Patterico's Pontifications

5/2/2019

Republicans, Also Republicans

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:05 pm



Republicans: who cares whether Barr’s letter about the Mueller report was misleading? The 400+ page report itself came out a couple of weeks later, including the very executive summaries Mueller wanted Barr to release. As long as the substance comes out eventually, it doesn’t matter at all what the public’s initial impression of it was!

Also Republicans: I can’t believe the headline on this news article about the Mueller report didn’t say he found no collusion! Sure, the article says it, but it should have been in the headline! It doesn’t matter that the substance is in the article because the public’s initial impression comes from the headline!

Thanks to DRJ for the analogy.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

In Our Civilized Society, Why Isn’t Everyone Pouncing On Democrat Lawmaker Saying “Kill Them Now Or Kill Them Later”?

Filed under: General — Dana @ 4:41 pm



[guest post by Dana]

This doesn’t seem hard but I guess if one is desperate to maintain the illusion that abortion is not about a baby but a faceless clump of cells, better to mock those who believe every life is sacred for their intense pushback, pouncing, and seizing after hearing the staggering comments made by a lawmaker rather than growing a moral spine and condemning advocacy for eugenics being played out on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives.

This is Rep. John Rogers (D) filibustering in the Alabama State House during the lead up to the vote on a pro-life bill that would tighten up restrictions on abortion. .

In the first clip, Rogers bluntly embraces the utilitarian point of view on abortion:

It ought to be a woman’s choice. I’m not about to be a man and tell a woman what to do with her body. She has a right to make her decisions herself.

Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later.

In the second clip, Rogers moves to straight-up eugenics, while at the same time unwittingly confirms that these are indeed, real life babies we are talking about:

He went on to explain that some children may be aborted because they are “retarded” and “half-deformed.”

Some parents can’t handle a child with problems. “It could be retarded. It might have no arms and no legs.”

Again, it’s unfathomable that everyone isn’t pouncing and seizing and condemning Rogers for his barbaric advocacy. What does it say about a culture when the right to kill is more highly-valued and more vigorously fought for than the right to live? How the most vulnerable are treated by a people, and the extent to which they are valued, reflects the soul of a society. When that society readily justifies the killing of innocent beings because they are less than perfect and even equates their short existence with an adult who was given the actual opportunity to live and breathe and know life, then the gig is up.

Today Rogers doubled-down on his statements:

The Al.com reporter pressed Rogers to clarify his remarks. “So you said they’re unwanted children, kill them now, it doesn’t matter, it’s the same thing as killing them later?” she asked.

“Right,” Rogers answered, continuing to justify his comments by citing the hardships people are facing in Alabama. “You close thirteen rural hospitals, and going through Medicare Expansion,” he said. “You got at least two people a night getting killed in our prisons, and then we keep locking them in prisons and building prisons — locking them up in prisons by the droves. So therefore, you kill them anyway. You denying them the right to get food stamps. You got to get drug tested to get food stamps–’cause you on drugs mean you starve to death!” Rogers exclaimed. “So therefore, you kill them anyways.”

With permission, I am sharing this because it presents a stark – and very real – contrast to Rogers’ claims. Several weeks ago a friend shared with me that her daughter’s close friend had been told by doctors in her 17th week of pregnancy that her baby would be born with a rare birth defect known as Encephalocele. The defect was irreparable. Yet, even when hearing the diagnosis, the young woman of faith was compelled to carry the baby as long as she was able. Because whether perfect or imperfect, this baby was a testimony that life was being housed in her womb, and she would continue to provide shelter and nourishment and every other miraculous gift a mother’s body provides on the journey to life. In spite of the doctors not expecting the baby to survive past 25 weeks gestation, a full-term baby girl was delivered several weeks ago via C-section. For the short 21 hours of her life, the baby rested on her mother’s breast and remained there while both mother and father enveloped her in their mighty love. A mother who, although knowing that the odds of survival were extremely low, chose to give her baby breath and welcome her to the world.

This unwavering commitment to life-affirming principles is humbling. As this young couple now make their way through a season of mourning, please say a prayer for them. Had she opted to abort upon finding out about the rare birth defect, there would have been no condemnation from me. Only compassionate prayers. Life can be brutally cruel. It seems that between its trials and tribulations, we are gifted with a few golden moments to tuck away in our hearts that can later be pulled out when the unbearable happens. It is then that we are reminded of Hope and Grace and enduring Love. And that it won’t always be like this. For the believer, suffering in the name of Christ is the heart of faith. It looks to the eternal with sureness that at the end of our days, we will be reunited with those loved ones who have gone before us. This young woman believed that abortion was not an option. To her, the only option was life – no matter how fleeting it might be. And one tiny 6 lb. 15 oz. wisp of baby girl was able to know and receive that breath of love for a brief moment. Never unwanted, never rejected because of her imperfections, simply loved beyond all description.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

Bill and Hill Prepare to Do L.A.

Filed under: General — JVW @ 7:02 am



[guest post by JVW]

Friends, we’re just two days away from the top Los Angeles intellectual/cultural/social event of the spring, nay, entire year. I refer of course to “An Evening with the Clintons,” the resumption of their multi-city speaking tour where they promise — just a second while I check the website — ah, yes, “a one-of-a-kind conversation with two individuals who have helped shape our world and had a front seat to some of the most important moments in modern history.” The Los Angeles leg of their multi-city tour takes place on Saturday night at the Forum, where the Lakers won a bunch of NBA titles a generation ago before they built a more modern and luxurious arena downtown. (You think that might be a metaphor for something, perhaps a certain spent political dynasty?)

The show apparently consists of our ex-President and ex-First Lady/Senator/Secretary of State/Inevitable Next President of the United States reminiscing on their long careers in (*cough, cough, cough*) “public service.” The format doesn’t appear to allow you, the piddling little taxpayer, to directly address Their Clintonic Majesties, so a moderator is brought in order to provide the questions and to keep the conversation moving. And what moderators this tour is using! A veritable galaxy of luminaries and public intellectuals like. . . like. . . like Paul Begala (New York)! And Ben Stiller (Detroit)! And Star Jones (Wallingford, CT — hey, you know you’re big time when you’re playing Wallingford)! And, uh, somebody named Tony Goldwyn (Boston), who must be a huge deal if he was given such a plumb gig as this! Here is an exciting tidbit to keep you on the edge of your seat: the Los Angeles moderator has not yet been announced! What major public intellect might be enticed to tease out the Deep Thoughts of Bill and Hillary? Antonio Villaraigosa? Sarah Silverman? Maybe — dare we hope! — Alyssa Milano? In any case, I’m sure the event organizers will have no trouble finding some out-of-work celebrity to come and keep the conversation moving along through the consistent application of predetermined softball questions handily printed on some 4 x 6 cards clutched tightly in the moderator’s hands.

So by now you’re probably pretty bummed that you missed out on your opportunity to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. Oh sure, you’re probably thinking, I know I’ve read that ticket sales have been lackluster at other venues, but this is Los Angeles — Hollywood! — where Bill is fondly remembered as a Harvey Weinstein who quit while he was ahead and where Hillary won 72% of the vote just 30 months ago. Obviously this event has long been sold out and anyone who wants to catch the Dissembling Duo in action is going to have shell out the big bucks in the resale market, right? Well, maybe not so. As of 8:00 pm Wednesday night, here is a seat map of all of the available seats, with those still available via the box-office shown in blue and those available via the resale market shown in red:

Forum Seat Map for Clintons

Note that a whole lot of tickets are being sold via Ticketmaster on a promotion referred to as “National Concert Week” for the modest rate of $15 each, or in leftist terms, one hour’s mandated wage for a entry-level job. Note too that the upper-most decks of the Forum appear to only have the first two rows available for seating, and no seats behind the stage are apparently being utilized for the event. I’m not taking the time to hand-count what’s left, but it would appear that there are at least 1,500 and perhaps upwards of 2,000 seats on sale, in a venue that is probably configured to hold no more than 10,000 for the event. If you go to the interactive map on Ticketmaster, you can take a moment to feel sorry for suckers trying to sell their seats for $100, having probably paid close to that when the event first went on sale, while tickets right next to them are being discounted by the promoters down to $15.

The Clintons do very well for themselves, but almost everyone who goes into business with them ends up broke or incarcerated. Too bad Live Nation took the bait. All that’s left now to see what sort of hagiographic nonsense review appears in Sunday’s Dog Trainer under the byline of Robin Abcarain or Michael Hitzlik.

– JVW


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