Category: 2020

When will America Hit Rock Bottom?

Years ago I ran a non-profit, all volunteer charity in my hometown of Vancouver. The charity helped several thousand people and one of them was a 40-something woman who was a recovered heroin addict, homeless person, and prostitute. I took the opportunity to ask her a simple question: “Do you remember the event that prompted you to finally turn your life around for the positive?” Her response has stuck with me to this day: “I hit rock bottom. I needed to hit rock bottom to eventually change.” She went on to explain that “rock bottom” means different things to different people. But, for all, it is the pivotal moment that gives them the strength and courage to say “enough is enough” and begin the slow climb upward.

In our 24/7 news cycle, some might think that recent events in America are an aberration, a one-off that the nation will eventually get past. But such problems have been going on for a long time. Back in 1993, the WSJ’s Dan Henninger wrote an editorial called “No Guardrails”. Two days ago he wrote a new piece called “America’s New Nihilism”. Both are explained in detail here.

The recent riots and the Leftist response to them are mere warning signs along the spiralling highway down to the abyss. But make no mistake, the nation as a whole hasn’t yet come close to hitting rock bottom.

The Words That Soooooo Offended Leftists

Here’s the full text of Senator Tom Cotton’s op-ed, in case it is removed:

This week, rioters have plunged many American cities into anarchy, recalling the widespread violence of the 1960s.

New York City suffered the worst of the riots Monday night, as Mayor Bill de Blasio stood by while Midtown Manhattan descended into lawlessness. Bands of looters roved the streets, smashing and emptying hundreds of businesses. Some even drove exotic cars; the riots were carnivals for the thrill-seeking rich as well as other criminal elements.

Outnumbered police officers, encumbered by feckless politicians, bore the brunt of the violence. In New York State, rioters ran over officers with cars on at least three occasions. In Las Vegas, an officer is in “grave” condition after being shot in the head by a rioter. In St. Louis, four police officers were shot as they attempted to disperse a mob throwing bricks and dumping gasoline; in a separate incident, a 77-year-old retired police captain was shot to death as he tried to stop looters from ransacking a pawnshop. This is “somebody’s granddaddy,” a bystander screamed at the scene.

Some elites have excused this orgy of violence in the spirit of radical chic, calling it an understandable response to the wrongful death of George Floyd. Those excuses are built on a revolting moral equivalence of rioters and looters to peaceful, law-abiding protesters. A majority who seek to protest peacefully shouldn’t be confused with bands of miscreants.

But the rioting has nothing to do with George Floyd, whose bereaved relatives have condemned violence. On the contrary, nihilist criminals are simply out for loot and the thrill of destruction, with cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd’s death for their own anarchic purposes.

These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further.

One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers. But local law enforcement in some cities desperately needs backup, while delusional politicians in other cities refuse to do what’s necessary to uphold the rule of law.

The pace of looting and disorder may fluctuate from night to night, but it’s past time to support local law enforcement with federal authority. Some governors have mobilized the National Guard, yet others refuse, and in some cases the rioters still outnumber the police and Guard combined. In these circumstances, the Insurrection Act authorizes the president to employ the military “or any other means” in “cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws.”

This venerable law, nearly as old as our republic itself, doesn’t amount to “martial law” or the end of democracy, as some excitable critics, ignorant of both the law and our history, have comically suggested. In fact, the federal government has a constitutional duty to the states to “protect each of them from domestic violence.” Throughout our history, presidents have exercised this authority on dozens of occasions to protect law-abiding citizens from disorder. Nor does it violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which constrains the military’s role in law enforcement but expressly excepts statutes such as the Insurrection Act.

For instance, during the 1950s and 1960s, Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson called out the military to disperse mobs that prevented school desegregation or threatened innocent lives and property. This happened in my own state. Gov. Orval Faubus, a racist Democrat, mobilized our National Guard in 1957 to obstruct desegregation at Little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower federalized the Guard and called in the 101st Airborne in response. The failure to do so, he said, “would be tantamount to acquiescence in anarchy.”

More recently, President George H.W. Bush ordered the Army’s Seventh Infantry and 1,500 Marines to protect Los Angeles during race riots in 1992. He acknowledged his disgust at Rodney King’s treatment — “what I saw made me sick” — but he knew deadly rioting would only multiply the victims, of all races and from all walks of life.

Not surprisingly, public opinion is on the side of law enforcement and law and order, not insurrectionists. According to a recent poll, 58 percent of registered voters, including nearly half of Democrats and 37 percent of African-Americans, would support cities’ calling in the military to “address protests and demonstrations” that are in “response to the death of George Floyd.” That opinion may not appear often in chic salons, but widespread support for it is fact nonetheless.

The American people aren’t blind to injustices in our society, but they know that the most basic responsibility of government is to maintain public order and safety. In normal times, local law enforcement can uphold public order. But in rare moments, like ours today, more is needed, even if many politicians prefer to wring their hands while the country burns.

And the reaction.

June 7th Update: The NY Times editorial page editor has now been canceled.

Who Benefits from an Actual Race War Breaking Out?

Tucker Carlson has more

Is it not rather spooky how large legions of people are being lead like sheep down a path to what would eventually turn into an actual violent race war, much like Charles Manson wanted?

Tough Questions for Biden and for China that the Western Media Won’t Ask

While the Soviet Union murdered and oppressed hundreds of millions of people, much of the Western media and Leftists refused to ever criticize the oppressors. They never stopped criticizing American Republicans but the Soviet leaders were off limits. “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”. It looks like we’re now about to see history repeating itself with the Communist Chinese Party deeply oppressing the people of Hong Kong. Watch as the same usual suspects refuse to criticize this oppression. In fact, they’ll probably be calling anyone who does a racist.

The Left’s Undying Faith in Models

If you’re an SDA regular then you’re keenly aware of the abject failure of the Covid-19 models. Now there’s a new model that is warming the hearts of Leftists everywhere: this model predicts that Trump will lose in a landslide. And all because of the economy. You know, the economy that the Democrat governors of New York, Michigan, Illinois, and California are trying their best to damage to the greatest extent further. Yet somehow this model predicts that Trump will get blamed for the terrible missteps of these governors.

Margin Of Fraud

I’ve been assured by reliable sources that this never happens.

A former Judge of Elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been charged and pleaded guilty to illegally adding votes for Democrat candidates in judicial races in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
 
On Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against former Judge of Elections Domenick DeMuro, 73, for stuffing the ballot box for Democrats in exchange for payment by a paid political consultant. […]
 
According to the indictment, the political consultant allegedly solicited payments from Democrat candidates who hired him, classifying them as “consulting fees.” The payments — which ranged from $300 to $5,000 — were then allegedly used to pay Election Board Officials, such as DeMuro, in exchange for those officials illegally adding votes for the consultants’ Democrat candidates.
 
DeMuro admitted that he illegally added votes for Democrats on Election Day and then certified later that the votes counted were accurate.

The Latest from Texas

The state of Texas is an interesting “laboratory” for us all to watch right now:

As Texas reopens, a kind of normal is returning. Last week I was able to make an appointment and obtain a haircut, all perfectly legal. I went to a nearby lake this weekend and saw what looked like a pretty normal number of people, out fishing and kayaking and biking in the sun that’s known to kill the virus with its blaring UV light. It was so nice I took the camera and could have snapped enough pics for a wildflower calendar. Texas really is beautiful before the sun turns the state into a brick oven.

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