 million represents over 15% of our population, another top number. And do you know what countries don’t even make it into the top 50 in terms of people wanting to immigrate there? China, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela, and why? Because their socialist/communistic systems have led to poverty, violence, misery, massive inequity and, in China’s case, even slavery.
Yet THIS, the greatest country in the world, is what BLM wants to burn down. Is America perfect? No, but neither is any other country on the planet. We do, however, offer one more thing that everyone loves about America. We have a constitution that not only puts human rights above governmental rights but is also self-correcting. It has taken us from zero Black men or women in government in 1789 (Washington’s first year in office) to our first Black President in 2009 and 58 members of Congress today. Will we get even better? Yes, unless we let the Marxist mobs in our midst burn this great country down.
So, don’t let this Marxist group trick you into supporting them. They will say that if you don’t support the Black Lives Matter organization, then you are against the “idea” that Black lives matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I would suggest that if you really believe that Black lives matter, you must denounce the organization that has hijacked such a righteous banner.
The View from the Middle
Have you ever noticed that organizations and legislators use names to make their groups or legislation sound better? The people who fight to make abortions easier to access, for example, don’t call themselves “Pro-Abortion”. They call themselves “Pro-Choice”. They do that because they know that people understand that abortion is a bloody, destructive and dangerous act and they don’t want people associating their cause with that ugly picture. Would you support them if they were called the “We Rip Babies from Mothers’ Wombs” movement?
The same goes for the “Black Lives Matter” organization. Do Black lives matter? Of course, they do! Who is suggesting otherwise? It is a safe name because virtually everyone in this country agrees with the sentiment expressed in that name. They might as well have called it the “We Love Puppies” organization. Everyone in America supports puppies, but is that what this organization is all about? Is this organization really about saving Black lives?
Many Black leaders have questioned why BLM has not expressed more outrage over the deaths of Black police officers, like David Dorn, or young black children, like Secoriea Turner who were actually shot by Black Lives Matter protestors. Or how about the slaughter of young Black men in Chicago, Baltimore and New York that occurs every week. If Black lives matter, don’t they also matter. The reality is that Black lives are a side issue at best to these violent, terroristic mobs that are mostly made up of pampered, indoctrinated white millennials these days.
There’s an old saying that suggests that when people tell you who they are or what their intent is, you should believe them. So, when the mullahs in Iran shout, “death to America”. I believe that is what they want. When Russia says, “We will bury you”, I believe them and when China says they want to replace America as the one and only superpower in the world, I believe them too. So, when Patrisse Collurs, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, says that she is a trained Marxist, we should believe her also. So, who is Karl Marx and why does Patrisse worship him?
Karl Marx was a German philosopher born more than 200 years ago and is the father of socialism and arguably, Communism. After all, one of his most famous writings was The Communist Manifesto. His utopian ideas of an incorruptible, benevolent, thoroughly efficient government that runs everything may be great fodder for dorm room “dream-speak”, but you can ask the people of Cuba, Venezuela, China and Russia how all of that is working out. What it has proven in the real world is that government is corrupt, inept and deceitful above all things, and the big losers in his experiment are common people.
Black Lives Matter is a great slogan and a true statement, but it’s a poor name for this group. Marxism is what Patrisse and the BLM organization actually believe in. They believe in the destruction of capitalism, which has liberated more people from oppression than any other system in the world, and the elimination of the nuclear family, which is the foundation of every civil society. Many Black leaders and athletes have denounced the organization for those very positions, including journalist Jason Whitlock and retired all-pro defensive end Marcellus Wiley. BLM has openly said that they will burn down this country if they don’t get what they want, which doesn’t sound democratic, or tolerant or even sane to me. So, let’s take a look at what exactly this violent, radical group wants to burn down!
America is arguably the greatest country in the world today and possibly the greatest country this world has ever seen. America’s $20+ trillion economy is the largest in the world. Our economy, in fact, represents 24% of the world’s economy while accounting for only 4% of its population. We have the world’s most powerful military and we have the planet’s most generous people. The people in the US give over $400 billion to charity each year and our government adds another $35 billion in aid to other countries.
The United States regularly ranks in the top 10 countries in the world in terms of standard of living and has also ranked high in terms of the freedom our country offers our citizens. I think, however, that immigration is the most important measure of how great our country is. America allows over a million legal immigrants into our country every year and millions more risk their lives to come here illegally. There are over 50 million immigrants living in our country today which ranks us #1 in that category and that is four times the #2 country’s total. That 50 million represents over 15% of our population, another top number. And do you know what countries don’t even make it into the top 50 in terms of people wanting to immigrate there? China, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela, and why? Because their socialist/communistic systems have led to poverty, violence, misery, massive inequity and, in China’s case, even slavery.
Yet THIS, the greatest country in the world, is what BLM wants to burn down. Is America perfect? No, but neither is any other country on the planet. We do, however, offer one more thing that everyone loves about America. We have a constitution that not only puts human rights above governmental rights but is also self-correcting. It has taken us from zero Black men or women in government in 1789 (Washington’s first year in office) to our first Black President in 2009 and 58 members of Congress today. Will we get even better? Yes, unless we let the Marxist mobs in our midst burn this great country down.
So, don’t let this Marxist group trick you into supporting them. They will say that if you don’t support the Black Lives Matter organization, then you are against the “idea” that Black lives matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I would suggest that if you really believe that Black lives matter, you must denounce the organization that has hijacked such a righteous banner.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Lies of Omission
Lies of Omission
The View from the Middle
This morning I was listening to Fox News when they announced the June jobs report, which was full of great news that should inspire and encourage everyone in America. Very shortly after the report was released the President had a press conference where he laid out the results and gave some perspective. While the Street had projected job gains of three million, the country produced almost five million new jobs, and while “the experts” predicted that the unemployment rate would fall to 12.4%, it actually fell to 11.1%
As I was watching the President explain this good news to the country on Fox News, I thought that I would go over and see what CNN was reporting. It seems that they chose not to even cover the President’s press conference and were instead doing a story on Trump’s poll numbers.
This reminded me of when the May job numbers came out. You may not even know this if you only watch the lame-stream media, but the May numbers were even more spectacular. The experts had predicted that we would lose nine million jobs and instead our economy delivered 2.5 million new jobs. “The experts also predicted that the unemployment rate would rise to 19.0%, but it in fact fell to 13.3%. That was a HUGE miss by the so-called experts!!
Those were astonishing numbers, especially considering the predictions, but when I clicked onto CNN they covered these results for five seconds (literally) and then spun off into some negative story about Trump. They didn’t even talk about the massive difference between these results and the projections. They just gave the numbers and moved on to trash the President.
This kind of under-reporting or lack of coverage is just another kind of deception that the media uses to mislead this country. It is sad that there are so many people in the media and in Washington who are actually disappointed with these wonderful results. They would prefer our country to be suffering economically and even physically so as to advance their political agendas. Disgusting!!
They also lie about the Supreme Court. Recently, there have been six rulings from the Court, three in favor of Trump and three cases where they ruled against his position. The depraved media aggressively covered the three cases that the White House lost, but guess how much time they devoted to the three cases where they ruled in his favor. You’re right – ZERO. They can say they didn’t lie, but they can’t say they told the truth, the whole truth, so help them God, and trust me they need God’s help right now to save their industry.
Then, on July the 3rd, Trump addressed the nation from Mount Rushmore. He actually delivered a wonderful history lesson about Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt so that people could understand why we honor these men. Mount Rushmore does not claim that these men (or any man or woman) is perfect, but they did do some amazing things to create, nurture, improve and protect the union. It was a 15-minute performance that every American should have experienced, but when I switched over to CNN, they amazingly had decided not to even cover it. In my opinion, that is not only pathetic, but it violates the very purpose of their role in our society.
For those of you who only watch ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR and CNN, you need to know that you are being lied to on a regular basis as these channels continue to omit stories that don’t fit their agenda. You need to get out of the “echo chamber” of deception through omission. We all need and deserve the whole truth and nothing but the truth so that we can decide for ourselves who and what is working for our country. If you’re not afraid to get the whole story, bounce over to Fox News on occasion. Listen to Rush Limbaugh or Chris Plante on the radio. They are not only very knowledgeable, but Chris Plante is also hilarious. But if you actually don’t want the whole story and don’t mind being misled by the bias, partisan media then stick with the lame-stream. You’ll experience the bliss of ignorance, until they decide to ignore YOUR story, but by then it will be too late.
The View from the Middle
This morning I was listening to Fox News when they announced the June jobs report, which was full of great news that should inspire and encourage everyone in America. Very shortly after the report was released the President had a press conference where he laid out the results and gave some perspective. While the Street had projected job gains of three million, the country produced almost five million new jobs, and while “the experts” predicted that the unemployment rate would fall to 12.4%, it actually fell to 11.1%
As I was watching the President explain this good news to the country on Fox News, I thought that I would go over and see what CNN was reporting. It seems that they chose not to even cover the President’s press conference and were instead doing a story on Trump’s poll numbers.
This reminded me of when the May job numbers came out. You may not even know this if you only watch the lame-stream media, but the May numbers were even more spectacular. The experts had predicted that we would lose nine million jobs and instead our economy delivered 2.5 million new jobs. “The experts also predicted that the unemployment rate would rise to 19.0%, but it in fact fell to 13.3%. That was a HUGE miss by the so-called experts!!
Those were astonishing numbers, especially considering the predictions, but when I clicked onto CNN they covered these results for five seconds (literally) and then spun off into some negative story about Trump. They didn’t even talk about the massive difference between these results and the projections. They just gave the numbers and moved on to trash the President.
This kind of under-reporting or lack of coverage is just another kind of deception that the media uses to mislead this country. It is sad that there are so many people in the media and in Washington who are actually disappointed with these wonderful results. They would prefer our country to be suffering economically and even physically so as to advance their political agendas. Disgusting!!
They also lie about the Supreme Court. Recently, there have been six rulings from the Court, three in favor of Trump and three cases where they ruled against his position. The depraved media aggressively covered the three cases that the White House lost, but guess how much time they devoted to the three cases where they ruled in his favor. You’re right – ZERO. They can say they didn’t lie, but they can’t say they told the truth, the whole truth, so help them God, and trust me they need God’s help right now to save their industry.
Then, on July the 3rd, Trump addressed the nation from Mount Rushmore. He actually delivered a wonderful history lesson about Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt so that people could understand why we honor these men. Mount Rushmore does not claim that these men (or any man or woman) is perfect, but they did do some amazing things to create, nurture, improve and protect the union. It was a 15-minute performance that every American should have experienced, but when I switched over to CNN, they amazingly had decided not to even cover it. In my opinion, that is not only pathetic, but it violates the very purpose of their role in our society.
For those of you who only watch ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR and CNN, you need to know that you are being lied to on a regular basis as these channels continue to omit stories that don’t fit their agenda. You need to get out of the “echo chamber” of deception through omission. We all need and deserve the whole truth and nothing but the truth so that we can decide for ourselves who and what is working for our country. If you’re not afraid to get the whole story, bounce over to Fox News on occasion. Listen to Rush Limbaugh or Chris Plante on the radio. They are not only very knowledgeable, but Chris Plante is also hilarious. But if you actually don’t want the whole story and don’t mind being misled by the bias, partisan media then stick with the lame-stream. You’ll experience the bliss of ignorance, until they decide to ignore YOUR story, but by then it will be too late.
Monday, June 15, 2020
Thoughtless in Seattle
Thoughtless in Seattle
The View from the Middle
There are a lot of things going on in Seattle - violence, chaos, lawlessness - but one thing that is clearly not happening there is any real thinking. If you were to do a city-wide brain scan (actually, make that state-wide), you would find no activity. From the mayor of Seattle to the governor of Washington to the occupying force in CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone), you can only find incompetence, dereliction of duty and mindless emotion.
The occupying force has demonstrated their forward thinking today by already changing their name to CHOP (Capitol Hill Organized Protest). Organized? Right! I guess that’s because they have decided NOT to secede from the union. They want to stay, but just outlaw any speech or even thoughts that disagrees with theirs. Yah! That’s what made America the greatest nation on earth. This won’t be their last name change, however. I have heard that they are considering calling this area the Seattle Hills Insurrection Territory. I’m not gonna tell ‘em!
This classy group whose idea of art consists of graffitied walls, the aroma of a finely distilled Molotov cocktail and the smoking carcass of a burned-out police car demands that a fund be created to support arts and culture. Of course, it will be difficult to view the exhibits through all the boarded-up windows and broken class, but it’s the thought that counts, right!? Finally, the mob in control of this autonomous zone insists that the people of Seattle support all the black-owned businesses. That will take a while, however, since they just burned them all down during the riots. Again, it’s the thought that counts!
Yes, these thoughtless, boneheaded domestic terrorists are also the kings of hypocrisy. They detest the police, but engage in a “stop and frisk” policy made famous by mayor Giuliani and the NYPD. I’m sure they oppose any voter ID laws, but make people who want to enter their lovely oasis show proof of residency. And while social distancing is an absolute necessity for all of us, they have trained the virus to tell the difference between us and them and, of course, not infect them. How DO they do it?!
Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, has proven himself to be absolutely witless. During a press conference on June 11th, three days after the CHAZ occupation in Seattle, he admitted that he was unaware of the seizure of six square blocks in his largest city by a group of violent anarchists. Now that’s what I call being “on the ball”. With this shocking lack of knowledge about his own state he abdicates any right to criticize anyone for anything. Maybe he should consider asking for help from people who are aware and have the power and resources to do so, like the President of the United States. At least Trump knew what was going on in Seattle.
And the mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, might be the most mindless and senseless boob of the entire group. She likened this armed, violent, destructive, barricaded insurrection to a “block party” or an art festival. How clueless is she? As the rabble took over a chunk of her city and called for her resignation, she supplied porta-potties and fresh food to the insurgents. She even encouraged them to stay for months when she said, “maybe we’ll have a summer of love.” I’ll bet the small business owners in the occupied territory loved that kind of talk. Maybe she and the child-mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, can start a support group for maligned politicians. He too was booed, heckled and even targeted with projectiles by the same ideological fringe faction in his home town earlier this week. When will you learn? These people don’t care about you. They don’t care about freedom or America. They don’t even care about George Floyd. They are paid anarchists, most of whom don’t even know what the real goal is, and don’t care.
Should we send in the military? These anarchists are not worth the bloodshed that would inevitably result. That’s probably what their employers want anyway, but you also can’t enable them by having pizzas delivered or pumping in rap and rock music to sooth these savage beasts. Take away the porta-potties, stop delivering supplies and scramble the cell towers in that area. This will allow these “Lord of the Flies” wannabe’s to wallow in their own filth. It will demonstrate that all these people know how to deliver is chaos. Within a week they will slither away as did their predecessor of the lunatic fringe, Occupy Wall Street, almost 10 years ago. Then, mayor Durkan, maybe your constituents will reward you and mayor Frey with the swift kick in the butt that you both deserve as they vote you out of office in 2021. Although they may not be able to wait that long and just recall you from office this year. Good riddance in my opinion!
The View from the Middle
There are a lot of things going on in Seattle - violence, chaos, lawlessness - but one thing that is clearly not happening there is any real thinking. If you were to do a city-wide brain scan (actually, make that state-wide), you would find no activity. From the mayor of Seattle to the governor of Washington to the occupying force in CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone), you can only find incompetence, dereliction of duty and mindless emotion.
The occupying force has demonstrated their forward thinking today by already changing their name to CHOP (Capitol Hill Organized Protest). Organized? Right! I guess that’s because they have decided NOT to secede from the union. They want to stay, but just outlaw any speech or even thoughts that disagrees with theirs. Yah! That’s what made America the greatest nation on earth. This won’t be their last name change, however. I have heard that they are considering calling this area the Seattle Hills Insurrection Territory. I’m not gonna tell ‘em!
This classy group whose idea of art consists of graffitied walls, the aroma of a finely distilled Molotov cocktail and the smoking carcass of a burned-out police car demands that a fund be created to support arts and culture. Of course, it will be difficult to view the exhibits through all the boarded-up windows and broken class, but it’s the thought that counts, right!? Finally, the mob in control of this autonomous zone insists that the people of Seattle support all the black-owned businesses. That will take a while, however, since they just burned them all down during the riots. Again, it’s the thought that counts!
Yes, these thoughtless, boneheaded domestic terrorists are also the kings of hypocrisy. They detest the police, but engage in a “stop and frisk” policy made famous by mayor Giuliani and the NYPD. I’m sure they oppose any voter ID laws, but make people who want to enter their lovely oasis show proof of residency. And while social distancing is an absolute necessity for all of us, they have trained the virus to tell the difference between us and them and, of course, not infect them. How DO they do it?!
Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, has proven himself to be absolutely witless. During a press conference on June 11th, three days after the CHAZ occupation in Seattle, he admitted that he was unaware of the seizure of six square blocks in his largest city by a group of violent anarchists. Now that’s what I call being “on the ball”. With this shocking lack of knowledge about his own state he abdicates any right to criticize anyone for anything. Maybe he should consider asking for help from people who are aware and have the power and resources to do so, like the President of the United States. At least Trump knew what was going on in Seattle.
And the mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, might be the most mindless and senseless boob of the entire group. She likened this armed, violent, destructive, barricaded insurrection to a “block party” or an art festival. How clueless is she? As the rabble took over a chunk of her city and called for her resignation, she supplied porta-potties and fresh food to the insurgents. She even encouraged them to stay for months when she said, “maybe we’ll have a summer of love.” I’ll bet the small business owners in the occupied territory loved that kind of talk. Maybe she and the child-mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, can start a support group for maligned politicians. He too was booed, heckled and even targeted with projectiles by the same ideological fringe faction in his home town earlier this week. When will you learn? These people don’t care about you. They don’t care about freedom or America. They don’t even care about George Floyd. They are paid anarchists, most of whom don’t even know what the real goal is, and don’t care.
Should we send in the military? These anarchists are not worth the bloodshed that would inevitably result. That’s probably what their employers want anyway, but you also can’t enable them by having pizzas delivered or pumping in rap and rock music to sooth these savage beasts. Take away the porta-potties, stop delivering supplies and scramble the cell towers in that area. This will allow these “Lord of the Flies” wannabe’s to wallow in their own filth. It will demonstrate that all these people know how to deliver is chaos. Within a week they will slither away as did their predecessor of the lunatic fringe, Occupy Wall Street, almost 10 years ago. Then, mayor Durkan, maybe your constituents will reward you and mayor Frey with the swift kick in the butt that you both deserve as they vote you out of office in 2021. Although they may not be able to wait that long and just recall you from office this year. Good riddance in my opinion!
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
EFFE - The Answer to Racial Harmony
EFFE – The Answer to Racial Harmony
The View from the Middle
I've heard that memorable acronyms can be the key to making points that last, so in the future when you think about what needs to be done to reach racial harmony, I want you to remember EFFE. It is the key to establishing racial harmony in the United States. EFFE includes two attitudes or mindsets and two structural institutions that should be exploited to continue to move America ever closer to being the land of equal opportunity (not equal outcome) that our founders envisioned over 200 years ago. The beauty of EFFE is that there are responsibilities for both sides of the equation in this effort.
The first “E” in EFFE stands for Empathy and is the responsibility of the non-black population in this country, particularly whites. I would describe empathy as compassion with understanding. It is important for everyone to know the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws and discrimination in the United States and its residue and impact on African Americans in America today.
No doubt, we have made progress. We have elected our first Black President, there are laws against discrimination and the number of Black members of Congress has exploded from just four members in 1963 to 60 in our current Congress. That’s over 11% of the membership of Congress and getting close to the black community’s share of the overall population, which is 13%. However, black families in America today continue to struggle to overcome the impact of the disparities of the past. Family structure and education (the last F and E) have improved, but still need attention and since non-blacks make up 87% of the US population, it is important for all to understand the history so that we can be part of the solution.
The fist “F” in EFFE stands for forgiveness which, unfortunately, falls on the shoulders of our African American citizens. Black people have, no doubt, been mistreated in this country for centuries, and while that treatment gets better every generation and every year, it is difficult to forget. Black people can read history too and I’m sure that history can make them angry and bitter, but those negative emotions will only thwart progress and blind some to the improvements that have already been made. Personally, I think the Black community has the more difficult task when you look at the first E. and F. While empathy can be gained simply through education, forgiveness is an act of the heart which will require God’s help and prayer to recognize.
The last “F” and “E” stands for the two things that were intentionally and methodically denied black Americans who were enslaved in this country – Family and Education. Southern plantation owners purposely dissolved black families by separating husbands from wives and children from their parents. They also intentionally deprived these black men and women of any kind of education, and while there were exceptions, this was the rule. These two acts (destruction of the family unit and deprivation of education) were not coincidences, but in fact a strategy. Why was that?
The family unit is the very foundation of every society. It provides protection, encouragement, motivation and love to all its members. Without a family structure these people lost all of these benefits and were severely handicapped in the process. To add insult to that injury, black Americans were denied any kind of an education, because an education enlightens people and allows them to envision and then grasp opportunities. Without family structure and education people become dependent on other structures that suggest that they can replace them. In 1850 it was the plantation owner. Today, it is the government, but the truth is that nothing is a substitute for either of them. There are, however, some things that the government can do to strengthen families and encourage and enable education while not trying to supplant them.
The first thing government can do to strengthen black families is to stop putting black fathers in jail for nonviolent crimes. Should recreational marijuana be legalized? I don’t know, but we have to stop putting young men in jail in one state for something that is actually legal in another state. Once you are “in” the system, it is difficult to get out and it has a profound impact on the rest of your life and your family’s life. We need further criminal justice reform with an eye on reducing the incarceration of young black men. The welfare system also has some anti-family aspects to it and we need to change those rules to put family first.
Education is an area where there is dual responsibility. We, as a society, need to make sure that all American citizens have access to a good education. While K through 12 is guaranteed to all citizens, I think “school choice” could improve that experience for the African American community especially in the critical early grades. We can and should do more to give access to college to anyone who wants to go and has shown the desire and discipline to succeed there, but if habits aren’t developed and commitment isn’t given in K-8th grades, kids are unlikely to be successful in college. This is where black parents and leaders MUST pound the message of the importance of education to their children.
To be honest, Family and Education are important no matter what your skin color is. Every generation and every set of parents has the opportunity to dramatically enhance the opportunity for their children to succeed, and I’ve seen it happen in a positive way in my own wife’s family. We all need to be willing to play that critical role that creates the absolute foundation of our society. And if we can also throw in a little Empathy or Forgiveness, depending on which role you play, we can make this country even greater than it is already! EFFE really can change this country for the better.
The View from the Middle
I've heard that memorable acronyms can be the key to making points that last, so in the future when you think about what needs to be done to reach racial harmony, I want you to remember EFFE. It is the key to establishing racial harmony in the United States. EFFE includes two attitudes or mindsets and two structural institutions that should be exploited to continue to move America ever closer to being the land of equal opportunity (not equal outcome) that our founders envisioned over 200 years ago. The beauty of EFFE is that there are responsibilities for both sides of the equation in this effort.
The first “E” in EFFE stands for Empathy and is the responsibility of the non-black population in this country, particularly whites. I would describe empathy as compassion with understanding. It is important for everyone to know the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws and discrimination in the United States and its residue and impact on African Americans in America today.
No doubt, we have made progress. We have elected our first Black President, there are laws against discrimination and the number of Black members of Congress has exploded from just four members in 1963 to 60 in our current Congress. That’s over 11% of the membership of Congress and getting close to the black community’s share of the overall population, which is 13%. However, black families in America today continue to struggle to overcome the impact of the disparities of the past. Family structure and education (the last F and E) have improved, but still need attention and since non-blacks make up 87% of the US population, it is important for all to understand the history so that we can be part of the solution.
The fist “F” in EFFE stands for forgiveness which, unfortunately, falls on the shoulders of our African American citizens. Black people have, no doubt, been mistreated in this country for centuries, and while that treatment gets better every generation and every year, it is difficult to forget. Black people can read history too and I’m sure that history can make them angry and bitter, but those negative emotions will only thwart progress and blind some to the improvements that have already been made. Personally, I think the Black community has the more difficult task when you look at the first E. and F. While empathy can be gained simply through education, forgiveness is an act of the heart which will require God’s help and prayer to recognize.
The last “F” and “E” stands for the two things that were intentionally and methodically denied black Americans who were enslaved in this country – Family and Education. Southern plantation owners purposely dissolved black families by separating husbands from wives and children from their parents. They also intentionally deprived these black men and women of any kind of education, and while there were exceptions, this was the rule. These two acts (destruction of the family unit and deprivation of education) were not coincidences, but in fact a strategy. Why was that?
The family unit is the very foundation of every society. It provides protection, encouragement, motivation and love to all its members. Without a family structure these people lost all of these benefits and were severely handicapped in the process. To add insult to that injury, black Americans were denied any kind of an education, because an education enlightens people and allows them to envision and then grasp opportunities. Without family structure and education people become dependent on other structures that suggest that they can replace them. In 1850 it was the plantation owner. Today, it is the government, but the truth is that nothing is a substitute for either of them. There are, however, some things that the government can do to strengthen families and encourage and enable education while not trying to supplant them.
The first thing government can do to strengthen black families is to stop putting black fathers in jail for nonviolent crimes. Should recreational marijuana be legalized? I don’t know, but we have to stop putting young men in jail in one state for something that is actually legal in another state. Once you are “in” the system, it is difficult to get out and it has a profound impact on the rest of your life and your family’s life. We need further criminal justice reform with an eye on reducing the incarceration of young black men. The welfare system also has some anti-family aspects to it and we need to change those rules to put family first.
Education is an area where there is dual responsibility. We, as a society, need to make sure that all American citizens have access to a good education. While K through 12 is guaranteed to all citizens, I think “school choice” could improve that experience for the African American community especially in the critical early grades. We can and should do more to give access to college to anyone who wants to go and has shown the desire and discipline to succeed there, but if habits aren’t developed and commitment isn’t given in K-8th grades, kids are unlikely to be successful in college. This is where black parents and leaders MUST pound the message of the importance of education to their children.
To be honest, Family and Education are important no matter what your skin color is. Every generation and every set of parents has the opportunity to dramatically enhance the opportunity for their children to succeed, and I’ve seen it happen in a positive way in my own wife’s family. We all need to be willing to play that critical role that creates the absolute foundation of our society. And if we can also throw in a little Empathy or Forgiveness, depending on which role you play, we can make this country even greater than it is already! EFFE really can change this country for the better.
Friday, June 5, 2020
Terrorism's Dirty Little Secret
Terrorism’s Dirty Little Secret
The View from the Middle
Almost six years ago, I wrote an article Called “Terrorism’s Dirty Little Secret”. It suggested that what these groups have discovered is that it is easier to divide, destroy and kill than it is to unite, build or create. As I watched the looting, burning and brick throwing of the rioters around the country over the last few days, it dawned on me that these people have discovered this same truth.
The Twin Towers took about seven years from start of construction to ribbon cutting to build, but it took only about an hour and a half to bring them both down. Think of any controlled implosion of a building that you have seen. The buildings have usually taken years to build and have required the efforts of thousands of people, but can be taken down by a few people in a matter of seconds.
If any of you have studied the creation of life, it is amazing to say the least. It takes nine months after conception to create the trillions (yes trillions) of cells that comprise the human body. Yet, it takes only a fraction of a second to put a bullet through someone’s head and end that life. And, if you want to be more brutal and inhuman, it might take a person a few seconds to chop that head off or a few minutes to abort a life altogether.
ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda are all the same (a rose by any other name…). They take the easy way out. They don’t know how to build or unite so they divide, destroy and subjugate. Look at where they dominate. Would you like to live in Syria, Iraq or Palestine right now? Even the official Islamic states like Iran and Pakistan are hardly vacation spots.
Antifa is no different, and I believe they should and will be declared a domestic terrorist group. Antifa doesn’t give a damn about George Floyd. They have hijacked peaceful protests that had specific goals and a real possibility for positive change and turned them into chaotic, lawless and violent mobs. Antifa’s actions suggest their real goals. They have no plans to deliver peace or prosperity to this or any country. They seek only power and promise disorder and chaos, but that’s fine with them as long as they are in control.
Who on earth condones the actions of any of these groups? Whether it is ISIS, Hamas or Antifa we should all be condemning their mindless, destructive actions designed to bring nothing but chaos to the world and possibly power to them. Who would want any of these people, who hide behind masks and perform their violent acts under the cover of darkness, to gain any real power? Even if they were able to gain power, they wouldn’t know what to do with it.
What we need is real leadership in Washington, and we’re not getting it. What we have today is a perpetual blame game that serves no one except the politicians that play that game. The Coronavirus is now Trump’s fault. The riots in Minneapolis and around the country are Trump’s fault. Trump is not a perfect person but blaming him for everything is just scapegoating and irresponsible. Today’s unemployment and jobs numbers should be reported broadly and positively, but they will not. I just watched CNN and they reported the raw numbers for about three seconds and turned it into a 10-minute hit piece on the President.
We need a national media that can cover this President honestly. The mainstream media has abandoned their role as arbiters of truth and have decided that they need to condemn this President at every opportunity. They constantly misstate facts (lie if you will) or accentuate the trivial while ignoring the significant. When St. John’s Church, the Church of the Presidents, was burned down on Monday night, the networks gave it a whopping one minute of coverage. When President Trump gave a speech in front of that same church the next night, they blasted him with negative coverage for over 30 minutes. This does a disservice to the country and further divides us all. They must accept their original role as the fourth estate and the dispensers of balanced coverage and truth.
America is not perfect, but turning control over to people with baseball bats and Molotov cocktails is not the answer. To be honest, what we really need is prayer. We need everyone in America to pray for honest politicians with hearts for “we the people” and the wisdom to work together to deliver a better America.
The View from the Middle
Almost six years ago, I wrote an article Called “Terrorism’s Dirty Little Secret”. It suggested that what these groups have discovered is that it is easier to divide, destroy and kill than it is to unite, build or create. As I watched the looting, burning and brick throwing of the rioters around the country over the last few days, it dawned on me that these people have discovered this same truth.
The Twin Towers took about seven years from start of construction to ribbon cutting to build, but it took only about an hour and a half to bring them both down. Think of any controlled implosion of a building that you have seen. The buildings have usually taken years to build and have required the efforts of thousands of people, but can be taken down by a few people in a matter of seconds.
If any of you have studied the creation of life, it is amazing to say the least. It takes nine months after conception to create the trillions (yes trillions) of cells that comprise the human body. Yet, it takes only a fraction of a second to put a bullet through someone’s head and end that life. And, if you want to be more brutal and inhuman, it might take a person a few seconds to chop that head off or a few minutes to abort a life altogether.
ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda are all the same (a rose by any other name…). They take the easy way out. They don’t know how to build or unite so they divide, destroy and subjugate. Look at where they dominate. Would you like to live in Syria, Iraq or Palestine right now? Even the official Islamic states like Iran and Pakistan are hardly vacation spots.
Antifa is no different, and I believe they should and will be declared a domestic terrorist group. Antifa doesn’t give a damn about George Floyd. They have hijacked peaceful protests that had specific goals and a real possibility for positive change and turned them into chaotic, lawless and violent mobs. Antifa’s actions suggest their real goals. They have no plans to deliver peace or prosperity to this or any country. They seek only power and promise disorder and chaos, but that’s fine with them as long as they are in control.
Who on earth condones the actions of any of these groups? Whether it is ISIS, Hamas or Antifa we should all be condemning their mindless, destructive actions designed to bring nothing but chaos to the world and possibly power to them. Who would want any of these people, who hide behind masks and perform their violent acts under the cover of darkness, to gain any real power? Even if they were able to gain power, they wouldn’t know what to do with it.
What we need is real leadership in Washington, and we’re not getting it. What we have today is a perpetual blame game that serves no one except the politicians that play that game. The Coronavirus is now Trump’s fault. The riots in Minneapolis and around the country are Trump’s fault. Trump is not a perfect person but blaming him for everything is just scapegoating and irresponsible. Today’s unemployment and jobs numbers should be reported broadly and positively, but they will not. I just watched CNN and they reported the raw numbers for about three seconds and turned it into a 10-minute hit piece on the President.
We need a national media that can cover this President honestly. The mainstream media has abandoned their role as arbiters of truth and have decided that they need to condemn this President at every opportunity. They constantly misstate facts (lie if you will) or accentuate the trivial while ignoring the significant. When St. John’s Church, the Church of the Presidents, was burned down on Monday night, the networks gave it a whopping one minute of coverage. When President Trump gave a speech in front of that same church the next night, they blasted him with negative coverage for over 30 minutes. This does a disservice to the country and further divides us all. They must accept their original role as the fourth estate and the dispensers of balanced coverage and truth.
America is not perfect, but turning control over to people with baseball bats and Molotov cocktails is not the answer. To be honest, what we really need is prayer. We need everyone in America to pray for honest politicians with hearts for “we the people” and the wisdom to work together to deliver a better America.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)