Some consider the Nation’s Capital as “Fantasyland on the Potomac”. Other outsiders are “Fed Up” with the Federal City. It's better to consider D.C. as “the District of Calamity” (sic).
Michael Moore used to play the part of Agent Provacateur against America by creating puckish polemic documentary films. Now the millionaire socialist just takes to Twitter to incite anger amongst the underclass,
Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to have captured Michael Moore's modus operandi in the satirical action comedy Team America World Police (2004).
As Michael Moore's dystopian dreams will soon be chanted by Occupyistas that are egged on to take the streets allegedly to protest police brutality, but in reality they are the useful idiots for a Cloward-Pliven strategy to change the polity.
While I am unlikely to agree with Moore's socialist screeds, his contentions seem ludicrous in 140 character snippets. It would be wonderful if Moore returned to making political farces like Canadian Bacon (1995) to make his points rather than inflaming unrest via social media
Mark Ruffalo, the actor who plays the Hulk in Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), is also a progressive voice on social media. But instead of focusing on Climate Change as is his wont, Ruffalo chose to be an avenger of supposed white privilege.
Ruffalo commended an article from a liberal website and urged White America to stop talking about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Baltimore 'Riots'. It would seem from Ruffalo's punctuation that he doubts that there was rioting in the Charm City. Oh, so the millions of dollars in damage from looting and burning was all a chimera, just like Ruffalo's green screen cinematic heroics.
More likely, Ruffalo considers the unrest part of the Baltimore Uprising, a liberal justification for malfeasance because of years of governmental oppression. Well, Democrats have consistently ruled Baltimore since 1967. The Obama Administration has been in power for nearly 6 1/2 years. So the so called Baltimore Uprising is against Democrats, Obama-- of course not, it's the Republican Congress' fault per President Obama.
What is intriguing is Ruffalo's advocacy for intellectual apartheid. Ruffalo cautions "White America" not to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. about Baltimore. So truth is acceptable based upon the pigmentation of the person. Isn't that what Martin Luther King fought against? Progressives have come a long way from diversity to right think fascism. This is like the "Check Your White Privilege" at the door, in which even allies are silenced because they do not fit the proper pigeonhole.
Historically, one could argue that Dr. King became more radicalized later in his life opposing the Vietnam War and planning for the Poor Peoples' Campaign in 1968 before he was assassinated. This weltanschaaung would be eager to associate MLK with supporting the economically undertrodden like West Baltimore.
However, much of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy was about character and self discipline. MLK's niece, Dr. Alveda King, stresses how those who were participating in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s needed to be inculcated with discipline to be non-violent no matter what provocations and to stand together for what is right. That sort of emphasis on character contradicts the politically correct conclusion that rioters are rightfully acting up because of economic or policing provocations.
It seems that liberals are trying to rewrite Dr. King's legacy to be only acceptable for selective quotations by the "proper people". It is bad enough that the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King employs copyright lawfare to control MLK's image and profit from his words. Now, progressives want to restrict quoting MLK based on skin color or inconvenient truths.
As someone who appreciates aphorisms, I come across pearls of wisdom from figures who have a complicated legacy. But it is a mistake to dismiss the thought simply because the person is not perfect. Public figures with whom I may not readily align myself can offer instances of insight. Should we apply a racial test to discern if we can agree?
As a conservative, I have learned to detach my feelings about an entertainer's opinions from their performance. My modest proposal is that Ruffalo apply a similar philosophy between wisdom and the source citing it.
The Avengers: The Age of Ultron opens on May 1st. It would seem that Mr. Ruffalo does not care if he offends "White People" just before opening weekend.
Never let it be said that there is not a diversity of viewpoints on the Fox News Channel. Shepard Smith, who used to anchor the 7 PM News Hour has of late been relegated to his other show at 3 PM along with heading the FNC Breaking News division.
The coverage of the Baltimore Riots on Monday afternoon started to encroach into the opinion portion of FNC's lineup with "The Five". Shepard Smith had been giving context for the bad behavior in Baltimore, echoing the liberal line that it was all about police brutality and the Freddie Gray death.
Greg Gutfeld finally had enough of Shep justifying the rioting and called Shep out. While it may be difficult for Shep, he should stick to straight news delivery. He's whimsical and warming. But he goes astray when a newsie delves into opining on breaking news, particularly for FNC
The video of the unidentified other who saw her son rioting in the streets of Baltimore then chased him down and slapped him upside of the head was emblematic.
After the unrest in Baltimore around the death of Freddie Gray on Saturday night, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D-Baltimore) gave an interesting press conference. Mayor Rawlings-Blake wanted to show sympathy towards the black lives matter protests while simultaneously showing responsibility. So the Democrat Baltimore Mayor talked about the balancing test between peoples' right to protest and keeping people safe.
Mayor Rawlings-Blake infamously uttered the assertion: "We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that." So the exercise of free speech includes property damage? What else can we conclude from Mayor Rawlings-Blake's assertion?
The technology for the memory hole is not so advanced that those bold words have disappeared. In fact, with the internet "a space to destroy" is part of Mayor Rawlings-Blake's permanent record.
Even if Mayor Rawlings-Blake did not mean to say "a space to destroy", one can observe the leadership which she displayed and make informed inferences. Why did the adult curfew not start until the night AFTER Baltimore burned? Residents of the vandalized neighborhoods wondered why the police phalanx stepped back and watched rioters loot stores, steal cars and set fires on the streets. Were the police on orders to stand down and let the "protesters" have their space for free speech and a space to destroy?
The White House
Correspondents' Dinner has been an annual event since 1921 when the press corp
rubs elbows with the Administration in a social, cocktail fueled supper. Some serious journalists, like New York Times columnist Frank Rich have refused to go to the dinner as it "illustrates how easily a
propaganda-driven White House can enlist the Washington news media in its
shows."
In recent years,
the White House Correspondents' Dinner has drawn increased public attention and
glamour as the guest list has grown to be
"more Hollywood". The event has evolved from a humble one night affair
into a week long celebration by
celebutards, power players and the press. The WHCD attendees certainly ate well, unlike many DC Dinners of rubber chicken.
Patrick Gavin, a
reporter formerly of Politico and the Washington Examiner, produced the film "Nerd Prom" (2015) which documented the pomp and circumstance of the 2014
White House Correspondence Dinner. The
title derives from the face that most of the reporters would not have been the
cool kids in secondary school, so the
White House Correspondents' Dinner is a replacement prom.
As a political animal residing in the District of Calamity (sic), I appreciate opportunities to make light of my favorite contact sport--politics. But knowing that the press corps is overwhelmingly liberal and the timidity of inquiries during Presidential press briefings of late, it is unreasonable to expect that the jokes would be evenly divided. But by mining the nuggets from the nabobs of the Nerd Prom from Celebrity in Chief President Barack Obama and keynote comedienne Cecily Strong one can discern some interesting insights.
Cecily Strong was the keynote speaker. While Strong is a Saturday Night Live cast member, she was not a marquis name. Strong self-deprecatingly quipped that she was the vaguely ethnic woman featured in college recruitment brochures. Strong reveled that she was the first female host of the White House Press big bash in years. Strong also noted: “I’m also the first straight woman to host this in 20 years, so, we finally made it, straight people.". Thus the routine was going to be packed with progressive identity politics with an emphasis on female power and gay glory.
It was clear from the material that Strong was not a Washington insider. She wanted to play up sex scandals in the Capital City, so she segued “It is great to be here at the Washington Hilton… is something a prostitute might say to a congressman.” Then Strong pivoted to the point by musing: “The Washington Hilton you guys. If these walls could talk. They’d probably say ‘clean me.’” Kind of funny, but when a District of Calamity denizen associates hotels with scandals, toe sucking at the Hay Adams (by then Clinton adviser Dick Morris) and the Mayflower (where Democrat NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer rented room 941 with his Empire Club call girl) or maybe DC Mayor Marion Berry's drug bust at the Vista. The Capital Hilton is remembered as the Hotel where President Reagan was shot in 1981. But why let reality get in the way with a funny quip.
Strong played up the progressive press pieties by jabbing that Memories Pizza from Elkhorn Indiana would not be catering because of a rumor that Barney Frank would be attending thus they could not taste that world class Indiana Pizza. A triple play in a homage to the homosexual lobby, a fly-over country jab and massaging the egos of Nerd Prom. Of course, the family pizza joint does not cater (but got caught up in a media made mess over RFRA and same sex weddings in INDIANA), Rep. Frank left Congress over two years ago and these media nabobs would never be caught eating pizza in public. Strong worked in hits on Hobby Lobby being anti-women with opposing contraception (for employees of a faith based corporation), even though that was a Supreme Court decision nearly a year old.
Some of Strong's ziggers were sharp, but her delivery was weak. Her stand-up did not pack a strong punch (sic). It might have hurt that she kept looking down to read her one liners, which accented her exaggerated fake eyelashes. It seems that she could not get use of TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States).
Strong seemed more successful when using props and slight physical comedy. For example, Strong scourged Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL 18th) with a slide show mocking his travels and surfing while implying infidelity. That was less than courageous comedy as Schock announced his resignation six weeks ago over funding improprieties (not sexual harassment) and left town a month ago. When Strong chose to savage Mr. Obama about being weak on ISIS, she could not utter his name but did an eye roll towards the President.
Where Strong seemed equal opportunity in her irreverence was towards the media. Strong zinged CNN over its Ebola obsession, MSNBC for being long winded and showing prison documentaries and lamenting over FoxNews losing viewers ("May they rest in peace") and being like a party scene from Weekend at Bernie's (1989) full of hot women and old guys. Strong did not spare NPR or the Huffington Post's alliance with AOL.
Initially, Strong said that she could not say anything about Brian Williams since she worked for NBC. But during the Shock and Aw surfing slideshow, Strong said sotto voce "Brian Wiliams, come on--you weren't there.". The camera panned to a black female reporter who had a priceless look of disgust on her face.
It was telling how the room gravitates towards the camera, as Strong joked that print media was serving the tables and there was appreciative laughter. It was funny when Strong spoke to CSPAN viewers in their native tongue "Meow".
Strong slammed law enforcement by claiming that the Secret Service it was the only law enforcement agency that would get in trouble if a black man was shot was edgy while fueling the police brutality narrative. Strong's quip that Mr. Obama's hair had gotten so white that it could talk back to the police also reflected the racial divide and the false hands up don't shoot narrative.
These "jokes" were delivered as there was civil unrest occurring in Baltimore, forty miles to the north. When the Mayor of Baltimore holds Orioles fans in their seats because there are rioters outside of Camden Yards, this ceased to be funny even for black satire. It just shows how the Amtrak corridor elites are out of touch as well as pushing a progressive narrative.
Vice President Joe Biden was the butt of several stinging observations. Strong noted that her Amtrak experience was augmented by a Biden massage seat, alluding to his creepy tendency to manhandle women standing next to him. Later, Strong quipped that our national treasure Joe Biden could be found in a ball pit at Chucky Cheese. So much for the boomlet of Biden for President in 2016.
Strong was unabashed in her support for Hillary Clinton's White House run. It seems that it was important to put a "real woman" in the White House, not a right woman like Carly Fiorina. No surprise from a celebrity waxing politically. Strong did joke about foreign entities getting more favorable treatment by contributing to the Clinton fund. But Strong tried to be serious by chiding the press not to comment on Hillary's appearance, which garnered modest applause. But the press has already been told how to cover Hillary and they know that going against these demands will cause them to loose access, get minders following them or be locked in a holding cell during events.
[L] Keegan Michael Keys at "Luther" the Anger Translator & [R] Barack Obama as the 44th President
of the United States at the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner
Some feel the President Obama demeaned the office by the puckish slideshow which included a picture of the President swimming in a White House fountain. However, Mr. Obama already demeaned the prestige of the Presidency by granting an extended interview with an internet phenom whose claim to fame was bathing in a tub of Fruit Loops and milk. So when Mr. Obama opined that his new policy methodology rhymed with "Buck it", it fit right in with the vulgar values of a Daily Show and Reddit audience.
That being said, Mr. Obama displays an odd sense of humor in public. One wonders why he continually goes back to birther jokes-- is this a political dog whistle, a psychological perseveration or a healthy sense of humor? And his comment that he needed as much money as the rumored $1 Billion that the Koch Brothers will contribute to the Presidential campaign in this election as he has a middle name of "Hussein" seems strange and in your face to the American electorate. Mr. Obama's writers had a clever quip based on Bernie Sanders that: "We could put a pot smoking, socialist back in the White House-- an Obama third term.". Is that reductio ad absurdum humor or epater le bourgeosie?
Part of President Obama's shtick was assisted through an anger translator played by Keegan Michael Key. This skit culminated by Mr. Obama feigning losing his cool over racial issues and his "anger translator" holding him back. This segment had been preceded by allusions to Blackish. This obsession with race contradicts Mr. Obama's first forays onto the public scene as a post-racial President. More alarmingly, playing up internalized anger over racial strife seems to fan the flames of Fergusion which are now burning in Baltimore.
The Lame Duck President could afford to take some jabs at the Presidential field. Obama unleashed a few stingers at Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) which shows who liberal elites seem to fear. While Mr. Obama mocked much of the Republican field, I do not recall any snide snips against Governor Scott Walker (R-WI). Surprisingly, President Obama gave a towel snap to his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-AR NY). Mr. Obama joked about a friend living in a van in Iowa, which alluded to Hillary in the "Scooby" Mystery Machine during her brief Iowa listening tour. This reveals the reality that there is not much love lost between the Clinton and the Obama "dynasties".
All in all, the writing for the 2015 White House Correspondent's dinner was better than most Saturday Night Live political skits. Unfortunately, Strong's delivery lacked a punch. Mr. Obama showed his snarky side, which was smooth but not flattering. Even his attempts at self depricating humor about being self absorbed were not endearing. But at least First Lady Michelle Obama let the crowd enjoy roast before these self important nabobs at the Nerd Prom are condemned to consume cake. No wonder some serious journalists refuse to make spectacles of themselves in self congratulatory ceremonies. The only thing missing from the White House Correspondents' Dinner from entertainment awards shows is an array of lucite trophies beng awarded. It has been said that "Politics is Hollywood for ugly." But Patrick Gavin is right that the White House Correspondents' Dinner is not Hollywood for the ugly, it's a Nerd Prom. The only trouble with this analogy is that Nerds are capable of making useful contributions (despite their social awkwardness), whereas today's crop of White House Correspondents seem like either stenographers for their Dear Leader or "jo-whore-nalists" for a progressive cause.
President Obama, fresh off a Florida photo-op in the Everglades for Earth Day, resumed his role as Celebrity in Chief by greeting the New England Patriots on the White House South Lawn in honor of their Super Bowl victory. Mr. Obama must have been warming up for the Nerd Prom (a.k.a. the White House correspondence dinner) as he tried a few jokes that fell flat.
It certainly is friendly banter to wish that Beantown would allow the Windy City to win a championship or two. Joking that Gronk should keep his shirt on seemed like a hip towel snap. But making a Deflate-gate joke falls flat. This photo op was supposed to honor the victory of the Patriots, yet Mr. Obama threw a pick and forced his guests to react nervously.
A hundred years ago, a genocide began which eliminated 1.5 million Armenian Christians through forced migration, torture and massacre. The world was fixated on the Great War in Europe and the many lives lost to were practically ignored Armenia was far away as well as the vigorous denials by the Turks,
One man at the time who did not turn a blind eye to the atrocity was Mehmet Celal Bey, a Turkish official who is known in some circles as the Ottoman Oskar Schindler.
Even after 100 years, denial is not just a river in Egypt.
The Centennary of the Armenian Genocide is instructive as the world currently is seeing a massacre of Christians by Muslim extremists, like ISIS, Boko Haraam and Al Shabaab, and much of the so called civilized world is non-plussed by the atrocity and believes that it does not affect them. Or our feckless leaders acknowledge the horrific event but never name the perpetrators (radical Islamism) or do not acknowledge the identity of the victims (Christians or Jews).
First, the singer songwriter who originated the peppy hit "Happy" jetted to Davos, Switzerland to be with former Vice President (and Inconvenient Truth purveyor) Al Gore to announce a second round of Live Earth concerts in June which is intended to "harmonize humanity all at once."
[L] Al Gore [C] Pharrell Williams at World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland 2015
While Pharrell Williams fondly remembers having a ball at the Rio de Janeiro concert in 2007, he lamented: “You would have pundits and comedians who didn’t understand global
warming and we were often ridiculed. We wanted to do something very
different this time.”
Pharrell lent his celebrity status to the International Day of Happiness at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 20th. His clarion call to convert from Climate Change to Climate Action rings hollow considering his hypocrisy. Pharrell sits alone on a private plane and globe trots in order to attend green dog and pony shows, yet the little people are supposed to sacrifice for climate change. To celebrate Earth Day with a telling backdrop, President Barack Obama flew to the Everglades for an event (as Alligator Alley can be portrayed to be already effected by Climate Change). Per Mark Knoller, that day trip to Florida was an 1869 mile jaunt in which Air Force One 9,180 gallons of fuel alone. But that's OK, since the President's plane also ferried Bill Nye the Mechanical Engineer billing himself as a Science Guy for PBS Kids, in a "Call to Action"
That must have covered their carbon footprint, right? If that's not enough policy pollution, consider the Global Citizen Earth Day Concert on the National Mall last weekend. Hoards of ecologically conscious citizens of the world flocked to see Mary Blige Usher and the Fall Out Boy. The organizers may have been proud that the concert was powered through solar power, they ought to be ashamed at how their people left the open space in the District of Calamity (sic).
Unfortunately, in the ensuing nine months, the 44th President has done nothing to burnish his mantle of being a humanitarian. Powers pointed to the recent joint press conference between Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and President Obama at the White House. Renzi's reaction to the news that Muslims on a refugee boat from Africa threw twelve Christians overboard into the Mediterranean for their faith was that it was a "one off event" and that it did not reflect a clash of religious. Mr. Obama remained mute.
For the seventh year, the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride started from the South Lawn of the White House.
The Wounded Warrior Soldier's ride is an annual, nationwide event which allows veterans and wounded servicemen to bond by cycling. It was conceived in 2004 by Chris Carney, a Long Island bartender, in order to raise money and support our wounded warriors through a coast-to-coast bike ride. Today the Wounded Warrior Project can claim 68,000 alumni who have found some solace from their injuries by cycling with their Warrior comrades.
For the White House stop, over 50 riders from all branches of the armed forces took the three day, 60 mile cycling challenge. Many of the participants rode adapted bicycles.
During an appearance on CNN's State of the Nation, former Senator and Governor Lincoln Chafee (R, I, D-RI) launched himself into the fight for the Democrat nomination to deny former First Lady/ Senator/ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-AR, NY) a simple coronation. It seems that former Governor Charlie Crist (R, I, D-FL) was unwilling to play the part of a foil. It should be noted that
Chafee somewhat walked back his announcement during the show, noting that he only opened an exploratory committee, but that is merely a pro forma legal nicety.
Progressives may pine for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to throw her headdress into the ring, the Bay State junior Senator has declined to do so. That leaves Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) potentially holding the progressive standard. But the 73 year old socialist Senator is not seen as a serious contender to quash the coronation.
So Lincoln Chafe's revaunchist run may have him serve as the anti-war challenger to force Hillary to run to the left before she pivots to the center for the general election. It is questionable an anti-war animus will be a uniting force among Democrat voters, particularly if President Obama feels compelled to send combat troops to a trouble zone before the July 2016 Philadelphia convention.
Despite the slim chances that Chafee has of securing the nomination, at least his inchoate campaign is more substantive that the Hillary 2016 listening tour road trip to Iowa in the "Scooby" Mystery Machine.
Governor Martin O'Malley (D-MD), a prospective challenger to Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for the Democrat Presidential nomination, come out strongly for same-sex marriage. O'Malley was wont to claim it as a human right (akin to those inalienable rights annunciated in the Declaration of Independence), not a state (or federal) right.
O'Malley's quip is also a chip against Mrs. Clinton, who went from calling traditional marriage being a fundamental bedrock principle of society to being all in for gay marriage.
Pope Francis has been expressing his faith based perspectives on Gender Theory and the basis of a covenantal sacramental marriage.
These pronouncements may cause a media metanoia tamping down euphoric expectations of alternative lifestyle advocates for the October 2015 Synod on the Family. Moreover, it would seem that The Advocate may rue naming Pope Francis the person of the year in 2013.
Now it has been revealed that House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA 49th) had sent a letter to the State Department on December 12, 2012 which specifically asked if the Secretary of State ever used a personal email account to conduct official business. Uh oh.
Well, Mrs. Clinton resigned from the State Department February 1, 2013. The State Department did not respond to the House Government Reform Committee until March 27, 2013 and their response merely was a copy of the policy that all State Department employees : “should make it clear that his or her personal email is not being used for official business.”.
While the Lamestream Media sought to create a frenzy for Hillary's Mystery Machine Listening Tour road trip to Iowa, Mrs. Clinton is slipping in the polls in key battleground states to Republican challengers. Quinnipiac Poll Assistant Director Peter Brown attributes this drop to the perception that Hillary Clinton is a dishonest politician, which can be attributed to the continuing email embarrassment.
If convicted, an official who obstructs or destroys federal documents could be barred from office. It is almost inconceivable that an Obama Department of Justice (under Attorney General Eric Holder or the stalled nominee Loretta Lynch) would ever prosecute or seek to convict such a high profile progressive politician. But there are no such strictures in the court of public opinion. Hillary for America intends to raise $2.5 billion for their campaign. But she who raises the most cash does not always win (sic). In 1980, Governor John Connally (D R-TX) was considered a great orator and had a distinct fundraising advantage. In the end, Connally spent $11 million and only garnered one delegate. How embarrassing. Actually, not as embarrassing as Hillary's continuing email embarrassments.
As Hillary Clinton (D-AR NY) was "getting started" with her Presidential campaign, she seems stuck on reruns.
While the former First Lady/ Senator/ Secretary of State kicked off her campaign with another video, but this time as a social media infomercial.The 2016 edition had better production value, the champion of the ordinary people message to earn your vote seemed like a slight variation of "let's talk" ala 2007.
Then Hillary set off on a trip to Iowa for a listening tour with ordinary Americans. Hillary made her mark on the hustings for the 2000 Senate campaign with a listening tour in Western New York, so this was deja vous all over again. But it should be noted that during the 2008 cycle, Hillary's "Let's Talk" video conferencing did not have the same magic in Iowa, and she eventually came in third during the Hawkeye Cauci.
Rather than to jet to Iowa, Hillary Clinton drove off to Iowa in a van dubbed "Scooby". Of course, Hillary has not been behind the wheel since 1996. So better put, the Secret Service escorted her in the same vehicle in which she is driven about in New York.
Then there is the mincing moniker "Scooby". Presumably, the Scooby tag is meant to be charming and humanizing. But the nickname is also in reruns. The Hillary, Inc. transport "van" was also christened "The Mystery Machine" for the 2000 Senate campaign. The only semblance that the 2016 Scooby has with the Hanna Barbara Mystery Machine is that you can't see out the sides. The cartoon wheels was a panel van whereas Hillary is chauffer in a limo van with tinted windows which separates the principle protectee from the hoi polloi.
Hillary's Mystery Machine worked quite well as Mrs. Clinton could order a burrito bowl with Huma Abedin at a Maumee, Ohio Chipotle restaurant wearing black sunglasses inside and no one noticed her (or cared).
This might be a successful strategy for anonymity, but missed the mark on connecting with the common folk who Hillary is supposed to be championing.
