The written word just isn't enough for a commentator of my magnitude--I've found it apparent that I must make my presence known via video as well:
As you see above, my new Political Commentary series: "America's Evil Genius", will be going live on Tuesday, February 15. This new avenue should give me an opportunity to espouse my views and analysis in an even more timely, detailed, and easy-to-understand format than I've been able to do on this blog. This blog will not be going away--but will instead be only one of several avenues I am using to promote and advocate Modern Conservatism.
As you can see, there are still some minor bugs to work out (namely with graphics--hence why I look somewhat like an overgrown smurf in the above clip!), but I'm confident these issues should be rectified by February 15. You can keep up with all of my Youtube postings at www.youtube.com/americasevilgenius . Already on that channel are some "test runs" of this series that I put together while developing it--including pieces on the State of The Union Address, the reaction to the Gabrielle Giffords assassination attempt, and the topic of Civility in Political Discourse. These "test runs" were bare bones in nature, but should give you a decent idea about why my approach will be to the "America's Evil Genius" series.
We'll see you on February 15--this should be an incredible new journey!
Showing posts with label Gabrielle Giffords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gabrielle Giffords. Show all posts
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
NBC: Connecting Right-Wing rhetoric to assasinations since 1963 (footage included)
As most of us have discussed until we're blue in the face, the Left and their stalwarts in the media have trumpeted a supposed "connection" between allegedly vitriolic Right-Wing rhetoric and the assassination attempt on Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
But what if I told you that wasn't the first time the media tried to play this card? You'd probably say, "Ok, you're going to go through the media's reaction to the Oklahoma City bombings, aren't you?" I could do so--and it certainly be relevant. However, the meme goes back even further!
The following footage is from the NBC live coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy back in 1963. This particular piece includes a series of "Man on the street" interviews (remember, we didn't have blogs back then!). The interviews start at 2:02 in the clip--but at the 2:38 mark the reporter begins asking two questions that perfectly set up the interviewee to speculate and place blame for the assassination--tasks he is only too happy to undertake:
Notice the first gentleman's answer to the question--he's extremely quick to blame "ultra-conservative groups" that he accuses of "spreading hate".
Does this sound familiar at all?
The reporter doesn't challenge the man's accusations, he just quickly says "of course no one knows if these people are, indeed responsible" (the journalistic version of "covering one's own backside"). But that's not all--after all, the "ultra-conservative groups" (aka. "Goldwater Republicans", a group of people in 1963 who were essentially the "original" Tea Party), were not the only political enemies of JFK--therefore there was more mud to spread around. Next, the reporter goes onto a lady and directly asks her to speculate if Kennedy's racial policies were connected to the assassination. And again, the lady is only too happy to place blame at the feet of the segregationists (not that I'm a fan of segregationists...but of all the things you could accuse them of, I'm pretty sure assassinating a sitting President isn't one of them).
So the pattern of the Leftist media fueling unwarranted speculation upon political enemies after an assassination is certainly nothing new. The only difference was that back then, they disguised it a bit better.
Rather than sticking to the facts during the breaking story (something that the Left would tell you *all* journalists used to do back in the "good ol' days") or perhaps restricting his questions to the feelings of the "man on the street" or specifics about how they heard the news, this reporter chose a line of questioning that did little but attempt to establish a speculative connection to polticial enemies of the Left of that era.
But what if I told you that wasn't the first time the media tried to play this card? You'd probably say, "Ok, you're going to go through the media's reaction to the Oklahoma City bombings, aren't you?" I could do so--and it certainly be relevant. However, the meme goes back even further!
The following footage is from the NBC live coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy back in 1963. This particular piece includes a series of "Man on the street" interviews (remember, we didn't have blogs back then!). The interviews start at 2:02 in the clip--but at the 2:38 mark the reporter begins asking two questions that perfectly set up the interviewee to speculate and place blame for the assassination--tasks he is only too happy to undertake:
Notice the first gentleman's answer to the question--he's extremely quick to blame "ultra-conservative groups" that he accuses of "spreading hate".
Does this sound familiar at all?
The reporter doesn't challenge the man's accusations, he just quickly says "of course no one knows if these people are, indeed responsible" (the journalistic version of "covering one's own backside"). But that's not all--after all, the "ultra-conservative groups" (aka. "Goldwater Republicans", a group of people in 1963 who were essentially the "original" Tea Party), were not the only political enemies of JFK--therefore there was more mud to spread around. Next, the reporter goes onto a lady and directly asks her to speculate if Kennedy's racial policies were connected to the assassination. And again, the lady is only too happy to place blame at the feet of the segregationists (not that I'm a fan of segregationists...but of all the things you could accuse them of, I'm pretty sure assassinating a sitting President isn't one of them).
So the pattern of the Leftist media fueling unwarranted speculation upon political enemies after an assassination is certainly nothing new. The only difference was that back then, they disguised it a bit better.
Rather than sticking to the facts during the breaking story (something that the Left would tell you *all* journalists used to do back in the "good ol' days") or perhaps restricting his questions to the feelings of the "man on the street" or specifics about how they heard the news, this reporter chose a line of questioning that did little but attempt to establish a speculative connection to polticial enemies of the Left of that era.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Reflections on the Assasination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords
The horrible events of last weekend in Tucson, Arizona, when Representative Gabrielle Giffords was the target of an assassination attempt. And while everybody--whatever side of the proverbial aisle they stand on--certainly hopes for the fullest of recoveries for Rep. Giffords and mourns for those that died as a result of this tragedy, we still have had some spirited debates over the last several days on issues brought up after this tragedy. What follows are my reactions and opinions on a few of these issues:
**On the Sarah Palin Factor: Upon initially hearing the breaking news of this tragedy, I (along with millions of other Americans, I'm sure) went onto the internet to see what information was out there, and also to see what the "pulse of the nation" was at that moment among the message boards and opinion sites. I was sickened (though not surprised) to see that almost immediately upon the breaking of the story--when information was just starting to trickle in from Arizona and we didn't yet know who the gunman was or even how many gunmen there were--a full-blown attempt was on to link Sarah Palin to the tragedy. From "mainstream" Leftists like Paul Krugman, down to your everyday left-wing bloggers and message board posters, the assumption was quickly made that this tragedy was somehow the manifestation of Palin and the Tea Party's "chickens coming home to roost". You can go to any number of websites (one great example is the message board at www.stltoday.com) and see the anti-Palin and anti-Tea Party venom coming out in earnest--but do yourself a favor and check the timestamps of many of the original posts on those thread...you'll notice that these accusations were being written within the first hour after the news started to come in--in other words, well before we had *any* information on the nutjob that perpetrated these acts.
At the risk of sounding like some conspiracy theorist--it almost seemed like the left had a "plan" for whenever some public shooting spree or other such tragedy took place--link it to Palin and the Tea Party. Within minutes of the tragedy, the "Palin is responsible" meme was all over the internet and the media. Now, of course I know it wasn't an organized gameplan by the Left (after all, in this day and age, one person can lie on the internet and within minutes, 5 million others will swear to that lie...and it's a phenomenon that the Left has mastered), but the speed and consistency of this meme--unfounded and untrue as it was--was simply stunning in swiftness with which it permeated both the cyber and traditional medias. I suppose it just goes to show you that when these sick bastards decide to tell a lie, and stay consistent with that lie--they can get that lie out there in the public eye with lightning speed. We on the Right must never underestimate the pervasiveness, redundancy, and effectiveness of the Left-wing spin/lie machine--when it's running on all cylinders, it can get misinfomration out there with a frightening level of speed and effectiveness. Give the Devil their due, the Left does an excellent job of saturating both the internet and the "traditional" media with their story, spin, and interpretation of events. It would be a huge mistake for the Right to ever underestimate the Left's mastery of publicity and communication (and what happened the last time we underestimated their effectiveness in this area? Obama got elected. I rest my case.)
***On the "Political Vitriol" Factor: Once it became apparent that the shooter, Jared Loughner, couldn't be linked with Sarah Palin, The Tea Party, or any other political movement currently residing on planet Earth, the Left shifted their smear towards the idea that the "Level of Political Vitriol" in America was somehow responsible--either partially or fully--for the tragedy. As the afternoon of the tragedy went on and the news of Loughner's Youtube channel became public (and accordingly, millions of Americans--myself included--immediately went to that channel), it became clear that this guy could have been set off by as little as a strong gust of wind. There was (and still is) no evidence that the level of political discourse in America contributed--either directly or indirectly--to Loughner's heinous actions. However, this didn't stop the Left from ratcheting up this storyline on the Sunday Morning panel shows, and continuing with it through the week.
So why would the Left stick with such a meme if it has no connection to the reality of the situation? My take on it is that they see this tragedy as an opportunity--for Liberalism to get a stronghold in a nation, there must be some level of apathy or non-attention on the part of the public--which enables the Left to put their big government agenda in place over time, piece by piece. After all, if they were to attempt to execute all of their radical ideas at once, the populace would be horrified and put a stop to it. However, if the public is apathetic, distracted, or just simply not paying attention, then "bits and pieces" of government can be put into place and--after a generation or two--people won't question those government programs because, after all, "hadn't they always been there?" During much of the 20th Century, the Left had--with some short interruptions--the apathetic environment they needed in order to do their dirty work. However, the 21st Century is different--the public (and particularly the Tea Party movement) is no longer apathetic, and this interferes with what the Left wishes to do. Passing Obamacare was political suicide for many of the Democrats who supported it, and other extreme Leftist measures such as Cap & Trade and Card Check didn't see the light of day in the last Congressional session because of the public pressure against those ideas. The Left knows that for all the things you can say about vitriol and anger, you can't say those concepts are apathetic. Therefore, they need Americans to lose the vitriol and anger, and resume their apathetic slumber of previous generations, if they are to resume implementing their dangerous and over-reaching ideas. As a result, I believe many on the Left felt (and still feel) that last weekend's tragedy was a profound opportunity to attempt to lower the nations tone, and in doing so inspire the apathy that the Left desperately needs in place.
***On the "Violent Imagery and Rhetoric" Factor: On offshoot of the "Political Vitriol" meme has been the complaints of the Left of "Violent Imagery and Rhetoric" that they claim is used by the Right--despite (again) having no information or evidence supporting a claim that such imagery or rhetoric had anything to do with this tragedy. Soon after the shooting, the Left was saturating the internet with the Sarah Palin Pac ad where certain Congressional districts--which had been targeted for possible pickups in the 2008 election--had been marked with crosshairs. Also, there were cries from the left about speeches calling for "Second Amendment Solutions" (and if they're complaining about that statement, then by definition, aren't they complaining about the Constitution as a whole?) among other things. "This type of rhetoric and speech should have no place in politics" many of the Liberal Do-Gooders whined. Pretty quickly, Conservatives were able to come up with just as many examples of "violent" imagery (a map showing districts targeted by Democrats with bullseyes) and speech (among many others, Obama's remarks about "not bringing a knife to a gunfight")
So now that it's been established that such imagery and speech has come from both sides, let's tackle the question--does such speech and imagery have any place in the political arena? I don't see why not. Since the beginning of our nation, speech and imagery referring to combat, gunfire, or items of a military nature (now deemed by the Left to be "Violent Imagery") have long been used as illustrative devices in the political process--just as they have in almost every other aspect of life. We use them when talking about sports, about business, about personal relationships, or darn near anything else you can think of. It's a natural part of our speech because such things are examples that most all of us can relate to on some level--hence why they are such excellent illustrative tools. So the Left wants us all to stop using violence in our speech? To do so is so natural to most people that the Left would have more success asking us not to use verbs or adjectives in our speech!
***The "Politicization" Factor: From about Sunday on, I've seen much sniping about how crass it is to politicize this tragedy. Now, on the surface, I agree with that criticism. However, many who have leveled such a criticism have objected to *both* the Left and the Right participating in this politicization--and that's just flat-out wrong. It is quite true (as illustrated in the examples contained in the above paragraphs) that the Left started politicizing this tragedy from the first moments that the nation heard about it. However, from what I've seen, the Right's participation in the politicization has been simply to defend ourselves from the unfounded and ridiculous accusations that the Left has levied over the last several days. Beginning on the Sunday shows, The Left began throwing the accusations at the Right mentioned above--that our "tone" and "vitriol" were somehow responsible for this. On Monday, when some Conservative commentators responded to those charges, the Left criticized us merely for responding.
So let me get this straight--the Left somehow has the authority to connect the Right to this tragedy by way of accusing us of mythical actions that had zero to do with tragedy--and when people on the Right had the gall and temerity to *gasp* respond to those accusations, the Left somehow had the authority to criticize us a second time merely for attempting to respond to their accusations? Bullshit. At the risk of sounding like a 5-year old in a sandbox screaming "He started it!", the truth is, in this case, the Left really did start it. And their accusations--unfounded though they might have been--were so egregious, off the mark, and potentially damaging that we had no alternative but to respond and set the record straight. To those of you who would criticize the Right's part in the politicization of this issue, ask yourself this question--what should the Right have done instead? Once we were falsely accused of having some kind of connection or responsibility for the actions of Jared the Nutjob, could you have really expected us to turn the other cheek and ignore the falsehoods and lies being spread--and thereby allow those falsehoods and lies to take root in the public and potentially come back and hurt us at election time? Should we have allowed the Left to have Carte Blanche to make any accusation and tell any lie that they wanted without challenging them? And if so, how on earth would we go about undoing the damage that such lies, falsehoods, and connections would surely result in?
We did not want to engage in this political pissing match--we were dragged into it kicking and screaming. If you're disgusted with the politicization of this tragedy (and on some level, you certainly should be), then be disgusted with the Left. After all, they are the ones the saw this tragedy as political opportunism, and launched baseless political attacks accordingly.
Many times, you'll hear some Conservatives (and certainly myself) talk about how sick, demented, and morally bankrupt the modern American Left is. And I realize that many people chalk these statements up to just "partisan political rhetoric". But if this week has illustrated anything, it has illustrated that our characterization of the American Left--as a disconnected, evil, sick, soulless group of morally and spiritually bankrupt people masquerading as human beings--is all too real.
**On the Sarah Palin Factor: Upon initially hearing the breaking news of this tragedy, I (along with millions of other Americans, I'm sure) went onto the internet to see what information was out there, and also to see what the "pulse of the nation" was at that moment among the message boards and opinion sites. I was sickened (though not surprised) to see that almost immediately upon the breaking of the story--when information was just starting to trickle in from Arizona and we didn't yet know who the gunman was or even how many gunmen there were--a full-blown attempt was on to link Sarah Palin to the tragedy. From "mainstream" Leftists like Paul Krugman, down to your everyday left-wing bloggers and message board posters, the assumption was quickly made that this tragedy was somehow the manifestation of Palin and the Tea Party's "chickens coming home to roost". You can go to any number of websites (one great example is the message board at www.stltoday.com) and see the anti-Palin and anti-Tea Party venom coming out in earnest--but do yourself a favor and check the timestamps of many of the original posts on those thread...you'll notice that these accusations were being written within the first hour after the news started to come in--in other words, well before we had *any* information on the nutjob that perpetrated these acts.
At the risk of sounding like some conspiracy theorist--it almost seemed like the left had a "plan" for whenever some public shooting spree or other such tragedy took place--link it to Palin and the Tea Party. Within minutes of the tragedy, the "Palin is responsible" meme was all over the internet and the media. Now, of course I know it wasn't an organized gameplan by the Left (after all, in this day and age, one person can lie on the internet and within minutes, 5 million others will swear to that lie...and it's a phenomenon that the Left has mastered), but the speed and consistency of this meme--unfounded and untrue as it was--was simply stunning in swiftness with which it permeated both the cyber and traditional medias. I suppose it just goes to show you that when these sick bastards decide to tell a lie, and stay consistent with that lie--they can get that lie out there in the public eye with lightning speed. We on the Right must never underestimate the pervasiveness, redundancy, and effectiveness of the Left-wing spin/lie machine--when it's running on all cylinders, it can get misinfomration out there with a frightening level of speed and effectiveness. Give the Devil their due, the Left does an excellent job of saturating both the internet and the "traditional" media with their story, spin, and interpretation of events. It would be a huge mistake for the Right to ever underestimate the Left's mastery of publicity and communication (and what happened the last time we underestimated their effectiveness in this area? Obama got elected. I rest my case.)
***On the "Political Vitriol" Factor: Once it became apparent that the shooter, Jared Loughner, couldn't be linked with Sarah Palin, The Tea Party, or any other political movement currently residing on planet Earth, the Left shifted their smear towards the idea that the "Level of Political Vitriol" in America was somehow responsible--either partially or fully--for the tragedy. As the afternoon of the tragedy went on and the news of Loughner's Youtube channel became public (and accordingly, millions of Americans--myself included--immediately went to that channel), it became clear that this guy could have been set off by as little as a strong gust of wind. There was (and still is) no evidence that the level of political discourse in America contributed--either directly or indirectly--to Loughner's heinous actions. However, this didn't stop the Left from ratcheting up this storyline on the Sunday Morning panel shows, and continuing with it through the week.
So why would the Left stick with such a meme if it has no connection to the reality of the situation? My take on it is that they see this tragedy as an opportunity--for Liberalism to get a stronghold in a nation, there must be some level of apathy or non-attention on the part of the public--which enables the Left to put their big government agenda in place over time, piece by piece. After all, if they were to attempt to execute all of their radical ideas at once, the populace would be horrified and put a stop to it. However, if the public is apathetic, distracted, or just simply not paying attention, then "bits and pieces" of government can be put into place and--after a generation or two--people won't question those government programs because, after all, "hadn't they always been there?" During much of the 20th Century, the Left had--with some short interruptions--the apathetic environment they needed in order to do their dirty work. However, the 21st Century is different--the public (and particularly the Tea Party movement) is no longer apathetic, and this interferes with what the Left wishes to do. Passing Obamacare was political suicide for many of the Democrats who supported it, and other extreme Leftist measures such as Cap & Trade and Card Check didn't see the light of day in the last Congressional session because of the public pressure against those ideas. The Left knows that for all the things you can say about vitriol and anger, you can't say those concepts are apathetic. Therefore, they need Americans to lose the vitriol and anger, and resume their apathetic slumber of previous generations, if they are to resume implementing their dangerous and over-reaching ideas. As a result, I believe many on the Left felt (and still feel) that last weekend's tragedy was a profound opportunity to attempt to lower the nations tone, and in doing so inspire the apathy that the Left desperately needs in place.
***On the "Violent Imagery and Rhetoric" Factor: On offshoot of the "Political Vitriol" meme has been the complaints of the Left of "Violent Imagery and Rhetoric" that they claim is used by the Right--despite (again) having no information or evidence supporting a claim that such imagery or rhetoric had anything to do with this tragedy. Soon after the shooting, the Left was saturating the internet with the Sarah Palin Pac ad where certain Congressional districts--which had been targeted for possible pickups in the 2008 election--had been marked with crosshairs. Also, there were cries from the left about speeches calling for "Second Amendment Solutions" (and if they're complaining about that statement, then by definition, aren't they complaining about the Constitution as a whole?) among other things. "This type of rhetoric and speech should have no place in politics" many of the Liberal Do-Gooders whined. Pretty quickly, Conservatives were able to come up with just as many examples of "violent" imagery (a map showing districts targeted by Democrats with bullseyes) and speech (among many others, Obama's remarks about "not bringing a knife to a gunfight")
So now that it's been established that such imagery and speech has come from both sides, let's tackle the question--does such speech and imagery have any place in the political arena? I don't see why not. Since the beginning of our nation, speech and imagery referring to combat, gunfire, or items of a military nature (now deemed by the Left to be "Violent Imagery") have long been used as illustrative devices in the political process--just as they have in almost every other aspect of life. We use them when talking about sports, about business, about personal relationships, or darn near anything else you can think of. It's a natural part of our speech because such things are examples that most all of us can relate to on some level--hence why they are such excellent illustrative tools. So the Left wants us all to stop using violence in our speech? To do so is so natural to most people that the Left would have more success asking us not to use verbs or adjectives in our speech!
***The "Politicization" Factor: From about Sunday on, I've seen much sniping about how crass it is to politicize this tragedy. Now, on the surface, I agree with that criticism. However, many who have leveled such a criticism have objected to *both* the Left and the Right participating in this politicization--and that's just flat-out wrong. It is quite true (as illustrated in the examples contained in the above paragraphs) that the Left started politicizing this tragedy from the first moments that the nation heard about it. However, from what I've seen, the Right's participation in the politicization has been simply to defend ourselves from the unfounded and ridiculous accusations that the Left has levied over the last several days. Beginning on the Sunday shows, The Left began throwing the accusations at the Right mentioned above--that our "tone" and "vitriol" were somehow responsible for this. On Monday, when some Conservative commentators responded to those charges, the Left criticized us merely for responding.
So let me get this straight--the Left somehow has the authority to connect the Right to this tragedy by way of accusing us of mythical actions that had zero to do with tragedy--and when people on the Right had the gall and temerity to *gasp* respond to those accusations, the Left somehow had the authority to criticize us a second time merely for attempting to respond to their accusations? Bullshit. At the risk of sounding like a 5-year old in a sandbox screaming "He started it!", the truth is, in this case, the Left really did start it. And their accusations--unfounded though they might have been--were so egregious, off the mark, and potentially damaging that we had no alternative but to respond and set the record straight. To those of you who would criticize the Right's part in the politicization of this issue, ask yourself this question--what should the Right have done instead? Once we were falsely accused of having some kind of connection or responsibility for the actions of Jared the Nutjob, could you have really expected us to turn the other cheek and ignore the falsehoods and lies being spread--and thereby allow those falsehoods and lies to take root in the public and potentially come back and hurt us at election time? Should we have allowed the Left to have Carte Blanche to make any accusation and tell any lie that they wanted without challenging them? And if so, how on earth would we go about undoing the damage that such lies, falsehoods, and connections would surely result in?
We did not want to engage in this political pissing match--we were dragged into it kicking and screaming. If you're disgusted with the politicization of this tragedy (and on some level, you certainly should be), then be disgusted with the Left. After all, they are the ones the saw this tragedy as political opportunism, and launched baseless political attacks accordingly.
Many times, you'll hear some Conservatives (and certainly myself) talk about how sick, demented, and morally bankrupt the modern American Left is. And I realize that many people chalk these statements up to just "partisan political rhetoric". But if this week has illustrated anything, it has illustrated that our characterization of the American Left--as a disconnected, evil, sick, soulless group of morally and spiritually bankrupt people masquerading as human beings--is all too real.
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