Beck and Greenwald interview on government corruption, oligarchs and censorship

Glenn Greenwald is a rare breed these days: He does actual journalism says Glenn Beck. He explains things very well, like his description of Trump's appeal and Obama's mystique. He and Glenn cover so many topics: Woke corporations, Julian Assange, the #MeToo movement, Putin, Snowden, The Constitution, Big Tech censorship. Why does the Left call Greenwald right-wing but the Right calls him left-wing? For a journalist, that used to be a badge of honor. But as Greenwald points out, the journalism industry has become a Woke priesthood. So, if you want to learn about actual journalism, listen to this episode. It's totally worth getting through a couple of technical difficulties."  Video is about 1.5 hours, but worth every minute of your time.

https://youtu.be/QapuZPQAsW0

Memorial Day in Israel, April 14

April 14 was memorial day in Israel, when fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism are publicly remembered. I watched on Israeli TV this morning an interview with the father of Malki Roth who was murdered in 2001 in a pizzeria bombing. She was an American citizen. The U.S. has international agreements about extradition of terrorists who kill Americans, but had not lived up to the contract. 14 people died, including 6 children, and 120 were injured. Another American woman, a pregnant tourist, was also killed.

 
Malki's father Arnold set the wheels in motion to have Ahlam Ahmad Tamimi—the Hamas terrorist who orchestrated the bombing--extradited to stand trial in the U.S. Tamimi was arrested and tried in Israel for her crime, receiving 16 life sentences, but was freed to Jordan in 2011 in a prisoner exchange and she now lives free and is considered a national hero. Through Mr. Roth's efforts she is now on the FBI most wanted list, and he is appealing to Joe Biden to bring her to justice. Jordan's excuse is it never ratified the 1995 treaty on extradition.

Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi | Counter Extremism Project

Video appeal for Joe Biden: https://youtu.be/9GclFQ15fkQ

Do police deliberately and disproportionately kill blacks?

As riots and protests about police killings continue, let's look at some murder statistics. I'm using 2017 FBI-UCR (Uniform Crime Report), because these reports roll in at various times. Let's look at the victims instead of the killers. They don't get the headlines, but their lives matter too. TLM. In 2017, there was a total of 15,129 homicide victims--6,579 were white, 7,851 were black, and 2,304 were Hispanic. Assailants are usually male and between the ages of 15-35 and are most often the same race as their victim, but VICTIMS can be any age and sex--women, children, elderly. Within the UCR reports, these homicides are further detailed, such as gang killing, babysitter and child, rape, etc. I won't address that except other reports show for under age 5 victims the most likely weapon of a murder victim is fists, not guns or knives and a relative is usually the killer, not a babysitter or stranger.

Even those who hate math can see blacks are murdered at a much higher number and rate than whites or Hispanics. Whites are 76.3%, and Hispanics 18.5% of the population. Blacks are 13.4% of the population, and bear the burden of violent crime (these murders often take place during other violent crime).

 
What's the solution from prominent Democrats and BLM geniuses? Defund the police, i.e., make things even less safe for blacks. Most police homicides involve a person with a criminal record. That includes George Floyd last May, Daunte Wright (Minnesota, accidentally shot) and Miles Jackson (Columbus, who attacked police in a hospital). All had warrants for arrest, and all resisted arrest. That's the usual situation when police kill someone, black, white, brown, male or female.

Just as an add on: here's the quote from ABC News about Columbus, which shows what matters in reporting. Race. The reporter noted in the first paragraph the race of the criminal. Then after a summary description: 

"Jackson died in the shooting at Mount Carmel St. Ann's Hospital in suburban Columbus. The races of all the officers have not been confirmed, although several appeared to be white. A message was left with police requesting that information." 

After that biased paragraph, ABC includes a lengthy blow by blow detail from the body cam of how the criminal behaved and pulled a gun on the police. Even a 10 year old could figure this out, but that night crowds showed up to attack the police station.

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program — FBI

Miles Jackson: Fatal police shooting in hospital in Ohio caught on officer bodycams - 6abc Philadelphia

Running for the exits

R.R. Reno reports: "As a sometime professor, I have many friends in academia. I can't count how many conversations, I've had recently in which my friends have confided their despair over the future of liberal education [that's liberal as in freedom of thought]. Those who are retired emphasize their good fortune. Those who are still teaching tell me they hope to make it to retirement, somehow, or are looking for the exits. As a young academic friend put it, "I'm exhausted by the lies--and by the cowardice." First Things, May 2021, p. 66.

Lies on the Left, cowardice on the Right. 

Today Glenn Beck interviewed Everett Piper (retired President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University), author of "Grow up." Piper says he can recommend only 3 colleges to Christian parents. Hillsdale in Michigan, College of the Ozarks in Missouri, and New St. Andrews in Idaho. In the end, civilization needs adults.

I'm not sure why Piper didn't recommend his own OKWU, except maybe modesty. He turned it around financially. https://www.wesleyan.org/okwus-piper-set-to-retire-in-2020

Excess deaths from Covid lockdowns

The media want us to focus on the deaths from the current virus--about 80% of them in people who were overweight or obese. But the excess mortality was greater among those in the 15 to 54 age range, not the elderly. And the cause wasn't the virus, but the lockdown. These victims weren't the laptop, snowflake types like journalists, scientists, and politicians, but the lower income and minority households. In actual numbers those grieving families are white people, but the media will make it a racism story (rate) rather than a lockdown story which they encouraged because fear brought them profit.

"The deadly impact of lockdowns will grow in future years, due to the lasting economic and educational consequences. The United States will experience more than 1 million excess deaths in the United States during the next two decades as a result of the massive “unemployment shock” last year, according to a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins and Duke, who analyzed the effects of past recessions on mortality. Other researchers, noting how educational levels affect income and life expectancy, have projected that the “learning loss” from school closures will ultimately cost this generation of students more years of life than have been lost by all the victims of the coronavirus."
https://www.city-journal.org/death-and-lockdowns  

There was far more support for lockdowns among Democrat governors and mayors than Republicans. And much of it was about politics, not public health. Anything to ruin the economy and President Trump; anything to ramp up the charges of racism; anything to grab the brass ring of green. Hate from the Left has killed Americans and will destroy several generations.
And still no evidence that lockdowns have saved any lives.

Do you watch CNN? Stop now--you're being scammed

Getting the latest on Covid from CNN? Project Veritas has a video of a director saying they use it as a cash cow--pressure to report the most negative numbers so they can get more viewers and clicks. "Gangbusters for ratings." Shameful.

Project Veritas: CNN Insider Admits They Hyped COVID Death Toll, It's "Gangbusters For Ratings" | Video | RealClearPolitics

"Charlie Chester, a technical director for CNN, was captured on film by Project Veritas admitting that the cable news network hyped the COVID pandemic for ratings and explaining he believes "there is no such thing as unbiased news."

"Sad news back-to-back-to-back doesn't do really well, unless it affects [the viewer] directly," he explained. "No one ever says these things out loud but it is obvious.""

It's true, you know, more whites are shot by police than blacks, but no one riots

An unarmed white woman with no outstanding warrants was killed by a policeman. A black man wanted for choking and robbery of a woman resisted arrest and is accidentally shot. Which police incident is causing riots and property damage? The white female police officer in the 2nd case has resigned and is already facing 2nd degree manslaughter charges with no investigation. The other policeman is being protected by the Democrats to further their ridiculous "insurrection" story.

Officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt in Capitol riot won't face charges, Justice Department | Just The News

Will the real journalists show up?

The panicked press corps analyzed, fretted and lied about every word, tweet and hand gesture of Donald Trump, yet they simply can't be bothered to investigate Biden's health, relationships with Iran and China, and his crime syndicate family. Is there an Antifa group who are tired of burning down Portland interested in journalism schools?

Trump: W.H. Press Corps Asked Biden 'Ridiculous' Softball Questions (breitbart.com)

Tim Graham: The Pro-Biden press corps is deeply embarrassing – just look at these follow up questions | Fox News

The Pro-Biden Press Corps Is Deeply Embarrassing, by Tim Graham | Creators Syndicate

Pack the court

Democrats can't win control with elections--people come up for reelection or retire or do something stupid and leave office. So it's necessary to 1) pack the court, 2) add 2 new states (Democrat of course), and 3) bring in as many illegal immigrants as possible to vote.

Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America

Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Supreme Court of the United States, after showing that they didn’t have the courage to do what they should have done on the Great Presidential Election Fraud of 2020, was PACKED by the same people, the Radical Left Democrats (who they are so afraid of!), that they so pathetically defended in not hearing the Election Fraud case. Now there is a very good chance they will be diluted (and moved throughout the court system so that they can see how the lower courts work), with many new Justices added to the Court, far more than has been reported. There is also a good chance that they will be term-limited. We had 19 states go before the Supreme Court who were, shockingly, not allowed to be heard. Believe it or not, the President of the United States was not allowed to be heard based on “no standing,” not based on the FACTS. The Court wouldn’t rule on the merits of the great Election Fraud, including the fact that local politicians and judges, not State Legislatures, made major changes to the Election—which is in total violation of the United States Constitution.
Our politically correct Supreme Court will get what they deserve—an unconstitutionally elected group of Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country. With leaders like Mitch McConnell, they are helpless to fight. He didn’t fight for the Presidency, and he won’t fight for the Court. If and when this happens, I hope the Justices remember the day they didn’t have courage to do what they should have done for America."

Why is Biden doing it?

The difference is clear. The two administrations have opposite views on how to handle illegal immigration, both short term and long term.

Trump: prevent border crossing without permission and visas and access to tax payer benefits and American jobs. Border security--wall/fence, technology, human patrol, paying other countries to control their borders.

Biden: open all borders for any nationality for easier crossing by job seekers, relatives, refugees, terrorists, drug cartels, human traffickers. Remove barriers and increase payments for sanctuary cities, college programs, covid relief

.
The question is why? Why did Trump believe nations have rights to secure their borders and why doesn't Biden? Where's the pay off? Which is expansionist? Which is a take-over of another country, its land and people? Is this the new colonialism?

National Sibling Day April 10

 

  

Bob and his siblings and grandfather in 1952.

The pandemic made a lot of people rich

The Pandemic has been VERY lucrative for some. I'm not surprised some want to keep that horse in the race. The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755--660 more than a year ago. Of those, a record high 493 were new to the list--roughly one every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong.

My. Goodness. 210 of 493 from China and Hong Kong. Imagine that. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/

"Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest for the fourth year running, worth $177 billion, while Elon Musk rocketed into the number two spot with $151 billion, as Tesla and Amazon shares surged. Altogether these billionaires are worth $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion in 2020. The U.S. still has the most, with 724, followed by China (including Hong Kong and Macao) with 698. We used stock prices and exchange rates from March 5 to calculate net worths."

The mass shooting in South Carolina

I watched the news yesterday morning expecting to hear something about Thursday's mass shooting in SC,  but it wasn't even mentioned. I think there was brief mention about the shooting in Texas. So I checked. I didn't even know there was a 6th victim. Noticed this victim in a USAToday article, race isn't mentioned, nor the name of the shooter, or his former profession. 

"Robert Shook of Cherryville was working at a rural home in York County, South Carolina, when a gunman, yielding 9mm and .45-caliber handguns, shot him and five other people.

Everyone at the home, including his work partner, James Lewis, died from their injuries, except for Shook, who continues to fight for his life following multiple surgeries at Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The gunman also took his own life."

Survivor of mass shooting from Cherryville still recovering (usatoday.com)

 Suspect in South Carolina mass shooting that killed 5 played in NFL (msn.com)

Some American households may have received $60-70,000 in pandemic relief

 Who would consider going back to work?  In some states the figure is as high as $100,000.

The unemployment insurance benefits paired existing state-level weekly aid with a federal payment ranging from $600/week under the CARES Act to $300 per week under the American Rescue Plan Act. The aid was also extended to workers who usually do not qualify for unemployment benefits, including gig economy workers and independent contractors. Unemployed workers could continue to claim unemployment insurance benefits past the usual 26-week window during the pandemic.

Take, for example, a married household with two young children living in Georgia with a single earner who made $60,000 in 2019. Imagine the single earner lost her job on April 1, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the family would have been eligible for $365 per week from the state of Georgia in unemployment benefits up to 26 weeks and $4,000 in Child Tax Credit, for a total of $13,490.

Read further: https://taxfoundation.org/total-covid-relief-unemployment-insurance/?

On the death of Prince Philip

We received the DVD set of Downton Abbey for Christmas and are now watching it a second time. We just finished (the 2nd time) the episode where the letter between the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Dudley Ward (his mistress for 16 years) was stolen by a card shark and recovered by Mr. Bates, the valet of Lord Grantham. A thief stole it from a thief who was going to use it as blackmail.  With the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, we are reminded that Elizabeth wouldn't be the Queen if the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) hadn't abdicated the throne for another lover, not Mrs. Dudley Ward, but a twice divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson.  So Elizabeth's father became the King.

Another race hoax--this one at Albion College

This doesn't really surprise me--the hoaxes, I mean. https://www.foxnews.com/us/racist-graffiti-michigan-albion-college-student?

The air we breathe is filled with Critical Race Theory, constant digging by academics to bury or revise American history, microaggressions, reeducation camps, sins of the past, lies about the Georgia election, and demands to re-segregate society. Big Tech is allowed/encouraged to squash any discussion. We subscribe to maybe 10 journals--from architecture to history, to preservation, to business and art--all seem to be competing to publish The Great American Wokeism, a Marxist inspired movement that has turned into a cult complete with evangelists, worship centers, priests, perp walks down the sawdust trail to accept the new religion, and media strong arming at every turn.

Our Road to Emmaus

In 2009 we visited the Holy Land on a tour with our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Columbus. St. Jerome called this kind of pilgrimage, the fifth gospel. And it is, indeed, as all the readings and stories you've heard for years come alive.

 
According to Fr. Sebastian White (editor of Magnificat, April 2021, p. 3-5) the one place we're not sure we saw is Emmaus, the place two disciples were heading when the risen Jesus joined them on the road. There are 6 contenders! Not to worry, the Bible is very clear even if modern explorers can't agree on the historical location. It's the road that represents "every place," -- "the road every Christian, every person takes. The risen Jesus makes himself our traveling companion as we go on our way, to rekindle the warmth of faith and hope in our hearts and to break the bread of eternal life." (Pope Benedict XVI)

Child murder statistics compared to Covid19

"American children 14 years and younger are more likely to be murdered than to die because of COVID-19, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/03/18/more-children-14-and-under-are-murdered-than-die-of-covid-19/?

That's not a pleasant topic, but their violent deaths also didn't close down the schools. And if you scroll through all the statistics (this article is loaded), it doesn't tell you that children under 5 are in danger of homicide, but it's their parents, not strangers or neighbors. Particularly their mothers and their boyfriends, and it's not guns either. Homicide has drastically gone down in all age groups the last 25 years, but has gone up in that one, and black children are way out of proportion to their population.

Although statistics for women who murder are far lower than men, for homicides involving young children the percentage is very high, and going up the last few decades. No one knows why, but I suspect it's abortion creating a disrespect for life and breaking the mother-child bond.

Collecting My Thoughts: Do black lives matter?

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - Race and Ethnicity of Violent Crime Offenders and Arrestees, 2018

Wall Street Journal reports economic crisis is over

The economy is set to soar, but the Biden /Democrat hysteria choir is trying to tap it down so it can grab more green goodies at your expense.

"The latest evidence arrived Monday with the Institute for Supply Management’s news that its March survey for service businesses hit 63.7. That’s an all-time high, and it signifies rapid growth and optimism. The only problem is that many businesses say they can’t find enough workers or supplies to meet their order books.

That follows Friday’s blowout employment report for March, with a net total of 1.07 million new jobs including revisions from the previous two months. Wage gains were bigger than they looked at first glance, given that many returning workers were those in lower-wage services jobs hurt by the pandemic." Wall St. Journal

Cancel the egg rolls. Hire CBS to do a hit piece on Florida's governor. Bust open the border with more infected immigrants and ship them around the country. Keep the schools closed with teachers union (which funds 99.9% Democrat candidates) cooperation. Send Fauci to all the talk shows with even more confusing information.

Egg rolls cancelled because of Covid

I don't care much for "egg rolls" which are traditional at Easter, but cancelling them at the White House or locally in our town was a political statement, not a health statement. They are done outside, and the WH lawn is huge. The numbers could have been limited, there was plenty of space for distancing, and even children, who don't need masks, could have worn them. It was just another Biden /Democrat bureaucracy announcement that we are under his control and power, and we better not forget it.

 
We took our children ONCE as pre-schoolers to the local event in the early 70s, and swore never again. It was a mob of screaming, fighting, yelling suburban kids who one would have thought hadn't eaten in weeks. It terrified our little ones and we never went to another one.

 

We had our own Easter egg hunt at our house in 1973 with the Clarks. Phil and Rich used their cowboy hats as Easter baskets.