February 23-26, 2018
Feb 23 05:17 Jeffrey Toobin's dishonesty Feb 23 06:19 #UniteCloud picks a fight Feb 23 12:35 NEA hates students, teachers Feb 24 05:02 Greater love hath no man Feb 24 17:09 Liberal stupidity exposed Feb 25 09:03 Sheriff's incompetence exposed Feb 25 10:07 Israel to Tapper: I won't resign Feb 26 05:19 Amy Klobuchar on gun control Feb 26 08:03 #2A virtue-signalling
Prior Months: Jan
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Jeffrey Toobin's dishonesty
It's frightening to think that someone as stupid as Jeffrey Toobin could be paid to be an analyst. Then again, we're talking about CNN, which seems to set new lows each week. The question is whether they'll ever stop digging. According to this article , when told of President Trump's idea to arm teachers, Toobin said "That is insane. That's an insane idea. Seriously? Did anybody go to school here? Does anybody remember their teachers? Do you think we should give all of them guns? Do you think they want guns?"
First, let's look at what Toobin said. He said "Personally, I am pro-rancor. I am pro-vitriol. I am pro somebody doing something about this rather than being polite when you hear the president of the United States say the answer is to give every teacher in America a gun. That is insane. That is an insane idea."
Next, let's admit that Jeffrey Toobin is lying through his teeth. That isn't close to what President Trump said. In fact, I just read through the transcript from Wednesday afternoon's meeting with students, parents and teacher from Parkland HS. The first time that arming teachers was brought up was when Fred Abt spoke:
And one possible solution, which we've discussed with Secretary DeVos over lunch, was, if a tragedy strikes, can we wait for the first responders to get to the campus four, or five, or six, or seven minutes later? And one possible solution, which may not be very popular, would be to have people in the school, teachers, administrators, who have volunteered to have a firearm safely locked in the classroom, who are given training throughout the year.
There are plenty of teachers that are already licensed to carry firearms. Have them raise their hands to volunteer for the training. And when something like this starts, the first responders are already on campus. And if it's not the teachers, you could have people that work on the campus. A custodian could be an undercover policeman. Someone who works in the library or the lunchroom could be an undercover policeman. He serves lunch every day, but he also has a firearm at the ready. A guidance counselor.
If you can't stop it from happening, and with hundreds of millions of guns out there, I don't know if it will ever be fully stopped. But the challenge becomes, once it starts, to end it as quickly as possible.
It wasn't even brought up by President Trump. That didn't matter to Jeffrey Toobin. His goal wasn't to further the conversation. It's apparent that his goal is to put words that advance his agenda into President Trump's mouth. I know he isn't a reporter but can't he at least get this right?
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Toobin's mission wasn't to enlighten or inform. Toobin's mission was to throw white gas on the situation. Toobin's mission was to mis inform.
It's impossible to take CNN seriously as serious journalists. It's relatively easy to think of them as competitors with National Enquirer or other tabloids.
Posted Friday, February 23, 2018 5:17 AM
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#UniteCloud picks a fight
Thursday night at the St. Cloud Public Library, Dr. John Palmer gave a presentation based on this document . One of the primary focuses of Dr. Palmer's presentation was to establish a set of facts so St. Cloud could have an honest discussion about the hidden costs of St. Cloud's changing demographics.
One of the statistic sets that Dr. Palmer cited was the median household income for the major demographic groups. Dr. Palmer cited statistics from the State Demographer's Office, which said "Median income is the point at which half the individuals earn less than that amount and half earn more. In 2015, the Median household income of Minnesotans was $60,900. Whites had a median household income of $64,100 with the next four largest groups of Minnesotans (Blacks, Mexicans, Hmong and Somali) having a substantially lower median household incomes than Whites. In order of median income, Hmong had the highest median income at $53,000 and Somalis had the lowest median income at $18,400. Black median income was $28,800 and Mexican median income was $38,500 in 2015."
Dr. Palmer also noted the poverty rates of these demographic groups:
The largest Minnesota refugee-related population (Hmong), in 2015, have almost three times more of their population living below or near the poverty level than White Minnesotans (61% v. 21%). When the most recent (Somali) and second largest, refugee-related population are compared to White Minnesotans based on percent living below or near the poverty level, nearly four times more Somalis (21% v. 83%) live below or nearly below the poverty level than Whites. When the most recent refugee population (Somali) in Minnesota are compared to the largest and nearly 30 year resident refugee population (Hmong) in Minnesota, it appears that resettled refugees experience great challenges in escaping poverty and low-income status in the decades following resettlement.
Then Dr. Palmer observed:
"If you're a Minnesotan and you see this data, you should be embarrassed. Something is wrong with this picture," he said. It confirms the existence of a wide disparity in the economic health of different groups, Palmer said.
Dr. Palmer followed that up with this observation:
"When we look at the experience of the Hmong community and continuing economic challenges faced by African-Americans ... we have not done, as a society, a very good job," he said. "And then, we've brought in another population that have high needs."
After Dr. Palmer's presentation, he opened the floor to accept questions. One of the 'questioners' accused Dr. Palmer of cherry-picking statistics, arguing that Somalis had opened a number of businesses.
This missed the point that too many Somalis live in poverty or close to the Federal Poverty Level, aka FPL. The point Dr. Palmer tried making was that a) Minnesota hadn't done a good job of making the American Dream available to these minority populations and b) he's interested in finding a solution to lift these people out of poverty so they could live that American Dream.
Another questioner identified herself as a teacher at SCTCC. She asked whether Dr. Palmer put a high priority on diversity. He replied that he put a high priority on diversity of thought and that he loved America the melting pot but not America, the salad bowl, reminding people of the phrase e pluribus Unum, which means "out of many, One."
It isn't a stretch to think that #UniteCloud's attendees hoped to pick a fight. As Dr. Palmer said at the outset, "If you came to hear an anti-refugee speaker you might as well leave, because I'm not that. That's not who I am, that's not what I do, that's not what I want to be known of as in the community." Nonetheless, people from #UniteCloud and ISIAIH/GRIP did their best to stir racial tension and animosity. Instead of succeeding, they exposed themselves as only interested in creating heat, not shedding light.
Put differently, Dr. Palmer came seeking a solution. #UniteCloud and ISIAIH/GRIP came to pick a fight.
Posted Friday, February 23, 2018 6:19 AM
Comment 1 by Jay at 23-Feb-18 08:23 AM
I was there and Adam from Isaiah tried vigorously to start a fight. I was encouraged to see the majority of the people there weren't taking the bait. Hadji, the guy that was taping the meeting was trying to start something also. When Hadji brought up some history of the German people that settled in St Cloud 150 years ago, he said THEY were treated better and received more(benefits). Talking points of liberal victims mentality. What disturbed me was that 83% of Somalis are on some form of public assistance. Mostly because THEY feel they're owed IT. That mind-set WILL widen THE DIVIDE.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 23-Feb-18 10:15 PM
That's a nice recap. I was sitting by the door so I didn't have a good view of Hadji as he was on the opposite side of the room. As for the ISIAIH/GRIP guy, you're right. He wanted a fight in the worst way. I thought Dr. Palmer handled that situation perfectly.
Comment 2 by Kermit Eastman at 24-Feb-18 02:55 PM
I thought Dr. Palmer gave an excellent presentation. Unfortunate that not all in attendance were there to "pick a fight", rather than to learn from the truth.The "pick a fight group" would not be Somalis if the actual cost (benefits) were really publicized and understood. Also, businesses started by the Somalis are primarily "for somalies". Examples are food stores, taxis, auto repair shops, grocery stores, etc. The bindings of poverty will not be broken with those endeavors.
NEA hates students, teachers
I don't actually believe what the headline says. I just thought I'd use a headline the way progressives used words at CNN's townhall meeting. That's the one where people said Sen. Rubio had blood on his hands because he wouldn't reject campaign contributions from the NRA.
What I can say with certainty is that the NEA isn't in touch with its members on guns in schools. According to this article , the NEA issued a statement that said "Bringing more guns into our schools does nothing to protect our students and educators from gun violence. Our students need more books, art and music programs, nurses and school counselors; they do not need more guns in their classrooms."
Apparently, teachers in Ohio disagree:
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones told FOX Business' Liz MacDonald that the response from teachers and school administrators has been overwhelming. ' We thought we'd get 20, 25 signed up. We had 50 within the first hour. We had 100 within two hours, we had three hundred within like five hours . We offered to teachers first, then we start getting calls from a secretary that works in the school, janitors that work in the school,' Jones said.
More schools are beginning to train their educators to access or carry concealed weapons with reports suggesting there are now more than 1,000 school staffers in a dozen states with access to guns in schools spanning 225 districts.
Apparently, the people sitting on the front lines have a different opinion of what is and isn't needed than the suits in the offices. Imagine that. Union leadership isn't in touch with its members. That's virtually unimaginable. (I'm kidding.)
Pay attention to this interview:
This is a paid professional law enforcement officer. Does the NEA seriously think that they know better how to protect schools than this police officer? Forgive me if I side with the police officer over the NEA on school security measures.
I find it disturbing that the NEA didn't know that the thirst for arming teachers was this strong amongst teachers. Was it that the NEA didn't know? Or was it that they knew and chose to not represent their dues-paying members? Both possibilities are frightening.
Posted Friday, February 23, 2018 12:35 PM
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Greater love hath no man
After reading Franklin Graham's tribute to his dad, I pondered it for a moment. It didn't take long before a thought popped into my head. Actually, it's the Bible verse from the Gospel of John. John 15:13 says "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
It isn't that the verse fits Franklin Graham's article perfectly. It simply doesn't. It's that Franklin's tribute to the man he called "Daddy" described Billy Graham's life message. Specifically, Franklin spoke of a troubled time in his life. In Franklin's words, "After graduating from college in 1974, I headed for Lausanne, Switzerland, to work at a conference the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was sponsoring for 2,500 evangelical leaders from around the world. My life was a mess; I was empty and lonely. During that conference, my mother and father wanted to take me to lunch to celebrate my 22nd birthday. After lunch at a little Italian restaurant on Lake Geneva, Daddy and I walked along a pathway beside the lake when he turned to me and said, 'Franklin, your mother and I sense there's a struggle going on in your life.' Somewhat stunned, I wondered, 'How does he know this?' He continued, 'You're going to have to make a choice either to accept Christ or reject Him. You can't continue to play the middle ground.' With my mind racing, wondering what he was going to say next, I heard these words: 'I want you to know we're proud of you, Franklin. We love you no matter what you do in life and no matter where you go. But you're going to have to make a choice.' He had pricked my conscience to the point I was actually angry. I couldn't figure out how he knew about the struggle that had been going on inside me - but he did, and he was right. My father's words haunted me for several weeks until I finally gave up running from God and made that choice to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and turn my life over to Him. I've never looked back or regretted my decision."
The man that preached redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ didn't have condemnation towards his son. Christ repeatedly told His followers that His love was unconditional. Billy Graham's love for his son was unconditional, too, and he told him that during the conversation that turned Franklin's life around, albeit not immediately.
By 1974, Billy Graham was a household name. He had a reputation to uphold. People would've understood if he'd given Franklin the tongue-lashing of his life. Based on what I've often read about Billy Graham, that simply wasn't who he was. Staying true to his character, Billy Graham reminded his son that his love for Franklin was unwavering and unconditional.
It wasn't just that Franklin Graham wasn't a typical Christian. It's that Franklin was a hell-raiser :
Graham's boyhood mischief grew into young adult rebellion. He rode motorcycles, learned how to pilot planes and lived life in the fast lane. "I just wanted to have fun," Graham said, describing wild times of "drinking the beer, and going out to the parties, and running around with different girlfriends." Even though he's shed his rebellious image, Graham still loves the rush of riding his motorcycle.
He smoked, drank, got in fights and admitted trying marijuana. "He loves to live on that adrenaline rush," Lotz said. "You know whether it's an airplane or a fast motorcycle or doing something on the edge." His family sent him to Stony Brook, an elite Christian boarding school on Long Island, New York. He dropped out and was later expelled from another school, LeTourneau College in Longview, Texas, for keeping a female classmate out all night past curfew.
That's when his life changed:
Things would soon change. During a trip to Switzerland in 1974, Billy Graham talked to his 22-year-old son about the direction in his life. Franklin Graham remembers his father looking him straight in the eye and saying, "I want you to know that your mother and I sense there is a struggle for the soul of your life, and you're going to have to make a choice."
These words troubled Graham as he continued on his tour of Europe. Driving across the countryside with a bottle of scotch in his hand, he began to think about the conversation with his father. One night in a hotel room in Jerusalem, Franklin's life changed. He describes his epiphany in a passage from his 1995 autobiography, "Rebel With a Cause: Finally Comfortable Being Graham." "That night instead of going to the bar for a couple of beers, I found myself alone in my room reading through the gospel of John. "When I came to the third chapter, I read not just that Jesus told Nicodemus he had to be born again, but I also grasped that Franklin Graham had to be born again as well."
Franklin Graham is now living a changed life because his father didn't condemn him. He's living that life because his father reminded him that his love was unconditional.
Franklin is living that changed life because Billy Graham stayed true to the Gospel message that he preached in public. In this setting, it wasn't just his public persona. It's who Billy Graham was in private life, too. I find that consistency inspiring.
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Greater love hath no man.
Posted Saturday, February 24, 2018 5:02 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 24-Feb-18 12:14 PM
Taking over the family farm.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 24-Feb-18 01:28 PM
Franklin's doing what he was groomed to do.
Liberal stupidity exposed
If you're looking for a well-written, well-informed editorial on gun violence, I'd skip this Our View editorial . It isn't well-informed. Period.
For instance, it's exposed as ill-informed when it says "Finally, Congress must do more to regulate assault rifles. Should they be banned? As noted previously, Congress from 1994 to 2004 banned certain semi-automatic assault weapons and magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Did it help? Hard to say, but back then America was not averaging one mass shooting a day, either."
The thought that a newspaper thinks that there's a mass shooting each day is frightening. How stupid are these people? We aren't even close to averaging that. FBI statistics verify that. It's apparent that the Times editor hasn't read this article . Had they read it, they would've learned that "In 2013, knives were used to kill 1,490 and rifles were used to kill 285. Handguns far outnumber both knives and rifles in American murders. There were 7,105 murders by handgun in America in 2016."
Let's further admit that the Parkland shooter never should've been allowed to purchase a gun. There's already laws on the books prohibiting the sale of guns to those with mental health issues, which this shooter clearly displayed.
More than anything else, the government let us down. Specifically, law enforcement failed its responsibility. It's that simple. That isn't always the case but it was this time.
Something that's getting ridiculed is hardening soft targets. Gun-free zones should be renamed to tell the truth. They're a murderer's dream come true. The people in a gun-free zone are sitting ducks. They're people just waiting to be killed.
Remember the old cliche of not bringing a knife to a gunfight. People in gun-free zones aren't bringing a knife to a gun-fight. They aren't even bringing a pea-shooter to a gun fight. Why would people willingly be defenseless? It's foolish thinking that everyone will be on their best behavior. I wouldn't assume that everyone is trustworthy.
Arming teachers, janitors and administrators isn't about adding more guns. It's about leveling the playing field. If liberals want kids protected, they can't hope that the bad guys will have mercy on them. They can't hope that everything will be fine when the field is tilted totally in the bad guys' favor. That isn't just stupid. It's delusional.
Posted Saturday, February 24, 2018 5:09 PM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 25-Feb-18 07:00 AM
It is the classic liberal conceit that passing a law with good intentions can alter reality to match. This all started with the Sandy Hook mess, and the reality is the guy broke 6 gun laws before he even got to the school, whereupon he broke the law against murder many times over. These aren't "bad men" they are seriously mentally impaired. "Mad dog" doesn't quite describe them, but the solution is the same, as you point out.
Sheriff's incompetence exposed
It's difficult to picture a sheriff more incompetent than Scott Israel. It's worth adding that he's a demagogue, too. First, it's important to know that police from Coral Springs found 4 of Israel's deputies outside the building while Nikolas Cruz was on his murderous rampage. CNN reported that when "police from neighboring Coral Springs arrived at the school, they found three other Broward deputies who were outside the building but did not go in."
Question: Why should any of these jackasses still have a job or a pension?
The good news is that "State Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, is urging Florida Gov. Rick Scott to remove Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel over his agency's handling of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland." Here's hoping Gov. Scott fires Sheriff Israel and his 4 deputies before the Twins preseason game today. (The telecast starts at noon on Fox Sports North.) These men aren't just incompetent. It's justified to call them cowards, too, unworthy of being police officers.
Then there's Sheriff Israel's demagoguing the issue of gun control:
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This jackass is a disgrace to law enforcement. His official responsibility is "to protect and serve." He did neither. His deputies followed his lead.
Here's something that nobody's talked about yet. What do you think is the Broward County Sheriff's Department's exposure in a wrongful death lawsuit? I'm not a lawyer but I'm thinking that they're facing a huge lawsuit with a strong likelihood that they'll lose that lawsuit. I'm thinking that these families had a reasonable expectation that those deputies should protect their children in such a situation.
Sheriff Israel deserves a legal beating. If there's justice still left in this world, it's coming quickly.
Originally posted Sunday, February 25, 2018, revised 12-Sep 4:24 AM
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Israel to Tapper: I won't resign
This morning, disgraced Sheriff Scott Israel told CNN's Jake Tapper that he won't resign . That's fine as long as Florida Gov. Rick Scott fires him for dereliction of duty. Sheriff Israel is a demagogue, a politician and a partisan anti-NRA hack. At this point, I'd argue that his reputation is more in tatters than Adam Schiff's. That takes a lot but he's succeeded.
Sheriff Israel didn't help himself when he said "I can only take responsibility for what I knew about. I exercise my due diligence. I've given amazing leadership to this agency. " Seventeen students from Parkland HS were unavailable to respond to Sheriff Israel's quote. Seriously, what type of delusional nutjob would make that type of statement? Are you out of your flipping mind? Amazing leadership? Wow.
Further, "Israel said they were continuing to investigate their handling of the threat warnings and that the officer who handled that call 'is on restrictive duty.' Israel also said they will get to the bottom of the situation and release their results when they are certain they have all the facts." Why should anyone think that Sheriff Israel can be trusted with investigating himself? I don't trust him. I'm betting that few people trust him as an impartial investigator.
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Watch the video of Jake Tapper grilling Sheriff Israel. Some of Sheriff Israel's statements are stunningly arrogant. At one point, Israel said that his deputies "have done amazing things." Seriously? How can this man say something like that with a straight face?
If he's that clueless as to how big of a failure this was on behalf of himself and his deputies, then he isn't competent enough to be sheriff. He needs to be fired for incompetence. It's that simple.
Posted Sunday, February 25, 2018 10:07 AM
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Amy Klobuchar on gun control
During her appearance on Meet the Press, Sen. Klobuchar said "What these hunters were telling me the last few days is they are willing to do some background checks. They asked me why the bump stock bill hadn't passed. They understand as law-abiding gun owners, that we need to make changes." Later, she said "I would like to see an assault weapon ban come up for a vote. And I would also like to see the work we need to do on domestic violence."
Honestly, I'd love to see a vote on banning assault weapons in both the House and Senate. It'd be interesting to see how many Democrats would vote against that ban. Let's finish this debate. Banning scary-looking weapons that aren't any more deadly than a traditional-looking semi-automatic is pandering at its worst. That isn't making people safer. It's telling people that they're safer without making them safer. Shame on these panderers for selling false hope.
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In the past, Sen. Klobuchar supported feel-good, do-nothing gun control measures:
Q: What about assault weapons?
A: I did favor extending the ban on assault weapons. Unfortunately, we didn't prevail.
Voted YES on banning high-capacity magazines of over 10 bullets.
Congressional Summary:
The term 'large capacity ammunition feeding device' means a magazine or similar device that has an overall capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition
Opponent's Argument for voting No: Sen. GRASSLEY. I oppose the amendment. In 2004, which is the last time we had the large-capacity magazine ban, a Department of Justice study found no evidence banning such magazines has led to a reduction in gun violence. The study also concluded it is not clear how often the outcomes of the gun attack depend on the ability of offenders to fire more than 10 shots without reloading. Secondly, there is no evidence banning these magazines has reduced the deaths from gun crimes. In fact, when the previous ban was in effect, a higher percentage of gun crime victims were killed or wounded than before it was adopted. Additionally, tens of millions of these magazines have been lawfully owned in this country for decades. They are in common use, not unusually dangerous, and used by law-abiding citizens in self-defense, as in the case of law enforcement.
A well-trained gunman doesn't need a large-capacity clip to reload quickly. Further, most of the mass-shooting attackers did tons of training before carrying out their attacks. This is another feel-good provision that doesn't fix a thing. Anything that doesn't actually prevent lethal situations should be ignored. Period.
The key to this that the MSM and liberal politicians haven't talked about is hardening soft targets. I won't pretend that hardening such targets will eliminate mass shootings. Evil will still exist. I'll guarantee, though, that we'll see a major reduction in the number of fatalities if targets are hardened.
Posted Monday, February 26, 2018 5:20 AM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 26-Feb-18 07:57 AM
It remains an item of astonishment to me that we have a law prohibiting guns within 1000 feet of a school, so what happened in Florida is simply not possible, right?
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 27-Feb-18 05:15 PM
What astonishes me more is that murder has been a felony crime for longer than I've been alive and it hasn't deterred anyone from committing the crime. Bad people are going to do bad things no matter how many laws you pass.
#2A virtue-signalling
Last week, CNN hosted a virtue-signaling event intended to cause politicians to ban 'assault weapons' and usher in a new era of gun control. With over 7,000 people in the hall that night, it was the biggest virtue-signaling event in history. Instead, what happened is that CNN triggered once-complacent voters to get out and vote for Republicans.
CNN tried shaming the NRA, then it tried bullying Republican legislators into voting for do-nothing gun legislation that won't stop a single would-be mass shooter from inflicting pain on students. That's why it's laughable to read this article's headline , which is "Has the NRA Finally Met Its Match?" BTW, the answer is "No." The NRA doesn't spend a ton of money contributing to campaigns because its members are steadfastly loyal to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Banning 'assault rifles' requires banning all semi-automatic weapons. Anything short of that and you're just making symbolic gestures. Katha Pollitt, though, is encouraged by what she's seeing:
Senior Emma Gonzalez may have made history with her blistering speech at a rally three days after the massacre:
"Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have been done to prevent this - we call BS. They say tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS. They say a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. We call BS. They say guns are just tools like knives and are as dangerous as cars. We call BS. They say no laws could have prevented the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred. We call BS."
Ms. Gonzalez is clearly a passionate activist. She might've started off wanting to stop gun violence but that isn't what's happening now. What's happening now is that she's reciting the gun grabbers' chanting points.
I don't doubt her sincerity. After experiencing what she experienced, it's understandable for her to speak passionately about her experience. However, that doesn't give her the right to not do her research on the issue with impunity. If she's going to speak out, then people like me have the right to question her statements, especially if they're sloppy or ill-informed.
Ask the people in Nice, France if a semi isn't as lethal as a handgun. Hint to Ms. Gonzalez: It's more lethal :
Last month, 84 people were killed in Nice, France, when a truck drove through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day.
There's no question that some laws have to change. There's no question that the laws that need changing aren't the laws CNN and liberal politicians like Sen. Bill Nelson, (D-FL), are pushing.
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Students make for compelling testifiers who preach the same outdated failed policies. The fate of their policy prescriptions is sealed. In the end, solutions defeats emotional testimony when the testimony isn't based on rock-solid information and impeccable logic. It's that simple.
Finally, it's worth noting that Democrats have given Republicans a gift in that they've reminded complacent voters why elections matter.
Posted Monday, February 26, 2018 8:03 AM
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