Friday, November 13, 2020


The Party of Hate Feigns Unity

Democrat firebrands have batted around the words “healing” and “unity” in the days since Joe Biden was declared (at least for now) the president-elect. For example, in his disingenuous Saturday night speech, Biden declared:

I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify. Who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States. And work with all my heart with the confidence of the whole people, to win the confidence of all of you. … I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again. And to unite us here at home.

We genuinely wish that was the case. But the Democrat Party is defined by division and hate, and the party’s pre- and post-election remarks offer little in the way of consolation. If anything, the rhetoric has worsened. Below you will find a compendium of some of the most hateful language from the Left in recent months:

“It’s not enough to just send Donald Trump packing, or even just to repair the damage he’s done. We’ve got to unrig and rebuild the systems that made his rise possible to begin with, and that allowed his administration to hurt so many people in so many ways.” —Elizabeth Warren

“We have the most dangerous person in the history of our country sitting in the White House.” —Nancy Pelosi

“I used to wonder how could the people of Germany allow Hitler to exist. But with each passing day, I’m beginning to understand how.” —James Clyburn

“You know, since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have seen not only the spreading of the virus but also a rapid spreading of racism and xenophobia.” —Ayanna Pressley

“Trump wants to instigate a race war. So he can rise up and say, ‘I’m the real grand wizard of the Klu Klux Klan and I’m the President. Reelect me.’ That’s what he’s trying to do.” —Bobby Rush

“I want to acknowledge that much of the violence and destruction, both here in Seattle and across the country, has been instigated and perpetuated by white men.” —Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan

“Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.” —Barack Obama

“Let’s remember that tens of millions of people voted for the status quo, even when it meant supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division. We’ve got a lot of work to do to reach out to these folks in the years ahead and connect with them on what unites us.” —Michelle Obama

“The people who were very transparent about, like, voting because they wanted a tax cut — okay. But, like, you knew you also were voting for a racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, transphobic, human being who was going to have a lot of power to manifest those, like, hateful bigoted values into the world. So that may be what is your motivation.” —Chelsea Clinton

“You are inbred racist trash. Please f—k off.” —Democrat strategist Adam Parkhomenko to Marsha Blackburn

“He’s gonna get his fat a— beat. … The idea is not just to defeat Trump. You have to defeat Trump-ism. You have to defeat the idea that the United States of America is a place and not an idea.” —James Carville

Leftmedia

“[Trump voters] have revealed themselves for the racists that they are, the tribalists that they are. … It’s almost a level of fanaticism that I’ve only seen in cult groups and Middle East terrorist groups.” —MSNBC contributor Malcolm Nance

“This is about white people who saw a president who was corrupt and sexist and violent and mismanaged an entire pandemic that’s killed over 230,000 people by the election and they said, ‘I want some more of that.’” —MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson

“Do any of you guys trust Uncle Clarence and Amy Coney Barrett and those guys to actually follow the letter of the law?” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

“We intellectually understand what America is at its base, right? That there is a great amount of racism, anti-blackness, anti-wokeness. This idea that political correctness is some sort of scheme to destroy white America, right? … I think part of your heart says, ‘You know what? Maybe the country’s going to pay off all of this pain.’ As the night wore on … I realized … that’s not happening. We are still who we thought, unfortunately. … It’s disappointing, and I emerge from this disappointed.” —Joy Reid

“Can we talk about 1 of the few topics I may actually know too much about: homicide? Specifically, whether Donald Trump may have criminal exposure for some level of negligent homicide or voluntary/involuntary manslaughter for the way he’s mishandled the Coronavirus crisis. … ALL criminal charges will have to be investigated and, if the evidence dictates it, prosecuted come Jan. 2021.” —MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner

“Donald Trump would kill reporters if he could get away with it.” —MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough

“All of this [minority support for Trump] to me points to the power of the white patriarchy and the coattail it has of those who depend on it or aspire to it. It reaches across gender and sexual orientation and even race. Trump’s brash, privileged chest trumping and alpha-male dismissiveness and in-your-face rudeness are aspirational to some men and appealing to some women. Some people who have historically been oppressed will stand with the oppressors, and will aspire to power by proximity.” —NYT’s Charles Blow

“May be relevant to note that there is a long, close association between right-wing activism and medical quackery.” —NYT’s Paul Krugman

“I hope people realize that there are many white Republican voters in this country if they’re given a choice between renting a room in their house to a person of color or burning down the house, they will elect to burn down the entire neighborhood. It’s not just a small fringe.” —NYT contributing op-ed writer Wajahat Ali

“You can’t heal or reform the GOP who are now an extremist party. They have to be broken, burned down and rebuilt. When Biden is in power treat them like the active threats to democracy they are. If those who committed crimes aren’t punished then they will be more emboldened.” —Wajahat Ali

“The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals.” —Katherine Stewart in The New York Times

“The white race is the biggest murderer, rapist, pillager, and thief of the modern world.” —1619 Project guru Nikole Hannah-Jones

“These days, I am reminded quite often that you do not have to be white to support white supremacy.” —WaPo’s Eugene Scott

“If you quote the Trump admin you are an enemy of the people.” —WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin

“Any R[epublican] now promoting rejection of an election or calling to not to follow the will of voters or making baseless allegations of fraud should never serve in office, join a corporate board, find a faculty position or be accepted into ‘polite’ society. We have a list.” —Jennifer Rubin

“The only patriot on the Right … to me is Romney. He’s the only one who stuck his neck out. The rest of them are trash.” —"The View’s" Joy Behar

“The terrorist Trump must be defeated, must be destroyed, must be devoured at the ballot box and then he and his enablers and his supporters and his collaborators and the Mike Lees and the William Barrs and the Sean Hannitys and the Mike Pences and the Rudy Giulianis and the Kyle Rittenhouses and the Amy Coney Barretts must be prosecuted and convicted and removed from our society.” —Keith Olbermann

“When this nightmare is over, we need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It would erase Trump’s lies, comfort those who have been harmed by his hatefulness, and name every official, politician, executive, and media mogul whose greed and cowardice enabled this catastrophe.” —Robert Reich

“If you vote for Donald Trump, you are a racist. You have no wiggle room.” —Jemele Hill

“If Trump wins re-election, it’s on white people. No one else.” —Jemele Hill

“[America is] a private club founded by old rich white men, for rich white men.” —Charlamagne tha God

“There is a lizard brain in this country. Donald Trump is a product of the white man’s, the anguished, nervous white guy’s lizard brain.” —Jon Meacham

Academia & Glitterati

“Donald Trump is not an Adolf Hitler. At least Hitler improved the daily life of his followers, had discipline, and required more of himself to gain the respect of his followers. … A refusal to make comparisons has been a problem, when they have such similarities. Donald Trump’s death count is higher than Hitler’s at the same period.” —Yale University professor Bandy X. Lee

“We’ll be saying this name a lot I’m sure because she’s a f—ing nut. Religion — I was right about that one too. I’m sorry, but Amy [Coney] Barrett, Catholic — really Catholic. I mean really, really Catholic — like speaking in tongues. Like she doesn’t believe in condoms, which is what she has in common with Trump because he doesn’t either.” —Bill Maher

“It’s a very weird thing to watch these old creeps congratulate a handmaid on her clown car vagina.” —Lauren Hough

“When you’re born in this country, we all drink the poison that is white supremacy. Social justice is not just a literacy, it’s a lifestyle.” —Lady Gaga

“Donald Trump is actively trying to kill our children.” —Rob Reiner

“It’s insane what our fears are if we lose, compared to their fears if Biden wins. like we will prob all die or be handmaids and they’re worried about bathroom safety.” —Chrissy Teigen

“What more did Trump have to do to show us that he’s insane and not fit to lead this country? I feel like I overestimated the American people, and I underestimated the Village People.” —Jimmy Kimmel

“I can only imagine the envy with which [Donald Trump] watched Derek Chauvin’s casual cruelty and monstrous indifference as he murdered George Floyd. I can only imagine that Donald wishes it had been his knee on Floyd’s neck.” —Bette Midler

“The closeness of this election is showing just how many decided racism is ‘not a big deal.’” —Wesley Snipes

“F—k Donald Tromp [sic] and every American citizen, celebrity, white woman, black man, ETC who supported him burnnnnnnnnnn.” —Janelle Monáe

* * *

As The Babylon Bee satirically but oh so accurately puts it: “Study finds connection between getting your way and calling for unity.” The Federalist’s Sean Davis astutely adds, “When Democrats say they want ‘unity,’ what they really mean is they want submission.

A Veteran's Reflections

Grateful for a life spared, and thankful for those who paid the ultimate price.

It was as hot as I remembered, nearly 120 degrees under cloudless skies. It was 1989 and 23 years had passed since I last stood on this spot. Twenty-three years earlier we often came into this little fishing village on the Perfume River five kilometers south of the Imperial City of Hue, South Vietnam. My squad of Marines almost always took enemy fire as we approached this village.

The last time I walked into this village, nine Marines and a Navy Corpsman died violently when we were ambushed by a large group of Viet Cong guerillas. Two other Marines who had been critically wounded were taken by helicopter to a hospital. I was told the next day both had died. I carried the guilt of surviving that night for 23 years.

Today, there was no gunfire, just a crowd of villagers, many of whom had not seen an American before. The older villagers stood silently watching to see what was going to happen. Our group of returning veterans knelt with me as we had a Memorial Service for my fallen friends. Standing with me were my wife and children. My emotions were overwhelming.

But this time, gone was the guilt of surviving as well as the grief I had worked through. By God’s amazing grace in my life, He had healed the deep wounds of my Vietnam experience and I could only weep tears of gratitude. But there remained an unanswered question: Why me? Of the 13 men on that patrol, why was I spared? I silently prayed for an answer, but Heaven was silent.

Then, as if in answer to the searching of my heart, I heard what the Bible calls “the still small voice of the Holy Spirit” say, “I spared you for my purpose. Now, be faithful to what I called you to do.” That event took place 31 years ago in a place I never wanted to return to again. Vietnam had taken so much from me in the lives of those I had the honor of serving alongside.

On my last combat tour, I was critically wounded by a grenade, shot, and burned. I was only 22 years old, and as I lay in that open field bleeding heavily, I knew I was going to die on that trail. Suddenly, I was being pulled to safety. A 19-year-old Lance Cpl. and a 21-year-old Navy Corpsman pulled me to safety while exposing themselves to enemy fire. It’s true what Jesus said in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

Every day in our country is a gift. What we do with that gift is our gift to God. No nation on earth has the freedoms secured for us by our Constitution and guaranteed by the blood, sweat, and tears of our veterans. Every day since, I try to keep that promise I made. The promise to live my life in a manner worthy of the sacrifice made for me to be here. And to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

Please don’t take those freedoms for granted. The price paid for them was greater than you can imagine.

Fire Insurance Regs Hurt California Homeowners

The unintended consequences of California’s price restrictions on insurance rates leave insurers unable to cover losses after catastrophic wildfire damage.

For hundreds of thousands of California homeowners, access to quality wildfire insurance has never been more important. Already, more than 8,100 structures in California have burned, and the fire season isn’t over.

So why, when demand for coverage is at an all-time high, have so many homeowners lost their fire insurance?

The answer lies in the unintended consequences of California’s price restrictions on insurance rates, which leave insurers unable to cover losses after catastrophic wildfire damage.

Unless these restrictions are removed or reduced, homeowners will continue to lose access to fire insurance and be driven to the last-resort, bare-bones coverage offered under the California FAIR plan.

Under Proposition 103, the California Department of Insurance regulates insurance premiums to keep prices artificially low. While the CDI has approved some rate increases in high-risk areas, insurance companies still contend that they are unable to charge premiums that reflect true risk.

This may seem like a cost-saving boon for California homeowners, but if premiums don’t keep up with risk, insurance companies have no choice but to stop offering coverage in high-risk areas.

Following recent catastrophic fire seasons, that’s exactly what’s happening. In 2017 and 2018, covered losses from unprecedented wildfires overwhelmed what insurers could legally charge in premiums.

Since insurers were barred from adjusting premiums to reflect the increasing risk—even for homeowners willing to pay to protect themselves against that risk—insurers began pulling out of the market. Since 2018, there has been a 10 percent increase in fire insurance non-renewals across seven counties, leaving an estimated 350,000 homeowners without insurance.

With homeowners left without quality coverage at the worst possible moment, the CDI responded by placing a one-year moratorium on fire insurance non-renewals.

But only for the 800,000 homes in areas affected by the 2019 California wildfires, perpetuating insurance companies’ inability to cover risk in those areas while allowing a greater majority of people in potentially soon-to-burn areas to be dropped.

Following this year’s record-breaking fires, we can only expect the number of non-renewed policies to increase if current premium restrictions remain in place.

To protect California homes in high-risk areas, the CDI should remove or reduce its binding price controls, allowing private insurance companies to use risk-based pricing to insure people willing to pay for the risk they face.

Not only will this allow more insurers to reenter the California markets, creating safety nets when homes burn, it will also send a price signal to homebuyers about which areas are most dangerous. Homeowners and developers facing higher fire insurance rates will then have an incentive to invest in home-hardening efforts and develop in less risky areas.

Most importantly, allowing rates to rise will provide necessary funding for insurance companies to act on their incentive to tie private fire suppression services into their policies, which can add protection for people and property in the event of a wildfire.

Allowing insurance companies to adjust premiums to reflect true fire risk will almost surely increase rates. To mitigate this effect and keep insurance affordable, the CDI and insurers should also work together to develop premium discounts for homeowners who adapt to the increased wildfire risk and engage in mitigation efforts to make their properties more resilient.

These steps will ensure that Californians not only gain access to quality, private insurance, but it will reduce overall losses when wildfires rage.

With home losses in the thousands and months left in the fire season, there is much to do in both the short and long term to prevent another season like this one.

The CDI can start by finding solutions that allow premiums to adjust to reflect the increased risk facing development in fire-prone areas. These changes would keep more people on better insurance plans and align incentives for individuals to adapt, protecting themselves against the day when smoke, again, blackens their skies.

Florida’s governor drafts laws that would allow people to shoot looters

Florida’s governor has drafted “anti-mob” legislation to expand already controversial Stand Your Ground laws – to allow people to shoot looters, according to a report.

A draft of Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposed bill expands the list of “forcible felonies” under Florida’s self-defence law to include criminal mischief causing “interruption or impairment” of a business, according to the Miami Herald, which obtained a copy through a records request.

It also specifically allows force against those looting, which the draft defines as burglary within 500 feet (150 metres) of a “violent or disorderly assembly”.

Mr DeSantis also wants to make it a third-degree felony to block traffic during a protest – and offer immunity to drivers who accidentally kill or injure protesters who do so, according to the Herald.

Numerous other sections enhance criminal penalties for people involved in “violent or disorderly assemblies,” and withholds state funds from local governments that cut law enforcement funding, the report said.

Mr DeSantis has long threatened to introduce the “strongest pro-law enforcement, anti-rioting, anti-looting legislation anywhere in the country” – even though the Sunshine State has not been a hub of violent protests.

While a draft version of the bill was circulated to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, it has not been filed in either the House or Senate – but has already sparked outrage, the paper said.

“It allows for vigilantes to justify their actions,” Denise Georges, a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor who had handled Stand Your Ground cases, told the paper.

“It also allows for death to be the punishment for a property crime – and that is cruel and unusual punishment. We cannot live in a lawless society where taking a life is done so casually and recklessly.”

Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Aubrey Webb warned that the draft was far too vague and could lead to justifiable deaths after minor infractions.

“It dangerously gives armed private citizens power to kill as they subjectively determine what constitutes ‘criminal mischief’ that interferes with a business,” Mr Webb told the Miami paper.

“Someone graffiti-ing ‘Black Lives Matter’ on a wall? Urinating behind a dumpster? Blocking an entrance? The Boston Tea Party members would have been lawfully shot under Florida’s law by the British East India Tea Company.”

Civil rights attorney Melba Pearson warned that the proposals would “have a chilling effect on free speech”. “These are not mobs running around the street. People are using their First Amendment rights. This is a democracy,” she told the paper.

Mr DeSantis’ office did not respond to the Herald’s requests for comment.

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com TONGUE-TIED)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://john-ray.blogspot.com (FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)

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