Category Archives: Political Correctness

Joe Biden is running away with the Democratic nomination thanks to a full-court press by the party establishment. But he understands who really runs the party.

During the Sunday nights sleepy (and perhaps final) Democratic primary debate, Biden pledged both to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court and to pick a woman (race not specified) as his running mate.

A lot of normal people watching likely thought to themselves something like, Ah, theres that political correctness thing again, or, Ah, theres Biden pandering again.

But both of those statements get it wrong. This isn't just some trend toward the politically correct, or toward sensitivity and inclusion. This is the new prevailing ideology, and its called social justice. Its being taught in schools, on college campuses, in Hollywood, and in the news media.

Bidens foremost concern in picking a Supreme Court justice or a vice president will not be her job qualifications, but her claim to grievance, oppression, and victimhood.

Why a black woman for the Supreme Court? She will undoubtedly be selected based on having attended Yale or Harvard, just like every other justice. So what would differentiate her?

For the same reason that Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging and that she believed a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not [will] reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

They would have you believe that theres a unique, unobtainable lens through which they see the world and that by nature of it belonging to a marginalized (oppressed) person, it is therefore given extra moral authority.

Bernie Sanders understands the ideology just as well. Its why he declared at a separate debate earlier this month (back when he was performing much stronger) that the United States is a racist society from top to bottom.

Most of the Democratic Partys base is infected with this same type of thinking. The only thing that matters is elevating those who claim to have been oppressed, aggrieved, and victimized on account of their gender, race, or sexuality.

Bidens resurrection is framed as though its some triumph for the centrists in the party. Its not. He has since proven that hes governed by the same social justice rules as the rest.

See more here:

Joe Biden proves centrist Democrats have lost to the social justice mob - Washington Examiner

When Brexit and Trump sent transatlantic politics into a spin in 2016, many searched frantically for a handrail in the darkness. The times demanded fresh perspectives and they appeared in the shape of political podcasting. As a medium, the podcast was poised for adaptation, offering a range of furious, original, funny, marginalised and independent voices when the political going got weird.

Suddenly, everything was up for grabs: if Donald Trump could enter the Oval Office, surely nothing was off the table? Could a socialist become US president? The Bernie Sanders ultras on the self-proclaimed dirtbag left certainly thought so. Pods such as Chapo Trap House and Red Scare a mix of radical politics and irony found sizeable niches, using abrasive humour to tap into a disaffection not represented by mainstream broadcasters. In the centre, Pod Save America former insiders from Obamas White House horrified at Trumps rise was soon averaging 1.5 million listeners per episode. On the Republican side, Steve Bannon and Raheem Kassams War Room feels disconcertingly like being in Donald Trumps head, while John Zieglers Individual 1 vocalises anti-Trump conservatism.

In 2020, political podcasts have become increasingly important, and in the run-up to the US presidential election they are sure to be a significant battleground, with aspiring candidates lining up to be grilled on them. They are big business too: tours and book tie-ins underpin the business model of the likes of Chapo. Crowdfunding platforms such as Patreon, which enable fans to support their favourite pods and unlock extra tiers of content as a reward, have made independent profitability possible. Crooked Media, which hosts multiple shows alongside Pod Save America, is arguably becoming a new media empire.

The UK has followed suit. Pods ranging from Trashfuture (a response to the continuing psychic trauma of capitalism) to Novara Medias TyskySour have extolled the virtues of Corbynism. The Remainiacs podcast (centrists who suddenly found themselves on the outside looking in) and their second, less Brexit-focused spin-off The Bunker, have become the voice of despairing liberalism. On the right, there is the podcast arm of online magazine Spiked (which recently interviewed privilege-denying thesp Laurence Fox) and The Delingpod, in which journalist James Delingpole does his tendentious, climate crisis-sceptic thing in surround sound.

The much-mocked mainstream media has responded with pods of its own, in the process often making it clear why their competitors had to happen in the first place. The BBCs Political Thinking With Nick Robinson boasts titles suggesting the least appetising Friends episodes ever (The Nicky Morgan One; The What Does Boris Johnson Really Think One) and actually uses its extended duration as an excuse to get even cosier still with prominent politicians. These pods dont exactly go out of their way to dispel the notion that conventional political journalism is frequently a self-perpetuating Human Centipede of quid pro quo banality.

Conversely, the success of independent political podcasting is in large part due to the energy generated by outsiders grabbing a platform without permission. Political podcasts thrive on insurgency, on opposition to jaded official voices. Unmediated, unscripted, direct and authentic content is hugely appealing, says Dr Lance Dann, who co-wrote Podcasting: The Audio Media Revolution with fellow academic Dr Martin Spinelli. Its a raw energy and anger that people can express in the moment. The traditional media has struggled with balance, so in the face of the absurdity of Trump, Johnson and Brexit, these unguarded and incredulous voices have felt not just refreshing but necessary.

In fact, the unashamed lack of balance is part of the fun. In an era of correspondents parroting the briefings of anonymous government sources, they feel honest: vigorously and proudly partial. If you are starting to doubt official versions of the truth, it is thrilling to find youre not alone. The form itself is incredibly free, says Spinelli. There are no gatekeepers, there are no rules, the fear of defamation is virtually nonexistent, and podcasters have been experimenting in developing relationships with their audiences based on these attributes. Thats a key point: podcasting is really about a relationship rather than the spoken word.

But relationships can become too cosy, and insurgency can curdle into isolationism. Jessa Crispin, whose Public Intellectual podcast in the US explores a variety of outlooks, recently hosted an episode whose title suggested that You Can Talk to a Conservative Like a Normal Human Being. It was a reaction to a consensus in which, she says, audiences are mostly looking for a podcast that agrees with what they already believe. These podcasts hosts, she adds, try to turn everything into a punchline. Everyone is trying to follow the Chapo model; guys shouting over one another, eager to make the best joke. If I wanted to listen to men from privileged backgrounds who think they know best about everything, Id turn on the cable news.

In fact, one of the most notable problems with some of the dirtbag left pods is how light on policy discussion they have become. Rather than being a meaningful part of a battle of ideas, they can sometimes feel like hipsterism manifesting as political punditry, what Sigmund Freud called the narcissism of small differences rendered streamable. Some of the hard-left podcasts often seem more animated by their loathing of centrists than by adversaries on the right. Similarly, few liberal podcasts manage to hide their scorn for the Corbyn project. As Crispin puts it: Theres a lot of territorial behaviour. This is what I believe; if you dont believe it too, get the hell out. Theres very little bridge building. The thing I get from most of them is not just a lack of humility but a lack of curiosity. Theres the assumption that they have the right opinions.

With that in mind, it would be fascinating to see how the likes of Chapo might react to actually getting what they want. The shows host, Will Menaker, recently sparked controversy by pledging to refuse to vote for anyone but Sanders in November. But if Sanders were to win the Democratic nomination, Chapo would be forced to move on from thinking up insults for Pete Buttigieg (Ratfuck CIA operative, being a recent highlight) and on to discussing policy detail. They would move from the outer edges to the inside track.

For a glimpse of how tricky this mainstreaming process can be, it is worth considering the opposition. Take the pugnacious provocateurs over at The Spiked Podcast. A recent episode titled The Woke Stasi spoke volumes about their determination to continue obscuring dry policy issues with emotive cultural ones. But its shtick is now predictable to the point of tedium; straw men constructed for the sole purpose of presenting themselves as the contrarian opposition to what they term cultural Marxism.

However, the problem with evoking the Stasi is that the Stasi were the government. Their power was tangible and frightening. Whereas wokeness, political correctness or whatever other lazy identifier you might employ to avoid discussing systemic inequality, is currently under siege like never before. If Spiked ever offered an outsider perspective, those days are long gone; its viewpoint is now represented at the heart of the establishment. How much more culturally dominant would the performatively populist right have to be before its outriders accepted that they were policing the status quo?

And yet the medium retains vast potential. The best political podcasts boast wit and irreverence while allowing space for the informed deep dive too. With its generous tone, Ed Milibands Reasons to Be Cheerful pod is the sound of a man bringing a plastic picnic knife to a gunfight but it has established a niche, and it is set apart by its open-mindedness and emphasis on policy and ideas. Likewise, for his Getting Curious podcast, Queer Eyes Jonathan Van Ness conducted an impressive, humanising interview with Elizabeth Warren.

Fascinating material can emerge in unlikely places. Podcasting behemoth Joe Rogan (whose audience runs into millions per episode) is best known as a politically unaffiliated libertarian comedian; a weed-smoking, bench-pressing, deer-hunting avatar of red-blooded male America. And yet his conversation with Bernie Sanders was as thorough an interrogation of Sanderss actual policy as any of the radical left pods have managed, and will have reached parts of the electorate that previous Democratic candidates can only have dreamed about.

Novembers US presidential election may mark a turning point for political podcasts. Can they use their energy and large audiences to make a difference, and convince those outside of their echo chambers?

People listen to podcasts for a sense of community, for companionship and, in terms of politics, to have their views confirmed, says Dann. As such, podcasting has become the perfect embodiment of the dangers of social and web media bubbles. Audiences are listening in. They need to force themselves to listen out.

See the rest here:

Sound and fury: are political podcasts the future or just an echo chamber? - The Guardian

One of the arguments in support of the Affordable Care Act that Chief Justice John Roberts cited,when he sided with the courts majority to uphold the law as constitutional, was the idea that health care cannot be solely left to the states. A disease, after all, does not respect borders.

So far, everything about the coronavirus pandemic is playing out as predicted. If the United States only follows the limited guidance given by the Trump administration, then the current trajectory will likely lead to over 9 million people infected and nearly 1 million deaths. Traditionally public health has been left to individual states, but the fight against COVID-19 is a global crisis that calls for a coordinated effort. Instead, its the clearest case yet that the federal government, under President Trumps addled leadership, is tragically leading from behind.

In the absence of decisive national leadership, governors and mayors suddenly find themselves stepping into the void.

I wish, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said on Friday, the country had acted sooner.

At the top of the week, all six counties in the San Francisco Bay Areaissued a shelter-in-place order the first of its kind in the nation. The governors of Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania ordered all nonessential businesses temporarily close down. By Friday, even Floridas Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, the subject of intense criticism for keeping the states crowded beaches open during spring break, had called for the statewide closure of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. By weeks end, more than 75 million Americans will be living under an order to remain indoors except for exerciseor grocery shopping.

We are not getting what we need, Breed said about assistance from the federal government in an interview with CNNs Wolf Blitzer, and so we have to take action ourselves to save lives.

After weeks of dismissing the impending pandemic as a hoax meant to hurt his presidency, Trump has slowly come around to acknowledge our grim new reality. Hes deployed familiar tropes to paint himself as a wartime leader, while simultaneously whining that he hasnt been given enough credit. So as the president keeps on failing spectacularly inthis historic moment of crisis, paralyzed by an overwhelming inability to act responsibly even withmillions of liveson the line, states have scrambled to provide crucial guidance.

The vagueness and lack ofdirection out of the White House has left it up to states to administer restrictions, applying what appearto be arbitrary deadlines and leaving local police departments to enforce public adherence. Even executives in red states, from Alabama to Texas to Idaho to South Carolina, have called for public restraint to slow the spread of the deadly pathogen a move experts have said is necessary to flatten the curve, but one Trump has written off as a course of action nationally. Democratic governors in Illinois, New York and Kentucky have appeared in front of cameras daily to offer updates meant to reassure their constituents. By contrast, Trump has recently dusted off the podium in the White House press briefing room only to pick fights with reporters about political correctness to distract from his failure. While his biggest sycophants on Fox News are finally treating the threat seriously, states are still waiting for tests more than a month after asking the federal government for help.

I watch a news conference and they tell us we have testing capacity, but I am telling you we dont have testing capacity. It is not out there yet, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on Wednesday. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, also a Democrat, ordered all private labs to send negative test results to the state, a move that matters because data on the number of positive tests without knowing how many were negative can paint a misleading picture.

I think its critical the feds move a lot faster on this stuff, MassachusettsGov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, complained this week.

For his part, Trump has praised governors handling of the chaotic situation even as he admits his administration has only made it harder for them.The federal government is not a shipping clerk, Trump told governors seeking assistance with the procurement of much needed medical supplies. After encouraging states to fend for themselves, he went on to acknowledge that the federal governments purchasing power dwarfs anything the statescan even attempt.

And not all states are equal, which hasonlyillustrated the depths of the problem.

States like Tennessee, where the number of positive cases jumped 57% this week, have so far refused to take executive action, deferring instead to local municipalities to set their own limitations. Even after the entire Georgia state legislature was shut down this week because a Republican member entered chambers while awaiting his test results, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican,has so far refused to order any statewide closures. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, also a Republican, was still encouraging residents to frequent restaurants and bars this week.

Ohio and Louisiana announced their first cases of COVID-19 on the same day. Gov.Mike DeWine of Ohio, a Republican, responded swiftly and ordered schools closed and large events canceled. Now the Buckeye State, with a population of 11.6 million, has seen fewerthan 90 cases and reported no deaths. Louisiana, meanwhile, has issued no such closures and has reported more than500 cases and 14 deaths withonly4.6 million residents.

Our trajectory is basically the same as what they had in Italy, said Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards said, calling for help from federal officials. Italys COVID-19 death toll exceeds 3,400.

This patchwork response to a global pandemic is getting people killed. States and municipalities were abandoned for too long by the Trump administration. (New York State was finally deemed a federal disaster zone late Friday after reporting almost 8,000 cases, nearly half the U.S. total.) Still, many are doing heroic work and taking bold steps like pausing all debt repayment for residents and reclassifying grocery store employees as emergency workers so they qualify for access to state-sponsored child care.

Read the original:

Theres a massive leadership gap at the top on coronavirus and that absence is already deadly - Raw Story

The ability of the CBC to wound itself, to find ways to alienate its audience, reduce its impact, sometimes even drive viewers and listeners away from its services, is a fascinating subject. A subject, ironically, worthy of one of its multiple documentaries, which at one time were its hallmark.

We will never see such a documentary, for the CBC is constitutionally incapable of honestly assessing itself with any of the rigour and sometimes downright enthusiasm it turns its judgmental eye to on every subject but itself.

I refer to CBC managements fiat to close down all local supper-hour news shows. I have no idea what turns of mind or involutions of its internal bureaucracy and CBC has its bureaucracy can have led to such a decision. I would truly love to know how much consultation and dialogue and information-sharing processes that are lovingly highlighted in every Memo to Staff that CBC produces by the hundreds every day went on with the shows to be cancelled. How many on-air personnel or camera operators or sound technicians and editors, from P.E.I. or Newfoundland for example, were either brought to Toronto, or put on a live feed, to discuss with their sage management these cancellations?

The ability of the CBC to wound itself is a fascinating subject

The fatal ingenuity of the CBC is never more apparent than in the larger decisions of its senior management. With a full spread of plausible and sensible options politely knocking at their doors, they will send out, and only after establishing enough committees and study sessions to rival the Third International Congress, for the worst possible choice, and decree it down the line to the archipelago of what, in the Toronto emporium on Front Street, is known as the locals.

Hence, the strange nay, the eerie, the eldritch decision, now that the world is in pandemic mode, and reassurance is as much a part of news as information the bizarre choice, to bring the hammer down on all locally sourced and locally delivered supper-hour news shows across this truly broad and diverse country, with its decade of provinces and its trinity of territories. All the shows in other words that are closest to the pulse of the people they serve; are hosted by persons their audience actually meets and chats with going about their daily business.

Now instead of the double-band, nationalplus local, all news will come from the one over-lit and superfluously hosted national studio, as remote as remote can be from the wide, diverse and scattered regions of this great country.

When announcing the fiat, CBCs general manager of news, Susan Marjetti, offered this I would suggest bizarrely tendentious statement:As Canadians turn to us (CBC) for the latest developments during these unprecedented times, we are temporarily pooling our resources into one core news offering.

Theres more than a dollop of over-estimation and unjustified self-praise in that opening. What ratings I read suggest that Canadians are turning to many places, and CBC is not near the top of them. Secondly, if Canadians are turning to the CBC, is it not a very strange time to go dark, to shutter the screens on every local TV news show (save the North there, CBC wouldnt dare for obvious reasons)?

Thirdly, is it not curious and more, that in the early days of a national and international crisis whose proportions we have not seen in generations, that CBC management enter into one of their perpetual restructuring strategies? CBC has restructured so often even the buildings are dizzy, never mind the poor employees.

CBC has restructured so often even the buildings are dizzy

Just when local news in your own region (wherever that is) matters the most, CBC pulls it? Now more than ever, people need to hear whats going on in their own communities and provinces from the very people, on-air and technical, they have come to know.

Toronto-centric news transmission is not a solution for the CBC; it has always been the problem.

It is the Toronto centres distance, and lack of contact and genuine experience with life outside the centre, that leads to misjudgments on matters like the Alberta oil crisis, the plight of farmers, the facts of life in small towns, and just the general experience of common life in so many parts of Canada. That and an adhesion, which is almost perfect, to the nostrums of political correctness and the pieties of progressivism have made most national news a ghetto of received opinion and very tired social justice championship.

These causes, to be clear, do have their virtues. But the trendy is not everything. You cannot, as a broadcaster, be separate from the majority of your would-be viewers. And those who can most remedy the gaps in the CBCs centre-understood idea of Canada are the very local broadcasters the CBC is now in ignorance shutting off.

CBC is very comfortable with sensitivity-training for what it considers ill-behaviour.

There is only one sensitivity training session the CBC really needs, and that is sensitivity training for its executives and management, who are intellectually quarantined, and have been for years, to the ideas, opinions and daily conduct of allCanadians, just not those few under a chosen attitudinal umbrella.

The upper reaches of the CBC are strangers to more than half the land they purport to report upon. Their sensibility is a screen that bars them from the full range, and yes, the real diversity, of Canadian experience.

Here is the original post:

Rex Murphy: Just when the CBC could really help Canadians, it lets them down - National Post

By ROBERT JUMPER

ONE FEATHER EDITOR

If you are from Cherokee, live in the area, or commute here to work, getting around is fairly easy. Then again, I have lived in these mountains the bulk of my life and I dont know all the roads and places, the nooks and crannies if you will. I can get to and from my places of interest and I bet you can too.

But, for those who havent climbed these mountains and walked these streams, it can be a real challenge to explore our world. Country roads are windy, in some cases primitive, and a good many of them are unmarked. Getting directions from some of our local folks may be challenging as well. Unless they are willing to take you there, there is a language barrier, a dialect issue if you will, that keeps most folks from other areas of the country from understanding us. And, we do have a sense of humor when it comes to dealing with folks who are not around here. That is why many think the way to any Southern destination is drive till you hear banjo music.

Modern technology isnt a big help in our neck of the woods. Mountains make Garmin and TomTom units cry. Directional and mapping units require frequently updated maps and strong, consistent satellite signals. If you have satellite radio in your vehicle, you know that a uniform satellite signal is a mythical beast. You will be listening to a favorite song, an intriguing story, or a pivotal play in a game only to hit a satellite dead spot and by the time you come out of it, whatever you were listening to is done. And, large corporations dont send people or equipment our way often enough to have detailed maps of our area digitized and loaded into their units. If your GPS guidance tools had hands, it would scratch its touch screen, because at some point in the journey to and through the Qualla Boundary and western North Carolina, it will become totally disoriented and either refuse to tell you where to go or send you to places you either dont want or shouldnt go.

Our townships on the Boundary could definitely benefit from some prominent and uniform wayfinding signage. Businesses would surely be affected positively by creating a system of signage for the community and the traveling public. Locals in need of specific tribal services could not only find those services, but also communicate more effectively to others where to go for services.

A couple of decades ago, the government (Travel and Promotion Office) and local business had a partnership for wayfinding signage. Remember the old arrowhead wooden signs that pointed travelers to specific businesses in town? The tribal travel office coordinated the installation of the signage and the businesses paid to have the direction to their locations posted on the signage. By the time I came to work for the Tribe, those signs were in disrepair and were eventually removed, partly because they were unserviceable and partly because the administration at the time didnt like the use of the arrowheads. The concept is still good, but it will be up to tribal government and business to make wayfinding signage a priority on the Boundary.

There are some efforts at wayfinding by several entities currently. The unfortunate downside to that approach is that the Boundary ends up with a jumbled clutter of signs, some placed in front of other wayfinding signage. With utility boxes, garbage cans, and other clutter on our thoroughfares, we dont need ten signs on ten different stakes to become part of that landscape. And, we need some commonsense management of the signs in areas that are designated for outdoor recreation. An authority to implement and regulate the signage would be nice. In fact, I think the Tribe already has the mechanism and a signage officer. Some leadership in the area would likely be all that is required.

Since the turn of the millennium, the Tribe has grown, and culture has advanced. Political correctness would prohibit the replacement of the old arrowhead signage. But, there are viable signage options available to us. And, it might be a tool to rebuild the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, the relationship of the business community with the economic development activities of the government and Kituwah LLC. Wayfinding signage could conform to the existing law and practice of printing the signs in both the Cherokee language and English, bringing additional attention and awareness of the tribes language.

But, good ideas are like footballs, nothing happens until you pick them up and run with them. And like playing football, it really helps to know the field, have it well marked, and know which direction you are supposed to run it to win.

I believe technology will advance to the point that we will have community standard GPS connectivity, eventually. I believe that corporations will eventually see enough value in our community and those who travel to us to provide better mapping in their GPS units and programs. In anticipation of that glad day, we, as government and business, should be flaunting our street addresses on our signs and businesses. My TomTom loves a good street address. In most areas, providing it a street address will get me to the front door of any destination I care to go to, except those off the beaten path.

So, as we contemplate ways that we may improve the feng shui of our Boundary to the betterment of the environment, our community, and the traveling public (in that order), lets ask our government and businesses to come together once again to remove cluttering signage and create a uniform wayfinding signage system that provide state-of-the-art information and guidance. I know that we are not travelling much now, or shouldnt be, but soon we will be trying to find our way back.

More here:

COMMENTARY: Find your way back - The Cherokee One Feather - Cherokee One Feather

Criminals will no longer be called offenders by the probation service under a move to reset the language and create an inclusive culture.

Instead of being known as an offender, anyone under supervision will be referred to as a person subject to probation services.

It will cover both criminals serving community sentences for low-level offences as well as prisoners released on licence to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community.

As part of the reform, the term Offender Manager will be replaced with Probation Practitioner, while Offender Management will become Sentence Management.

HM Prison and Probation Service announced the new terminology as part of a blueprint for the future of probation. The change reflects the fact that people on probation are expected to have stopped committing crimes.

The report, called A Draft Target Operating Model for the Future of Probation Services in England and Wales, sets out how the Government will reverse its failed part-privatisation and reunite probation as a single national service.

It states: We are using this document as an opportunity to reset some of the language in the probation system so that we can build an inclusive culture which staff from both Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service can relate to

Utilising terminology that resonates with stakeholders, and best reflects the intentions behind the new model and the benefits that we are seeking to achieve.

David Green, director of Civitas, said it was political correctness gone rife. If inclusiveness is the top priority then why not abolish the distinction between law-abiding and law-breaking people? he said.

From now on, someone who calls the police to say that their house has been broken into will be known as a person subject to police services and so too will be the person who broke in, if they are unfortunate enough to one of the few burglars who are arrested. If charged, the burglar will become a person subject to court services.

Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and adviser to Government on extremism in prisons, said: Prisoners and offenders dont need labelling changes, they need practical help. It is symptomatic of a culture that is completely adrift from the practical realities of managing crime and criminals.

It follows similar moves in the prison service which has experimented with terming prisoners as men and calling cells rooms to help rehabilitate offenders.

The project at HMP Berwyn, the largest jail in England and Wales, aims to create a more domestic environment by renaming prison blocks communities, calling holding cells waiting rooms and providing inmates with laptops when they arrive and facilities for tea and sandwiches.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: We will carry on using the term offender, but those who commit crimes have the chance to lose that label if they work to turn their life around.

Read more:

Criminals to be referred to as 'people subject to probation services' in prison guideline shake-up - Telegraph.co.uk

WE LIVEin troubling times. Decency and common sense are overturned by the pervasive cult of political correctness in high places. Every week witnesses yet another example of its insanity.

Who would have imagined Trevor Phillips being suspended from Labour party membership for being a racist and an Islamophobe? An acclaimed champion of minority rights, he is now ensnared by the ritual abuse of the terms equality and rights by the purist pedants of the Left. (Why am I reminded of Stalinist Russia and the culture of denunciation of the denouncers by ever more frightened sycophants?)

Thou shalt not bear false witness means nothing to the atheistic hard Left running the Labour Party today. Why? Because the truth is not to be assessed by reference to reality or to Christian morality, but by reference to a materialist ideology as interpreted by its most zealous adherents; they are armed with a definition of Islamophobia designed to catch out every conceivable transgression. Ideological purity will be enforced!

This mindset is not new, however. It is in fact over two centuries old. It was first identified and exposed by the founder of modern conservative philosophy, Edmund Burke. He raised the alarm in his classic 1790 statement on conservative doctrine,Reflections on the Revolution in France. In it, Burke called the phenomenon of political correctness atheistical fanaticism. What is more, he identified a regular plan for the destruction of the Christian religion by the apostles of Enlightenment thinking.

Far too many conservatives today are under the misapprehension that our tradition of liberty derives from the Enlightenment of the late 18th century. It doesnt. The English tradition of liberty derives from Magna Carta of 1215 and from the constitutional settlement of 1689 and the Bill of Rights. Yes, thats right, a Bill of Rights was passed by the English parliament an entire century before the French Revolution and itsDeclaration des Droits de lHomme et du Citoyen. A Bill of Rights passed by the ruling Establishment of a country in which the Protestant Christian religion determined the moral framework and culture of our country. A Protestant Christian religion which taught the fundamental truths of what we are and provided the psychologically pertinent and effective guidelines for personal and social behaviour.

Today, however, our religion is Rights and Wants and Materialism. Man is the centre of a universe of his own making. Just look about you to see the consequences for our liberty and our quality of life. Ever more rules and regulations to oblige our conformity to an ideological vision of society inspired by rampant materialism. We are no longer to be trusted to police our own hearts and minds as responsible and free citizens. No, the State will do that for us and will oblige our unquestioning obedience.

Edmund Burke saw all this coming, and he sounded the alarm in hisReflections on the Revolution in France. That is why I have published a new edition of his renowned work.

Because his original text was written as a continuous letter and not as a book, it is inaccessible to all but the most dedicated reader. I have therefore allocated paragraph numbers and created a contents page. To introduce and explain his work, I have provided an introduction, a 10,000-word summary or edited highlights of the political philosophy he set down, and I have distilled his doctrine to three Strategic Principles and ten Key Tenets.

Burke diagnosed all todays erroneous assertions about rights and equality, and he describes the PC mentality perfectly. What he saw, however, was in its early stages. Today we witness its triumph and suffer the damage it is doing to our heritage of liberty. This is why I have put his work back into the public domain with an appeal to read it and pass it on! The book is calledCore Conservatism: Edmund Burkes Landmark Definition. It is published by Westbow Press and available here.

- Advertisement -

Visit link:

The man who saw wokeness coming 230 years ago - The Conservative Woman

People wearing masks enjoy the sun at Times Square on March 14, 2020 in New York City. AFP pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 If the schools are closed for too long, the parents are going find a vaccine for Covid-19 before the scientist does one of the many hilarious memes that has been circulating on social media since the movement control order (MCO) took effect in Malaysia.

I nailed this homeschooling thing for exactly three minutes before crazy started coming out of my mouth, Kim Fearing, a motivational speaker and mum of four from Colorado, the United States wrote.

Similar memes and long posts on appreciation for teachers have emerged globally as countries one after another were either imposing MCOs or a complete lockdown to flatten the infection curve of the deadly virus, including pushing for social distancing to help slow down the spread of the virus.

Ezan Arissa, 40, who has been in the teaching profession for more than 18 years now, said such a tribute to teachers in Malaysia and elsewhere is comforting.

Deeply touched by the various posts on social media, she said, adding that parents now have to wear the disciplinary teacher cap and ensure that the kids complete all the tasks given.

Over to you parents, Ezan said in jest.

Globally 244,523 people have been diagnosed with the virus that originated from Wuhan, China, of which 86,026 have recovered, while 10,030 succumbed to it. Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, the US and France are among the countries that have the highest number of patients outside of China and the numbers are rising.

Malaysia has so far recorded 1,030 cases, of which 87 have recovered and two died. In a move to stem the spread, the government has imposed a 14-day MCO since Wednesday, March 18, 2020.

The partial lockdown is also turning people into amateur YouTubers and social media influencers, be it on ideas to keep fit, cooking or fashion, while others found solace in the short-form mobile video app tiktok to entertain their kids and keep them occupied.

In China, where some cities are on complete lockdown, businesses came up with novel ways to keep their customers occupied. From workout videos and living room clubbing, they tested every possible idea.

A heartwarming video of Rome residents singing a classic Italian song, Bella Ciao from their windows and balconies as the city remains under lockdown to contain the virus outbreak had its share of fame.

Better air quality and the sound of vehicle movements being replaced with birds chirping in the countrys capital, Kuala Lumpur are moments to behold.

A few good samaritans have also started various caremongering groups on social media sites to check on their neighbours, especially the elderly, shopping for their groceries, as well as getting their medicines from pharmacies during this difficult time.

These are among the good moments that surfaced during a grim situation faced globally.

Unfortunately, there was also a cringe-worthy situation that was displayed in Malaysia and elsewhere.

The balik kampung exodus that began as the MCO announcement was made and hoarding of groceries and essential items from supermarkets and hypermarkets were nothing short of a belligerent attitude.

Fear of another cluster of infection that could come out of such an attitude was a major concern of the authorities and the countrys front liners as it would further stress the healthcare system.

True enough one of the passenger that joined the exodus on Tuesday via a Plusliner express bus from Johor Bahru to Kuantan was tested positive for Covid-19 and now all the passengers, who travelled on the bus, and perhaps their close contacts need to be tested as well.

The situation could have been avoided if only they were to abide by the MCO order.

Despite various announcements and pleadings by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on the second and third day of the MCO, the people were still seen loitering around and gathering at coffee shops, completely oblivious to the order or seriousness of the matter.

Ugly videos and pictures of a jogger and hikers arguing with the authorities on their so-called rights to indulge in the activities surfaced on social media as well.

The authorities have had to abandon political correctness in conveying the message.

In fact, from Sunday onwards, the army will be mobilised to assist the police in enforcing the MCO, especially on the peoples compliance with the instruction to stay at home.

It is hope that for the next 11 days under the MCO, if the restriction is not extended, Malaysians will cast aside their bad and ugly habits and display an exemplary discipline in the war against the virus.

The memes and funny videos are a welcomed relief after all, laughter is the best medicine!!! Bernama

See more here:

Covid-19: The good, the bad and the ugly - Malay Mail

Conservative activist and diehard Trump defender Candace Owens employed some impressively twisted logic in her tirade against race hustler Colin Kaepernick at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.

Having taken objection to a Thanksgiving tweet from the former star quarterbackwhich read, The US government has stolen over 1.5 billion acres of land from Indigenous people, Owens resorted to the same flawed rationale the colonists started using back in 1492: Native Americans needed to be civilized, because they were cannibals. Did cannibalism get lost in Colins flowery depiction of Indigenous people? she said. (Accounts of Aztec cannibalism come mostly from 16th-century Spanish explorers who exaggerated Indigenous peoples savagery to justify their conquest of the Americasa point she reduces to political correctness.)

She then directed her vitriol at Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Ta-Nehisi Coates (whose name she mispronounced), CNN, the New York Times, and MSNBC. To every single one of you race hustlers who have extorted black pain to line your own pockets, she said, who have blindfolded the black youth against seeing the opportunities that lay beneath their feet here in America in the land of the free, in the home of the free, in the home of the brave, I say this to you: There will be a Blexit. A black exit.

Read this article:

Candace Owens Just Made the Most Absurd Possible Argument Against Colin Kaepernick - Mother Jones

On Thursday, op-ed columnist Virginia Heffernan did not say explicitly that advanced age precludes someone from running for office. But reading the letters weve published responding to her piece, you might get the impression that Heffernans piece, headlined The Democrats crotchety geezer shtick is wearing thin, was a bigoted verbal assault on people over a certain age.

These letter writers werent the only readers upset by the column. In fact, as of this writing, all but two of the more than two dozen submissions weve received in response to the piece accuse Heffernan of having expressed ageist animus toward the three male Democratic candidates she labels geezers. Here is what some of those readers have to say.

Larry Macedo of West Hills says Heffernan made liberal use of stereotypes:

Heffernan repeatedly used words that stereotype older people for example, geezer, crotchety, geriatric and doddering. Would the Los Angeles Times allow similar stereotypical words to be used to describe other groups of people such as African Americans, Latinos or women? I dont think so, but the same guidelines dont seem to apply to persons of advanced age.

Overall, Heffernans piece was demeaning of older people. She said the geezer trio of candidates seem to have lost their capacity to be taught and their cognitive flexibility. She referred to using an ear horn and claimed that these people must be mystified by some modern concepts.

In fact, the candidates she targeted are all extremely accomplished people with a decent chance of becoming our next president. What must Heffernan think of less accomplished people?

I found the article very offensive.

Daniel J. Stone of Beverly Hills appreciates the experience that age brings:

Its unfortunate that in a time of supposed political correctness, a columnist can exploit a social stereotype like crotchety geezer for a cheap political hack job. Havent we progressed to the point where candidates can be evaluated on their experience and their positions?

Perhaps Heffernan hasnt noticed that Democratic voters have had the opportunity to choose candidates younger than the geezers and have largely passed. After three years of amateurish governance, fakery and lies, depth of experience and authenticity might just make this the year of the geezer.

If Heffernan has sour grapes about that, the polls suggest shell reap a bountiful harvest with the South Carolina primary.

Julie Griffith of La Verne didnt take Heffernans column seriously at first:

A friend of mine who is an advocate for the elderly posted a link to this breathtakingly ageist column on social media. She was outraged, and I couldnt believe it wasnt meant as a satire, so I looked it up.

Unfortunately, the columnist seems to have meant every word.

Seriously, what is wrong with the L.A. Times? Would you have published this if it concerned the candidates ethnicity or gender? What makes it all right to ridicule their ages?

I will rethink continuing my subscription.

Follow this link:

Are the elderly OK to attack? A column makes readers wonder - Los Angeles Times