Media blows it on Rittenhouse, and some Thanksgiving thoughts

Much of the news media is politically liberal and agenda-controlled. It is not accurate or balanced in its reporting.

These politically-driven persons and agencies have forsaken journalistic integrity, if they every had any, and misinform their audience.

The media coverage of the charges against Kyle Rittenhouse and the ensuing trial are an excellent example of media malfeasance.

Some of the “shoot first, don’t ask questions” modus operandi of the agenda media in the Rittenhouse matter was proudly on display before and after the trial. This gross misreporting could easily have been prevented by doing basic journalistic work, if good journalism was ever the intent.

Instead, the public was treated to incompetence, gross ignorance or deliberate lies, on several elements of the reporting.

Rittenhouse, the then-17-year-old, was reported to have been driven across the state line from his home nearby in Illinois by his mother, armed with an AR-15, as if he had no connection to Kenosha, WI. But while he lived in Illinois with his mother, relatives, including his father and grandmother, lived in Kenosha. And he had a job there. 

Other problems with that story: The gun was not in the car with him, but already in Wisconsin, at the home of a friend’s step-father. And his mother did not drive him there.

He had a gun with him because he had been asked to help protect a used car lot. Rioters were violent and some were armed. He used the rifle to defend himself against three attackers, all of whom had criminal charges in their past.

The agenda media reported that the gun was illegal. Wrong. Under Wisconsin law, he was entitled to possess the AR-15 as a 17-year-old. The trial judge dismissed the phony gun charge. The prosecution never should have charged that crime, or any of the others. They must have gotten their info from the fake news media, or reacted to public emotional outcry.

Rittenhouse’s attackers were not nice guys attending a polite protest. They were rioters with criminal records committing crimes.

Joseph Rosenbaum had a very serious criminal record, was on the Wisconsin sex offender registry for an Arizona child molestation case. He received 10 years in prison in 2002 for sexual contact with a minor, and then was sentenced to another 30 months for sexual contact with a minor related to the same 2002 incident. Charges included anal rape and oral sex with minors. He was seen swinging a chain prior to attacking Rittenhouse, who shot and killed him in self-defense.

Anthony Huber also had a criminal history. He was found guilty of a felony for strangulation and suffocation, domestic abuse. He was also convicted in that case of felony false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon, domestic abuse. He also threatened his brother with a butcher knife, according to The New York Post. Rittenhouse was able to defend himself against Huber’s attack with a skateboard. The assailant died as a result.

Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived Rittenhouse’s defense of his attack, also had a criminal history in Wisconsin. He had a prior misdemeanor conviction for intoxicated use of a firearm, according to court records. He had a concealed carry permit revoked, and was illegally carrying a concealed weapon, which he pointed at Rittenhouse before being shot in the arm.

Rittenhouse was not a white supremacist, he did not kill two Black BLM members, or murder two people because he went to Kenosha to kill people.

Perhaps these examples of gross incompetence and corruption will cause the perpetrators to learn and practice good journalism. Don’t hold your breath.

In two days, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, when Americans get together for a day of feasting and family. 

Virginia’s 9th District Congressman Morgan Griffith emails his constituents at least weekly. For the Thanksgiving holiday he sent a special email about the holiday.

“Four hundred years ago, the Pilgrims of Massachusetts held their first Thanksgiving.

“Four hundred and two years ago, the first American Thanksgiving was held.

What’s the distinction? Read on.

“Most Americans recall the story of the Pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620 and arrived in what is now Massachusetts – although their original destination was Virginia. After a difficult year establishing Plymouth Colony, they held a Thanksgiving feast with the Native Americans who had been indispensable to the colony’s survival.

“Without doubt, the Thanksgiving in Plymouth was an important event in American history. It simply wasn’t the first Thanksgiving.”

His story went on to tell of a trip begun on September 16 a year earlier, when 35 settlers and their leader, Captain John Woodlief, set out for land in Virginia aboard the “Margaret.” And they landed there and established the settlement known as Berkeley Hundred. Upon landing on December 4, they disembarked, and prayed: “We ordaine that this day of our ships arrival, at the place assigned for plantacon, in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”

Thanksgiving has changed greatly since those first two observances, and we have much to be thankful for.

Best wishes to all for a great Thanksgiving with your family.

A decades-old prophecy is materializing, right before our eyes

A long time ago, decades ago — 1965, to be exact — one of the best commentators ever to grace the airwaves, Paul Harvey, delivered a commentary titled “If I Were the Devil.” It rocked his listeners then, as they saw elements of this prophetic vision around them already. Today, we see even more of it, although some things have yet to become completely or precisely fulfilled.

“If I were the devil …” he began, “If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of its real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee.”  

“So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.’”

Much of this commentary does not yet exist in a word-for-word form, but the general ideas are there for all of us to see. The devil’s goals are much nearer.

Religion had to be attacked, because no more-powerful being could be allowed to exist in the devil’s new world.

“To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…’”

Then he took aim at the way we live, and the things we do. “And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.”

“If I were the devil I’d soon have families that war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed.”

Next came our major influences, such as education and the media, where the devil’s workshop exists, doing his work. “And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

And then the weakened culture would receive more attacks. “Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography — soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress.”

“And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.”

“If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.”

“And what do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich? I would caution against extremes and hard work in Patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on the TV is the way to be.” 

“And thus, I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.”

And following all of that seeing into the future, he closed with his famous conclusion: “Paul Harvey, good day.”

Apparently, the devil heard Paul, and followed his prophetic vision. 

Today, the American spirit has been attacked and weakened. Millions somehow do not know how great — although not perfect — our country is. They don’t understand how much better it is than other places these misinformed masses wish to emulate.

When some of us find one thing someone did or said that they don’t like, they seek to cancel them, to remove every last vestige of that person, forever. A life of true excellence can be over-written by one thought or deed from years or decades before.

Factions work to destroy the nation’s true history, attempting to redefine each of us as either the oppressed, or the oppressor, depending upon the color of our skin. This fallacious point of view ignores the profound, sensible aspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr., who understood and preached that one’s skin color is far less important than one’s character.

Truth is under attack; political reality is more important. Not even our Constitution is held above being subverted.

If Paul were alive today, he might warn us, “Don’t be ‘woke,’ be awake!”

Virginia’s red wave fueled by parents fighting for their children

The Nov. 2 state elections were certainly noteworthy, with Republicans making inroads into Democrat strongholds in several states. A very tight race for governor in New Jersey was an unexpected too-close-to-call situation throughout Tuesday night’s election coverage. Incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy ultimately defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a very narrow margin.

The Virginia election also stands out, since the controversy surrounding the Loudoun County school system and the actions by its school board that angered parents had gotten so much attention, along with similar situations elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

Former Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe, the party’s candidate for a second term as governor, was defeated by a non-politician running his first race for political office. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race, Republican candidate Winsome Sears defeated Democrat candidate Hala Ayala in the Lieutenant Governor’s race, and Republican candidate Jason Miyares defeated incumbent Democrat Mark R. Herring for Attorney General.

After post-election counting of mail-in and absentee ballots late Friday night, Republicans officially won control of the House of Delegates by a slim 51-49 margin. One more seat could go Republican when the winner is determined in a Virginia Beach district.

What in the world is going on? Both New Jersey and Virginia gleamed bright blue after the 2020 election. But Virginia turned a bright red last week, and New Jersey had a red election glow, until the next day.

The situation in Virginia is no mystery. Democrat candidates suffered losses due to unpopular positions taken by many candidates and particularly by McAuliffe, who further fired up voters by saying that parents have no role in the education of their children. This comment came after the Loudoun County school board treated parents as intruders in the school system’s operation. In another incident, a father whose daughter was sexually assaulted in a girl’s bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt challenged the school board that had hidden that fact.

Parents have also been upset by the mandate to wear masks in school. Children wearing masks for hours has been shown as harmful to them. And they object to the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Virginia schools. Opposition to both of these issues drew harsh reactions from some school officials, and others.

McAuliffe denies that CRT is being taught, and claims that it has "never been taught in Virginia," and accused those concerned about CRT of promoting a divisive "dog-whistle." And liberal news sources CNN and MSNBC joined in the chorus of those denying that CRT is being taught.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace said during the network’s Election Night coverage that critical race theory "isn’t real," and criticized Republican candidate Youngkin for his positions.

Last week John King, CNN Inside Politics host, took the side of Democrat strategist Paul Begala, agreeing that Republican criticisms of CRT were just racist dog whistles for “suburbanites who don't like diversity.” 

But the lies and/or ignorance of these naysayers has been proven by other news sources, such as The Fairfax County Times, National Review, Fox News, The Federalist, and ABC 13 WSET-TV, Lynchburg, Va.

WSET reported, “As part of the program's ‘Culturally-Responsive Teaching and Learning Principles,’ public schools were encouraged to ‘embrace critical race theory,’ and ‘engage in race-conscious teaching and learning,’ according to [a] leaked presentation first reported by investigative journalist Christopher Rufo.”

The report continued, “In addition, Va. Superintendent of Public Instruction James F. Lane sent a memo to all school districts in 2019 encouraging school leaders to read a book that calls critical race theory ‘an important analytic tool’ for addressing ‘power and privilege.’”

What is Critical Race Theory? According to Britannica online, “Critical race theory is an intellectual movement and a framework of legal analysis according to which (1) race is a culturally invented category used to oppress people of colour and (2) the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, political, and economic inequalities between white and nonwhite people.”

CRT represents a vastly different look at America’s past. And, more importantly, it is a perspective that is being sneaked into classrooms without having been publicly offered and properly approved as a modification of the traditional curriculum that has been taught for more than a century.

Why would school officials want to underhandedly implement such a drastic change to the history curriculum? And why would news agencies and “journalists” support this clandestine action by openly attacking those who oppose it?

The obvious answer is that they fear that the public would not accept CRT if it was handled honestly and openly.

CRT has its roots in “Critical Theory,” a doctrine of Karl Marx. Many or most people may not know that connection. What they do know is that they don’t like CRT, and other things that are being done to their children against their wishes. These parents are fighting for their children. 

Last week, enough people in Virginia expressed a different opinion at the polls than those in liberal northern Virginia and the other population centers that put the Democrats in power. This is also happening in other parts of the country, and it’s a good thing.

Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ tax and spend dream is being whittled down

In the span of just eight months since January 20, President Joe Biden has given us the border crisis, the Afghanistan debacle, the issues with China and Russia and North Korea, a broken supply chain, ridiculously high gas prices, and staggering inflation throughout the economy. 

That works out to nearly one catastrophe for each month. Some are wondering if America will be able to survive another three-plus years of Biden rule.

If many of the desired elements in Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda are approved, the answer to that is: America will be moving even farther from the country our Founders designed.

Some of the things in that agenda are not legitimate roles for the government of a democratic republic that was founded on the principal of individual, God-given freedoms. They are wrong for a nation which was created by its individual states, and that gave themselves a degree of independence from the federal government. They are wrong for a nation with a government of limited authority.

Our system of government purposefully gave us the ability to follow our desires for how to make a good life for ourselves, and not be dependent upon the government to take care of us from cradle to grave.

If you want to ply a particular trade, participate in a particular profession, start a business, or work in some other way to build your life so that you support yourself and perhaps a family, or just live independently, go for it. You may succeed, or you may not. If not, you are free to try something else.

Eventually you may make a decent living, a pretty good living, or become wealthy. What you choose to do is up to you. It is not the government’s place to tell you what you can or cannot do, beyond some common-sense laws, or to take care of you if you decide you don’t want to try anymore. And in the case of some who have bad luck and are unable to support themselves, the most generous people in the world — the American people — will most likely help you when you need it.

Yes, it is true that through the decades our government has grown well beyond its desired size, costs far too much, goes well beyond its designed restrictions, and interferes in our lives more than it was designed to do. That is not good. But it can be corrected.

Instead, the left in America is working overtime, not at trying to make their individual lives better, but to make our government even larger, more expensive and more controlling.

Some of the things President Biden and the Democrats, who still hold tenuous control of the government, want to do are simply improper. Such things as paying for child care, “free” community college, $450 billion for government-run preschools, are not the proper role of our government.

Some other things, such as amnesty for more than 8 million illegals, complete with payments of $450,000 for some; doubling the size of the IRS to monitor bank accounts of citizens; and spending $3.5 billion for a “Civilian Climate Corps” of Climate Change activists, are not good for the country, or our freedoms.

As Congress struggles to get support to pass Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, the monstrous $3.5 trillion, 2,465-page tax and spend leftist dream is being whittled down. Even though it now spends less money and uses less paper, it is still way too expensive and much too heavy. And Biden’s tax and spend agenda is still a disaster.

One really goofy idea for funding some of the multi-trillion-dollar spending plan is a tax on the “unrealized capital gains” of anyone who makes more than $100 million a year, or whose worth is at least $1 billion. This idea is likely unconstitutional. But if not, it most certainly is an oxymoron. 

A capital gain is the profit you make when you sell an investment asset for more than you paid for it. If you buy an asset for $1,000 and sell it for $5,000, you would pay tax on the additional $4,000. But this weird tax idea would be applied to the increased value of the asset before it has been sold.

If the asset later lost some or all of its gain, would the government return the taxed amount? Nope. This concept beautifully illustrates the twisted understanding many liberals/socialists have for economics.  

The left is determined to transform our nation of maximum individual freedom and world-leading prosperity into a government-run nation like Cuba and Venezuela, and all the others that have failed.

And some of our citizens, who have never seen worse times than these pretty good times of the 21st century, do not understand how things have improved through time in America, and how good of a country they have been blessed to live in. They don’t understand that America’s poor are so much better off than those that live in the poorest nations. 

They are eager to see the left succeed, believing that socialism — and ultimately communism — will make things better for us. It won’t. Let’s hope this effort fails.