[American Thinker] There were 59 murders in Chicago in September, the city where black lives don’t seem to matter to liberals and gun control zealots. The horrible death toll in the Las Vegas massacre is just a normal month in the gun control and murder capital of America. The Democratic caucus in Congress that seizes on Las Vegas as another crisis too terrible to waste in their pursuit of gun control says nothing about the Chicago carnage, for which nary an NFL millionaire takes a knee while whining about social justice:
The murder toll in Las Vegas on Sunday makes it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Know what they call that in Chicago? June.
Actually, there were 84 murders in Chicago, just in June, according to DNAinfo.com, which keeps a running tally.
There were 76 murders in July, 50 in August.
And there were 59 murders in Chicago last month, so the death toll in Las Vegas ‐ again, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history ‐ was just a normal September there.
So far in Chicago, where Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff for Barack Obama, is mayor, there have been 519 murders this year. And there's still a quarter of the year to go. But the numbers get crazy when totaling "gun violence" victims: In 2015, 2,988 people were victims of gun violence, according to records kept by The Chicago Tribune.
That number soared in 2016. There were 4,368 shooting victims last year, the Tribune reported.
The Las Vegas shooter is said to have scoped out a Chicago hotel overlooking its annual Lollapalooza concert venue, but he didn’t have to. Chicago gangs are doing the job quite nicely on their own. Much of Chicago’s violence stems from gang bangers, particularly those imported from south of the border, and from the steady supply of illegal drugs that are a consequence of open borders. It is called "gun violence" when it is in fact gang violence fueled by drug trafficking.
#1
So can we hope the loudmouth politician has been struck with a painful and debilitating disease? My guess is he lost his next election. I hope.
Well done,guys.
Some of us are old enough to remember Solomon. It didn't get universal praise. Nor did Entebbe. Invading sovereign nations and all that.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/09/2017 7:17 Comments ||
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[Seattle Times] JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD ‐ Gunter Gräwe spent three years as a German prisoner of war in Western Washington, a World War II incarceration he recalls not with rancor but gratitude for the chance to "live and learn in America."
Gräwe always thought about returning to the state to say thank you.
Last week, the rail-thin veteran, now 91, did just that during a brief visit to this base, where guard towers and barbed-wire fences are long gone but some of the two-story wooden barracks that once housed German prisoners still stand.
He declared his capture by the Americans at the age of 18 "his luckiest day," and reminisced about camp life that included English, French and Spanish classes organized by other POWs and a commissary stocked with chocolate, ice cream and Coca-Cola.
"I never had anything to complain about," Gräwe said. "No guard called us nasty names. I had a better life as a prisoner than my mother and sister back home in Germany."
#1
My grandfather worked in that camp during WWII as a guard. He once told me the prisoners asked how they could stay in America once the war was over.
#4
Met an old guy in central Texas (near New Braunfels) with a thick german accent. Owned a store/BBQ joint. Told me he had been captured as a Afrika Corps tank commander in WW2, and sent to a holding camp in Texas and repatriated at the end.
He said "I was fighting and they forced me to come to Texas the first time, and then I had to fight to get back here the second time."
(FYI the Geneva Protocols require that POW's be held in a similar climate to where they were captured, not where they're from.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/09/2017 16:27 Comments ||
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#5
(FYI the Geneva Protocols require that POW's be held in a similar climate to where they were captured, not where they're from.)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why no one was captured in the Aleutians.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/09/2017 16:53 Comments ||
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After Vegas, the gun control memes and myths come out. It doesn't matter how wrong they are, they will echo in the mediasphere and then the talking points will leak into everyday conversations.
“Guns are uniquely lethal.”
Last year, a Muslim terrorist with a truck killed 86 people and wounded another 458.
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, the Tunisian Muslim killer, had brought along a gun, but it proved largely ineffective. The deadliest weapon of the delivery driver was a truck. Mohammed, who was no genius, used it to kill more people than Stephen Paddock would with all his meticulous planning in Vegas.
Do we need truck control?
Deadlier than the truck is the jet plane. Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11 by terrorists with a plan and some box cutters. And then there are always the bombs.
The Boston Marathon bomber wounded 264, a suicide bomber at the Manchester Arena last year wounded 250 and the Oklahoma City Bombing (the only non-Islamic terror attack on the list) killed 168 and wounded 680. Paddock was also stockpiling explosive compounds. If he hadn’t been able to get his hands on firearms, he would have deployed bombs. And potentially killed even more people.
We know how many people Paddock was able to kill with firearms. We don’t know how many people he would have been able to murder with a truck or with explosives.
The mass killer who most ominously resembles Paddock was Francisco Gonzales: a Filipino with financial problems who shot the pilot and co-pilot on a gambler’s special flight from Reno. Back in Reno, Gonzales had told a casino worker that it wouldn’t matter how much he lost. The plane went down with everyone on board. Gonzales had a gun, but his actual murder weapon was a plane.
Guns are not uniquely lethal. We live in a world filled with extremely lethal objects from chemical compounds to big trucks. We can license and regulate some things. But we can’t regulate everything.
“This is the only country where this happens.”
That’s the leftist meme deployed after the Vegas shooting. But Paddock’s death toll narrowly edges out that of South Korea’s rampage killer Woo Bum-kon who murdered 56 people. America is not the only country where rampage killers operate. And their attacks have nothing to do with the racist construct of “white privilege”. It’s the leftist conviction that America is uniquely evil that accounts for the myth.
Seung-Hui Cho, one of this country's worst rampage killers who murdered 32 people at Virginia Tech, was South Korean.
But the worst rampage killer in South Korea didn’t use a gun. He set a train on fire.
Kim Dae-han, a paralyzed middle aged man, started a subway fire that killed 192 people and wounded 150 others.
Guns aren’t uniquely lethal. Neither is America. Or South Korea. Or anywhere.
“A mass shooting happens in this country every few days.”
There’s no myth that is getting a bigger workout after the Vegas shootings than that of the ubiquitous mass shooter. The myth conflates drug violence in Chicago, which is nearly constant, with rampage killers like Stephen Paddock or Adam Lanza, who are far rarer, and Islamic terrorists like Omar Mateen.
Mass shootings and rampage killers are not the same thing.
Do we really have a “mass shooting” every few days? Most gun violence in this country is really gang violence. The mass shooting trackers list gang violence incidents in urban areas before the Vegas attack. And gang violence doesn’t depend on guns. It sharply rose in the UK despite gun control.
And it’s the left that has crippled the laws meant to fight gangs and drug dealers. Obama initiated a drug dealer pardon amnesty even while calling for more gun control. But the only way to control gang violence is by cracking down on gangs, not on guns. The pro-crime left deems such measures a “school-to-prison pipeline” that’s little more than “modern slavery”. And so the gang violence goes on.
Most gun violence takes place in Democrat territory. And it’s caused by leftist pro-crime policies.
By conflating an Adam Lanza with a gang member shooting up a street corner in Chicago, the media hides what is really going on. Rampage killers are rare. Gang violence is commonplace. By making rampage killers into the face of gun violence, the left gets to blame its own policies on the NRA. Much more at the link
[ZACKS] Bottom Line - The tax reform isn't going to be easy and is still in the proposal period. Until then, we believe that stocks with strong fundamentals, huge cash overseas reserves along with high tax paying capabilities are likely winners under the plan.
[AMERICANTHINKER] Social media have great power to narrow the range of acceptable thought. On Facebook, those who openly support a politically correct view -- what appears to be the popular majority view -- are frequently lauded with thumbs up, while dissenters often remain silent to avoid being criticized or denounced. All of which leads to what is called "the spiral of silence," which reinforces the groupthink of what seems to be the social and cultural majority.
What comfortable and disengaged Americans have forgotten is that there are determined enemies within and there is an internal war being waged against the values and institutions that made America a great nation.
The left is the vanguard leading this war, following a course laid out by cultural Marxists such as Antonio Gramsci and members of the Frankfurt School. Becoming influential in the 1930s and beyond, they believed the "long march through the institutions" was the best route to taking power in developed, industrialized societies such as the United States and Europe. This "march" would be a gradual process of radicalization of social and cultural institutions -- "the superstructure" -- of bourgeois society, which would transform the values and morals of society. In retrospect, there is a high correlation between the softening of morals over the last two or three generations and the corruption of our family, political, legal and, economic foundation.
There are three measures of the establishment’s venality. First there is a high incidence of denial, manifest for instance in little to no discussion of the doubling of national debt in just 9 years to over $20 trillion, and unfunded entitlement liabilities now five times greater than that -- conditions inviting financial collapse of the U.S. A second measure of corruption is the establishment’s reluctance to prosecute fellow establishment law breakers in government, which has effectively created a two-tiered justice system. A third measure of establishment corruption is its accommodation of turban anti-American groups as though they have a legitimate role to play in reform and influence on policy-making -- whether in taking down historic monuments, creating sanctuary cities and controlling the nation’s borders, establishing police protocols in law enforcement, fighting wars overseas, or restructuring the economy at home.
The hostility to the Trump Presidency by the establishment elite in both political parties, the media, the teachers’ unions, the university faculties, and Hollywood is probably a contrary indicator. It likely tells us more about the real state of corruption in government, the establishment media, and popular culture than it does about Trump and his peccadillos.
A society committed to maintaining liberty, prosperity, and opportunity for all needs to focus on real threats, a key one of which is now the loss of freedom of speech and the assault on the First Amendment.
One of our nation’s founders, Patrick Henry of Richmond, Virginia, was a gifted and passionate orator best known for his declaration, "Give me liberty or give me death." But his most important, substantive and lasting contribution to the legacy of freedom was his tenacious and ultimately successful fight to have the Bill of Rights amended to the Constitution because of his conviction that the First Amendment and nine others were absolutely necessary to protect individual liberty against the power and abuse of centralized government.
Orwell reminds us today of the critical importance of the First Amendment, noting "if liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." Exactly the opposite of the current trajectory and what the politically correct crowd wants.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950). Someone sent a Brit to forewarn us.
Speaking of the 'Spiral of Silence.' Anyone seen anything regarding the Abid Awan and the DNC information systems case ?
[Hot Air] In case you’re not already following him, James Woods has one of the more entertaining Twitter accounts in the social media world. This is particularly true if you enjoy your humor with a sharp-tongued conservative edge. But that makes Woods something of a unicorn in the political sphere of Twitter because he’s also a well known actor. Finding Hollywood icons with openly shared conservative beliefs who aren’t named Clint Eastwood is is a project which makes four leaf clovers seem commonplace by comparison.
But there’s apparently a price to be paid for that frankness. Woods has already stated that he had been blacklisted by the Tinseltown Powers That Be over his political leanings and now he’s had enough. As Fox News Entertainment reports, Woods is throwing in the towel and retiring.
[Breitbart] Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said this week that Breitbart News Executive Chairman and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is "taking over the role of the Republican Party" as he looks to support conservative challengers to establishment lawmakers in 2018.
"I think what Bannon is doing is slowly but surely taking over the role of the Republican Party, and people joining Bannon are [doing the same]," he said Wednesday. "The Republican Party is obviously not with [President] Trump on balance ‐ you have some in the House who are ‐ but the Republican Party on balance is not with Trump."
Bannon was one of the main populist/nationalist voices in the Trump White House, fighting to keep Trump true to the "America First" platform which catapulted him into the Oval Office. Since Bannon’s departure, Trump appears to have been tempted by the establishment siren song coming from the donor class, GOP congressional leaders, and the "West Wing Democrats" on a number of issues, including DACA and Afghanistan.
#3
..cause the 'globalists' are so entrenched in the ruling class. Their position is only secured as long as they can sell hate and envy of America among the masses with lots of Freudian Projection.
#4
Yes, the "globalists" like to say "we're all in this together." That means you are in with all the pervs, MS-13 gangbangers and pisslamists. Just so you know what that warm n fuzzy expression really means.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/09/2017 10:12 Comments ||
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#5
"Why is it even remotely controversial for the American President to have "America first" as a policy?!?"
[NATIONALPOST] If Trump can pass his tax bill, most of the rest of his program will flow through after the tax log-jam is broken
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2017 00:00 ||
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I'm a yuuuge fan of President Trump, an I know that here, like anywhere else, he only has an approval rating below 50%. But, Nathan Arizona called this one: "Yeah, and if a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his ass a hoppin'..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/09/2017 0:21 Comments ||
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#2
Getting rid of the state and local tax deduction is crucial to ending the situation where low tax locales are subsidizing high tax locales.
#3
It he can make the economy buzz once again (which he appears to be doing) everything else will follow. As the old saying goes, 'it's the economy stupid.'
[WashingtonExaminer] As a journalist, it's always painful to see corrections published. When a story requires two corrections, it's humiliating. When it requires three, people have a right to ask what's wrong with you.
Enter Politico.
In an article this week, titled "Puerto Rico's Tragedy Was Years in the Making," freelance journalist Alejandra Rosa alleged that known associates of wealthy libertarians Charles and David Koch had a hand in getting Congress to establish Puerto Rico's fiscal control board. She alleged that the board reduced the island's minimum wage rate to $4. Rosa also wrote that the U.S. Congress imposed austerity measures on the unincorporated island.
None of this is true.
Politico published an embarrassing 125-word update eventually, which read:
Corrections: An earlier version of this article stated that associates of the Koch brothers proposed and lobbied Congress to pass the law establishing Puerto Rico's fiscal control board. There is no evidence of any Koch involvement in the passage of the law. An earlier version of this article also stated that the fiscal control board had reduced the minimum wage in Puerto Rico to 4 dollars an hour. The board did not lower the minimum wage, the governor did. And the governor raised it this year. An earlier version of this article stated that the U.S. Congress imposed austerity measures on Puerto Rico. The fiscal control board established by Congress instructed the commonwealth to work towards balancing its budget. The governor decided what cuts to make.
Well, okay then.
At this point, you might start wondering if the writer's name is even Alejandra Rosa.
I am beginning to think it is not just the old dead tree platform that is broken. I think it is American journalism itself that is broken, sullied by political agendas and abject ignorance about a wide range of subjects.
But especially when it comes to firearms.
[FoxNews] Newsweek issued another embarrassing retraction on Tuesday evening about a story that falsely detailed the life of the Las Vegas shooter's girlfriend with salacious information that turned out to be fake news.
Citing public records, the original story claimed Stephen Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, had used two social security accounts and had two husbands at the same time. The now-retracted story said that Danley is the “one person who holds the key to solving the mystery” of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Newsweek painted her as “a shadowy figure with a convoluted life of her own,” who lived “an unconventional life.”
Unfortunately for Newsweek, the initial report was based on the marriage record of Danley, who was known under a different name when she married Geary Danley in Clark County, Nevada, according to the magazine.
“Newsweek mistakenly matched that record to a second public record of a different person,” the publication wrote explaining the retraction. “Newsweek regrets the error.”
Newsweek has now issued at least 20 corrections in 2017, including at least one per month, and even has a page on its website dedicated to its mistakes. The magazine admitted to over 50 mistakes in 2016 and even apologized for a story that praised an assault on white nationalist Richard Spencer earlier this year. Mistakes are so common at Newsweek that every digital article features a “submit correction” option beneath the text.
The latest retracted story was reported by Melina Delkic, but the correction features the byline “Newsweek staff.” Delkic covers breaking news and politics for Newsweek and refers to herself a journalism school “drop-out” on her Twitter bio.
Newsweek did not immediately respond when asked whether or not she will be disciplined for the retracted story, while Delkic declined to comment.
A lot of information has emerged since Newsweek’s original story falsely claimed Danley had “multiple Social Security numbers,” and she has since denied any wrongdoing.
"I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man," Danley said in a statement read by her attorney outside FBI headquarters in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him. He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen."
Danley was questioned by federal agents for much of the day after returning from her native Philippines, where she had been for more than two weeks. While Danley was on her way back from the Philippines, a Newsweek editor was busy praising the now-retracted story on Twitter.
As first reported by TheWrap, a Newsweek breaking news editor bragged about the “exclusive” look into the shooter’s “weird” girlfriend that turned out to be fake news.
Gersh Kuntzman wrote, in a tweet that had still not been deleted at the time this article was published, “The great @MelinaDelkic shows us how it’s done with this EXCLUSIVE look at LV shooter’s weird girlfriend.” As TheWrap pointed out, Kuntzman’s Twitter feed is filled with comments referring to gun owners as “crazy” and mocking President Trump.
Kuntzman did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. Apparently Gersh Kuntzman is over his PTSD from firing an AR-15 at a Philadelphia gun range18 months ago, sufficiently so he can shoot his mouth off (so to speak) about a mass shooting.
#2
These people are soooo much smarter than us. They should be allowed to tell us how to live and to tell us who and what is good and bad. NOT!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/09/2017 0:34 Comments ||
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#3
The judicial decree that separated public from private citizens in the determination of libel is in direct contradiction to the 14th Amendment of equal standing before the law. Long past time to overturn another judicial failure. Make journalism face the same judgement they demand of other commercial enterprises that lie, cheat, misrepresent, distort, and hide the truth.
#4
How about purging the journalism professors? I still remember a son getting an official letter of reprimand from the lady at the Des Moines Register who was dean of his journalism dept for taking and getting an A in a real science course - a Genetic Engineering one. To me that says that journalism sees science as "icky" and doesn't want journalist to know science. Btw, at that time the lady from Des Monies was president of the US journalism's main professional society.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
