Year: 2019

Merry Christmas 2019!

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:1-14 King James Version)

[….]

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:1-7 King James Version)

Merry Christmas everyone! God Bless you all!

If you are confused, just watch this:

Is the Heritage Foundation conspiring with Big Tech to keep non-liberal media silent?

Sounds that way…. see here:

 

The Heritage Foundation responds:

WASHINGTON—In a segment that aired Friday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson made several false, outrageous, and unfounded accusations against The Heritage Foundation. Rob Bluey, vice president of communications at Heritage, released the following statement in response:

For nearly 50 years, The Heritage Foundation has represented the interests of the American people based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional values, and a strong national defense. Heritage does not support policies that deviate from these principles, nor are our recommendations ever influenced by donations or outside political pressure.

It was, therefore, incredibly disappointing to hear Tucker Carlson, whom we hold in high regard, mislead his viewers about Heritage’s work on the topics of big tech and censorship. Carlson is a former employee of Heritage who last year received our prestigious Salvatori Prize and who regularly features Heritage guests on his Fox News program. In other words, he knows Heritage, our people, and our principles.

Unfortunately, Carlson did not contact us in advance of his segment or provide Heritage with an opportunity to respond to his accusations. Rather than engage in a substantive policy debate, he chose instead to make ad hominem attacks and question our integrity. We are disappointed this came from someone whom we admire and respect.

The Heritage Foundation will not let these attacks go unanswered and we welcome the opportunity to have a substantive debate on public policy.

Carlson’s claims began with an attack on a recent Heritage report about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. He claimed the report’s author repeated lines verbatim from a trade association. This is false. In fact, the 13-page Heritage report contained 22 footnotes, all of which were properly quoted and attributed to sources. The report went through a thorough and lengthy process of vetting and review by Heritage scholars to ensure accuracy and agreement among all Heritage analysts involved in technology and social media policy.

The conclusions of Heritage’s report were based on the principles that guide all of our policy recommendations—principles Carlson seems curiously less interested in defending. Instead, he made an unfounded assertion against Heritage and outrageous smear of one of our scholars. It is disappointing that Carlson would deceive his viewers with such patently false information.

It should come as no surprise that Heritage supports empowering consumers rather than government. We are, and have always been, champions of the free market and critics of government intervention. That’s why we are forcefully pushing back on the few outspoken individuals who seem to prefer an expedient answer rather than a principled solution.

Carlson also failed to acknowledge Heritage experts’ consistent criticism of technology companies, including Google’s decision to withdraw from the Department of Defense’s Project Maven and its work with communist China on a censored search engine.

He apparently missed Heritage President Kay C. James’ Washington Post op-ed blasting Google for caving to the radical left and disbanding its AI board simply because she, a prominent conservative leader, was asked to join it.

And he made no mention of Google-owned YouTube censoring a video produced by The Daily Signal, Heritage’s multimedia news outlet. On our public platforms and in a private meeting with YouTube’s CEO, we made our position abundantly clear: We will not tolerate this type of censorship and will stand side by side with other conservatives experiencing similar challenges.

Heritage and its team of dedicated scholars are committed to pursuing public policies that make life better for all Americans. Heritage is the largest public policy organization in America with more than 500,000 members and has the No. 1 ranking from the University of Pennsylvania for impact on public policy. We won’t be intimidated or bullied as we continue to represent the interests of conservatives and all Americans.

Sounds like a weak tea response, if you ask me.

Bible says:

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. – (James 4:4 KJV)

Those who make deals with Satan himself and his children, will pay the price.

I cannot believe I actually voted for this man

Here is the letter, that President Donald Trump wrote to Nancy Pelosi. I am not a fan of hers either. But, this is some seriously stompy foot stuff here. 😒

Click here to read the letter, it’s a PDF file.

The President is on shaky ground. and he knows it.

Via New York Magazine’s Intelligencer

A MUST READ: Joe Biden and Iraq

This is a must read on Joe Biden and his involvement in the Iraq War.

In September, former Vice President Joe Biden attempted to portray himself as an opponent of the Iraq war he voted for 17 years ago. Sure, as a U.S. senator, he voted to authorize the war, Biden told an NPR interviewer who asked about his foreign policy judgment. But that was only after Biden got a “commitment” from George W. Bush, the war’s architect, that the former president “needed the vote to be able to get inspectors into Iraq to determine whether or not Saddam Hussein was engaged in dealing with a nuclear program.” Alas, he continued, “before we know it, we had a shock and awe”—the opening aerial bombardment of the March 2003 invasion—and then “immediately, the moment it started,” Biden opposed the war. His mistake, he said, was trusting Bush.

Source, The Daily Beast: How Biden Kept Screwing Up Iraq, Over and Over and Over Again

A very good read. I highly recommend it.

Chick-Fil-A Makes one of the biggest boneheaded moves ever

This is weapons-grade stupid.

Via Breitbart:

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records show that Chick-fil-A is not only stopping donations to Christian organizations but is funding left-wing extremist groups, including the anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Chick-fil-A’s 2017 990 IRS filing shows the fast-food franchise made a $2,500 donation to SPLC, among a laundry list of pro-abortion and pro-LGBT orgs, Townhall reports. The Chick-fil-A Foundation has come under conservative scrutiny since its decision to stop supporting Christian charities such as the Salvation Army, caving to disingenuous pressure campaigns from far-left activists.

The SPLC is most infamous for inspiring an attempted domestic terror attack against the Family Research Council (FRC), a group that lobbies for pro-marriage and pro-life policies.

In 2013, Floyd Lee Corkins II was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the first-ever conviction for domestic terrorism under Washington, DC, law. Corkins pled guilty to assault with intent to kill and committing an act of terrorism for entering the FRC’s office in August 2012 and shooting a black security guard, who ultimately thwarted his attack. Corkins used the SPLC’s “hate map” — an error–filled digital map giving the addresses of entities that the org deems “hate groups” — to locate the FRC for his planned massacre.

Corkins was carrying a bag of Chick-fil-A sandwiches when he entered the building and started shooting. He later told prosecutors that he planned to smear some of the food on the faces of his would-be victims.

FRC President Tony Perkins swiftly denounced the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s support of “one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America.”

“Not only has Chick-fil-A abandoned donations to Christian groups including the Salvation Army, it has donated to one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America,” Perkins said in a statement. “Anyone who opposes the SPLC, including many Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and traditional conservatives, is slandered and slapped with the ‘extremist’ label or even worse, their ‘hate group’ designation.”

“It’s time for Christians to find a fast food alternative to Chick-fil-A,” he concluded.

Chick-Fil-A, in an attempt to appeal to the rest of the Country, has made one of the biggest boneheaded moves ever. The people who give to the places that Chick-fil-a used to give money to; happens to be their core customer base. Here in America, we have a free market capitalistic system and people, especially Conservative Christians vote with their wallets.

I personally believe, that in a few short years; if not sooner. You will be reading about the collapse of Chick-Fil-A and why it happened. You do not alienate your core customer base to appeal to the hipsters in New York; who really would not buy your product anyway. That is weapons grade stupid and I predict that this will fatally cause a huge drop in business for this company.

Others: The Hill, American Greatness, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Post Millennial, Big League Politics, PJ Media Home and The Daily Signal

Michelle Malkin Fired from YAF?

It appears to be the case.

Via The Daily Beast:

A conservative group cut ties with right-wing columnist Michelle Malkin on Sunday over her support for an anti-Semitic internet personality, ramping up a growing conservative civil war centered on college campuses.

Malkin’s firing from Young America’s Foundation, whose speaker’s bureau had booked Malkin for speeches across the country for the past 17 years, marks the latest battle between supporters of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and more establishment conservative figures. 

 

“Michelle Malkin in no longer part of YAF’s campus lecture program,” a YAF spokesman said in an email to The Daily Beast. 

Malkin didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

As for Malkin, she says:

I’ve done YAF events for nearly 20 years. Usually, such speeches are aimed at the left and the Democrats to show how they’re wrong or evil or have double standards or how they’re the real haters or the real racists. All those things are true and I have made these arguments in earnest many, many times over the years. But tonight is not about you, Lefties. Tonight, my remarks are directed at the young men and women of this country who identify as America First conservatives. How many proud Americans standing up for American freedom and sovereignty do we have in the room?

I know what it’s like to be in your shoes, feeling marginalized on a crazy college campus for standing up for your pro-life, pro-gun, pro-free speech, pro-Western values and fighting for your country. I also have two teenagers who have been through experiences like you have, sitting in classrooms where abject stupidity and emotionalism have replaced logic, reason, and the pursuit of truth.

That is why I will not be using my platform and my position to insult you, marginalize you, and shout you down. Just a couple of days ago here on this very campus, former Fox News hostess Kimberly Guilfoyle sneered that young conservative men in MAGA hats asking inconvenient questions were rude losers who could only get dates online and who were embarrassing their parents. Another YAF speaker, Ben Shapiro, repeatedly denigrated an entire movement of young men who watch a YouTuber named Nick Fuentes and are seeking answers to tough questions about where America is headed as masturbating losers in their basements who share memes. As a mom with brilliant right-thinking kids who, yes, live in my basement, and, yes, share memes, I found these obsessive references to young people’s dating lives and habits by prominent conservative media personalities much older than their targets to be tellingly defensive and touchy. Also: creepy.

[….]

Here’s my message to the new generation of America Firsters exposing the big lies of the anti-American open borders establishment and its controlled opposition operatives: If I was your mom, I’d be proud as hell.

No, I do not agree with every last thing they’ve said or written or published or tweeted or thought with their inside or outside voices. But I will not disavow any of them and I will not join the de-platforming witch hunters who hypocritically call themselves free speech and culture warriors. I disavow violence. I disavow hatred of America. I disavow the systematic bipartisan betrayal of American citizens, students, and families by cynical politicians who promised for 25 years to build a wall, end the diversity visa lottery, end chain migration, and other memorized talking points. I disavow Republicans who told us to hold our noses and vote for open borders sellouts because we support the Second Amendment and are against abortion and we had no other choice.

I can see her point, as for Nick Fuentes; he’s a bomb thrower, like Michael Savage. I do not watch him, as I find him quite annoying. I am all for the defense of Liberty in America, I just wish we could find better spokespersons for this movement. 😞

Is HotAir.com in it’s death spiral?

It appears that way.

I happened to go over to that site and noticed that Ed has announced that HotAir.com is going to a “VIP Program“, meaning, you need a membership to read some of the stories. This is, basically, what the New York Times has, a partial paywall.

This is a horrible, terrible, decision on the part of Salem Media. Here is why: The New York Times is a well-funded Newspaper, with a huge readership, while HotAir.com is nothing more than an partisan blog that is center-right and I tend to believe that HotAir.com gets nowhere near the viewership of the NYT.

Furthermore, No one is going to start paying for, what they have read for free, for all of these years, since the site’s existence. I believe that Salem is most likely betting on a huge readership spike during the 2020 elections. But, judging from the comments, we will be hear that this site went dark, after Salem got tired of supporting a money losing blog.

A sad ending to blog, which I read, even when I was still voting for and blogging for the left, because it seemed a bit more reasonable than some of the right, at the time.

Things have changed since the days of Clinton/Bush and blogging’s early days. 😔

Another “New Media” Website, Splinter is shutting down

Another “New Media” Website bites the dust.

Splinter is shutting down. In an internal memo sent Tuesday to staff, Paul Maidment, the editorial director of Splinter’s parent company, G/O Media, praised the site’s journalism but said the publication struggled to gain large numbers of readers.

“Despite the hard work of everyone on that staff, which has produced much outstanding journalism and great scoops, establishing a steady and sustainable audience for a relatively young site proved challenging in a fiercely competitive sector,” Maidment said.

“Given that reality, the leadership team made the difficult decision to cease operation of Splinter and redistribute the headcount to the other sites to increase the impact the editorial department can have overall.” Maidment claimed there would be “no reduction of G/O Media’s editorial workforce as a result of this decision,” and Splinter’s headcount would be “reallocated” across other sites at G/O, the network of former Gizmodo Media Group sites including Deadspin, Jezebel, Gizmodo, and Jalopnik, among others. “Our goal, wherever possible, will be to retain current Splinter staff members in open positions at other G/O Media sites.”

Some Splinter staffers, however, said they’ve been laid off. Deputy editor Jack Mirkinson tweeted, “Splinter is shutting down and we’re all being laid off,” and staff writer Sam Grasso wrote: “I’m getting laid off.”

Splinter was launched in 2017 after Univision acquired most of the old Gawker Media assets following Gawker’s high-profile legal dispute with wrestler Hulk Hogan and conservative tech billionaire Peter Thiel. – Source: The Daily Beast

Now, I am not going to sit here, and say, “ha ha! liberals lost another one!” because is that is stupid, immature, and elitist. I will say truthfully that “New Media” has become a very tight market. Since the crash of 2008, quite a bit of the crazy money floating around, simply dried up. Also too, many people have their favorite news and opinion sites that they frequent and it is tough to break into that market and get eyeballs on a site.

Another problem is that media has become so polarized since the election of President Obama and President Trump. Many people spend their time in their own echo chambers, being feed propaganda; whether it be right wing or left wing. Another thing killing print media is Youtube. Many people would rather watch a video, than take the time to read a webpage.

Personally, in 10 years from now, I think that blogs will become a thing of the past and video will be “the thing”. Personally, I don’t write as much as I used to; It takes a bit of effort to craft a thoughtful blog posting; only to have no one read it. Plus, I have become involved with gaming and that’s taken my attention away from political blogging some. Plus, the political scene is much different than it was, when I first started blogging in 2006. Silly season? More like silly, drama daily anymore. I kinda just got old of it. Why I just game and watch documentaries on Youtube.

Bottom Line: New Media is a tight, fickle, and sometimes even biased market. If one owns a site, one has to figure out, do I want to be an echo chamber or do I want to be real? Decide wisely.

Others: Mother Jones, VICE, Common Dreams, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Fox News and Contemptor, more at Mediagazer »

Lawd have mercy! I actually agree with Whoopie Goldberg!

Let’s see, where’s the graphic?

Via the Daily Beast:

“Listen, the last time people did this, people ended up killing themselves,” Goldberg said, referring to Joseph McCarthy’s Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s. “This is not a good idea, OK?” As Meghan McCain nodded in agreement, “Your idea of who you don’t want to work with is your personal business. Do not encourage people to print out lists because the next list that comes out, your name will be on and then people will be coming after you.” 

“We had something called a blacklist and a lot of really good people were accused of stuff,” she continued. “Nobody cared whether it was true or not. They were accused. And they lost their right to work. You don’t have the right! In this country, people can vote for who they want to. That is one of the great rights of this country.” 

As the uproar over both the Hollywood fundraiser and Messings’ tweets raged, President Donald Trump himself jumped into the fray, claiming in a tweet that when both he and the actress worked at NBC, she came up to him at an event and “profusely thanked me, even calling me ‘Sir,’” and adding, “How times have changed!” 

“You don’t have to like it, but we don’t go after people because we don’t like who they voted for,” Goldberg added. “We don’t go after them that way. We can talk about issues and stuff, but we don’t print out lists.”

Speaking to Messing and her Will & Grace co-star Eric McCormack, who joined her in her call to print the list, Goldberg said, “I’m sure you guys misspoke when you said that because it sounded like a good idea. Think about it. Read about it. Remember what the blacklist actually meant to people and don’t encourage anyone—anyone to do it.” 

The Video:

Oh my.… I agree with her. 😯