Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Crime, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Free Speech, Freedom, History, Immigration, Law, Media Bias, Police, Politics, Progressives, Regulation, The Constitution, The United States | Tags: A Dependable Scholar, Facts and Statistics, Heather MacDonald
Democrats are undoubtedly studying late into the night, to find a way to disrupt President Trump’s naming of a candidate for the Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. They are considering a new impeachment trial or two, whether this brings back the Russian horde is not known. One supposes that Russians rate higher on the really terrifying terrorists than those from other countries. After all the Russians are known for suddenly poisoning people right on the street.
They supposedly are considering just walking out, boycotting as it were, to delay the inevitable. Speaker Pelosi apparently has a couple of impeachments up her sleeves, she clearly feels that most everything Trump has done is grounds for impeachment, and considers it an excellent way to get the nomination of anyone over and done with. Almost anything will do because what they want is delay, so that it becomes too late to advance a candidate before the election.
They speak in generalities, and of course what the Supreme Court is all about is insisting that matters of law follow the Constitution. And of course at that point what is it that they really meant when they wrote the Constitution? I assume that by this time you are as sick of all the nonsense as I am and want them to just get on with the business of the government. The Constitution is quite clear. When there is a vacancy, the President may nominate a successor, who is to be approved by the Senate. Simple and clear.
The difficult part is that Amy Comey Barrett, who seems to be the leading candidate, is a practicing Catholic. The great fear is that she might rule on Roe v. Wade, the abortion bill, passed and in effect, but could be brought before the Court again. This is an immeasurably contentious bill. Many women feel that nobody else has any right to tell them what they may or may not do with their bodies. Others see abortion as the murder of a real baby. When things are in such dramatic opposition, there is no comfortable middle ground. And of course religion has strong opinions.
In this day and age, when preventive measures are readily available, if one does not want to bear a child, it seems incumbent on them to use preventative measures. Responsibility is required. No one should have to bear a child conceived by rape, but just how you sort that out is difficult. There are a lot of couples who are unable to bear children and desperate to adopt.
There are many areas that are equally contentious matters. Look at the current furor about the police. At one end of the scale is Chicago, which seems to have some violent neighborhoods and a significant weekly death toll. Some seem to think that the police are so violent and corrupt that they must be eliminated, and others who know of too much drugs and street crime in their cities want more police protection.
Your best source for sorting things out is Heather MacDonald, a serious scholar who goes to the source and digs out the real statistics, as opposed to what is more sensational and reported on the news. You can find her at the Manhattan Institute, or City Journal, or her many valuable books : The War on Cops, The Burden of Bad Ideas, Are Cops Racist?, and The Immigration Solution: A Better Plan Than Today’s. All invaluable. Or just type her name into your search-bar.
Filed under: Coronavirus, Crime, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, History, Law, News of the Weird, Police, Politics, Progressivism, Terrorism | Tags: Mindless Riots, More Protests, No Election Choice
Portland’s Mayor Ted Wheeler has moved out of his condominium for now, relieving his neighbors of the crowds of Antifa and protesters besieging his condo and the building. Mayor Wheeler has a number of other residences, so it’s not a big deal for him. Includes one at the beach, and one in the San Juan Islands up in Washington, and a few others. The riots and fires and attacks continued through the weekend.
One wonders how Mr. Wheeler will fare in the upcoming elections, but apparently his opponent approves of Antifa, though I’m not sure if she is a member or just aligned with their goals. Aside from their street theater, Portland has a significant number of “homeless” perhaps surpassing even Seattle. I put the word in quotation marks, because in most cases they are not there because they lack a home, but because of some addiction problem, and trying to find residences or a better place for their encampment is a less troublesome matter than actually trying to solve the addiction problem and return them to productive life.
California is not only engulfed with brush and forest fires, but in the midst of a real heat wave with temperatures ranging far above the comfort level, and under vast power outages, so the air conditioners don’t work. Oregon is likely to see a wave of more homeless trying to find more comfortable streets.
Some ambitious person who might actually want to improve something, might start a campaign as a last-minute write-in alternative candidate. Portlanders prospects don’t look as if they are going to improve any time soon, and the rest of the state is not at all sympathetic.
ADDENDUM: The Portland Police Bureau has spent (so far) $6.9 million on overtime in June and July alone. This represents a 200% increase in overtime spending compared to the same time period last year, when the police spent only $2.3 million as a result of the nightly riots in the city. This is according to Portland’s KATU News. Any sign that considering the consequences, the troubled and annoyed are going to change their behavior?
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Crime, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, History, Media Bias, National Security, News the Media Doesn't Want You to Hear, Police, Politics, Progressives, Regulation | Tags: Consequences, Damage in the Millions, Riots and Mayhem
What happens to a city that is consumed with riots and protests, damage to shops and businesses, looting, police attacked, cars and other vehicles damaged or destroyed? We have answers from many businesses, who say they are moving out. Some to other safer cities or safer states, some to different areas of a city. Some just giving up. Do lots of new businesses move in to replace them? That will be a long time coming.
Portland is coming up on 100 days of riots and protests in the streets. The mayor impolitely said “no thanks” to the President’s offer of federal help to quell the violence. Portland has become nationally known as a home to Antifa.
When we have had big celebrations or parades in Seattle, it is not unusual for Portland Antifa to come up and try to start trouble. Curious about what Antifa is? Or other questionable groups? Visit www.discoverthenetworks.org to learn about the organizations attempting to tear America down.
So people will want to risk starting up a business in downtown Portland? Or Portland at all? People who were thinking about moving to a new city are going to move to Portland? If a city gets a bad reputation, how long does it take to get rid of it, and prove that the bad reputation was not justified. And how many people just decide to move elsewhere. There are always ramifications. And that goes for Minneapolis, and Kenosha as well.
How did we get here? Who decided that rioting and protesting were the way to go? Not really all that surprising.
We know the Democrats are desperate to be in control, but American elections should not descend to this level.
ADDENDUM: Here’s another take on The Economic Scars of Rioting from National Review. Democrats need to be held accountable for what they have done with their Trump Derangement Syndrome. What makes it even more pathetic is that he is doing a remarkably good job. The unemployment rate has dropped to 8.4% as August has seen 1.4 million new jobs. The fourth straight month of added jobs in the economy. Back in April unemployment was 14.7%. Looks like we may have a Corona Virus vaccine later this fall. If you look hard there is lots of other good news, and big accomplishments.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Coronavirus, Crime, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Education, History, Humor, Police, The United States | Tags: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi
Former Vice President Joe Biden has clarified matters. Donald Trump caused the Corona virus, didn’t act on it promptly enough, didn’t do the right things when he finally did act, and thus caused all the deaths and misery and unemployment that have resulted. He has also caused all the riots and protests, is a thoroughly bad man and must be replaced as soon as possible by the aforesaid Joe Biden.
So naturally, the news today was entirely about Nancy Pelosi getting her hair done, cut and color, I presume. Partly it seemed to be about whether or not she wore a mask, (She didn’t). which was required. The salon didn’t open their doors, for they have been shut down by local laws. When Nancy became the object of the day’s news, she blamed it all on the salon which played some kind of dirty trick on her. She said she takes responsibility for allowing herself to be “set up” by the salon. I suspect she’s going to have to find a new salon after all this.They were not allowed to be open and opened just for her. Her haircut even trumped the news that the Stock Market today his the highest point ever. Go figure.
The Portland mayor, has been chased out of his home by rioters who broke into his condominium, but he has a number of other homes, so it is apparently not a big deal. Joe Biden, having demonized Donald Trump for going to Kenosha, is now going to go to Kenosha himself, but he will commiserate with the parents of the dead and be compassionate and kind and that will make all the difference.
Looks like we may have a covid vaccine this fall, by October or November. Dr. Scott Atlas, Presidential advisor has sharply dissented with media accusations that it is being rushed because of the election, and said the development is carefully following all the protocols. It is just going well.
The Covid crisis is just another weapon they want to use against President Trump. He’s done pretty well with a disease that we didn’t know anything about when it arrived. Trump shut down all air traffic from China immediately and acted quickly to get ventilators, masks, and all the supplies hospitals across the country might need. Even Democrat governors were praising him for his quick response to their needs.
Expect more. More riots, more shootings, more statue attackers. More demands for reparations. Some have even demanded that the Mayor of Washington D.C. tear down the Washington Monument because George Washington once owned slaves. If you have ever seen it, it is a rather large object.
History is what happened in the past. Changing names, altering buildings, tearing down statues does not change a thing. What happened in the past — happened. We can learn from the past, but we cannot change it. You might remind others of that simple fact.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Crime, Domestic Policy, Economy, Law, Media Bias, National Security, Police, Politics, Regulation, Terrorism, The United States | Tags: Letter to Trump, No thanks?, Portland Riots
Portland, Oregon mayor Ted Wheeler (D) just wrote an angry public letter to President Trump:
Dear President Trump:
Yet again, you said you offered to aid Portland by sending in federal law enforcement to our city.
On behalf of the City of Portland: No thanks.
We don’t need your politics of division and demagoguery. Portlanders are onto you. We have already seen your reckless disregard for human life in your bumbling response to the COVID pandemic. And we know you’ve reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to reelection. …
In Portland, we are focused on coming together as a community to solve the serious challenges we face due to systemic racism, a global pandemic and an economic recession.
I forget the exact number of days Portland has been under a siege of rioting, something like 89 or 90 that Portland has been a national symbol of a city completely out of control, a case study in Antifa and Blac Bloc violence that the national news media has used as the shining example of worst possible outcomes, surpassing even Seattle in the really bad example category. When they were attacking the Federal Courthouse and attempting to set the building on fire, unconcerned about workers inside, that did set some kind of new standard.
Seattle’s “CHOP” on Capitol Hill finally ended when rioters discovered just where Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan lived. Now the protesters have discovered Mayor Wheeler’s condominium and presented themselves there, though a condo on an upper floor is not as vulnerable as an ordinary house.
Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has declared that the Left-wing group Antifa “absolutely” meets the standard worthy of condemnation as a “domestic terrorist group.” Whether that precludes some tougher action remains to be seen. As does the presence of rioters in Mayor Wheeler’s building. Mayor Wheeler is running for reelection.
In the meantime, we have Kenosha, Wisconsin. I have not been able to discover why it was the city of Kenosha that was selected to go up in flames. President Trump is sending in Federal help to bring back order to that city. He’s not going to stand for cities out of control and endangering ordinary folks lives, which seems the correct thing to do.
There is more talk now about civil war,which should have been impossible. But there is so much going on that should have been impossible. Senator Rand Paul and his wife and another woman were accosted and threatened by a mob when they attempted to walk across the street from the White House to their hotel which was just on the other side. They weren’t sure they could make it, even with police protection and feared for their lives.
Democrats are beginning to realize they made a major mistake in excusing and encouraging “systemic racism” and race riots over the death of George Floyd, and defunding the police. They are dimly beginning to realize that the American people don’t like riots. Who knew? We apparently need more policing, not less It has been confirmed that George Floyd died of a massive overdose of fentanyl, apparently a enough to have killed him twice over. Things are not always as they seem at first glance.
We will, as the Chinese proverb goes, apparently continue to “live in interesting times.”
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Crime, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Election 2020, Free Speech, Freedom, History, Media Bias, News, News the Media Doesn't Want You to Hear, Police, Politics, Regulation, Socialism, The United States | Tags: "Peaceful Protests", Kenosha Wisconsin, Raised Fists
The “Peaceful Protests” continue, rioting, burning, looting, murder, destruction of property, arson. The Portland riots continue and have done so for something like
88 days (if I remember what I read correctly) and Portland’s Mayor Wheeler (D) somehow just can’t manage to get it under control. Now it’s Kenosha, Wisconsin rioting with two dead, vast property damage. What can they possibly think that this accomplishes?
“Mostly Peaceful Protests,” what idiot wrote that headline? Oh, of course it’s CNN. Democrats are discovering, rather belatedly, that the riots are not popular with the vast American audience and may be even affecting the vote. Expect the peaceful protests to begin to die out, or perhaps even get back to actually being “peaceful.”
President Trump is sending in federal help to get Kenosha back under control. He’s not going to stand for terrorized cities out of control, and I think the American people agree with that. Did the Democrats really believe that people would actually favor this rioting and burning? Democrats are panicking a bit now, as they are realizing that the rioting could actually affect the vote.
Did you assume that “Black Lives Matter” was a plaintive shout meant to help the poor black people who were badly treated by nasty policemen? It is actually an organization founded by Marxist revolutionaries in 2013 to depict the United States as a nation awash in racism, sexism and homophobia established in response to the acquittal of the man who killed black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. They formally depict white police as trigger-happy bigots who are intent on killing innocent, unarmed black males. Raised fists may make the fist’s owners feel good, but accomplish nothing at all. Try encouraging your local library to offer homework help, make a donation to historically black colleges, donate or volunteer at a local food bank. Lots of ways to actually help instead of grandstanding.
In Columbus, Ohio, a young black teenager was celebrated very briefly for walking 3 miles every day to the public library which offered help with homework. As a graduating senior in high school, he was accepted at some 22 colleges and universities, including the one he most hoped to attend. There was more clucking over the daily three miles than recognition of the rewards for his extra efforts and what it said about his character and ambition. Shortly after, a young black woman who became the valedictorian of her class, and had an outstanding record of perfect attendance received something like $40,000 worth of scholarship money. Beats raised fists any time.
Filed under: Crime, History, Law, Police, Politics, Progressives, Regulation, Unemployment | Tags: Historical Ignorance, Riots and Mob Behavior, Wanton Destruction
The Left has certainly dragged out their old-time-religion. Race, white supremacy, fascism, and apparently not the slightest interest in what is actually going on in our world today. Riots, not “peaceful protests” and if you have watched the videos, they are not really about much of anything but the fun of roaming down the streets with big groups of people, breaking stuff, breaking windows, damaging property, attacking cars and people. Mindless. They are out there for the fun of it.
They need to be hauled off promptly to jail. Democrat Mayors are terrified of even the possibility of doing anything about it. In Seattle, the feckless Mayor Jenny Durkan pulled herself together a bit and vetoed the feckless Seattle City Council’s attempt to defund the police. And I think I read that the National Guard has been called out for Portland, that would have to be the governor I think, Mayors can’t. But the fun in the streets has spread to Denver, Minneapolis of course, Fort Wayne Indiana, Green Bay Wisconsin, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Olympia WA and that is far from a complete list.
“Black Lives Matter” has nothing to do with this mess. There’s a lot of violence and drugs in poor black neighborhoods, and they want and depend on police protection.
Attacking statues has lost some of its fury. What becomes completely clear is that there is a very deep ignorance of American History. “Fascist” is a popular word: Here’s Wikipedia’s definition, but I’d be willing to bet that few if any of the street mobs could define it. Mindless.
Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
Look up Benito Mussolini in Italy, who “popularized” the idea. But the problem is authoritarianism. The urge to control. Well, Mussolini made a mess of it, but if you are interested in this “new” authoritarianism I recommend borrowing The Black Book of Communism from your friendly public library. Amazon has it, but it’s quite expensive, even used. Or buy Communism: a Brief History by Richard Pipes, one of our greatest historians. Or read about the Soviet forced labor system in The Gulag Archipelago by Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn. Lana Peters, Stalin’s daughter became an American citizen, and died at 85, not too long ago.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Coronavirus, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Education, Energy, Environment, History, Junk Science, Law, Media Bias, Police, Politics, Taxes, The United States, Unemployment | Tags: Is Anyone Watching?, Political Ads, The Online Convention
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Coronavirus, Crime, Education, Election 2020, Free Speech, Police, Socialism | Tags: The Democrat Convention
Some days I just can’t decide whether it is the world around me that has gone crazy, or only me that has slipped a cog or two. The Democrats are having an online convention, and we don’t seem to be living in the same country. At least the one they describe is unfamiliar to me.
Donald Trump is daily committing terrible crimes, and must be stopped. Nancy Pelosi says we have to save the Post Office from the President Now.
“It is, to use the word volcanic. It has been explosive in terms of the response that members, Democratic and Republican, all over the country have received to this assault on this connection that they have, Americans have with each other. This matter of how we have access to health care. 1.2 billion prescriptions were sent through the mail in 2019 even before the coronavirus, that is. And way overwhelmingly, 82% or higher of VA drugs are sent to our veterans through the mail. So that’s just two examples of meeting the health needs of the American people. And when those medicines come a week, six days late— we keep hearing examples of how late that medication is coming. That’s just one connection. It’s about the health of the American people. It’s also about the health of our democracy as they do this to make an assault on the mail in terms of absentee balloting and the rest.”
What? Yesterday, we got some of the mail for our neighbors in the next block. Today we received some mail for the folks across the street. Sloppy postman, but no big deal. What the hell has she been drinking? There is no assault on the Post Office. They have declining revenues for several reasons, one of them is that people are apt to communicate more by email. Another is simply the pandemic. A lot of businesses are shut down, and people are stuck at home. Joel Pollack wrote about their hysteria with the “Busted Mailbox Conspiracy Theory” yesterday.
What becomes immediately clear is that the Democrats believe the population of the United States is extremely unintelligent and will believe most anything they are told. I found a text version of Michelle Obama’s convention speech, which I will link to here, and you can scroll through to see the statements you find a little odd. She returns to the fact that people must have thought their votes didn’t matter, so they sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. ( yes, there’s that old electoral college they keep trying to get rid of.) She even has Trump putting children in cages. Trump?
They really want to make everything Trump has done criminal. He is the one who killed all the people with his pandemic because he so mismanaged it. You know, the one he kept demonstrating his racial prejudice with by calling it the Chinese virus. They have no shame. They choose the words and accusations carefully to influence those who are most likely to know nothing about what they are voting for anyway. It would be nice to have a tiny bit of honesty, but that is asking too much, I guess. It’s hard to solve problems when nobody will tell the truth about them. It isn’t this bad every four years, is it?
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Education, Heartwarming, History, Intelligence, Law, Police, Politics, Regulation, The United States | Tags: Consequences, Reward and Punishment, The Electoral College
Rioters who do property damage need to be arrested, prosecuted, and to have a police record that follows them around and makes it hard to find employment. Consequences work both ways. If you do bad things and there are no real consequences, you’re quite apt to go out and do it again, because it’s fun to do real damage and get away with it. It is simply human nature, and the founders, when they were struggling for independence from England, thought long and hard about human nature and how it works.
If you struggle and work hard and are well rewarded for your efforts, the consequences are that you want to do it again, and maybe those who saw your success will struggle as well.
Yes, I know, some people firmly believe that we put people in prison simply because of the color of their skin, which is nonsense.
Democrats loathe the Electoral College and intend to abolish it at the first opportunity. Yet the founders carefully established it to protect the smaller, less populous states, so that every state would have an equal voice in the union. Democrats just want to be in charge permanently, and don’t really care who they have to step on to get there.
Human nature is kind of a mess. People are selfish, generous, mean, cruel, thoughtful — a mix of all the possible qualities out there. We always remain hopeful that the better nature will win out, but hope remains eternal.
Through all the “Black Lives Matter” protests and demands for reparations and payback, there were some plaintive voices out there that didn’t get enough attention. Jason Riley, who is black, and writes for the Wall Street Journal, has a book out with the rather intriguing title “Please Stop Helping Us.”
Oddly, a few months back a young black high school senior was written up in the national news for walking 3 miles every day to a public library that offered homework help. His efforts earned him letters of acceptance from over 20 colleges and universities, including the one he most hoped to attend. No further notice, no celebration.
Shortly after that, a young black woman who was valedictorian of her class with perfect attendance got a brief article in the media, because she was awarded something like $450,000 in scholarship money. Nobody bothered to report that’s the way the world works. You work hard and put your soul in it, and you are often rewarded by accomplishing your goals.
Neither of the stories got any particular attention as far as I know, but there’s a real lesson there.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Capitalism, Crime, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economy, Education, Election 2020, Law, Police, Politics, Progressivism, Regulation, The United States | Tags: A City in Decline, Can it Be Fixed?, Chicago Death Toll
One gets used to noting the death toll in Chicago over the weekend. Which is pretty disgusting as a matter of fact. An article at Fox News caught my eye. The Chicago Chamber of Commerce president called for a “serious response” to looting. As well he should. He was urging former president Barack Obama to come back to Chicago and use his influence to help, instead of gamboling on Martha’s Vineyard when his home town that made him, needs him.
Here are the shocking numbers: “So far this year in Chicago a total of 2,058 people have been shot and wounded, and 435 have been shot and killed.
America — indeed Chicago — spawned the success that became Obama. Now with ill winds blowing, Chicago needs him more than ever. If anyone should abhor the blood in his old ’hood, it should be Barack. The senseless killing is as surreal as Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” and as bone-chilling as the damp winds that blow off Lake Michigan every winter. And yet there is deafening silence from the 44th president.
Chicago’s adopted son has a debt to pay. He owes America a bit more than a feel-good legacy of being “first” or shimmering cameos at marquee events, however cool his gait. He should leave behind more than a league of loyalists who profited from his presidency in lieu of legions who are the least of these.
Interesting. I don’t know why Obama’s presence would help, but I didn’t believe that he was a very good president. Apparently the Cook County State’s Attorney is accused of being soft on criminals and failing to do her job, so crime soars as a consequence. It’s sad to see cities fall. And there will be consequences. People will move and business will move. Will the crime move with them, or stay on in a declining Chicago. You get the feeling that there is going to be a massive realignment in the country. Does anyone learn the lessons so vividly on display? The media which is still prattling about “peaceful protesters” have clearly not learned anything at all, nor do they understand how consequences are and will be playing out.
For example: The Post Office is in trouble. Revenue down, volume of mail down. Locking mailbox sales way up, mail theft vastly increased. That is a consequence of several things. Our public schools are not managing to teach kids to write easily and well, nor teaching kids the history of their country. Somebody’s out there being “peaceful protesters,” and they seem to be of the appropriate age. People aren’t writing letters, but sending emails or tweeting or facebooking.’
I email family, but write some long business letters. Computers are not just changing our lives, but changing us. Think how astonished our great-grandparents and great-great grandparents would be were they to reappear in our midst today. And what would they have to say!
Filed under: Domestic Policy, Law, Police, Politics, Regulation, Terrorism | Tags: Black Bloc ANTIFA, Seattle Police Force, Senseless Violence
Chief Carmen Best has resigned as of the end of the month, and the City Council has defunded the police by $4 million, and voted to cut her salary and that of her command staff. The budget reductions are for the remainder of the year. Here is a copy of the resignation notice that she emailed to Seattle police officers.
I did mention something about consequences, i think. Black Bloc ANTIFA took to the streets of downtown Seattle, when they realized that the Seattle Police were not coming out to meet them. They roared through the streets breaking windows and destroying whatever property they could, without a single police officer feeling the need to intervene. Here are videos from Andy Ngo and Liz Jones. Truly a disgusting bunch of terrorists, for that is what they are, and should be treated as such. Can we discard the “Peaceful Protesters” scam?
There are always consequences. The members of the Seattle City Council should have to pay the damages out of their own funds. More probably they will attempt to raise taxes on the businesses who were hit, and those who luckily avoided it. Go Figure. This is why bureaucracies get a bad name. The citizens can’t complain to the mayor, though. They are trying to recall her. Dunno how our feckless governor, Jay Inslee will be affected. Seriously, I hope.
American Elephants 