By Mike Huckabee
August 4, 2020
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WE HAVE REACHED PEAK PORTLANDIA
Oh please, let this the moment when the current anti-police hysteria mixed with far-left, dogma-spouting, self-righteous “cancel culture” warriors reaches such peak idiocy that all Americans come together as one in agreement that they are so ridiculous, they should just be laughed out of the room.
The NW Film Center in Portland (naturally -- this story also illustrates Peak Portland) canceled a planned summer drive-in showing of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger action comedy “Kindergarten Cop” after Portland author Lois Leveen stirred up a social media campaign against it.
Leveen wrote: “There's nothing entertaining about the presence of police in schools, which feeds the 'school-to-prison' pipeline in which African American, Latinx and other kids of color are criminalized rather than educated. Five- and 6-year-olds are handcuffed and hauled off to jail routinely in this country. And this criminalizing of children increases dramatically when cops are assigned to work in schools."
Okay, are five-year-olds “routinely” handcuffed and hauled off to jail? Do we put minors in jail at all? I’ve heard of the police being called on very young kids, but that’s usually by hypersensitive liberal educationists who want to arrest a kid for pointing his finger and saying “Bang” or a little boy for kissing a little girl on the cheek. Those stories make news for two reasons: They’re so rare, and they’re so idiotic. The latter is the same reason this story made news.
Leveen went on, "It's true ‘Kindergarten Cop’ is only a movie. So are ‘Birth of a Nation’ and ‘Gone With the Wind,’ but we recognize films like those are not 'good family fun.' They are relics of how pop culture feeds racist assumptions. Because despite what the movie shows, in reality, schools don't transform cops. Cops transform schools, and in an extremely detrimental way."
Because of this laughably absurd nonsense (is this the first time anyone ever compared “Kindergarten Cop” to “Gone With The Wind”?), the organizers actually canceled the showing. It will be replaced with a screening of “Good Trouble,” a documentary about the late civil rights leader John Lewis, which I’m sure is a fine film and one that families with kids will really get into on a hot summer night at the drive-in. I hope the refreshment stand remembers to replace the Cokes and popcorn with green tea and kale.
As Dave Barry would say, I am not making this up. It’s a real story and definitive evidence that the far-left, anti-cop cancel culture “is a toomah” on America. A brain toomah, apparently.
MUST-READ ARTICLE
This is a Must-Read Article by Nathaneal Black at The Federalist about how this Supreme Court, aided and abetted primarily by swinging door Chief Justice John Roberts, is reducing Christians to second-class citizens.
Takeaway: the left is aggressively trying to impose its beliefs on everyone with no regard for First Amendment religious freedom rights, and Christians cannot depend on the courts to protect those rights.
The way to stop this is to elect legislators who will reaffirm religious liberty and end the abuse of regulations by unelected bureaucrats to force religious people and organizations to bend to the left’s agenda. There are enough people of faith in America that if we all showed up and voted our principles, we would capture an overwhelming majority of the government. The most important next step is showing up in November to reelect President Trump, who has done more for religious freedom than any President of my lifetime, so that he can appoint more Supreme Court Justices and render the fickle votes of Justice Roberts moot.
A TALE OF TWO CITY PAPERS
The New York Times ran an editorial Tuesday calling for scrapping the Presidential debates. Of course, this “isn’t written out of any concern that Donald Trump will prevail over Joe Biden in the debates; Mr. Biden has done just fine in a long string of such contests.” No, it’s because the debates are just quip contests, and viewers learn nothing of substance from them (they might learn that Joe Biden can’t remember a quip.)
Meanwhile, on the very same day, the competing New York Post ran an editorial with this headline: “Suddenly, Dems Want to Scrap Presidential Debates. Ha!”
STRUCTURAL REFORM PLANNED
The election is still three months away, but Democrats are so certain that they will keep the House and win back the Senate and White House that they’re already laying out their plans for “structural reforms” – which means changing the rules yet again to ensure they stay in power, pack the courts, and prevent the minority party from having any say in government. If you think that’s overstating it, read Guy Benson’s article at Townhall.com.
He goes through their stated plans in their own words, including the platform that “moderate” Joe Biden will be running on. Their rationale for these changes is all baloney. Benson even shows how Obama once made a similar sanctimonious argument for the Senate filibuster to the one he just made against it at Rep. John Lewis’ funeral.
As for claiming Democrats must change the rules for approving judges and stack the courts because Trump appointed so many unqualified judges: in fact, a higher percentage of Trump’s appointees are rated “well qualified” by the ABA than Obama’s appointees. But that’s all a smokescreen. As Benson points out, facts don’t matter. This is about “power, power, power” and playing as dirty as necessary to obtain it.
If you don’t want to lose all the power you have at every level of government, then you’d better round up everyone you know who agrees and go vote in November like the fates of America and your family depend on it. Because they do.
GEORGE FLOYD VIDEO LEAKED
Someone leaked an illegally obtained copy of the police body cam footage of George Floyd’s arrest to the London Daily Mail, which in an act of incredibly irresponsible journalism released it publicly. The footage was supposed to remain in the courthouse, viewable by appointment only. The public release of it is likely only to open wounds and inflame more violence, but congratulations on the scoop, guys.
Anyway, now that it’s out, you can watch it or read a recap at the link, but I warn you, it’s pretty disturbing. Floyd is shown acting, as one cop puts it, “squirrelly.” He claims he has anxiety and claustrophobia, he keeps falling to the ground, and after he’s placed in the squad car, he struggles his way out again. You can’t watch it without somehow hoping and praying that he’ll just stay in the car, but you already know what’s going to happen once he’s on the ground again, and there’s no way to turn back time and undo it.
I don’t know what purpose the paper thinks it serves to release this now, other than showing how what starts out as a routine police call can spiral into a nightmare of unpredictable consequences. The release could also further taint the jury pool, allowing the officers’ attorneys to argue that it’s impossible for them to get a fair trial. So add one more potential unforeseen consequence to a tragic story that’s grown into a mountain of them.
THE DAM IS BEGINNING TO CRACK...
Like a strained dam that’s starting to show cracks, the monolithic liberal media’s attempts to block free speech are starting to crumble and the truth is leaking out, first in drops, then in torrents. We’ve now had reporters from the New York Times, New York magazine and CNN all quit and denounce their former workplaces. The “Ellen” TV show is also under fire by former staffers. And now the latest: Ariana Pekary, a producer on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” has quit and written a blistering open letter explaining why. Ms. Pekary says she “just couldn’t stay there anymore.”
In her letter, Pekary compares MSNBC to a “cancer that can’t be cured.” She says that unlike her previous work in public radio, editorial decisions at MSNBC aren’t based on what the public needs to know but on how topics or guests “rate.” She says, "The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events, at the expense of others… all because it pumps up the ratings." A senior producer told her, “Our viewers don’t really consider us the news. They come to us for comfort.” (Hey, I actually have something in common with an MSNBC producer! I don't consider it the news, either!)
What they find most comforting, of course, is bashing Trump. She points out that in covering the coronavirus, instead of focusing on the latest science news that viewers need to hear, the primary focus is on how poorly Trump is dealing with it. She concluded her letter with, "More than ever, I’m craving a full and civil discourse."
I couldn’t agree more, and I’d love to see MSNBC rediscover journalism. However, I notice that even in her own letter, she reveals a bias that’s not really journalism, but advocacy. Not the blatant MSNBC kind, but the more subtle public radio kind. She writes, “Also important is to ensure citizens can vote by mail this year, but I’ve watched that topic get ignored or 'killed' numerous times."
Granted, that’s an important topic, but a real journalist wouldn’t reveal her personal opinion that it’s important that the pro side prevail. Let me illustrate:
Journalism: Mail-in voting is a hot topic of debate, so we should research it, present the facts and let both sides make their cases, so that viewers can develop an informed opinion. After all, both sides have legitimate concerns, as we can see in this story.
Public Radio Bias: We should talk about mail-in voting and mention the objections, but convey the idea that all thinking people agree that it’s important for it to pass.
MSNBC Bias: Trump is a RACIST who wants to keep minorities from voting! ORANGE MAN BAAAADDD!!!”
I hope you can spot the subtle shades of difference.
DAILY BIBLE VERSE
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