Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Had It

     I think I’ve reached my limit.

     For twenty years I’ve been writing analyses and opinion about various matters of public policy, political dynamics, the various premises, the rational processes, and the emotional substrates that produce those things. The time and effort involved in producing these pieces are considerable. No one does such a thing except in the hope of improvement. But there’s been none. Not one BLEEP!ing thing has changed for the better. Every element of our sociopolitical malaise has worsened. America continues to slide toward totalitarianism – a totalitarianism that defies election results.

     I’m beginning to think that it’s due to cowardice on the Right. Virtually no one with his head on straight will speak plainly.

     Today, the worst of America’s bad actors rule our streets. They’re open about it. They make YouTube videos about their success at violently suppressing gatherings of conservatives and talks by conservative spokesmen. Yet supposedly Right-aligned commentators, including nearly all the prominent ones, can’t bring themselves to condemn the Left’s Brownshirts. Rather, they apologize for the Right’s existence.

     I probably read more in a single day than 99.9% of the American populace – including most of the aforementioned commentators – reads in a month. The greater part of that is news, analysis, and opinion. But with all that I read, I almost never encounter a statement about the plague of street violence – politically motivated street violence that's afflicted this country for more than a year – that places the odium squarely upon those who consciously set forth to initiate it.

     Instead, we get stuff like this:

     Monday morning, Ken Cuccinelli, former Attorney General of the Commonwealth, appeared on CNN’s “New Day” program opposite Symone Sanders, former press secretary for Bernie Sanders. They spoke about the Charlottesville events, and the President’s underwhelming, confounding response to them. Things got out of hand. When Cuccinelli didn’t seem contrite enough of behalf of Donald Trump (because, being a conservative, he’s clearly Trump’s biggest fan, because REASONS) and wouldn’t initially condemn Robert E. Lee as “emblematic” of white supremacy and racial hatred, Sanders continually talked over him and interrupted, with host Chris Cuomo’s passive cooperation. Cuccinelli eventually had enough of being interrupted and talked over, and said “…can I finish Symone, will you just shut up for a minute and let me finish?” Sanders became apoplectic, as if her civil rights were being violated by being asked to ‘shut up.’ The height of irony was Sanders, doing her best impression of a screaming harpy, demanding ‘decorum’ from Ken Cuccinelli, in almost every instance a thoroughgoing gentleman, who in this case was pushed to his limits. Sanders has no sense of fairness, decency, or decorum of her own. Chris Cuomo, of course, being Chris Cuomo, jumped in and remonstrated with Cuccinelli for using the phrase, “shut up” and did nothing to address Sanders’ antics, including using the same phrase herself.

     So far, so good, right? But we’re not quite finished:

     Cuccinelli, being the gentleman that he is, apologized, even calling Sanders after the fact.

     Why did Cuccinelli apologize for demanding to be treated with respect – reciprocal respect, at that? Had Sanders been a man, a true gentleman would have demanded a pre-dawn accounting: pistols or swords, sir; your choice. A woman exhibiting that sort of conduct is beneath contempt.

     At this point in our devolution, contempt is too good for the Left. Yet our luminaries continue to treat them with undeserved respect – and equally undeserved mercy for their outrages – while castigating the Right for daring to attempt a counteraction.


     I’ve also had it with “Fox News.” The best of its productions, Bret Baier’s Special Report, has become completely unwatchable. The appearances of supposedly Republican, supposedly conservative office holders, are so irritating that I’ve begun changing the channel to Animal Planet or The Food Network upon the instant one such appears on-screen. Not one of them ever gives a straight answer to a simple question. “Yes” and “no” seem not to be part of their vocabularies. However, the panel segments are its worst feature: an appalling display of Establishmentarianism and pusillanimity. The most regular panelists have been “in the business” for far too long. They’ve too obviously had their consciences numbed and their spines ripped out, and ought to consider a retirement trade; perhaps begging on street corners. The occasional guests, being mostly younger, tend to be somewhat better, but the regulars routinely outweigh them.

     The nadir arrived in this past Monday’s exchange between regular panelist Steve Hayes and occasional panelist Mollie Hemingway, over the nature of the events in Charlottesville. Hayes led off with a cringingly apologetic statement that condemned “white supremacists” and “neo-Nazis” as the reasons for the violence. When Hemingway dared to disagree – and not entirely, at that – Hayes actually tried to shout her down, insulting her unforgivably in the process. It was grotesque beyond my powers of description. Charles Krauthammer’s contribution added to the abuse of Hemingway in a predictably Establishmentarian fashion.

     Hayes’s behavior might be explicable. He might be angling for a billet at CNN or MSNBC, both of which are in desperate need of token “conservatives.” Krauthammer has no excuse. The experts required to raise him from his coffin and make him look lifelike in time for every evening’s fifteen minutes of breathless filibustering blather are under exclusive contract to Fox.

     It seems that those who predicted that Fox would swiftly deteriorate with Roger Ailes’s resignation were correct.


     The bastions of hard evidence and sound reason are being worn away. Whether it’s from fatigue or fear, they whom we trusted to be our public voices are failing us. It would be better for them to retire, but there’s precious little money or fan mail in that.

     For twenty years I’ve strained to add a microdecibel or two in favor of freedom and justice. I just don’t know whether there’s any point. Maybe there never was.

     It’s time for me to sit back and take stock, but before I close, have a giggle. A dear friend is about to issue a T-shirt design through Cafe Press. He told me about it a couple of weeks ago, and is currently deciding upon the final design. It’s likely to bear the following legend:

White Men:
Bringing You Western Civilization For 3000 Years

     ...over an image of a cathedral. I can’t wait to order mine...that is, if Cafe Press has the stones to accept his design and offer it for sale.

     We shall see.

12 comments:

MMinWA said...

Frankly I am surprised you watch TV. It's all garbage. Can't stand it, any of it, but especially the "news" Lies, all frigging lies. On both sides. I had my fill by the end of RR's administration. The constant, incessant denigration of him personally finally cluebatted me to reality.

I can't imagine the time I've spent working in my studio rather then having my eyeballs plastered to a TV. I occasionally see video clips and am appalled when I see a dupe like Hayes, who I used to enjoy reading at the WS, a magazine that I sadly admit, I was a charter subscriber. Now? He's pathetic, a supreme example of a cucked, washed out white man.

I like the T shirt, wouldn't wear in public-some chickenshit BLMer will 2 x 4 you in the back of your head. Bet on it.

scttmtclf said...

I totally understand the frustration you feel. There was a time when I attempted to debate and enlighten those of the more liberal persuasion. After years of fruitless efforts using logic and sound reasoning, only to be called "racist" for wanting to be left alone, "heartless" for apparently wanting all poor people to die, "complicit in murder" for believing what the 2nd ammendment actually says, I have ceased to debate. I no longer allow myself to be drawn into the ring; the rabble can hash it out themselves. "There is none so blind, as he who will not see," recently popped into my head.

On that note, my family (brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neices, nephews) are all leftists of varying degrees, ranging from "democrat" to actual "marxist." One sister posted on facebook yesterday in response to a conservative commentator's assertion that "you can't denounce the white supremecist violence without denouncing the BLM / antifa violence." Seems reasonable, right? Nope; she said, "I am not so dumb to believe that BLM is a terrorist group. What violence have they caused?" How can you reach a person like this; someone who rejects the evidence of their senses and creates a fairytale land of magical thinking? She is very well educated, yet she refuses to see.

There can be no debate with them, because they refuse to debate. They push us and push us. They call us racist for actually noting statistical variance among races. They call us depolorable because we believe what the bible says. They call us bigots for not embracing and celebrating the mental illness of their debauchery. They call us homophobe / transphobe (which is weird because I am not afraid of them....) because we choose to say that the nuclear, biblical family is the foundation of western society. They shout us down when we have differing ideas. They refuse to dialogue with us. They keep pushing us and pushing us. One day, people who have had enough will react. It will be with a fury and vengeance, and it will be violent.

Linda Fox said...

It's tough right now. Everyone I know is also coming to the conclusion that nothing they say makes the slightest bit of difference, either in Washington, or in their neighborhood. We're all getting tired of the screaming. And, now, our side is doing it, too.

What might make a difference?

(1) Exploit the current technologies - virtual meetings, VPNs, e-publishing, etc. Start a group to meet with others who want to explore the philosophical basis of a society that might look like what we'd like to see. Then, start implementing it, IRL.

Cover your tracks with VPNs. Password-protect documents. Store them offline.

E-publishing - I've been playing around with the idea of starting an e-mag - published once a month on Kindle or other sites. Split any profits (we should hope!) with the contributors. A small percent to the person that organizes it (perhaps a rotating group?). This eliminates much of the cost of getting a website, paying for hosting, etc. It doesn't have to be fancy, at first.

This mag idea is to have a handy way to pass on ideas/concepts/arguments to the average guy, in a LESS interactive format than blogs. Too many trolls have damaged the free and easy interchanges.

This also provides the kernel for something like, eventually, the Federalist Papers. Won't be that, at first. But...

(2) Look to preparing for some hard times. Pay down debt, stockpile meds, protection, a way of keeping/generating energy. Get actual books - more portable where the power is not, can easily be shared, cheap if bought used.

(3) Learn useful things that might help you survive. Buy tools. Set aside SOME cash, but also barterables - NOT gold, which value is often near zero if it gets really crazy, but cleaning/purification supplies, booze (quite portable) and the means to make more (sugar, yeast, containers), and batteries - LOTS of batteries.

(4) One of the most useful skills that I can recommend is amateur radio. Get a license, a handheld (only good for relatively short distances), and a small DX (long distance) radio. Learn to use them well - if government fears revolution, they WILL take out the phone grid, and block cell signals, too. But, a radio is portable, and, if using CW (Morse code) and packet radio modes, will often slip under the radar, and avoid detection, particularly if mobile.

(4) Pray - a lot. We believers have a potent force on our side. Don't neglect it.

Christian Mountaineer said...

Elijah asked much the same thing. He had just dramatically proved that God exists and that Baal and Asheroth were nothing; yet, upon leaving Mount Carmel, his life was threatened. Elijah despaired that he would never convince people of God. He saw himself as a failure. "And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."" (I Kings 19:9-10). Notice that Elijah was convinced that he was the only one left serving God. But God said, "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him" (I Kings 19:18)
Take comfort.

JWM said...

I just made my usual circuit of blogs, commentary and news. The insanity is deeper and more toxic than anything I have yet seen. If I hear one more "conservative" say, "Well, yeah, but Racizzzmmms!! SLAVERY!!!111" I'm going to puke. Now it seems that half the people who were ostensibly on "our side" are nothing but cucks, and cowards. What madness is this? A people who inherited the pinnacle of civilization and human achievement have nothing but contempt for that civilization, and those who built it. They gleefully trash every artifact of our culture and replace it with The Nothing. All they worship is the twisted, broken and dysfunctional. They are the un-makers, children of The Nothing. I have heard the phrase "This will not end well" many many times in the last week or so. The phrase sounds more grim each day. It's getting harder and harder to wrench my head out of this poisonous anger. A few stray thoughts and I'm simmering. Like the above commenter, "scttmtclf", I'm pretty much isolated ideologically. Everyone I know is either some flavor of liberal, or they're oblivious to the whole thing. I wish I could join the oblivious. Do your footwork. Say your prayers. Leave the results up to God. Simple. Not easy.

JWM

Bob T. said...

Been done with television/radio news for many years now, except for the occasional weather forecast where a well-intentioned lie is forgivable. Weather via the Internet (web sites, phone apps) is just as "accurate": most of the time, my personal observations based on 58 years of experience serve my needs more efficaciously. Mountaineer mentioned the story of Elijah's disillusionment in I Kings, which came to mind to me as well... You have no way of knowing with certainty whom you have affected with your contributions through the years, but you *can* know with certainty there's a remnant "out there" paying attention. In my less humble moments, I imagine myself to be part of that group, and would like to acknowledge a debt I cannot repay.

I'm with those who quote the TINVOWOOT acronym: after all, voting got us where we are. Donald Trump's election bought us more time to prepare, spiritually and temporally, for what's coming. Not entirely sure how we got to this point other than by trying to keep our heads down and wishing to be left alone. After all, presumably we *are* in the majority in spite of the media protestations to the contrary. The only question is, will we do what needs doing when the call comes? History suggests the answer is "no" :-(.

ligneus said...

All true, all depressing, also very pessimistic. The fight back is only just beginning, Trump's election just the most yuge and visible manifestation. See also all the Reps, Federal and State. So too many of them are Rinos, but the people voted Republican, they repudiated the Dems. You can't roll back sixty years of the Progs taking over everything but a beginning has been made. Just think Betsy DeVos and some of the other cabinet members.

The reason everything is so much worse is that the left knows they've been sussed out, they see the writing on the wall, they're like cornered rats, did you ever see a cornered rat? They go berserk, throw everything they've got into the fight, it's their only chance.
They will lose just as all totalitarians lose, unfortunately they do so much damage on the way. Some saw early on that obama was a great blessing in disguise, he and they thought they'd won it all and so over reached and gave the game away to the millions who don't look too deeply into what the gov is up to.

Funny how great men, men appropriate to the time, come along, Churchill, Reagan and now Trump. It would be interesting to know, against the screaming hatred directed against his Charlottesville remarks blaming the left too, just how many people are heartened that someone, and the President no less, has the guts to tell the truth. I would love to have seen him call out the Kessler guy as being an obama supporter and an Occupy low life. The whole thing was a set up.

I read you every day Fran, it's a wonder to me how you do it, but it's tremendously appreciated. I often send your articles to friends and sometimes to the 'enemy', your posts are great ammunition.

Thankyou.

Unknown said...

Sometimes I watch the food network, and once in a while like to sit with my sons, when they're so infrequently around for an original "Star Trek" re-run; other wise I don't watch TV and haven't for quite a while. I mostly dropped FOX when the insisted on showing Osama's face on the screen every day, glorifying him.
But all of your commenters (so far) have not let me down. They agree with you and me and love your narratives, too. I know there are many more, especially in the ham radio ranks. As Linda says, individual communication and sensible prepping for the coming dissolution is wise, even though "they" will try to come after the hams and their equipment soon. I loved mountaineer's comment in !Kings 19.
You have been good to us in your craftsmanship with words, as I have told you before, but I bet you won't quit yet. You will stand tall til you fall. God Bless you Francis. ...and I don't think they can take Trump down until God allows it. After all, He picked him for this time in our nation.

1104wrhmr6r said...

I want that T-Shirt. It will go quite well with an old Glenn Beck made t-shirt I have that has "Hate U" on it looking like a college logo.

Anonymous said...

Please don't stop. I just discovered you.

MrGarabaldi said...

Hey F.W.P;

I have been a long time lurker, I drop by and read what is going on but normally don't comment.
This week I have found myself at a loss for words. I have tried to debate some of my friends on facebook and have been vilified and called a racist for agreeing that both are at fault for what had happened. But the alt right gets the blame and the alt left gets a pass like they have been getting for the past few years from the past president and the media. I see people getting their voices silenced, something that the first amendment is supposed to protect but the social movement is to restrict it in the name of "social justice" and I wonder where will it end or will it continue until people get tired of it and really start pushing back.

Reg T said...

I stopped watching TV back in 1987. Couldn't stand the tripe I was seeing even way back then. Stopped reading newspapers at the same time.

Once, while driving across the country for the tenth or eleventh time (living on the west coast with most family still living in New England), my wife and I turned the TV in the hotel room on, looking for the Discovery or History channel.

We stumbled upon a sitcom which we watched for several minutes, at which point we shut the damned thing off. It was called (IIRC) "Married, with Children", and it convinced us to never bother looking for anything of value on a TV again.

We do watch videos (really enjoyed The Accountant, recently), but other than that, our flat screen TVs remain turned off. What "news" we allow ourselves to suffer comes second or third hand, via web sites and blogs from sources we tend to trust, even if we do not always agree with the conclusions that are reached, especially from the plethora of anti-semites/anti-zionists who swear that every ill of human society and endeavor is all the fault of the Joooz.

Try leaving your TV turned off, Fran. You might experience a more harmonious outcome.