Prager on "roots of evil"

image credit: sonomasun

The Four Horsemen Of America’s Apocalypse:

Roots of evil guaranteed to destroy a civilization

We are living in an Orwellian world.  Up is down, right is wrong, and so on.  Dennis Prager’s column subtitled “Roots of evil guaranteed to destroy a civilization” at Front Page Magazine brings the chaos into finer focus.  I have a few quibbles, but as usual, Mr. Prager has some wise words. He identifies and expands on four principal “roots of evil”:

No. 1: Victimhood.

No. 2: Demonization.

No. 3: A Cause To Believe In.

No. 4. Lies

Mr. Prager’s column is here. I found some of the reader comments interesting as well.

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Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Amidst all the bad news, here’s some fun.  The U.S. Sun reports:

A two-mile-long boat ‘MAGA boat parade' [in Michigan] boasting more than 2,000 boats set sail to celebrate Donald Trump's 74th birthday.

American flags appeared to outnumber sailors, however, as every boat in the impressive flotilla rippled red, white and blue.

There’s a video "Boaters For A Brighter Future" (about a minute and a half long) at the link here.

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Today is Flag Day

Because it's Flag Day

GIF credit: pinterest

Panic Porn and the COVID Experts’ Credibility

Matt Vespa at Townhall is right.  The health experts were wrong, and we should all be preparing for our post-lockdown Fourth of July picnics and celebrations.  From his article “And That's Why the COVID Experts’ Credibility Is in Smoldering Ruins”:

People were shamed for going outside. They were selfish, right? People wanting to re-open their businesses were going to get people killed. The overreaction was already apparent by mid-May. And now, with how the medical community has responded to the Floyd demonstrations, it’s now quite clear we’ve been had. Is it still contagious? Yes, but why the blasé attitude towards the Floyd rioters? Where was their public shaming which was shared ad nauseum on social media? The medical experts have been exposed as being no better than CNN, MSNBC, or the entire Democratic operative class. For the millions who lost their jobs to see a narrative reverse overnight because “orange man…bad,” I would be furious. To those who lost their businesses, couldn’t attend graduations, or even funerals—I would be livid as well. In general, we all know that racism isn’t as deadly as a virus. You don’t need to be a doctor to know that, but these clowns think so. We had medical workers clapping and kneeling with protesters. That’s the kill shot to this entire lockdown narrative. We were told to stay home and help not overwhelm the hospitals—and this is the end result. 

The liberal media, Democrats, and the medical expert community, who are now no better than DNC operatives, are trying to weaponize the virus to trash the markets in order to hurt Trump again. They want us back inside. Don’t go back inside, folks. Go outside, go shopping, go to the lakes, go to the beach, and do whatever. The experts have no authority, no high ground—nothing. You cannot sit there and make the argument that protesting in the streets in support of liberal causes is fine, but any other activity is going to spread the virus. You look like a total clown if you do. The experts are finished. So, they can peddle the panic porn all they want. People should do whatever they want because they have zero credibility. 

Panic Porn.  Good phrase.  Read the rest of Mr. Vespa’s article here.

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David Horowitz on the wolf in sheep's clothing

David Horowitz

Many of my relatives and friends are in a state of alarm over George Floyd’s death.  They are sufficiently upset to voice their support for Black Lives Matter, even though nobody knows if race was a motive in police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee-on-neck restraint.  Nevertheless, Black Lives Matter and its offshoots are employing aggressive tactics to increase the scope of their influence.  

But nothing is at it seems.  A go-to source on the history of Black Lives Matter and its core mission is David Horowitz.  He posted on the subject recently at FrontPage Magazine.  Highly recommended if you know anyone who is attracted to Black Lives Matter out of guilt or sympathy or a misunderstanding.  Here’s a short extract (numbers in brackets indicate a footnote in the article):

The power of Black Lives Matter stemmed from its exploitation of the ideology of oppression – Identity Politics – a ready-made indictment looking for a crime. Black Lives Matter was at the center of a very large network, including hundreds of leftist organizations sharing the same vision. Among them: The Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Dream Defenders, Hands Up United, Black Left Unity Network, Black Workers for Justice, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Right to the City Alliance, School of Unity and Liberation, Dignity and Power Now, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Causa Justa/Just Cause, Organization for Black Struggle, Communist Party USA, Showing Up for Racial Justice, and others.

Many of these organizations are funded by America’s largest corporations and philanthropies, including the Ben & Jerry Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Margaret Casey Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and George Soros’s Open Society Institute.

. . .

Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 by three self-styled “Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries,” who selected as their movement icon convicted cop-killer and Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur.[4] Shakur had fled to Cuba after being convicted of the homicide she committed when her car was stopped for a broken tail-light by two New Jersey state troopers. Without any warning, Shakur shot trooper Werner Foerster. The 34-year- old Vietnam veteran was lying wounded on the ground pleading for his life, when Shakur walked over and executed him. Officer Foerster left a widow and a three-year-old son.[5] Black Lives Matter activists refer to the murderer as “our beloved Assata Shakur” and chant her words as a ritual, “at every meeting, every event, every action, every freeway we’ve shut down, every mall we’ve shut down.” [6] The chant is this: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” The last line is lifted directly from the conclusion to the Communist Manifesto, a document and war cry that has led to the murders of millions.[7]

. . .

The full account is here.

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Mark Steyn is back!

Programming note:  The great Mark Steyn has not made his usual twice-a-week guest appearances on Tucker Carlson for about three months. As of this evening’s (Weds.) 9pm broadcast, HE’S BAAACK!

And this evening’s severe thunderstorm passed through downtown Cleveland.  It inflicted far less damage than the riots and ended with a rainbow:

Photos by Cleveland Tea Party’s roving photographer

Pat Dooley Photography

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We're being played

Are you wearing a mask and practicing social distancing?  Via Instapundit:

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