Category Archives: Liberal

A number of comments in Sound Off have complained about liberal columnists or news stories about the activities of liberals in our community. They correctly note that the majority of residents are conservative.

So, why do we, a conservative newspaper, report on liberals activities in the news or publish their columns?

Because it is the mission of a newspaper to keep its readers informed. Conservatives are the main beneficiaries of news about the activities of liberals. After all, the liberal activists already know.

If we pretended that everyone in the community is a conservative and that there are no liberals at all, that would not only be inaccurate, but it would be punish conservatives who would find themselves surprised and outmaneuvered by their political opponents. As conservatives ourselves, that is not the outcome we want.

Instead, by striving to provide balanced and objective news coverage, we aim to equip readers of all philosophical orientations with the information they need and with a true picture of how diverse our community has become.

Naturally, it can be frustrating to read the statements of people we disagree with. It is much more satisfying to only read articles that affirm our own personal opinions. Thats human nature. But, is it wise to be deluded about the existence of contrary viewpoints?

So a story about John Lewis speaking nearby, local artists joining a protest in Atlanta or Coweta residents traveling to D.C. for a march is valuable intelligence for conservatives. It equips conservatives to counter the arguments and tactics of liberals, just as any smart football coach or military commander would study every available scrap of information about an adversary.

After all, it's not like liberals would disappear if the newspaper did not cover them. The liberals themselves don't need the newspaper to tell them what they are doing. And its not like conservatives could be brainwashed by reading something they disagree with. The only consequence of not reporting on liberals activities is that conservatives would be uninformed.

If you look at the unsigned editorials and the majority of columnists on the opinion page, you'll see how conservative the paper is. Only one liberal has been a regular columnist, selected by the previous publisher mainly because he provided some insights on state politics. The rest are very conservative, as are the majority of Sound Off comments published.

The paper hasn't shed its conservative orientation, just tried to give a truer picture of what is happening in this complex, growing community. It's the community that has changed, and it would be a disservice to our subscribers not to let them know.

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Here's why we report on liberals - Newnan Times-Herald

In the 1990s, a serious malady appeared on the American public square in which citizens were driven over the edge by their antipathy for incumbent presidents. It came to be known as the presidential-derangement syndrome and over the course of the Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama administrations its victims grew in number. But while it was a given that whoever won last Novembers election would have one named after them, we really had no idea what we were in for once Donald Trump moved into the White House. As weve seen this past week, presidential paranoia has not only gone mainstream in terms of the public, its now found a home in the mainstream media.

Though it was limited at first to the fever swamps of American politics where some on the right first imagined that black helicopters were about to swoop in and steal their freedom or that the Clintons were operating a drug cartel, the derangement virus adapted to the changing political environment in the years that followed. Those deranged by Bush were less marginal than the Clinton victims but shared the belief that the 43rd president was somehow a front for a vast conspiracy and not only blamed him for lying the country into war but viewed the entire national-security response to 9/11 as a put-up job intended to mask the theft of liberty.

As awful as the Bush version was, the Obama-derangement syndrome was in many ways even worse as the 44th presidents citizenship was questioned along with his religious faith and anything else about him that anyone could think of. Though Obamas liberal policies and power grabs were bad enough from a conservative point of view, some on the right preferred to instead spend their energy pondering the authenticity of his birth certificate (see Trump, Donald) or whether or not he was an Islamist mole. We can blame the Internet and the rise of social media for the more pervasive nature of Obama conspiracy theories but even that dispiriting spectacle may turn out to be insignificant when compared to the psychological torment Trump has inspired among not merely the far Left but also mainstream liberals.

Anyone with a Facebook account already knows that many of our liberal friends are convinced that Trump is, at best, setting the U.S. up for a rerun of the last days of Weimar Germany. At worst, they see him as not merely a billionaire with a thin skin but as the mastermind of a scheme aimed at replacing democracy with a dictatorship that will repress women and minorities.

When liked, shared, and echoed in comments on social media, that sort of thinking is a form of mass group therapy for those who still cant believe Trump won the election. But its also what helped to motivate the counter-inaugural marches and the rest of the reaction to the new administration that increasingly calls itself a resistance rather than mere political opposition.

That there is no more proof of a coming Trump coup than there was for past derangement-syndrome theories is immaterial. What matters is that growing numbers of liberals are operating under the assumption that Trump isnt merely an inappropriate figure or wrong on the issues; they think he is really plotting to destroy democracy.

One would hope that mainstream, liberal publications would, as serious conservative journalists did during the Obama presidency, act as a check on this sort of foolishness. But the fever pitch of angst about every one of Trumps appointees and the over-the-top denunciations of his immigration orders in mainstream publications like the New York Times and on cable-news networks have only served to reinforce the tendency to view the debate through a conspiratorial mindset.

But on Thursday the Washington Post went a step further. In his discussion of the controversy over Judge Neal Gorsuchs reported comments about Trumps criticism of judges, Chris Cillizza used The Fix column to probe the question of whether the entire kerfuffle what Gorsuch said and the reaction from both the president and Kellyanne Conway was a charade.

While its true that one can argue that Gorsuchs statement might make him more palatable to Democratic senators (though the odds that more than one or two will resist the party bases demand for an all-out war and filibuster of Trumps choice for the High Court are minimal), Cillizzas reasoning was based in a common thread of liberal thought these days: the belief that Trump is operating off a master plan only he can see and that the chaos of his administrations early days is actually careful orchestration. Trump fooled the country during the campaign and whats to say hes not doing it again now?

The conceit of the piece was that if you dig a little deeper this relatively minor sidebar to both the confirmation and the litigation over Trumps executive orders the conspiracy theories begin to seem, well, not so conspiratorial. Though the supposed proof for this is entirely circumstantial, Cillizza insisted we couldnt rule out the possibility that the ensuing controversy was all part of his [Trumps] broader plan. The column crossed the line between D.C. gossip and a bow in the direction of the social-media paranoia that is driving the anger of what is no longer a fringe element of the Democratic party.

Once even the gatekeepers of responsible liberal opinion begin to see hidden agendas everywhere then it is fair to ask whether the extremism and paranoia of the anti-Trump camp is matching or exceeding the bad judgment being exhibited by the White House. We cant know where this will lead as liberal hysteria and Trumpian contempt for political norms compete in a race to the bottom of the barrel. But what we can be sure of is that this derangement syndrome is already farmore serious than those that afflicted critics of Clinton, Bush, and Obama and is bound to get even worse over the next four years.

Jonathan S. Tobin is a contributing writer to National Review Online. Follow him on Twitter @jonathans_tobin.

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The Paranoid Style of Anti-Trump Politics - National Review

New York Post

This liberal Brooklynite is on the hunt for conservative friends New York Post Even though Alex Reinoso is a proud liberal, he felt more frustrated than ever after attending local rallies protesting Trump's travel ban. It's been an echo chamber everything is one-sided, the advertising executive, 33, told The Post. [Liberals ...

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This liberal Brooklynite is on the hunt for conservative friends - New York Post

Roughly 50 people rallied infront of St. John's City Hall Saturday afternoonto protest the federal Liberal governmentbecause they "reneged on their promise" of electoral reform, according to organizers.

More than two dozen other similar protests were planned in communities across the country.

Former NDP MP Jack Harris said the reason the Liberals gave as to why no changes will be made to the way federal representatives are elected simply doesn't cut it.

"We can't carry on by saying there is no consensus. When, in fact, there is a consensus," he told the crowd.

"For those who want to see the system changed, the consensus is proportional representation. So let's have that debate."

Several people in the crowd were NDP members, including provincial NDP MHA Gerry Rogers and party leader Earle McCurdy.

But St. John's East Liberal MP Nick Whelan defended his party's position to protesters.

"I appreciate your disappointment ...and thank you for all the work you've done," he said.

Whelan said the issue "isn't dead," but admitted voters won't see any changes for the next federal election.

"There is no possibility to legitimately implement a new system at this time that has the consensus of Canadians."

St. John's East MP Nick Whalen defended his party and again insisted there is no consensus among Canadians on electoral reform.

Event organizer Caitlin Urquhart, a lawyer in St. John's, told CBC she was shocked when the Liberals said the electoral system would not be changed.

"This was part of Trudeau's brand, this new form of governance," she said, "and one of the pillars of their campaign platform they've walked away from."

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Electoral reform 'not dead,' Liberal MP says at St. John's rally - CBC.ca

The opportunities were few and far between during the first meeting.

But on Friday night, the Hays High School boys basketball team had enough chances to make a difference.

Only problem was the Indians couldnt convert on those opportunities down the stretch in a 43-42 loss to WAC foe Liberal at the HHS gym.

We had layups and free throws that could have won the game, said HHS coach Rick Keltner. We also made some layups and free throws that put us in position. I think maybe we can get a little more identity of what we can do.

The Indians, coming off a drubbing at the hands of Salina Central a day earlier, were facing a team Friday night in Liberal that had won handily in January on the Redskins home floor, 70-42.

And it looked as though Liberal (14-2 overall, 4-1 WAC) would run away with a victory again in the third quarter as the Redskins lead grew to 11 points on two occasions.

But after trailing 30-19, Hays High (10-5, 3-2) went on a 12-3 spurt that began with five straight points by sophomore Tradgon McCrae.

Missed free throws kept HHS from tying the score at 33 before Liberal would lead 35-31 entering the final period.

Before the game, coach said we needed to play with passion, said McCrae, who scored all seven of his points in the quarter. Thats what we did. We never quit. We just battled the whole time.

Liberal pushed the lead to 39-34 with 5:31 to play when senior Kylan Thomas hit a layup, part of his 13 points.

Hays High senior Tyrese Hill scored seconds later on a putback, and senior Claiborne Kyles hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to knot the game at 39 with 3:35 remaining.

Senior Cole Evans grabbed a rebound off a Liberal miss at the other end, giving the Redskins a 41-39 advantage with 2:15 to play.

It was just a weird game, said Liberal senior Cade Hinkle, who scored 15 points. In Hays, you never know whats going to happen. You come in here and look to stay close with them throughout the game, and at the end, you make a break for it. Today, we got the W.

After the two teams swapped turnovers, Kyles turnaround jumper rimmed off, and Liberal snagged the rebound.

Hinkle missed the front end of a one-and-one attempt, and Hays Highs rebound was passed out to McCrae who was fouled as the Redskins tried to use time on the clock while only having three teams fouls.

But the Redskins were whistled for an intentional foul, giving McCrae two free throws and the Indians the ball.

McCrae missed both attempts to tie the game, then Kyles missed a layup after HHS inbounded the ball.

Hinkle iced the game with two free throws before Kyles hit a 3 from the left corner as time expired.

Its a really big win for us in the WAC, because both of us were 3-1, Hinkle said. Now, they moved to 3-2 in the WAC and we moved into first. So its a big win for us.

Its been tough for four years, Keltner said about battling Hinkle, who scored eight of his points in the second quarter as Liberal built a 26-17 lead at halftime. Hes a good kid. Weve had battles with him before. This one we just didnt win. They probably got the T-shirt tonight (for the WAC title), but you never know how things are going to play out.

Kyles finished with 16 points to lead all scorers but was the only Indian to score in double figures.

We had opportunities, for sure,McCrae said. We had a layup, I had two free throws myself that I missed. Wed have those shots every other time. Wed have (Claiborne) have the layup every game, and hed make it 99.9 percent of the time. It was the 0.1 percent of the time this time. He missed the layup, and I missed the free throws.

Liberal 43, Hays High 42

Liberal (14-2, 4-1) 12 14 9 8 43

Hays High (10-5, 3-2) 13 4 14 11 42

Liberal King 2, Eatmon 9, Kylan Thomas 13, Cade Hinkle 15, Evans 2, Bingham 2.

Hays High Murphy 6, X. Swayne 2, McCrae 7, Hill 6, Claiborne Kyles 16, Berens 5.

Girls

Liberal 42, Hays High 38

A scoreless span over the final 3:50 of the game left the Hays High girls falling short against Liberal.

The Indians led 38-36 after senior Talyn Kleweno sank a triple from the left wing in the fourth quarter, but it was the final points Hays High (9-7, 2-3) would get.

Liberal freshman Machia Mullens tied the game with 3:26 to play, and the Indians couldnt get a shot to fall as the Redskins (12-4, 4-1) made one of two free throws to take a 39-38 lead with just more than a minute remaining.

We had so many empty possession to start the second half where wed throw the ball away and not get a shot off, said HHS coach Kirk Maska, whose team trailed 15-12 after the first quarter and 21-18 at the break. We kind of fixed that a little bit, and that helped us get back into the game and actually take the lead.

Hays High missed two shots with less than a minute to play, and Liberal junior Ali Lucero sank a 3-pointer from the right corner after an assist from a teammate who fell to the ground and rolled with the ball appearing to travel before finding a wide-open Lucero.

Lucero finished with 19 points to lead Liberal, while Kleweno paced HHS with 12 points.

As good as Liberal is and as good as theyre coached, you cant go four minutes without scoring, Maska said. Maybe we should have tried to run something else, but we stayed with what was working. Im excited about the effort and how we adjusted since we played last night.

Both Hays High teams travel to Abilene on Tuesday for a non-conference battle.

Liberal 42, Hays High 38

Liberal (12-4, 4-1) 15 6 12 9 42

Hays High (9-7, 2-3) 12 6 9 11 38

Liberal Horyna 5, Ali Lucero 19, Mullens 6, Hay 6, Mickens 5, Gonzalez 1.

Hays High Talyn Kleweno 12, Dale 2, Leiker 2, Robben 2, Schneider 6, Hutchison 3, Denning 9, Keller 2.

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Indians swept by Liberal in WAC action - Hays Daily News

Attorney General Jeff Sessions nomination process was not smooth. It was fraught with political games and gimmicks that delayed his committee vote and his final confirmation vote. Alas, on Wednesday night, he was confirmed to be our top legal enforcer by a 52-47 vote; Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) broke with Democrats to vote for Sessions. Yet, while the attorney general took heat, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the Senates only black Republican who supported his nomination, was bombarded by racist tweets by the Left.

Scott took to the Senate floor to deliver his remarks, where he referenced the hate thats been hurled at him, even repeating some of the greatest hits, while keeping the ones calling him the n-word off the record. As a black conservative Republican, he knew that such hate would be hurled at him. Im used to being attacked, he said. It comes with the territory (via Politico):

You are an Uncle Tom, Scott. Youre for Sessions. How does a black man turn on his own, Scott said, reading criticisms of himself on social media. "Tim Scott ... doesnt have a shred of honor. Hes a House Negro like the one in Django.

He added, I left out all the ones that used the n-word. Just felt like that would not be appropriate.

Besides being called a disgrace to his race, Scott noted that since hes viewed as being no ally of liberal America, he is therefore an enemy of black people. You all know thisits identity politics at its most toxic. So, while people say that Sessions is a racist, for which there is zero substantive evidence to support such a claim unlike the late Sen. Robert Byrds (D-WV) membership in the Ku Klux Klan, they should probably look at whats hurled at conservatives that happen to be people of color.

House negro. I would say thatswhats the wordoh, racist.

Also, it's the Senate GOP that have diverse staffs,not the Democrats. Scott has a black chief of staff, which is a rarity among Senate Democrats. He also mentioned this fact in his remarks.

"My chief of staff, the only until three weeks ago, the only African-American chief of staff in the United States Senate out of a 100 is the chief of staff for a Republican," he said."The second African-American chief of staff in the United States Senate is the chief of staff of a Republican."

Democrats seem to be all talk, no action on the issue of inclusion and diversity.

Trump Won't Appeal Ninth Circuit Ruling, Might Issue A New Executive Order Next Week; UPDATE: WH Says All Options Still Being Considered

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Liberal Tolerance: Sen. Tim Scott Reads His Hate Mail On Senate Floor For Supporting Sessions As AG - Townhall

Women can be vicious. Just ask men. Better yet, ask other women. If theyre honest, theyll tell you. Women can be harsh to their own kind, especially liberal women. Thats what makes feminist campaigns like the Womens March a bit of a joke. Its not about women sticking up for one another. Its about liberal women advancing their own liberal agenda, and if youre not on board, youre attacked, viciously.

Just look at how Ivanka Trump is being treated. After she posted an adorable photo with her son, comedian Ilana Glazer of Broad City unfurled her claws.

Ivankas tweet didnt mock other women. In fact, many women could identify with her. Plenty of working moms have taken their kids to work, and women who are homemakers or work from home appreciate a mom who is active in their childrens lives.

I can bet if any liberal celebrity or politician tweeted the same thing, theyd be praised for it. But not Ivanka. Because shes her fathers daughter, she is unfairly attacked by other women.

The same goes for all the stores that are pulling or downplaying her clothing lineNordstrom, Neiman Marcus, T.J. Maxx, and Marshalls. Ivanka was shocked, of course. Why would they boycott her clothing line just because of her dads politics? Arent women supposed to be treated independently, separate from their male relatives?

Isnt this what we were told repeatedly about Hillary Clinton? It didnt matter what Bill did. Hillary was her own woman. She didnt have to answer for her husbands shortcomings and immoral behavior, particularly toward women. Yet this is what we get about Ivanka: While she is not her dad, she is complicit in his actions, especially considering her husband is her dads advisor.

Complicit in his actions? Which illegal or immoral actions is she involved in, exactly? Unlike Hillary, who actually took active steps to silence her husbands accusers of sexual assault and rape, Ivanka has done nothing even remotely similar. She has supported her dads candidacy, and she continues to support him, but she is not actively complicit in anything. Women are independent of men, right?

Or is that true only for liberal women? Only they are seen as individuals with identities of their own, but Republican women, well, they have no independent identities. Theyre appendages of the men in their lives. I call BS on that one.

Its this kind of hypocrisy from the Left that got Donald Trump elected. People are tired of it. They see behind the veil where petty, insecure people are pulling the levers. This is especially true of the feminist movement: Madonna, Ashley Judd, Scarlett Johannsson, Sarah Silverman, and all the rest of the liberal celebrities who are in meltdown mode right now are being exposed for the frauds they are.

Just like the organizers who refused to let pro-life women participate in the Womans March, and the conga line of liberal elites who bash conservative female pundits and politicians as if theyre Sarah Palin beating a halibut, women who attack Ivanka are backstabbing harpies. Thats all. Theyre not principled. They dont care about womens rights. They dont care about the dignity of all women. They care about one thingtheir own egos, which are wrapped up in their liberal politics. They dont care about you. They care about themselves.

Instead of engaging in rational debate, they attack, boycott, politicize, and propagandize. They bastardize their art and their platforms to perpetuate an ideology that undermines our republic, our freedom, the American people, and the very women they say they represent.

Its time we said Enough! Enough of the double standards. Enough of the vicious attacks on Republican women or anyone who dares to challenge the Left and their ideology, which isnt about empowering women at all. Its about empowering the state, the political elites, and their handmaidens in Hollywood.

Ivanka Trump is a successful, beautiful, strong woman who should be celebrated and supported for the example she sets for young women as a wife, mother, business woman, and, yes, even daughter. Is she perfect? No, none of us are. But to put a target on her merely because she loves and supports her father is the opposite of what feminism represents. Feminism is supposed to be about respecting a womans choices, seeing her independent of a man, and celebrating her on her own merit. Ivanka deserves that. We all do.

Correction: An earlier version of this article included TJ Maxx and Marshalls in a list of retailers that have pulled Ivanka Trumps clothing line. The two have so far kept her clothes on the shelves but removed them from special displays and signs.

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The Claws Out For Ivanka Trump Show Liberal Love For Women Is A Sham - The Federalist

Fox News host, Bill O'Reilly interviews President Trump before Super Bowl LI, Sunday, February 5, 2017. (Fox News)

Do not say Donald Trump the candidate hid his foreign-policy plans under a bushel, or that President-elect Trump did not hang in when faced with instant and severe resistance from the high priests and priestesses of the Washington orthodoxy. Trump said all along he intended to take a running whack at our liberal interventionists, who have reigned without serious challenge the whole of the postCold War era. Now President Trump is going about his business.

So are the liberal interventionists, but we will get to that later on.

If Trumps policies abroad as we have them so far were stars in the sky, Greek shepherds would have no name for them. They do not make a coherent constellation. There are problems, naturally: Trump is not a progressive renovator of American foreign policy. But let us be clear on one point straightaway. The prevalent notion that Washington had it right on the foreign side before Donald Trump came along is beyond foolishthe indulgence of policy people who cannot think, media people too anxious about their jobs to think, and others who let these two sorts think for them. Once that is clear, so is this: There is continuity, inheritance, in Trumps policy mix, and in such cases he hurtles down the same wrong road Barack Obama took. When Trump departs from Obama and his predecessors, he is more likely to go in the right direction, although he does not as often as he does.

A few commentatorsthose refusing to surrender to the created reality within which this nation is trappedanticipated what we now witness in Washington. We cannot yet make out where Trump the grand strategistahem!will take foreign policy. Consistency is not this mans strong suit, and many questions are raised. But things come gradually into focus, nonetheless.

Hostility toward Russia is the linchpin of liberal interventionismfont of fear, paranoia, and security obsessions.

Trumps foreign-policy people are all in place and getting on airplanes. State and defense scrap over Asia policy, per usual. (And the latter will probably prevail, per usual.) Michael Flynn, the retired general serving as national security adviser, seems to hold the Iran file, and I will return to that. But here is the big latke: The Russia portfolio sits on Trumps desk. Relations with Moscow shape up as something like his premier foreign policy. If this is so, it is a good call. To be noted: Ever-mounting hostility toward Russia is the very linchpin of liberal interventionist thinkingfont of fear, paranoia, security obsessions, blame games, and all else with which we insist on crippling ourselves. In this they are more or less one with standard neoconservatives or traditional conservatives such as John McCainodd but no surprise. A brave prediction: Trump has a fight on his hands that will last as long as he stands his ground.

In my read, Trumps January 28 telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin was the biggest development in the foreign-policy sphere since he took office. Two reasons:

There have been signs since that Trump does not intend to flinch. In one of those klutzy moves Ukraine-watchers have come to expect, hostilities broke out in the eastern region within hours of the Trump-Putin exchange, and if you take this as coincidence, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to show you. There is little questionbeyond our shores, that isthat this was Kievs provocation, the gambit being to foil Trumps dmarche. Trump did not fall for it. When he spoke by telephone to Petro Poroshenko a week later, Ukraines so-called president, lets call him just for fun, got no joy. We will work with Ukraine, Russia, and all other parties involved to help restore peace along the border, Trump advised. Just right, Mr. President.

Trump is likely to oppose foreign adventures, which puts him up against the imperial edifice and all its janitors.

Now to Nikki Haleys address to the UN Security Council, also subsequent to Trumps conversation with Putin. You may have read that Trumps UN ambassador hit Russia hard on UkraineCNNs headline. Or maybe The New York Timess report to the effect that Russia sanctions are firm. See? Haley is loyally hostile. A breach in a discombobulated administration must be in the offing.

This is what I mean by created reality. While repeating the official position as it now stands, Haley said she regretted the incessant hostility of Samantha Power, her impossibly righteous predecessor; supported Trumps dtente line; and urged a settlement in Ukraine according to the 2015 cease-fire accord known as Minsk II. She was perfectly legible on these points. Here is an astute commentary by Alexander Mercouris, an analyst of Greek background who writes often for publications that do not enjoy the imprimatur of the orthodox. If you decline to read such publications, fine: Remain in Washingtons fog on Ukraine if you like.

The fallout since the TrumpPutin exchange and what followed has been considerable, as anyone could have predicted. And from all that has been said, we can infer a couple of other things about Trump.

One, he is not an exceptionalist. This is big, well beyond a conceptual abstraction. In substance, he is likely to oppose imperial adventuresa logical corollary of his America First theme. This, too, puts him up against the imperial edifice and all its janitors: the generals, the defense executives, NATO brass, the think-tank set, the press. OK, he has just said in so many words: Lets see about all these interventions.

Two, as of the morning press programs last Sunday, Trump and Vice President Pence have begun tearing the lid off one of the mythologies that wall in most of the American citizenry. Trump belched in chapel when Bill OReilly said on Fox News, But Putins a killer, and the president replied, What, you think our countrys so innocent? Scurrying to avoid this very fine questionI have not yet seen a single replythe press contorted this matter into one of equivalence and Americas moral superiority, with Trump and Pence accused of denying the latter.

It is excellent that a president at last puts the question of American innocence very publicly before us.

Who would have expected this?

Some retired general asserted on television afterward that Trumps remark was the worst thing a president has ever said. Wow. Serious contenders are overlooked, but that is another conversation. One could not disagree with the general more diametrically. It is excellent, excellent, that a president at last puts the question of American innocencethe answer to which must be self-evidentvery publicly before us. We as a nation have flinched from this for decades and so landed ourselves in all kinds of disgrace before others. As to moral superiority, this is for the record: Americans have no claim whatsoever. Who can take the ensuing outrage seriously? Are we all aging residents in a rest home?

One more matter in this line: Putins a killer. I do beg pardon. Apart from the sheer nonsense of OReillys assertionHitler! seems to have lost its appealAmericans ought to stay away from this one. How many millions must weyes, we, all of usaccept responsibility for in this century alone (as compared with how many imperial wars Russia has waged at what human cost)? Bringing it down to the ad hominem, as the press loves to do, how many ticks did our just-departed president make on the assassination lists placed on his desk every Tuesday morning?

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Here I have to single out John Dickerson, who, when he is not toasting marshmallows with the rest of his Scout troop, hosts Face the Nation. His grilling of Pence last Sunday was without parallel as measured by shame and shock value. After Pence protested, There was no moral equivalency in what the president saida self-evident pointDickerson sent my mind back to old footage of the McCarthy hearings: Do you think America is morally superior to Russia? But America is morally superior to Russia, yes or no? Shouldnt we be able to just say yes to that question, though? That America is morally superior to Russia?

What is this? Not journalism, that is for sure. Read the transcript. Everyone has changed places. This is where American liberalism comes out. Behind the insistence on moral superiorityanyone know what that is?lies the liberal interventionists righteous agenda abroad: regime change, assassinations, Special Forces deployments, covert operations, and so onall in the name of doing the good we are on earth to do.

Think about these two things: Since 2001 there has been no substantial break in the premises, direction, or objectives of American foreign policy. In the same period, the American press has eagerly assisted in creating the phantom realities necessary to sustain this policy. Shame and banishment for anyone who speaks of reality without quotation marks.

Elsewhere in the news, as they say, there are many other things to think about. For now I will mention two, and briefly.

Trump said he would deep-six the Iran nuclear accord, and he is going to try. The proposal is to renegotiate, as with the North American Free Trade Agreement. Compounding the case, Treasury announced new sanctions a matter of days after Iran conducted another ballistic-missile test late last month. As of today, Michael Flynn announced, we are officially putting Iran on notice. It has no meaning, as many have remarked, except to notify all that Washingtons longstanding hostility has not gone anywhere.

Not good, but nothing new: This is mere continuity. The Obama administration set about sabotaging its celebrated accord with Tehran as soon as it was concluded. Obamas people drafted the sanctions just announced. In my read, this question will resolve itselfbarring a calamity, of course. Obama and John Kerry, his secretary of state, broke their picks claiming the missile tests violated the nuclear pact and thensecond tryan earlier UN resolution. They do not. As to a renegotiation, Iran is on record rejecting the thought, and five other nations are signatories. Theres not a chance in hell they will go back to the table, either. Sooner or later Washington will have to accept, as most others do, Irans right to defend itself against a nuclear-armed neighbor governed by, arguably, the most dangerous man in the Middle East.

Across the Pacific, Defense Secretary James Mattis just toured Japan and South Korea and vigorously reassured both of Washingtons continued commitment to the security role it assumed more than 70 years ago. In Seoul, where a proposed missile-defense system is a highly contentious political issue, Mattis was pointed as he urged it upon a nation nervously eager to avoid escalation. Predictable: This is what the Pentagon does, and the Pentagon has run policy in Asia for all of those 70-odd years.

Look a little more closely. Mattis, who famously knows war firsthand, favors diplomacy over it. In this he is a vast improvement over his quietly paranoid predecessor, Ashton Carter, who never missed a chance to sabotage John Kerrys diplomatic efforts across either ocean. Without saying so, Mattis also countered the reckless threats to China dispensed by Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearings as Trumps designated secretary of state. For once and for now and maybe not for long, we are marginally better off with the Pentagon running policy across the Pacific.

Mixed picture so far: Some good things in Trumps foreign-policy chest, some middling things, some bad. Here is what I want to know: Why does one look to a figure such as Donald Trump as the best chance out there for a new direction? Who is responsible for this? Somebody failed to report for duty. Who?

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Trump Takes a Running Whack at the Liberal Interventionists - The Nation.

Networks Swoon Over GOP 'Feeling the Wrath' of Liberal Town Hall Protesters NewsBusters (blog) Friday's big three network evening newscasts showed no remorse when it came to Republican members of Congress being shouting down and blasted by angry, liberal protesters, gushing over how the GOP is feeling the wrath of demonstrators flooding ... and more »

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Networks Swoon Over GOP 'Feeling the Wrath' of Liberal Town Hall Protesters - NewsBusters (blog)

Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer is determined. That much was clear when Bauer attempted to pitch through a painful cut on his pinky finger against the Toronto Blue Jays in the playoffs. Bauer even considered cauterizing the wound with a soldering iron just so he could take the mound. It shouldnt come as a surprise that hes persistent.

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That quality apparently extends off the field as well. Bauer proved as much after sending out a tweet about criticizing Apple and Twitter for only sending him negative Donald Trump articles on his phone.

Heres Bauer original tweet:

Since Bauer mixed sports and politics, there was sure to be an immense response to that tweet. Turns out, Bauer was ready for that. In the ensuing hours, Bauer responded to literally hundreds of tweetsabout his original comment.

Those responses varied in nature. Bauer tweeted fist pump emojis at fans who supported him, told fans who were unfollowing him good riddance, addressed his thoughts on climate change, declared himself one of the most scientific players in MLB and questioned whether Barack Obama was born in the United States.

Thats a wide-range of topics. Some of them make sense considering his initial tweet, while others seem far removed from his complaint. So, how long does it take for a baseball player to get from tweeting about liberal media bias to addressing climate change? Dont worry, we counted for you.

135 tweets!

Yes, since Bauers original tweet, hes sent out 135 responses to fans and critics defending his position. Like we said before, he can be persistent.

Theres a chance that figure will continue to grow, obviously. Bauer is no stranger to tweeting about politics and engaging people on social media. During the first Democratic debate last January, Bauer said he was appalled at what he was hearing. He warned critics on Twitter that the block button was ready in case anyone cared to challengehim.

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With that said, things seem to have quieted down. As of this writing, its been four hours since Bauer tweeted about anything. Hey, a guys gotta sleep sometime, right? Either that, or he has carpal tunnel after staying up all night shooting out hot tweets. It wouldnt bethe first time he injured a fingerplaying with modern technology.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Trevor Bauer goes on long rant defending tweet about liberal bias - Yahoo Sports