Collected Poetry

VOLUME SEVENTEEN  

Original materials - Copyright © 2020 by Gary Bachlund    All international rights reserved

"...if we are to live together, and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet." Bertrand Russell, BBC Interview, 1959.

Black and White, part deux

   

 

Loud Girl Whitey harasses Officer Black. "Smile" for the camera is her bright attack. Whitey has adopted this newest tack. Black cops are just a White girl's snack.

Good Guy Whitey protests cops, black. Though he taunts the police, they take his flack. Whitey has adopted this kind of a crack: The Black who's a cop is the system's hack.

Girl and Guy Whitey are talking gimcrack In their race-baiting, racist Leftist yak. When Lefty Whitey tells off a Black, Each proves a historical amnesiac.

 

Each kooky Ken, each Marxi Marge,
Each acts out racism, bold and large.

 

Addendum of Loud Girl Whitey:   "...in the protests that started in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, we're seeing a variation on that tactic that involves white leftist agitators attempting to lecture and/or shame black police officers on racism – and in some instances using the n-word to do so." In "Videos Emerge of White Leftist Agitators Attempting to Lecture Black Police Officers on Racism," by Stacey Matthews, Legal Insurrection, 24 June 2020.  ^{[ 1 ]}

 

 Addendum of Good News Underreported:    "...incidents like this fail to make the news. It’s the same world most of us live in. A world where we live, work and shop among a diverse group of people, and share a common sense of decency and understand the difference between right and wrong. And above all else, are willing to extend a helping hand or stand with our neighbors in times of trouble. It cannot be said enough that while there are racist people in this country, America is not a racist nation. Instead, it remains a country that offers greater opportunity to all, regardless of the color of your skin, than any nation on earth. Not that the media is interested in that message." In "Black citizens chase punk robbing old white man, make him give money back: THIS is my America!" by Tom Tillison, BizPac Review, 24 June 2020.   ^{[ 2 ]}

  ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Addendum of Woke Leftist Whiteness:    "Broshi is every woke white woman who screams at black police officers that they don’t understand that black lives matter; she’s every woke white woman who reads a couple of books and accuses every other white person of racism; and she’s every woke white woman who secretly believes that black children aren’t as smart as her little darling but that they definitely deserve participation medals if they sit in the back of her child’s classroom." In "There's a civil war happening between minorities and woke whites," by Andrea Widburg, American Thinker, 7 July 2020.   ^{[ 4 ]}

 

 

A celebration in Woke White Women

 

Addendum of an Observation As Black Children Are Killed:   " 'As cynical as it may sound, it’s hard not to conclude that the lack of political pressure being brought to bear on Chicago leaders to get tough on crime is at least partly a function of the fact that the gang violence claiming so many innocent lives — like that of 3-year-old Mekhi James — is a problem from which the donor class lives several degrees removed,” Mangual said. 'As bad as things are on the city's South and West sides, its high-end neighborhoods and upper-middle-class suburbs remain very safe,' he said. 'As a result, the political class doesn’t bear any of the downside risk that attends the misguided 'decarceration' and de-policing efforts so popular among 'progressives' desperate to establish their social justice bona fides'." In "As Black children are killed in spiking urban violence, where's the outrage from the white and the woke?" by John Kass, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2020.   ^{[ 5 ]}

 

BLM Trying to Force LA County's First Black District Attorney From Office

 

Addendum of Whitey Black Against Black:    "The first black person to serve as district attorney for Los Angeles has criticized Black Lives Matter activists for showing up at her house in the middle of the night, leading her husband to pull a gun on them. Jackie Lacey, who was elected in December 2012, was asked in an interview on Saturday about the March 2 incident. She was also questioned about moves to defund the police, her record in policing the police, and how it feels to have Black Lives Matter now campaigning to get rid of her in the November election." In "LA's first black DA slams BLM for targeting her after her husband pulled a gun on protesters at their home and says defunding the police would lead to lawlessness," by Harriet Alexander, Daily Mail, 13 July 2020.

 

Masked Whitey Leftist Confronts Unmasked Black "Fascist"

 

Addendum of "In the Name Of" BLM at Odds with the Black Community:   "The Seattle Times reported that, at times, the group’s motivation appears to be at odds with the Black community in the city. The paper described a scene were Black leaders in June denounced arson at one of the locations. Tony Hopson, president of Self Enhancement Inc., which assists youth in poverty, told the Times, 'I know whoever was behind this thinks they were doing it — or perhaps are trying to have us think they were doing it — in the names of Black Lives Matter. We know that it was just the opposite. Not only was it not about Black Lives Matter. It was against Black Lives Matter'." In "Anti-fascist group seen as playing big role in Portland unrest: report," by Edmund DeMarche, FOX / Associated Press, 13 July 2020.

 

Portland Officer Jakhary Jackson

 

Addendum of White Racist Leftists Screaming at Black Officers:    " 'You have white people screaming at black officers, 'You have the biggest nose I've ever seen,' said Jackson, a nine-year department vet. 'You hear these things and you go, 'Are these people, are they going to say something to this person? No.' Jackson, who graduated from Portland State University with a history degree, said the situation has been 'actually frightening' given his own educational background. 'A lot of times, someone of color – black, Hispanic, Asian – will come up to the fence, and directly want to talk to me: 'Hey, what do you think about George Floyd? What do you think about what happened with the police?' Jackson said. Then, 'someone white' would walk up and start saying 'eff the police' or 'don't talk to him,' Jackson recalled. 'It's been very eye-opening,' Jackson said during the briefing, adding that he's witnessed more minorities among his counterparts than within the crowds of 'violent' protesters." In "Portland cop reports 'frightening' racist chants from white BLM supporters," by Joshua Rhett Miller, NY Post, 17 July 2020.

 

   

Portland Women in B&W Portraits, 2020

 

  

 

      

Rational Woke Whiteness "discussions," 2020

 

Addendum of Self-styled Youth Liberators:    "Well after protests against police have faded in many American cities, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front has emerged in Portland as a persistent militant voice, using social media to promote rallies, and offering tactical advice and commentary on gatherings that often have ended in confrontations with the police and arrests. For the Youth Liberation Front’s anonymous leaders, these protests are part of the revolution. They are resolutely anti-capitalist and anti-fascist, and express disdain for those who work for reform within what they view as a failing political system." In "Meet the Youth Liberation Front behind a militant marathon of Portland protests," by Hal Bernton, Seattle Times, 12 July 2020.  ^{[ 6 ]}

 

 

As the Seattle Amazon Store is Looted by Seattle Whites to Express Disdain" for "Reform" And Get Free Stuff

 

Addendum of Protests and Violence:    "During the march, Seattle police said about a dozen people devolved into a rampage of destruction as they marched past the King County Youth Detention Center at 12th Avenue and Alder Street, targeting the site. ome rioters carried sledgehammers and began shattering workers’ car windows in the parking lot. At one point, a rioter grabbed a flagger’s stop sign and used it as a weapon. Protesters through incendiary devices into construction trailers at the new construction site of the juvenile justice facility. It was spray-painted before it was torched." In "45 arrested, 21 officers injured in Seattle protests that turned violent," by KIRO 7 News Staff, KIRO 7 Seattle, 25 July 2020.

 

Addendum of Black Cops Insulted by Chicago BLM:   "This is from an officer who was at Groot's Logan Square home Saturday night: 'So my team was used to rotate out other officers on the front line of the protest. Why? To protect the mental health of the front line officers. The original group I personally observed the group of Black Lives Matter protesters hurl vile insults at the officers. One of the officers was a black man, he took the worst of the insults since, in the eyes of the protesters, he was a 'sell out', 'uncle tom', 'coon', etc, etc, etc. So my team rotated in to take the verbal abuse. In time I noted an officer, not from my team start to engage the insults by responding. I personally pulled this officer off the line and took his spot." In "Groot Supports This?" Second City Cop blog, Chicago, 20 July 2020.   ^{[ 7 ]}

 

Addendum of the White Spectacle:   "Black community leaders are urging local protesters to shift the focus of demonstrations back to the Black Lives Matter movement and away from what has become a largely 'white spectacle'." In "From Black lives to 'white spectacle,' Portland protests have lost focus, civil rights leaders say," by Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 24 July 2020.

 

Addendum of a Review of a Black-Made Film:   "With attacks on black cops, the toppling of abolitionist statues, and the ho-hum attitude toward the killings of blacks and black babies by other blacks, it's clear that all this mayhem has nothing to do with skin color. 'Racism' is the paint they use to color over dark motives that are as primitive as Cain and Abel. Think about it: For decades we've spent trillions to implement anti-discrimination policies and poverty programs. America is home to the wealthiest group of blacks, likely, in all of history. Black mayors, black police chiefs, black law enforcers, black attorneys, black school officials and black politicians are stuffed into every crevice of city and state governments across the nation. A black man was elected to Earth’s most powerful office – twice! Yet somehow, the screech for 'racial justice' is louder now than it was when black oppression was real." In " 'Uncle Tom': A Quiet Earthquake," by Will Alexander, Townhall, 27 July 2020.

 

Addendum of a White Joke:   " 'Do I know any minorities myself? No, I don't, but I feel very confident speaking on their behalf on the internet,' the comedian sarcastically stated bringing attention to the fact that liberals are driving this widespread campaign of culture." Quote of comedian, John Crist, by Erin Perri, The Mix, 29 July 2020.   ^{[ 8 ]}

 

Addendum of White BLM and a Black Man:   "The footage, captured around 11.30pm on Saturday night, shows the man stepping out of his vehicle on the I-35 and confronting the activists who are refusing to let traffic pass. 'I gotta go to work, I'm black! I've gotta go to work!' the unidentified man yells at the group as he waves his hand in the air. 'I've got bills! I've got kids! Get the f**k out of my way!' he continues shouting before he makes his way back to his pick-up truck. His words clearly had affect on the group, who are then seen meekly stepping to the sides of the road in order to let his car through." In "Black driver demands white BLM protesters stop blocking road in Austin so he can go to go to work to provide for his kids as rival gunmen face-off week after protester Garrett Foster was shot dead," by Andrew Court, Dailymail.com, 1 August 2020.

 

Addendum of White Antifa and Black Pastors:   "Violent protestors showed up flashing knives! We had an entire satanic cult march through the worshippers the entire time yelling 'Hail Satan!' We had white Antifa yelling & threatening black local pastors! They yelled obscenities and cursed at my wife and kids all night long!" In "Seattle Christians confronted by knife-wielding protesters yelling obscenities at Black pastors," by Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 11 August 2010.

 

'Whitey' Antifa Harassing a Gay Neighborhood

 

Addendum of White Lefty Violence:   "..the arrest reports that KING 5 did obtain include Seattle police arrest records from the first week of violence starting in May, 24 cases from felony filings by the King County prosecutor’s office, and eight criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors. The records indicate the common thread among most suspects is their hostility toward government, the police, and corporate America." In "Many Seattle protesters arrested are white, from other cities, analysis finds," by Chris Ingalls, KING 5 Media Group, 30 October 2020.

 

Addendum of Leftist, Anarchist Narrative Appropriation:   " 'The narrative that these anarchists are marching for justice of Black lives is frankly false,' said Robinson, who is Black [Murphy Robinson, executive director of public safety]. 'The public needs to know that you do not represent us. Stop using the color of my skin as an excuse to tear up my city'." In "Dozens of protesters are arrested and one officer is hurt after swarm of 'armed anarchists' wielding axes and guns descend on Denver Police HQ and 'shoot fireworks at cops and set trees on fire'," Associated Press, 23 August 2020.

 

Charles Love

 

Addendum of Woke Whites Stereotyping Blacks:    "Whites are engaging in activism motivated by a misperception about black life that doesn’t comport with reality for most blacks. With their views of blacks as wounded and perpetually oppressed, woke whites would do more good by doing nothing." In "What 'woke' whites get wrong about blacks' priorities," by Charles Love, NY post, 28 June 2020.

 

In this tragically silly yet destructive season, we are pointed towards the Fa Queue - there's no debating you

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]     The article adds:  "Here's the same woman in another clip taunting other black police officers. When the cameraman asks the woman if she understands that she’s trying to explain racism to two black officers, the woman responds by telling him that the officers are 'part of the system' and that 'just because they’re black doesn't mean that they’re not a part of the problem'."   Racism is My Problem, Testifies the Leftist White Woman             The testimony of this Loud Girl Whitey is documented further:  " 'They're a part of the system. They're a part of the problem,' she continues, pointing at the officers. 'Just because they're black doesn't mean they're not a part of the problem. I'm allowed to say this to whoever. Because I'm white, racism is a white person's problem. 'Racism is my problem. I need to fix this. That's why I'm here. I'm talking to all of them. Black, white, f****in' brown, purple. I don't give a sh**'. " In "White protester screams at three black cops during D.C. protest telling them 'they are a part of the problem' and yells that she's 'allowed to say this to whoever'," by Frances Mulraney, Daily Mail, 24 June 2020.           "Racism is my problem" is the clear testimony that this white Leftist is in fact racist. That is the point. To disagree with the passionate Leftist about race is declared "racism" as well, so either way the Left declares itself an ideological winner in a losing game.   A Comment about White Leftist Privilege             A comment posted to that article is amusing:  from David, Missouri, United States, writes: "This is what a typical Marxi Marge looks like: white, upper middle class, coddled, constantly offended, elite college attendee majoring in a worthless degree who spends most of her time attending rallies sponging everything off her parents while hallucinating that her opinions are always right."           Lest one dismiss this, one might well consider the "white fragility" of White Eric and white Gavin above, and further consider that the many white Leftists fail to note the forefathers of their Marxist and postmodern stances were consistently racially white. Coupling this to the Loud Girl White testimony, "racism is a white person's problem," then clearly this is where such racism is rooted -- in today's political Left, illiberal and often violent.   White masked BLM female screaming at two Black men  who disagree with her / Washington D. C., June 2020             The BLM-announced plan to tear down the Emancipation memorial is indicative of the Marxist foundation of this ostensibly "black" movement populated by a majority of young white and violent leftists.  One reads:  ."On Friday evening, hundreds of Black Lives Matter activists and Antifa insurgents gathered in Lincoln Park in Washington DC to attempt to topple the 144-year-old statue, which was fully funded by former slaves and black Union Army veterans to commemorate President Lincoln’s abolition of slavery. Also present at the demonstration were several counter-protestors, including an elderly black man who appeared to be a historical tour guide for Capital Buddy Tours, who beseeched the mob not to tear down the historical monument. The man was physically accosted several times by an Antifa member who attempted to prevent him from speaking. He was repeatedly shouted over by Antifa members, who yelled empty slogans like 'No Justice, No Peace' without any care or understanding about the monument they planned to destroy." In "Journalist Jack Posobiec assaulted by Antifa in front of Emancipation Memorial," by Ian Miles Cheong, Post Millennial, 26 June 2020.   Leftist BLM "White Privilege" Confronts Black "Systemic Racist" Cop             The Antifa "protestor" who assaulted a man was a young white male, proving somewhere in this topsy-turvy time that "black" in the context of BLM does not mean black or anti-racist but Marxist.           Consider then too the Heroes' Tale - small and stale -- wherein Lily White and Billy Beige join with another heroine, Little Marcy Busy-Pants , to assert that Everything's about my colored skin - (or sadly, Why racism works) as racism "works" through the many protests, demonstrations, riots and vandalism which pass for political action in this time.   [ 2 ]   Let it be stressed:  "It cannot be said enough that while there are racist people in this country, America is not a racist nation. Instead, it remains a country that offers greater opportunity to all, regardless of the color of your skin, than any nation on earth. Not that the media is interested in that message."     The Marxist Signature in Portland -- Mostly White Women as Class Warriors             Karl Marx and his ardent believers would not approve, but then again he managed to find among his circle a Jewish nigger .  And in this regard, we may reiterate the testimony of Loud Girl Whitey, "Racism is my problem." So says an American Left, as one can Scratch a Leftist - to the tune of "Plant a Radish," from the Fantasticks.   Racist, White Portland, So Was It Said             Here's a tidbit about Leftist Portland from the perspective of a British mixed-race couple:"  "I write all of this as a brown person and a recent transplant. Racism for black people in Portland is far more pervasive and damaging. It’s visible in housing policy, police brutality and who gets to work where. In 1859, when Oregon joined the union, it was the only state to explicitly ban all black people living there. That legacy of racism has cast a long shadow. As recently as the 1990s, lenders in the state engaged in redlining (not giving people loans and mortgages because of where they live – which mainly affected the city’s small black population). There continues to be de facto racial segregation in schools. But, until this summer, Portland’s white population didn’t talk about it much." In "We left the UK for Portland expecting a liberal dream. That wasn’t the reality," by Candice Pires, Guardian UK, 31 October 2020.                     And Left to their own devices ....   [ 3 ]    One reads:  "Wisconsin State Sen. Tim Carpenter, who is a Democrat and openly gay, was assaulted in Madison Tuesday night by what appears to be two white women protestors charging toward him. It was reported that Carpenter collapsed walking to the statehouse building and paramedics were called. 'I don’t know what happened … all I did was stop and take a picture … and the next thing I'm getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head,' Carpenter told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel." In "7 Ways White Women Have Used Their Privilege To Fuel Riots And Mayhem," by Emily Jashinsky and Madeline Osburn, Federalist, 25 June 2020.     White Leftist 'attack' females captured on Carpenter's video and by police             A picture of these white females above are from State Senator Carpenter's cell phone just moments before he was assaulted by them.  Perhaps one was a Lily White? Perhaps both. It certainly seems so.   Think on today's Lily Whites and Billy Beiges in a  Heroes' Tale - small and stale             Coming out of a mass of protestors on the Left, an assertion that these would be from the Right and perhaps lashing out due to notions of "white fragility" would be laughable.     Arrest photos - Woke white Privilege?             "Police released photos of two suspects, who turned themselves in Monday after they were identified by members of the public, according to the Madison police. Police arrested Samantha R. Hamer, 26, and Kerida E. O'Reilly, 33, on suspicion of being parties to the crimes of substantial battery and robbery with use of force. They were both in custody Monday night, according to online records from the Dane County jail." In "Two women arrested in beating of state Sen. Tim Carpenter during night of protests in Madison," by Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2020.           Those "attack females" took part in an mindless mob event. Proof that it is mindless? Mistaken?  One reads:  "Protesters in Wisconsin drew condemnation late on Tuesday after tearing down the statue of abolitionist Hans Christian Heg, smashing windows at the state house and assaulting a state senator, marking a departure from previous demonstrations targeting symbols of colonialists and Confederate figures." In "Madison Protesters Condemned For Toppling Statue Of Anti-Slavery Activist," by Isabel Togoh, Forbes, 24 June 2020.           Assaulting a state senator is not laughable. Assaulting a gay man is not laughable. Assaulting an unarmed, peaceful citizen is not laughable. Toppling a statue of someone who was an anti-slaver is insane. Mindless.   An Intolerant Mob versus a New Way of Thinking             These white "attack females" assaulting a gay man with a camera somehow are laughable, part of an uninformed mob intent on merely expressing violent rage on behalf of the intolerant, vicious far Left.     Arrest photos - More woke white privilege?             Another tale of white women is read.   "Police made a second arrest in the attack on a 7-year-old Trump supporter outside of the DNC convention. 21-year-old Camryn Amy was arrested Saturday, just one day after Olivia Winslow was arrested and charged for the same attack against a 7-year-old boy. Olivia Winslow was arrested Friday and charged with robbery, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child in the attack on 7-year-old Riley. Camryn Amy and Olivia Winslow, both Biden supporters, attacked a 7-year-old boy Thursday night outside of the DNC convention."  In "Police Make Second Arrest in Attack on 7-Year-Old Trump Supporter Outside of DNC Convention," by Cristina Laila, Gateway Pundit, 22 August 2020.           More detail of attack females in this time:   "Court records obtained by WDEL report the victim telling police Amy 'forcefully' snatched a political sign from her hand while Winslow stole the MAGA hat and handed it to her alleged accomplice. Winslow is also accused of knocking a hat off an adult woman's head. As the victim's 7-year-old son went to retrieve the hat off the ground, Amy allegedly attempted to stomp on the hat, but stomped on the boy's hand, according to statements in court records. ...Amy is facing the same charges as Winslow--first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy, and endangering the welfare of a child--along with an additional two counts of offensive touching. She was committed to the Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution in lieu of $45,000 secured bond." In "Police make 2nd arrest in theft of MAGA hat outside of Democratic Convention in Wilmington," staff, WDEL Delaware News Radio, 22 August 2020.           Charges:  "Olivia Winslow and Camryn Amy, both 21, were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on felony charges of robbery, conspiracy and hate crimes, as well as a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child. Amy also was indicted on misdemeanor charges of assaulting a man who tried to recover the cap, attempting to assault the boy’s mom and offensive touching of the child." In " Women face hate crime charges after attacking Trump supporters outside DNC," by Yaron Steinbuch, NY Post, 9 September 2020.   Damaged Straight, White Women             These sorts of tales -- heroines' tales, to some -- prompt an opposite political reaction, as one reads:   "None of this is healthy; it is, instead, tragic. Straight white women hate themselves for being white; hate their men for being oppressors; hate their meaningless careers; and, even though they love their children, they hate the seeming meaninglessness of motherhood. This profound cognitive dissonance has finally found its most disturbing outlet in their shrill, existential screams on the streets of the Black Lives Matter protests." In "Black Lives Matter reveals a generation of damaged straight, white women," by Andrea Widburg, American Thinker, 22 July 2020.           The opinion continued a day later:   "...the Democrat establishment, starting in public schools and continuing into colleges and universities, creates angry young white women who feel victimized by society. At the same time, they feel guilty about their alleged white privilege. This combination of anger and guilt plays out in remarkable viciousness. These women are also willing to engage in violence because, despite their abandonment of traditional codes of femininity, they expect men to continue to respect the cultural prohibition against striking women." In "More details and arrests in the case of the hat-stealing Biden women," by Andrea Widburg, American Thinker, 23 August 2020.     Clara Kraebber, yet more woke white privilege?             "One of the Black Lives Matter protesters now facing felony rioting and misdemeanor graffiti charges — after a window-smashing free-for-all in Manhattan — is a wealthy Upper East Sider whose mother is an architect and whose father is a child psychiatrist. Clara Kraebber, 20, is one of eight people arrested Friday night after a roiling, three-hour rampage that police say caused at least $100,000 in damage from Foley Square up to 24th Street." In "Wealthy NYC woman busted in BLM rampage," by Melissa Klein, Larry Celona and Dean Balsamini, NY Post, 5 September 2020.   Possessing Insufficient Humility             One reads a pertinent question:   "What motivates such extreme acts of rebellion? To ask the question is, at once, to challenge it. For neither Clara nor Jane is a real rebel. Clara might want to play Robin Hood with other people’s properties, but not, I suspect, with her family’s. The same goes for Jane, who, while singing the praises of Communism in North Vietnam, had no intention of staying there and living under the system; she had, after all, just won an Oscar for Klute and had a career in pictures to get back to. Not that either Clara or Jane was entirely play-acting. A charitable interpretation of their conduct would be that both women—raised in wealth but innocent of the laws of economics, and perhaps insufficiently conscious of just how exceptional their own lives were—simply found it unfair that everybody couldn’t live the way they did. Having, presumably, been pampered since infancy, moreover, perhaps neither possessed sufficient humility to recognize that her efforts to undermine the American system of government might be immodest, if not ill-advised." In "Heiresses on the Barricades," by Bruce Bawer, City Journal, 19 Setpember 2020.           All these and more come via the pretense of acting violently against "racism," in these examples among many by attacking a gay liberal politician and a 7-year old child. Or black police officers. Or even Democrat politicians. The indiscriminate targets suggest this phenomenon is something akin to a mental confusion, or even socio-pathologic infection. Wrong ideas yield wrong acts. Destructive ideas yield destructive acts.   A Black Racist Woman Identifying White Racist Women             They as racists of the Left assert Everything's about your colored skin - (or sadly, why these games begin).  And when that's not enough, then they threaten and assault even the seeming innocent just watching the political parade.   Towards Truths About Natural Human Equality             A lesson might be considered:   "Historical clarification of some of the major historical figures involved is necessary. Thomas Jefferson was the author of what is arguably the most famous revolutionary sentence in world history: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' That declaration has been inscribed on the banner of every fight for equality ever since 1776. When Jefferson formulated it, he was crystalizing a new way of thinking based on the principle of natural human equality. The rest of the preamble to the Declaration of Independence spells out in searing language the natural right of people to revolution. The American Revolution delivered a powerful impulse in that direction that led to the French Revolution of 1789 and the greatest slave revolt in history, the Haitian Revolution of 1791, in which slaves liberated themselves and threw off French colonial domination." In "Hands off the monuments to Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Grant!" by Tom Mackaman and Niles Niemuth, World Socialist Web Site, 22 June 2020.   The Current Mobilized Mobs, Quite Like Previous Mobs             The current mobs seem intent not on a real and true revolution of individuals against authoritarianism, but of a next tyrannical authority. Complete with physical assaults of the enforcement of correct thinking and speech.           One finds odd condemnation of such attacks within classical thought.  "The lower a man is in an intellectual respect, the less puzzling and mysterious existence is to him; on the contrary, everything, how it is and that it is, seems to him a matter of course."  Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation, 1818 (1859).           Schopenhauer opined with a tormenting vision of the world:  "Not merely that the world exists, but still more that it is such a miserable and melancholy world, is the tormenting problem of metaphysics."           A sad vision and critique of the working class in "a miserable and melancholy world" is found in the foundational thinking of the Left of which most chic Leftists are unaware, as one considers A Working Class Classified .            The "bloody birth throes" -- that is the verbiage -- of a century and more ago echo in quite similar "bloody birth throes" as today's "generation of damaged straight, white women," as some have observed. Racism in the heart of the Leftist is apparent, and willingness to become quickly violent is found.   [ 4 ]    The article is complete with the recording of a New York school broad meeting in which one hears the "fragile" yet aggressive and groveling "woke" woman offending minority speakers, "...Broshi, a white Jewish Democrat, knew this because, as she said, she had educated herself by reading Ibram Kendi’s 'How to be an Antiracist' and Robin DiAngelo's 'White Fragility'."           This seems a fine example of the mind set which finds any assertion that "all lives matter" is a racist put down of the assertion that "black lives matter." When words become "dog whistle" evidence of racism, one finds a game in which many can play, finding many opposing and divisive meanings. When words become the antithesis of what they say, then dialogue becomes impossible, and education becomes mere ideological conditioning. Welcome to Woke, as "Each kooky Ken, each Marxi Marge, / Each acts out racism, bold and large."           The article notes:  "Broshi didn't realize that the vice president, Edward Irizarry, a lawyer, is also a Puerto Rican man who went to segregated public schools, lived in foster homes, and was homeless. Irizarry was outraged at Broshi's casual dismissal, and he went ballistic on her...."  He did not appreciate "woke" condescension.           But the race-baiting politics of the Left today says clearly Everything's about some "you ain't" skin - revealing the politics that lies within.   [ 5 ]   The article's title asks: "As Black children are killed in spiking urban violence, where's the outrage from the white and the woke?" The simple answer is that there is precious little outrage, because it is focused on a few political aims.  One may see this rather clearly in the true tales of White Eric and white Gavin .   [ 6 ]     The article notes of this supposedly "resolutely anti-capitalist and anti-fascist" group something interesting. "In a podcast interview last October, three of their leaders, one of whom identified himself as still in high school, said they were spurred to activism over a range of issues that included climate change, law enforcement misconduct and the rise of right-wing hate groups."   Pacific Northwest YLF, affiliated with Antifa             "...still in high school" testifies to an adolescent at best, likely living at home with parents. As for the others, it is likely they too are not living as independent adults, holding down jobs and have that luxury of time for "activism." But, with the urge to act violently, they are actually like the fascists they pretend to stand against. And as for their anti-capitalism, one may consider their Auntie Capital , for it is assured they know nothing about some of the most ardent anti-capitalists of the 20th century.           Anti-capitalist? Indeed. A small drama is reported early August in Portland:   "One of the rioters shouts, 'You've really internalized capitalism if you're more worried about getting a good night's sleep so you can f***ing work. F*ck you!' 'Black Lives Matter!' the crowd chants again. One voice shouts, 'We're gonna burn your building down!' 'Black Lives Matter!' the crowd chats again. One woman taunts, 'We know where you live!' " In "After Burning Police Union, Portland Rioters Threaten Nearby House: 'We're Gonna Burn Your Building Down'," by Tyler O'Neil, PJ Media, 9 August 2020.   Post on Twitter from 11 October 2019, accessed 13 August 2020             A dangerous form of "protest" which betrays that these are not protestors, but revolutionary "liberators" in their minds, and "domestic terrorists" in the minds of those they threaten. This will not come to a good end, and no dialectic and no debate will solve this. With such polarization, one side will and must lose.   [ 7 ]    The meme of Groot, a fictional comic character, to apply to Chicago's mayor is telling. Of Groot, one reads:  "Black Bolt's brother Maximus the Mad asserted that whenever Groot is saying the trademark 'I am Groot!' he has actually been saying a number of things, and his varying inflections of the sentence are the equivalent of words and sentences. People who have interacted with Groot are gradually able to decipher the meaning of the inflections and can carry on full conversations with Groot as time goes on." In "I am Groot," Wikipedia article, n. d.           For this, the current political climate comes down to politicians' roles, for good or bad, and to ask specifically Which role?     Casting Call in Chicago for a Heroes' Tale - small and stale             The blog continues:   "Cops who were ordered to protect a mayor (who hates their guts) and required to identify themselves (by law) had to listen to scumbags threaten to rape their daughters, and via the magic of the internet, hear their home addresses broadcast to more scumbags (who know you aren't able to defend your homes and families because you're on the clock in Groot-ville.) And what do we hear from the politicians? That this is peaceful? That police are racist? That all that a civilized people hold dear is in danger simply because these miserable fuckers can't get their way by anything but violence?"   Protesting about the Handling of a Protest?             Background on this is that these police were detailed to protect the Chicago mayor. One reads:  Lightfoot's Logan Square home to protest the city's handling of a demonstration the night before in Grant Park that saw clashes between police and activists. The demonstration, which began forming about 7 p.m., eventually grew to include more than 200 people protesting at Fullerton and Kimball avenues in a peaceful, but at times tense, standoff with officers. In "Protestors gather near Lightfoot's Logan Square home over city's handling of Grant Park demonstration," Sun-Times Media Wire, ABC 7 News, 19 July 2020.                 What the BLM protests in Chicago have not been about is the climbing number of shootings, lethal and non-lethal alike. One reads of this:  "Chicago weekend shootings have left 63 people shot, 12 fatally across the city, police said. The shootings took place from 6 p.m. Friday until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The latest shooting came in the Morgan Park neighborhood, where two people were killed and three wounded." In "Chicago weekend shootings: 63 shot, 12 fatally, in violence across city," by Jesse Kirsch, ABC 7, 20 July 2020.               But the mostly white BLM folks complain about the city's "handling" of a demonstration? This seems the true white privilege of the Left today, pretending to care about black lives but not protesting about the real violence on the city streets of Chicago, as through July of 2020, 1,721 were shot and wounded in the city, and 375 were shot and killed. Shh. Don't tell the BLM; they're not really interested.   Chicago Police Superintendant Brown             Of the "protest," one reads:  "On Monday the department revealed videos allegedly showing provocateurs infiltrating the march, hiding behind umbrellas, then pelting officers with bottles of frozen water, fireworks and other projectiles. Supt. David Brown said the situation, 'devolved into a very dangerous situation in which mob action sought to injure officers.' The assault left 49 officers injured, including 18 who required hospitalization. One suffered a crushed eye socket. Mayor Lori Lightfoot lashed out at the instigators saying, 'that's not peaceful protest, that's anarchy and we are going to put that down'." In "Miracle Boyd, Attorney Respond After Group Said Chicago Activist Provoked Police At Friday Protest ," by Charles Wojciechowski, ABC 5 Chicago, 20 July 2020.           Outrage at the Chicago police misses a larger societal problem. As examples, one reads:  "Chicago police say a group of children, ages 10 to 17, carjacked Blanchard and at least 15 other people since late June — wreaking havoc on Blanchard’s generally peaceful South Side neighborhood. Police said shots were fired by the suspects in two of the carjackings, but no one was hit." In "Armed kids as young as 10 carjack more than a dozen people, police say, including CPS teacher left ‘traumatized’ in Calumet Heights," by David Struett, Chicago Sun-Times, 20 July 2020.           And one reads:   "The Illinois State Police have recorded 61 expressway shootings in Cook County this year. That compares with 52 for all of 2019, 43 in 2018, 51 in 2017 and 54 in 2016, a year when gun violence in Chicago hit levels not seen since the 1990s."  In "Expressway shootings surge in Chicago area. Illinois State Police say they need license plate scanners, despite privacy concerns," by Kelli Smith, Chicago Tribune, 21 July 2020.           But Chicago's mostly white young adult, Marxist-enthused and mostly white protestors are most concerned about their treatment as they attack monuments along with the police and graffiti BLM to show their "concern." The costs will be tallied. Tax payers will pay. It was ever thus.   [ 8 ]   The joke is plain to see, if one surveys skin color, that official identifier of individual human worth to white Leftists in this era.  Racism comes in many colors, now. So says Robin Racist and a cohort of profiteers whose income is derived from believing in, espousing, and advocating for racism, while pretending the opposite.

 

---

 

Which role?

"Two black women, who only identified themselves as Bevelyn and Edmee, denounced the Black Lives Matter movement as demonic and fraudulent before a group of mostly white and Latino demonstrators."   In "Two black women denounce Black Lives Matter protests in unusual confrontation in West Town," by Megan Crepeau, William Lee and Kaitlin Edquist, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2020.  ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Have you the right to think your thoughts, when others disagree?
    Have you the right to disagree with those who would forcefully
Destroy your thoughts by way of raging mobs self-righteously?
    Have you the right to buck the trends, and mark yourself as free?
Or must you bend to each greater will which acts collectively?
    Have you the right to think your thoughts, when others disagree?
Your answers tells which roles you'd play in man's bloody history.

 

   

Beautiful downtown Portland

 

Addendum of Not Intervening:   "Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler came under fire over a viral video showing antifa protesters blocking traffic and harassing drivers, but he says he supports the decision by police to watch from a distance without getting involved. 'I was appalled by what I saw in the video, but I support the Portland Police Bureau’s decision not to intervene,' he said at a press conference. 'This whole incident will be investigated'." In "Portland mayor stands by decision to allow antifa to block traffic, hassle motorists," by Valerie Richardson, Washington Times, 14 October 2018.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

 

Beautiful downtown Seattle

 

Addendum II of Not Intervening:   "The cops were told to stand down and the precinct was left to the ravages of the mob. Could a word from the female African-American female chief have toned things down? We’ll never know."   In "Seattle's Top Cop Says Don't Look at Me, Abandoning Police Station Wasn't My Idea," by Victoria Taft, PJ Media, 11 June 2020.   ^{[ 3 ]}

 

    

Beautiful downtown Minneapolis

 

Addendum III of Not Intervening:    "A reporter pressed the mayor, asking him 'what's the plan here? What are we doing? Here in the streets, a lot of businesses have been burned down, a lot of livelihoods have been hurt, we've seen very little police out there just in general, at the 3rd and throughout and I'm just wondering what's the plan and who's in charge in this city.' He first excused the rioting & looting, saying 'there is a lot pain and anger right now in our city, I understand that our entire city recognizes that.' Then after thinking about it, he added 'what we have seen over the past several hours and the past couple of nights in terms of looting is unacceptable. Our communities cannot and will not tolerate it'." In "Minneapolis Mayor Defends Stand-Down Order As Rioters Burn Police Precinct," by Michael Berry, KTRH News, 29 May 2020.

 

   

I ♥ NY

 

Addendum of Disagreement about Intervening:    "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threatened to remove New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio (D) over his refusal to allow the National Guard to quell the increasing violence in the city. Cuomo didn’t pull any punches in a Tuesday press briefing, blasting De Blasio’s hesitance to allow outside law enforcement into the city. 'The NYPD and New York City mayor did not do their job last night,' Cuomo said. 'I think the mayor underestimates the scope of the problem and the duration of the problem. What happened in NYC was inexcusable'." In "Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatens to ‘displace’ De Blasio over mishandling of riots," by staff, American Digest, 2 June 2020.

 

Addendum of The Big Apple Rotting from Within:    "...NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea last week admitted: 'You have a criminal justice system that is imploding. Imploding. That’s the kindest way to put it.' Beleaguered police unions have accused de Blasio of being ‘anti-cop’. In the past month, 272 officers have applied for retirement, 49 per cent up from the 183 who applied during the same period last year. 'We have a mayor who cares more about optics [how things look] than on-the-ground policing,' one police officer said. 'The NYPD is utterly demoralised'." In "Nightmare in New York: How Covid-19, BLM protests and a liberal mayor are turning the city into a no-go zone as murders skyrocket, shops are looted and 500,000 middle-class residents flee," by Caroline Graham, Mail on Sunday, 4 July 2020.

 

Addendum of Suing New York's Leadership:     " 'My law firm believes [that] through depositions, through discovery we’re going to be able to find that the city or state had intelligence in regards to these criminals that looted these stores and didn’t do anything about it,' he added. Strazzullo continued, 'The lackeys that are politically appointed in the NYPD probably were told to stand down and basically it is a travesty.' He added that he believes more businesses will join as plaintiffs to make it a class-action lawsuit, seeking more than $100 million in damages." In "NYC store owner suing Gov. Cuomo over looting damage, says cops were told to 'stand down'," by Joshua Nelson, Fox News, 11 July 2020.

 

Addendum of NYC's Minority-Owned Businesses versus Politics:   "New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer has shared an 'alarming' analysis outlining the economic challenges facing the city's minority and women-owned businesses during the pandemic. According to a June survey of over 500 city-certified businesses owned by women or people of color, 85% said they likely can't survive beyond the next six months, given their current cash on hand." In "Most NYC minority and women-owned small businesses might not survive next 6 months: Stringer," by Mark Sundstrom, PIX 11, 11 July 2020.

 

Addendum of Do Nothing NYC Cops:   " 'Put the f–king camera down!' sneered the not-so-peaceful demonstrator as he swung a wooden board at Sheehan multiple times, knocking his phone to the pavement and striking him in the face. Many within the encampment snickered, while one woman could be heard calling, 'All right, all right!' as though to break up the 11:15 a.m. run-in. 'You guys saw that, right?' asked Sheehan of the approximately 30 NYPD cops gathered around keeping watch over the protest — which began last month to call for a reduction of up to $1 billion in funding to the department. But none of the cops so much as moved in the direction of the attack, as the man responsible, wearing a Brooklyn Nets T-shirt bearing Kyrie Irving’s number 11, disappeared into the encampment." In "City Hall protesters attack NY Post reporter as cops do nothing," by Tina Moore and Aaron Feis, NY Post, 12 July 2020.

 

Addendum of a Shitty Protest in NYC:   "The MTA chief said: 'All the people who were here were going to the bathroom in the vents. 'They were s******g and p*****g in the vents. They were using this as a facility, as a bathroom. It's unbelievable what's in there.' A group of transit workers are currently tasked with removing the brown sludge from between the subway grates, from near the Citi Bike rack and on the plaza on the corner of Chambers and Centre streets." In "Clean up will take weeks: New York officials begin the massive task of getting lower Manhattan back to normal after cops in riot gear cleared out the remaining Occupy City Hall protesters," by Ryan Fahey, Mailonline, 23 July 2020.

 

Addendum of Few People and Most People:   "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions." In "Essay to Leo Baeck," Albert Einstein , 1953.

 

Addendum of Your Right to Freedom:   "Evelyn Beatrice Hall (28 September 1868 – 13 April 1956), who wrote under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre, was an English writer best known for her biography of Voltaire entitled The Life of Voltaire, first published in 1903. She also wrote The Friends of Voltaire, which she completed in 1906. In The Friends of Voltaire, Hall wrote the phrase: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it' as an illustration of Voltaire's beliefs. This quotation – which is sometimes misattributed to Voltaire himself – is often cited to describe the principle of freedom of speech." In "Evelyn Beatrice Hall," Wikipedia article, n .d.  ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Addendum of Explaining A Lot:    "...I traced the tyranny of relativism and how it has intensified our divisions and made reasoned discussions nearly impossible. In this climate, the 'winner' of a debate is the one who yells the loudest, or has the greater power, or publicity. Our culture has become fierce and contentious and both social and regular media help to further overheat it. Many of the very ones who speak of tolerance end up being the very one who use raw judicial power to get their way and demand that we will either comply with their agenda or face increasingly punitive measures." In "A Warning From The Prophet Amos Explains a Lot of Our Current Decline," by Msgr. Charles Pope, Community in Mission blog, 2 July 2020.

 

Addendum of How the Game Works for the White Woke Elite:    "Last night campaigners, an MP and an academic criticised the SWP for attempting to hijack the BLM movement and said its involvement could harm the campaign for racial equality. Dr Remi Adekoya, a political science lecturer at Sheffield University, said: 'It could turn the British population against the BLM movement and that is going to come back and bite us — people of colour. It’s not going to bite white members of the Socialist Workers Party'." In "Hard left ‘hijacks’ Black Lives Matter movement," by Ben Ellry and Mutaz Ahmed, The Times, UK, 13 June 2020.

 

Addendum of the BLM Party Platform:   "...values, explicitly laid out by BLM's self-described 'trained Marxist' founders, and on its website, include 'a national defunding of police,' 'prison abolition,' the destruction of the 'Western-prescribed nuclear family structure' and a 'queer-affirming network' that will 'dismantle cisgender privilege.' It is a fantasy to pretend that endorsing 'black lives matter' explicitly in the Democratic Party platform and dozens of times in its convention has nothing to do with the Marxist, anti-cop, anti-family organization that has co-opted a worthy phrase. Using lower-case letters does not absolve Democrats of their association with a militant organization inciting racial violence that currently is ruining black lives in the cities they run." In "Democrats stay silent on violence in their cities," by Miranda Devine, NY Post, 19 August 2020.  ^{[ 5 ]}

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]    The article details: " 'This man’s business was beat to the ground in the name of Black Lives Matter,' Bevelyn told the Tribune in an interview conducted in shouts between the barrier of police officers. 'This is evil. This is ungodly.' Bevelyn and Edmee, whose website describes them as traveling ministers, wanted to show support for the owner of Nini’s after meeting his pastor last week, Bevelyn said. 'We have the right to say we don’t support LGBTQ because it's an abomination,' she said. 'I have the right to say that ... even if (the owner) was a racist, he had a right to be one'."           The gist of the social trend leaps out.  Does an individual in a free society have the right to think, speak and believe differently than another individual. One's personal response to this question informs greatly.           The article also interlocks with notions found in considering the above, Black and White, part deux .   Looking on Without Intervening             To place the business "beat to the ground in the name of" any reason is to revisit the history of businesses "beat" by a socio-political movement. As an example:  "Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November Pogrom(s), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by SA paramilitary forces and civilians throughout Nazi Germany on 9–10 November 1938. The German authorities looked on without intervening. The name Kristallnacht ("Crystal Night") comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues were smashed."  In "Kristallnacht," Wikipedia article, n. d.           In the early days of National Socialism, the mob did its destructive work, and "authorities looked on without intervening."     Intolerance of the National Socialists           Just as highlighted above, one reads of Chicago:  "... SA Kim Foxx as a 'Bystander' during the riots and lootings a few weeks ago that destroyed thousands of jobs on the south & west sides of Chicago, Loop and suburbs." In "As Chicago is riddled w/lootings, shootings, homicides & police stand-downs, Watch SA Candidate O'Brien take on SA Foxx, Cable & Web," by Jeff Berkovitz, Chicago Now, 28 June 2020.      Beautiful Chicago which "stood down"             The story element is similar to that above, as "police stand-downs" are essentially the authorities looking on without intervening.           Similarly history teaches: ""Dekulakization was the Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, and executions of millions of kulaks (prosperous peasants) and their families in the 1929–1932 period of the first five-year plan. To facilitate the expropriations of farmland, the Soviet government portrayed kulaks as class enemies of the USSR." In "Dekulakization," Wikipedia article, n. d.   Soviet Socialist Propaganda against the "Prosperous" Peasant             Prosperous peasants as the USSR's collectivization destroyed stand in direct comparison to the many shop owners and operators of small businesses as the riots of 2020 destroyed those modern-day "prosperous peasants." In favor of what?   [ 2 ]    What then is a cause to intervene for a Portland mayor?  One learns: "Protesters on Wednesday night used items including dumpsters and stolen construction materials to build an 'autonomous zone' in Portland’s Pearl District near an apartment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler reportedly lives. They put up barricades and set up tents in the North Park Blocks area." In " Portland Police Quickly Shut Down 'Autonomous Zone' Outside Mayor’s House," by Mairead McArdle, MSN/National Review, 18 June 2020.   One Role When Not In My Backyard, and Another Role When...             Which role did Mayor Wheeler play in the first scenario? He chose not to intervene. In the second, he chose to intervene. Thus one may discount consistency as the underlying principle. NIMBY - "not in my backyard" -- might better explain the different roles the same individual played.           There is humor in all this as one finds an exchange of Twitter messages, the first a white elite testifying to a "system of white supremacy," and then a comment worth noticing.       The struggle is real             As to Portland, a snapshot in time reveals the effectiveness of the mayor's policy:   "In Portland, Oregon’s largest city, those demonstrations have raged for six weeks straight, and local businesses have reported $23 million in losses due to looting and rioting that have gripped its downtown area since the end of May." In "Portland's unrest continues for six straight weeks with no apparent end in sight," by Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 14 July 2020.           As to one "protestor" one reads an interesting tale as a stabbing victim says:  " 'That's what you get here in Portland. You can’t have free speech. You can't be a conservative or have opposing views to Antifa or otherwise they’ll try to hunt you down, put a couple of bounties on your ass. And also too let's not forget that Twitter allows this to happen. There are still posts up of Antifa—Rose City Antifa—these mother**kers actively putting my number, my address, information out about me and trying to tell me to hunt me down. Twitter openly allows this sh*t'." In "Antifa militant arrested for stabbing black Trump supporter in Portland," by Ian Miles Cheong, Post Millennial, 25 July 2020.   Portland Protestor Hampe             Of the Antifa "militant," further details tell:  "Hampe, who incriminated himself during the search, stated that he was kicked out of his uncle's home on account of a discovery of child pornography, and that he had also stored the illicit material on his mother's home computer, and had received counseling for his 'problem'. In 2008, Hampe was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release."  Apparently the justice system was and remains at fault, and so he violently attacks a political opponent. Such is this tale so far.   Portland Protestor (and Software Engineer at Google) Trudo             In another tale of "protest" and subsequent arrest in Portland, one finds in the Portland Police reprts, "32 year old Zachary A. Trudo, Hillsboro: Interfering with a Peace Officer, Assault IV, Resist Arrest, Attempt Escape III."  An instructive snapshot of Twitter posts tells a tale:                   Now there's an example of protest. "Burn it to the ground!" And as to small business owners which he calls the "bourgeoisie,"  ILWU is the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union, whose members make no money when businesses "hurt." Or "burn." One wonders why Trudo did not being with his employer, Google. Such white Leftist privilege.   Teaching Portland's Children to Protest, 2020             An editorial view is read:   "Peaceful protesters don't try to burn down federal courthouses or jails or the headquarters of a local police union, nor hurl rocks and bottles at cops, night after night for weeks on end — nor assault a police station: What's going on in Portland is somewhere between riot and insurrection, and demands a strong federal response even if local officials are in denial." In " What’s really going on in the 'battle of Portland'," by Post Editorial Board, NY Post, 17 July 2020.   YouTube video interview with a Portland Citizen Upset with White Protestors: "And we get blamed for your Black Lives f---ing Matter!"   Peaceful Burning of a Bible             Protest what exactly?   "Around 12:30 a.m. people began starting a fire in the street in front of the federal courthouse which started with burning a bible, then an American flag, until more and more items were added. Finally around 1 a.m., yellow clad members of the group Moms United for Black Lives Matter went over to the fire and put it out with bottles of water and stamped it out." In "Bonfires end 64th night of Portland protests after peaceful gatherings," by Danny Peterson and Jennifer Dowling, KION/CBS6, 31 July 2020.     Gabe Johnson             An eyewitness bears witness:  "Johnson says protesters called him a coon, Uncle Tom, and the n-word—'with the -ER, not -a.' He has done several interviews this week because he wants the world to know that when leaders say that the federal law enforcement officers have caused the riots, and that the protests are largely peaceful, that’s a lie." In "Black Portlander Changes His Mind About the Nightly Protests After He Attends One," by Jeff Reynolds, PJ Media, 24 July 2020.           Johnson tells:  " 'Unfortunately, 90% of the people don't look like me, but 99% of the people that I talk to don't even live in Portland,' he added. 'If you are down here at one of these movements or one of these protests, one of the things you're going to notice is there's a lot of out-of-state license plates. People are very brazen about the fact that no, they're not from here'."     Daryl Turner             And more on the tale of destruction and chaos under Wheeler:   "Daryl Turner, the head of the Portland Police Association, said Sunday that city politicians have not acted in the best interest of the city after weeks of violent protests and instead prioritized their own political agenda as the city burned. 'The elected officials have condoned the destruction and chaos,' Turner, who is Black, said, according to Oregonlive.com. 'They have placed their political agenda ahead of safety and welfare of the community. This must stop'." In "Portland politicians 'condoned' destruction of city, police union boss says," by Edmund DeMarche, Fox News, 20 July 2020.   Some Portland "Peaceful" Protestors, Their Shields and another Hammer and Sickle Logo             And so, a black head of the Portland Police Union, as with other examples above, is on the opposing side of a white "liberal" for whom "peaceful protestors" do indeed commit arson and assault for weeks on end. "Unrest" is a very expensive political gambit.        As to the "peaceful" protests, one reads not only of overt racism on the part of some "peaceful protestors," but also  blatant, violent sexism:  "...many in the crowd turned their attention to two female officers. 'The crowd keyed in on them, saying some of the most vile things to them, talking about sex assault, about being sex objects for other officers,' Maxey said. 'There was one individual that said that he was going to take the baton from one of the female officers and sexually abuse her with it. It was something that is so vile, no one should be exposed to it'." In "'The most horrific displays of hate that I've ever seen' | Portland police describe front lines of protests," by Staff, KGW8, Portland, 6 August, 2020.   Let the City Put Out Its Own Fires and Fund Its Own Cleanup             A sea change in sympathies and attitudes is seen. One reads:  "Anarchists and rioters have wreaked havoc on Portland, Ore., for nearly two months. Democrats have excused and emboldened them, and they’re now claiming the real problem is that federal law enforcement has intervened to restore order. Maybe the feds should leave and let the city put out its own fires." In "The Mess in Portland: Progressives blame Trump for the disorder they’ve tolerated," by WSJ Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal, 10 July 2020.           Some tale telling of the city and its wealthy Leftist mayor:   "It's surely an 'only in America' story, where you can go from gritty, end-of-the-line Western outpost, to something out of Norman Rockwell, and then embark on a headlong rush to mirror the Chinese cultural model of 1966-76, all in the space of a citizen's lifetime. Add the presence of a 40,000-strong downtown university — and, perhaps not coincidentally, a thriving drug scene — and you get some of the flavor of the place. Lots of people have tattoos and piercings, bikes are everywhere, and a Republican has about as much chance of being elected to public office as I do of becoming Pope." In "Hell in Portland," by Christopher Sandford, Spectator, 20 July 2020.           Sandford writes further:   "...the nightly sight of hundreds of masked demonstrators, predominantly white and male, collecting in downtown Portland in order to pelt police with rocks and urinate on the steps of the courthouse. Mayor Wheeler has told us how sorry he is about this state of affairs, but at least he can solace himself by decamping to one of his three luxury homes bought with the proceeds of the family timber business and his own career as an executive at the same Bank of America that helped trigger the great economic meltdown of 2008."   Detail from an editorial cartoon             A racialized tale of mostly white capitalism and mostly white Communism, of a rush to devolve and of mostly white violence directed at the police, with racial slurs and threats directed at blacks in police uniforms. Any wonder the Wall Street Journal editorial suggests letting Portland "put out its own fires." And pay for its own swath of vandalism and destruction. That must be what "white privilege" is these days.   Democrat Mayor Wheeler -- a "F--king fascist"             Another sign of apparent weakening white privilege seems to involve a "caterer":  "Despite Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler having spent his whole career as mayor catering to left-wing extremists, Rose City's extremists showed him zero love when he chose inexplicably to march among them during a 'protest' Wednesday. From the moment Wheeler entered the scene — reportedly with his security detail close by — he was hassled, with the extremists pouring broken glass in front of his path, yelling in his face, cursing him out and calling him a 'f–king fascist'." In " 'F—ing facist’': Portland mayor taunted and cursed at in brutal reality check from raging protesters," by Vivek Saxena, BPR Business & Politics, 23 July 2020.           Shall one assume that Anti-fascists would know who is a fascist? If no, then what is their anti-fascism all about? If yes, then the Democrat mayor of Portland must be a fascist. It's one or the other.   [ 3 ]    From Seattle, an insight into the riot's instigators:  "Much of the violence was, she said, 'instigated and perpetuated not by the people most impacted by generations of discrimination and institutional racism but by young white men,' Durkan said. 'These were not the acts of allies'." In "Seattle mayor, police face questions over response to George Floyd protests, downtown turmoil," by staff, Seattle Times, 31 May 2020.           Once again, one returns to the political nature of Black and White, part deux .   Having No Problem and Then Having a Problem             As to the motivation of the mayor, one finds:  "Before the left-wing mob came to her door, Durkan had no problem with allowing CHAZ/CHOP to fester. The death and destruction happened on her watch, and she had no problem allowing it to happen until it personally affected her safety." In "Shortly After Protesters Rush the Home of Seattle Mayor, CHAZ/CHOP is Quickly Retaken by Police," by Shane Trejo, Big League Politics, 1 July 2020.               Another tidbit is found:   "Business owners, afraid that Mayor Jenny Durkan will continue to let the rioters go buck wild while simultaneously standing down the cops, are hiring private security at a frantic pace. The Seattle Times reports that local security firms have been swamped with calls asking for private security to watch their businesses in case rioters, arsonists and looters further target them." In "Seattle's Liberal Elite Cheer Anti-Police Protesters Then Hire Their Own Private Security," by Victoria Taft, PJ Media, 15 June 2020.           The storytelling elements between Durkan and Wheeler, detailed above, are strikingly similar. To intervene or not intervene? That is the question. The answer is 'it depends' on how close "chaos" gets to the politician. So it seems.   Durkan's "Summer of Love" - 25 July 2020             As a civil suit, perhaps growing into a class action suit against the political leadership of New York by one or more business owners "discovering" stand down orders, becomes more visible nationally, it is likely that more civil suits against those in mayoral and gubernatorial offices will be mounted. When a mob is allowed "space" and time by the actions of political leadership, then that same political leadership becomes responsible for the break down of law-abiding and civil society. It is not a "Left versus Right" political model, but rather a right versus wrong societal model.   Peaceful graffiti for Jenny Durkan             But revolutions often turn on their own:   "Messages written on a street at Durkan's home read 'Guillotine Jenny' and 'Resign Bi---,'" according to The Seattle Times. Windows at Pedersen's home read 'F--- You' and 'Don't be racist trash.' Separately, Councilmember Tammy Morales, who has called for the police to be defunded by 50 percent, spoke with demonstrators outside her home Sunday. 'I had a brief conversation with a few members of the group that came to my home last night,' Morales tweeted Monday. 'I appreciate the opportunity to listen to what they had to say. We exchanged numbers and will be talking later today'." In " Seattle mayor, council members see offensive messages written outside homes: 'Resign bi---'," by Louis Casiano, MSN/Fox, 27 July 2020.           One will be learning of the costs for the political stance of Seattle's current mayor and city council, as it is likely that they will stroll away and leave the bill for someone else, namely taxpayers.           For more detail on this civic foolishness, see:  You're now leaving the USA .   [ 4 ]     Again, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."  The notion of "intolerant tolerance" as proposed by the controlling psychology is of course Orwellian, though it has found a home among some, as may be seen in Anthem of the Academic Left .           In answer, one need not rely on a mob to reply. Individual voices suffice.   Bertrand Russell             One says:   "I should like to say two things. One, intellectual, and one moral. The intellectual thing I should want to say to them is this. When you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only, what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted either what you wish to believe or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. Look only and surely at what are the facts. That is the intellectual thing that I should wish to say. The moral thing I should wish to say to them is very simple. I should say -- Love is wise; hatred is foolish. In this world, which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don't like. We can only live together in that way. But if we are to live together, and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet." Bertrand Russell, BBC Interview, 1959.           "...we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things we don't like."           Or we can take up as a rampaging mob of "protestors" with weapons and the urge to destroy demanding that there be only one truth - The Truth - no doubt about it.           Which is your role in this tragedy and this comedy makes all the difference.   [ 5 ]   The NY Post article observes:  "The sickening hate crimes we are seeing in Democratic-run cities in the name of BLM over the past 12 weeks are occurring with the tacit encouragement of Democratic mayors, governors and district attorneys. This is the dirty secret Democrats are trying to sweep under the carpet until the election, with the help of their media allies. Not one word of condemnation have we heard at the Democratic National Convention for the violence and lawlessness that has engulfed Portland, Ore., Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis and, yes, New York City."           The "violence and lawlessness" engulfing inner city areas under the political "leadership" of some mayors and governors is exemplified by the tale of Minneapolis, as told in a rhyme and parody:  See, shan't he? - to be sung to the 19th century sea shanty tune, "Blow the Man Down."

 

---

 

Should government be limited?

Should government be limited?
            Who would argue no?
Should one be individual?
            If not, how would life go?
Should one? Would one?
            The questions linger, so....
Should government be limited
            Or left unchecked to grow?
Should one be an individual?
            Why would one argue no?

 

Addendum of an Awaited Disappearance:   "Socialists from Marx and Engels onwards have always held that with the establishment of Socialism the State will disappear. The State, which exists where society is divided into an owning class and a propertyless class, and is a coercive institution through control of which the dominant class imposes its will on the subject class, would lose its function when society ceases to be divided into classes. The Marxian view was put by F. Engels in his 'Socialism, Utopian and Scientific':— 'The first act by virtue of which the State really constitutes itself the representative of the whole of society—the taking possession of the means of production in the name of society—this is, ay the same time, its last independent act as a State. State interference in social relations becomes, in one domain after another, superfluous and then dies out of itself; the government of persons is replaced by the administration of things, and by the conduct of processes of production. The State is not 'abolished.' It dies out.' - Sonnenschein edition, 1892, p. 76. (The phrase "dies out" has sometimes been translated 'withers away.')" In "The Withering Away of the State — From Marx to Stalin," Socialist Standard, March 1946, via Marxists.org.    ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of the Concept:   " 'Withering away of the state' is a Marxist concept coined by Friedrich Engels referring to the idea that, with realization of the ideals of socialism, the social institution of a state will eventually become obsolete and disappear as the society will be able to govern itself without the state and its coercive enforcement of the law." In "Withering away of the state," Wikipedia article, n. d.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of the Victory of the Buttocks:    "Controversial Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld argued (in his brilliant The Rise and Decline of the State) that government – the most important institution in the world – peaked in the 20th century and was now, as another seer once memorably put it, withering away.  ...Prof. van Creveld thought the welfare state was effectively destroyed by its own success. Between 1940 and 1975, government's share of GDP 'doubled in Germany, tripled in the U.K., quadrupled in the Netherlands and quintupled in Denmark.' Yet, the apparent need for state intervention increased, proving 'the amazing ability of the welfare state to aggravate the social problems it was designed to cure.' The paradox was this: The larger the benefits, the larger the number of people who qualified for them; the larger the number of people who qualified for benefits, the larger the bureaucracy. Prof. van Creveld blamed the state's decline on the nature of bureaucracy. 'Considered as individuals, bureaucrats may be mild, harmless and self-effacing people. Collectively, they have created a monster whose powers far exceed the mightiest empires of old. By merely waiting, a bureaucrat can outlast any individual. For the first time in history, victory goes to the buttocks rather than the fist'." In "The withering of the state," by Neil Reynolds, Globe and Mail, 7 March 2011.  ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Addendum of an Example of Government:    "...an absurd bureaucratic nightmare. Everyone was entered in at least seventeen different files. Yet nothing was certain. Only the Nazi rules and ridiculous prohibitions, but even they were changed at whim. People weren't allowed to sing or whistle in the streets. No one was allowed to touch a chimneysweep for luck. Abortions were compulsory, but smoking was regarded as a serious crime." In "Paradise Camp," a documentary on the Theresienstadt concentration camp, written and directed by Australians Paul Rea and Frank Heimans, 1986.

 

Addendum of Botched Responses At All Levels of Government:   "...new data show that the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent botched response at all levels of government may be starting to relieve people of their naive belief that more government 'help' is a good idea. According to a new Gallup poll, Congress’s already-low approval ratings have done a nosedive in the last few months. At 22% in March, when the coronavirus outbreak began, approval ratings had briefly ticked up after Congress passed a $2 trillion relief bill. But now, the legislative branch has fallen to just 18% approval. That means nearly 4 in 5 people in the United States do not approve of our legislators' performance amid this crisis, and it's not a partisan phenomenon. The gap between Republicans and Democrats on this metric is only a few points." In "The coronavirus has shown people that big government can't solve all their problems," by Brad Polumbo, Washington Examiner, 1 August 2020.

 

Addendum of Not Capitalism:   "I don't care what letter you want to use to describe it. My problem is with the word recovery. Because I don't think we’ve recovered at all. Sure, there has been a recovery in the stock market in that the market recovered what it lost in the early days of COVID. And yes, this recession that we're currently in began with a very substantial collapse. And yes, there's been a bit of a bounce off of that collapse. But we're still in recession. So, I don't know if recovering to being in a less-severe recession than we were in at one point really qualifies as a recovery. And I don't think we've seen the lows. I think we're going to relapse. I think we're actually going to go down and there's a good chance that the stock market might make new lows as well. But regardless of what happens with that bubble in the short-run, the reality is that Main Street's pain has actually been Wall Street's gain – it's precisely because the economy remains so weak. And what's really at the root cause of the weakness is not capitalism. It's the failure to have capitalism. It's the Federal Reserve that is monetizing massive government debts that are only inflating asset bubbles. But at the same time, it is depriving the real economy of the recourses that it actually needs to grow and build a real recovery that would, in fact, lift all boats. Instead, we’re settling for a fake recovery because that's the easiest one to create. Because in order to have a real recovery, we're going to have to have some short-term pain in order to make that possible. Because what has to recover is not consumption but production. We need more savings. We need more capital investment. And to enable that, we actually need higher interest rates, not lower interest rates. And we need a smaller government, not a larger government. So, everything that we have done since the pandemic began is actually weakening the economy and we're compounding all the mistakes we made before the pandemic.' Wolff bristled at Peter calling the mechanization of the Fed a 'mistake.' He said, 'This is how capitalism flares out.' Peter said, 'Don't confuse what America has now with capitalism. I mean, what's left of capitalism has been destroyed by socialism. So, it's the socialism that's crept into the system that is responsible for the problems and this mass disparity in wealth'." In "Peter Schiff Battles A Marxist: 'What We Have Now Is Not Capitalism'," by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, 30 September 2020.
 

Addendum of But One Example of Government Incompetence:   "California has received more than $1.3 billion in federal aid to rebuild after the 2017 wine country wildfires, the 2018 Camp fire in Butte County and other disasters from those years. But disaster-affected homeowners and renters have yet to receive a single penny. The cause: years-long federal and state bureaucratic delays." In "California got $1.3 billion in wildfire relief. Victims have received nothing, prompting outrage," by
Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 1 December 2020.

 

Addendum of One Butt Example of Government Incompetence:    "The purpose of the toilet is to develop 'easily deployable hardware and software for the long-term analysis of a user’s excreta through data collection and models of human health,' state the researchers in an abstract. 'Each user of the toilet is identified through their fingerprint and the distinctive features of their anoderm [anus], and the data are securely stored and analysed in an encrypted cloud server,' state the researchers. 'The toilet operates with artificial intelligence, includes three cameras (including one video camera), and features a urinalysis strip,' according to the Festivus Report. 'The toilet's AI collects the health data and then stores it in a digital cloud system'." In " Federal Grant: $6.9 Million to Develop 'Smart Toilet' That Identifies Your 'Analprint'," by bMichael W. Chapman, CNSNews, 28 December 2020.

 

Addendum of Another Example:   "The federal legislation enormously increased weekly payouts and expanded unemployment benefits to many new classes of workers, with little in the way of verification or qualification requirements. This welfare expansion was just reauthorized in the second major COVID-19 spending package, which Congress passed in mid-December. Sadly, lawmakers didn’t bother to address the runaway fraud that had plagued the first round of COVID relief efforts. An astonishing $36 billion has been lost to fraud in pandemic unemployment benefits, the Department of Labor reports. To put this figure in context, the entire unemployment system only paid out about $26 billion in 2019." In "‘It’s Easy Money’: Nigerian Scammer Laughs about Huge Sums Stolen from COVID Welfare Programs in Bombshell Interview," by Brad Polumbo, Foundation for Economic Education, 4 January 2021.

 

Consider a truth about all government, of all kinds:   Fat, fat government

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]    The state's bureaucrats, should there be a disappearance of the State, would be lost. What next for these functionaries whose lives are (were) dedicated to the State? The existential threat to their roles in society then are great, in any age. It is they, the population of politicians and administrators and functionaries, who would be cut adrift in a society no longer in need of a State.           Consider the modern reality of The Story of Innocent Bloat .   [ 2 ]   The concept is Marxist, but it is also a more conservative stance which suggests that government becomes too large, too invasive and too authoritarian, and as well a more liberal stance which suggests that freedom and individuality have a rightful place in a free world. The words and too many competing definitions stumble, one over another. Consider:  Left and Right .   Interference of State Power in Social Relations             The Wikipedia article observes:   "The phrase was coined by Friedrich Engels in part 3, chapter 2, of Anti-Dühring: 'The interference of the state power in social relations becomes superfluous in one sphere after another, and then ceases of itself. The government of persons is replaced by the administration of things and the direction of the processes of production. The state is not 'abolished', it withers away.' Another related quote from Engels comes from Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State: 'The society which organizes production anew on the basis of free and equal association of the producers will put the whole state machinery where it will then belong—into the museum of antiquities, next to the spinning wheel and the bronze ax'."           Whether on one seemingly clear political side or another, all will likely agree that "state power in social relations" is a reality. One side accuses the other of exactly the same thing - social interference.  One solution proposed is then clear. Wither away the interference, whether it be regulation, action, application of monies for competing projects, and so on. The administrative state, dependent on the State, would be aghast. Why? The administrative state seeks to administer, and administrative actions amass, grow and flood into and over society.           "Free and equal association on the producers" would strip away arbiters, controllers, regulators, and so many other forms of state administration as to create an earthquake across the entire reach of Politics .   [ 3 ]     That someone notices, given the investment modern media has in not noticing, is interesting. The imagery is dark and amusing at the same time. "By merely waiting, a bureaucrat can outlast any individual. For the first time in history, victory goes to the buttocks rather than the fist'."   Losing Its Raison d'être             As a recent historical matter, this is easily seen. Novak writes:  "The Soviet Union, Prof. van Creveld said, was the first state to exhaust itself completely in war and welfare – but then it was an experiment to determine the feasibility of a totalitarian state. But the democratic state, he said, has also lost its raison d'être and has, of necessity, delegated much authority to multinational companies, NGOs, criminal gangs, all sorts of organizations – and to mere things, too, such as the Internet – that are neither territorial nor sovereign. The state is in full retreat. As Prof. van Creveld warned, the retreat could well turn into a rout."           A clear conclusion is that the "victory of the buttocks" requires a solution. Given then picture of "buttocks" versus "fist," it is predictable that the administrative State would rage -- using its "fists" -- against its withering "by any means necessary," a phrase so often heard and thought incorrectly to be "revolutionary." The proof is that such a reaction by the administrative State, its politicians and bureaucrats, would be "reactionary," using socialist vocabulary.  Indeed.   The Status Quo Seeks to Remain the Status Quo             "In political science, a reactionary or reactionist can be defined as a person or entity holding political views that favour a return to a previous political state of society that they believe possessed characteristics that are negatively absent from the contemporary status quo of a society. As an adjective, the word reactionary describes points of view and policies meant to restore a past status quo." In "Reactionary," Wikipedia article, n. d.           The administrative State is the status quo, and it is assured maintaining that status quo is its stance, its policy and its strategy. From the perspective of the State withering as it loses its "raison d'être," returning to it would be reactionary and the ultimate irony.           Large, growing and pervasive government then has as its raison d'être increasing its size, scope and reach. Should government be limited?  /  Who would argue no?           Most obviously the State would argue no.           Not the center, right nor left. All would argue no, existentially.            Ultimately then the State is the reason for the State.           The larger State seeks itself then in more and more powerful ways than the smaller State, something which may be seen throughout a bloody century or two.           The terminology used is shifty.  Consider one who said clearly: We might have called ourselves the Liberal Party .

 

 

---

 

See, shan't he? - to be sung to the 19th century sea shanty tune, "Blow the Man Down"  ^{[ 1 ]}

"The vandalism and looting following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police will cost the insurance industry more than any other violent demonstrations in recent history, Axios has learned." In "Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history," by Jennifer A. Kingson, Axios, 16 September 2020.

 

Oh-oh, burn the town down,
Bullies, burn the town down,
To me, weigh, hey, burn the place down.
Arson is peaceful when looting a town,
Oh, give us thugs time to burn the town down.

    As I was a strutting, downtown on the street,
    A bright, pretty shop window seemed such a treat.
    Once full of products that aren't there now
    Prove looting's just protest, as mayors will allow.

    It was in through a window to take what was mine,
    So I took what I wanted, and thought, "this is fine."
    I spray painted quickly my radical sign,
    Violently protesting, and this by design.

    Then I flipped cops the finger and ran with my stuff,
    And brightly the fires I lit were enough
    To keep the streets roiling, for this was no bluff.
    When I'm out with my mob, I'm ever so tough.

    That downtown still smolders with ashes and trash
    And yet from the mayors comes little backlash.
    They cower, well silenced, and speeches rehash
    To tell they are down with the struggle and clash.

    And soon again comes a reprise from the mob,
    With Molotov cocktails to light and to lob.
    Signing our slogans -- graffiti to daub --
    We'll loot and we'll burn and we'll pillage and rob.

    So I give you fair warning, or maybe I shan't.
    Repetitive slogans make for my chant.
    Don't ask that I cease, for simply I can't.
    It's rage and its anger that scream in my rant.

    Burn the town down, bullies, loot it and burn;
    Mayors and cops, bullies, will violence spurn.
    Burn the place down, not just once, but return!
    The mayors and the councils will meet, then adjourn.

Oh-oh, burn the town down,
Bullies, burn the town down,
To me, weigh, hey, burn the place down.
Arson is peaceful when looting a town,
Oh, give us thugs time to burn the town down.

 

      

Minneapolis St. Paul

 

Addendum of the Wake:    "In their wake, vandals left a trail of smashed doors and windows, covered hundreds of boarded-up businesses with graffiti and set fire to nearly 150 buildings, with dozens burned to the ground. Pharmacies, groceries, liquor stores, tobacco shops and cell phone stores were ransacked, losing thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise. Many were looted repeatedly over consecutive nights. Other property — like gas stations, restaurants and even parked cars — was set on fire, with much of it completely destroyed." In "Buildings damaged in Minneapolis, St. Paul after riots," by Josh Penrod, C.J. Sinner and MaryJo Webster, Star Tribune, 6 July 2020.

 

        

 

Addendum of a Heartbroken Neighborhood:   "The trail of property damage at places like Scores and Islam's Gandhi Mahal restaurant couldn't have happened at a worse time, according to local business leaders. Stores were already suffering heavy losses from coronavirus-related closures, and now they say it will take even longer for the area to recover. 'People are devastated by the violence, and now it's compounded with the loss of their livelihood,' Peter Frosch, CEO of the Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership, told CBS MoneyWatch. 'The small business community is more than hurting'." In "In Minneapolis, a vibrant neighborhood now looted, burned and heartbroken," by Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 1 June 2020.

 

 

Addendum of a Holistic Response to a Burned Out Neighborhood:   "...'We are closer than any time in history, and anywhere else in the country, to a safe, thriving city without police.' Under the proposed plan, the city would eliminate the existing police department and replace it with 'a department of community safety and violence prevention, which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.' The department would be overseen by a director, nominated by the mayor and approved by the City Council. Only individuals with 'non-law enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches,' will be eligible to hold the post, according to the amendment." In "Minneapolis Council Moves To Defund Police, Establish 'Holistic' Public Safety Force," by Vanessa Romo, National Public Radio, 26 June 2020.

 

   

Minnesota Governor Walz, Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Frey - See, shan't they?

 

Addendum of Questions and an Alternative:    "The people of Minneapolis have every right to ask their elected officials who are promoting eliminating the Police Department why this solution is better than all the other solutions they've offered up for decades that didn't stop racism, violence and bad cops who failed their city. Why didn't they protect the people of Minneapolis? Why didn't they protect good cops from bad cops? Why didn't they stop their city from burning? Mayors Frey, Rybak and Hodges and the City Council all claim they were impotent because the police union was too strong for them. If that is true then the remedy isn't to defund and disband the Police Department. It's time to defund and disband the current elected leadership at Minneapolis City Hall and find people with the courage and conviction to protect all of the people of Minneapolis, all of the time, everywhere in the city." In "Defund and disband Minneapolis City Hall leadership," by Norm Coleman, Star Tribune, 16 June 2020.    ^{[ 2 ]}

 

  

Mayor Frey in Beautiful Downtown Minneapolis, and a Beige Protestor Enjoying the View

 

Addendum of Black Advocates Against White Activists:   "A panel of African-American violence prevention advocates held what they call an emergency news conference to speak against the city council’s push to dismantle the police department. 'It is time to stand up in this city, it is time to tell the city council that utopia is a bunch of B.S. We are not in Mayberry we are in the wild wild west and it is time for some answers,' Clemons said." In " 'It Is Time To Stand Up In This City': Twin Cities Citizens Speak Against Dismantling The Police," by Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield, WCCO CBS 4, 7 July 2020.

 

Peaceful Protestors

 

Addendum of City Council Approval:  " 'Defund,' 'Dismantle' and 'End the MPD' are among the oft-heard cries from police reform proponents. A police reform report released in June by Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) included a lengthy list of recommendations such as community input on police contracts, mandatory psychological testing for police, and an independent agency to handle police misconduct cases. The Minneapolis City Council last month approved a proposal to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and replace it with a community-led public safety department. They want city voters to weigh in on the proposal in the November general election by agreeing to amend the City Charter." In "Leaders discourage any rush to judgment on police reform," by Charles Hallman, Spokesman-Recorder, 9 July 2020.

 

A Traditional Sport for Some

 

Addendum of Less Cops, Anyway:   "At least 150 Minneapolis Police Officers have begun the process of seeking 'duty disability' for post-traumatic stress under the Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), said an attorney representing the officers. The attorney, Ron Meuser, who handles most disability claims for the Minneapolis Police Federation, told the FOX 9 Investigators 75 of those officers are under doctors’ orders not to return to work as they undergo treatment for symptoms consistent with PTSD. 'The symptoms didn't just start six weeks ago,' said Meuser. “They've been dealing with symptoms for decades'." In "150 Minneapolis police officers seeking disability for PTSD following riots," by Tom Lyden, KMSP / Fox 9, 9 July 2020.   ^{[ 3 ]}

 

A Shopkeeper's Advice to Politicians

 

Addendum of the Aftermath:    "The Walz administration conducted a preliminary damage assessment that found nearly $16 million of eligible damages related to fires. The federal funds would have been used to reimburse local governments for repairs and debris removal. Republican Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer on Thursday sent a letter to Trump in response to Walz’s aid request, asking for a 'thorough and concurrent review' of the state’s response to the unrest so that 'every governor, mayor and local official can learn from our experiences' and prevent such a situation from happening again. 'If the federal government is expected to assist in the clean-up of these unfortunate weeks, it has an obligation to every American — prior to the release of funding — to fully understand the events which allowed for this level of destruction to occur and ensure it never happens again,' Emmer wrote." In "Feds deny Walz's request for aid to rebuild after riots," by Ryan Faircloth, Star Tribune, 11 July 2020.  ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Addendum of Police Going Home:   "According to Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, who supports efforts to defund police forces, police officers who leave the force are not willing to help make a change. 'Policing as an institution has largely been untouchable, despite the many, many, many failings that are cultural,' said Ellison. 'Here we are in a moment where people all over the country are saying, ‘No, no, no, no, no, we are interested in real accountability.' Ellison claims that officers who leave the force are essentially saying, 'You're picking on us, you don't know how hard our job is and we're going home'." In "Nearly 200 Officers Apply to Leave Minneapolis Police Force," by Kyle Morris, Breitbart, 21 July 2020.  ^{[ 5 ]}

 

Addendum of Democrat Mayor and Democrat Governor:   "Mayor Jacob Frey, the Minneapolis Democrat who faced sharp criticism over his handling of the George Floyd riots in June, on Monday seemed to place much of the blame on Gov. Tim Walz, another Democrat, for failing to act quickly on early requests from the city for state intervention, a report said. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune published a detailed report that shed light on the interaction between the mayor's office and Walz in the early days of the protest. The governor's office made it clear that National Guard Troops were ready within 24 hours of the mayor's informal request, but Frey seems to be unconvinced that the governor's office took the unfolding crisis as serious as the moment demanded. The report also shows clear fissures in Frey’s relationship with Walz. Frey told the paper that he remembered a press conference that the governor held outside the smoldering Third Precinct when he called the city’s response to the unrest the night before an 'abject failure'." In "Minneapolis' Frey accuses Walz of dragging feet during early unrest," by Edmund DeMarche, Fox News, 4 August 2020.

 

Addendum of Following the Story:   "The Minneapolis Mayor said: 'We all share a deep and abiding reverence for the role our local government plays in service of the people of our city. 'And today, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis'." In "Minneapolis delivers on its George Floyd promise to defund police and wipes $8m from force's budget: Shootings DOUBLE and carjackings are up 331% on the year as it's revealed 160 disgusted cops have now quit or taken leave," by Lydia Catling, Daily Mail, 10 December 2020.

 

Addendum of a Depressingly Familiar Problem:    "According to the most recent police statistics, the number of people shot citywide went up nearly 90% compared with the first half of last year, while homicides jumped from 22 to 40 in that same period. This year has seen violent crime arrests drop by about a third, with about 400 so far, compared with about 600 at this time last year. Some critics argue that the city's crime-fighting efforts have been muddied by politics. Frey called a news conference in May to announce a new public safety plan that was sweeping in scope, if light on details." In "Number of gunshot victims in Minneapolis is up 90% from last year; solutions elusive, Amid struggles to develop a new approach to public safety, there is a depressingly familiar problem: how to curb surging violence as the weather warms," by Libor Jany, Star Tribune, 19 June 2021.

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]    "Blow the Man Down is an English sea shanty. The lyric 'Blow the man down' most likely refers to a common mishap at sea during the age of sail wherein a strong, sudden gale catches a ship with its topsails fully set – the force of the wind, depending upon the load and balance of the ship's cargo, can actually 'blow the man down', or blow the man-o'-war down into the water, partially capsizing it. When this occurs during a violent storm, the result is almost always a loss of the ship, however there are techniques for righting the vessel in relatively calm positions (cutting free the sails and rigging dragging in the water)." In "Blow the Man Down," Wikipedia article, n. d.           The sentiment is apt. "Fighting for the vessel" and fighting for the small business owners are quite parallel situations.  As one has seen, one may ask the question of city mayors, councils, police chiefs and state governors as to whether they take a side in the riots and resulting destruction. One asks plainly of them, Which role? .           It has turned out to be a difficult question for the public servants, as to which public they serve. Squirming is the order of the day.   [ 2 ]    Most amusingly, Coleman observes a political conundrum for Minneapolis:  "What is it about the culture of politics in Minneapolis that failed time and time again to address what is now labeled 'systemic racism' in the city’s Police Department? Blaming the police union is, no pun intended, a cop-out. Blaming Republicans isn’t an option as there isn’t an elected Republican in the city as far as the eye can see."           One finds the same conundrum being played out in Chicago.  See the first footnote to the rhyme, Let's all go to the funeral .           Additionally one finds the same conundrum being played out elsewhere.  See the rhyme, associated imagery, addenda and sourced footnotes to White Eric and white Gavin .   [ 3 ]    A thought experiment is proposed, now in real time. Is serving as police becoming less attractive?  More dangerous? More complicated?           One finds:  "Nationwide, interest in becoming a police officer is down significantly. In Nashville, job applications dropped from 4,700 in 2010 to 1,900 last year. In Seattle, applications have declined by nearly 50 percent in a department where the starting salary is $79,000. Even the FBI had a sharp drop, from 21,000 applications per year to 13,000 last year, before a new marketing campaign brought an upswing. And retaining officers once they’ve joined is getting harder, too. In a PERF survey of nearly 400 police departments, 29 percent of those who left their police job voluntarily had been on the force less than a year, and an additional 40 percent had been on the job less than five years. At a PERF gathering in Washington on Tuesday of police chiefs and commanders from across the country, many attributed their declining numbers to a diminished perception of police in the years after the shooting and unrest in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014 and an increase in public and media scrutiny of police made possible by technology and social media." In "Who wants to be a police officer? Job applications plummet at most U.S. departments," by Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 4 December 2018.   Tough, Guy             The article notes: "...whatever the reason for officers leaving, replacing them has gotten tougher. Nearly 66 percent of the nearly 400 police departments surveyed said their number of applicants had decreased. Hiring in a healthy economy is one problem, police officials said, because private industry can offer better salaries. Still, pay isn’t the main reason many pass policing by, Seattle Deputy Police Chief Marc Garth Green said. 'Number one is validation,' he said. 'The validation that they’re putting their life on the line. There's no respect for that.' He blamed the news media for undermining respect for police authority."           The story continues as one learns the Seattle Deputy Chief was demoted. "According to a profile on the city's website, Green has been with the Seattle Police Department for 19 years, formerly serving as a patrol officer, sergeant, SWAT team member and patrol operations lieutenant. Green's departure from leadership staff was among several changes to the command structure announced by the Seattle Police Department Monday night. Best said the department will bring back the 'Homeland Security Bureau,' tasked with managing hundreds of events and demonstrations annually, headed by Assistant Chief Eric Greening." He was reassigned, demoted from leadership. So his comment above seems apt.           One finds in Minneapolis:   "The applicant pool is also much smaller now than in years past, asserted Minnesota Police Officers Union president Bob Kroll, who estimates the number of would-be cops is only about 20% the level it was three decades ago." In "Lack of cops causes devastating Minneapolis crime spree," by Storm Gifford, New York Daily News, 17 September 2019.   Trouble, Right Here in Any City             Nationwide the tale is similar. Critique, non-stop, coupled to abuse. " 'I can't ignore that that's a factor. When you do a job that's being highly criticized on a daily basis, we have to ask ourselves, how do we find good candidates that really want to be under that type of scrutiny,' Jones said, according to Bethesda Magazine. 'If you feel like you're being scrutinized all the time, then this may not be the career that you want, so we understand that that may be a roadblock for us'." In "US police agencies having trouble hiring, keeping officers, according to a new survey, The survey shows decreased officer applications, early exits and retirements," by Luke Barr, ABC News, 17 September 2019.           Fewer applicants, all the while city councils are politicking about "re-imagining."   It becomes necessary, because what is isn't working.   Why Bother?             "The natural whittling process further carves the pool, as candidates depart due to failed background checks, pregnancy, or landing more immediate work. By the time it’s over, 'all these departments are fighting for these students,' says Lamirande, former chief of the Cloquet Police Department who now runs the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College law enforcement program. 'We're at the first time ever that we're at 100 percent placement.' Much of the problem is self-inflicted. Cops describe countless good deeds in their daily routine—helping women flee violent relationships, rescuing kids from unloving homes. But these acts are instantly erased by a single bad shooting or violent arrest, the footage roaring across TV screens and Facebook feeds, sowing distrust and disdain with the power of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign." In " Why no one wants to be a cop anymore," by Pete Kotz, City Pages, 30 January 2019.   No Favors             There is a hard truth herein.  "There are nearly 10,000 cops in Minnesota. Only the tiniest fraction is involved in cases of high-profile violence. And if police can be accused of profiling, so can their critics, who tend to paint all 10,000 with a one-size-fits-all malignance. Few occupations make for a more convenient punching bag. Nor has the body politic done them any favors."           For the black cop today, one watches the woke white Leftist, as in Black and White, part deux .   [ 4 ]   It is an interesting notion, "the state's response to the unrest."  Another is the city's "response." That Governor Walz would have the country -- via the federal government -- fund some to all of the clean up is clear. But a comment beneath the article offered a reminder from recent history:  "The Feds didn't pick up the tab through FEMA for Baltimore in 2015 under the Obama administration or the race riots in Detroit in 1967 under the Johnson administration."   Another Shopkeeper's Advice to Politicians             If a mayor and city council suggest that they are not responsible, and a higher level of government is, then the question immediately becomes, "why have a mayor?"  The same holds true for a city council. And the same for a state governor. Why have them, if it is the federal government's responsibility to do the work? This returns to the larger question: Should government be limited?   Another Shopkeeper's Advice to Politicians             What seems obvious from the beginning of the Minneapolis riots is that the city "limited" its response. And then the state "limited" its response. Now, with a denial of the federal government, response is also "limited." Limitations seem the order of things, something the mayor and then the governor should have considered, rather than to "stand down."   Another Shopkeeper's Advice to Politicians             "Burn the town down, bullies, loot it and burn; / Mayors and cops, bullies, will violence spurn. / Burn the place down, not just once, but return! /  The mayors and the councils will meet, then adjourn."   [ 5 ]   The political statement by a Minneapolis council member is most enlightening. It translates to "do the dangerous job, and we will criticize you anyway and seek to defund you." Perhaps Minneapolis' voters can call the city council members in an emergency, to see what the response would be. This demonstrates a very human  and seemingly universal phenomenon:  People walk away .           Perhaps Councilman Ellison and other elected officials could police Minneapolis? Or, if they had to, they too would walk away. Time will tell.

 

---

 

Red was sprayed upon white stone

 

"Red spray paint covered the faces of Lucy Higgs Nichols and her daughter on the sculpture. BLM was painted on the side. 'The fact that it was such a community effort to make this happen, it wasn't just an assault on that sculpture, it was like a public affront to this community,' said Finn, who helped to put the sculpture in the Underground Railroad Gardens. The gardens was a community project that now sits behind the Second Baptist Church in New Albany. The statue is meant to honor and remember Nichols, who escaped slavery and worked for the Union Army as a nurse during the Civil War. When she returned to New Albany after the war, she was a member of the church." In "Community raises money for security system after Lucy Higgs Nichols statue vandalized at Underground Railroad Gardens," by Abby Lutz, WHAS 11(ABC), 6 July 2020.

 

    

A White Limestone Target of Red Black Lives Matter

 

Red was sprayed upon white stone
 Which honored a black slave,
  With yellow-bellied cowardice
   For radical vandals crave
    Defacing even the memory of
     A black mother oh so brave.
     Red is stupid, coarse and mean,
    And Red would re-enslave

   As it has throughout the world

  In every Red enclave.
 Red was sprayed upon white stone
Which honored a black slave.

 

Consider a parallel from another time and place in the Breaking of the Hands  - so politics commands

 

Addendum of a Vapid Cultural Politics:   "...one problem with all of this: MAGA and BLM turn out to be entirely empty slogans on close inspection. Or at least, any substance they might have represented has been emptied out by the pre-existing and elite interests that commandeered them. ...The vapid cultural politics of academia talking to itself in the mirror. 'Gender identity' and 'gender expression' come ahead of the first mention of economics." In "The emptiness of 'MAGA' and 'Black Lives Matter'," by Michael Brendan Dougherty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 16 July 2020.

 

---

 

Robin Racist

"It collapses all identity into racial categories. 'It is crucial for white people to acknowledge and recognize our collective racial experience,' writes DiAngelo, whose teachings often encourage the formation of racial affinity groups. The program does not allow any end point for the process of racial consciousness. Racism is not a problem white people need to overcome in order to see people who look different as fully human — it is totalizing and inescapable. Of course, DiAngelo’s whites-only groups are not dreamed up in the same spirit the same as David Duke’s. The problem is that, at some point, the extremes begin to functionally resemble each other despite their mutual antipathy." In "Is the Anti-Racism Training Industry Just Peddling White Supremacy?" by Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine, 16 July 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Robin Racist peddles views, spying value in skins' hues.
She tells tales, she sees clues. She sees reasons to accuse.

Robin Racist's racist ruse oozes racism to bruise,
As it has, to enthuse those who'd they themselves excuse.

Robin Racist ballyhoos racism in richer hues;
Still it's all the same old blues. Skin means values, as you choose.

 

Addendum of Pseudo-intellectual Horseshit:   "DiAngelo isn’t the first person to make a buck pushing tricked-up pseudo-intellectual horseshit as corporate wisdom, but she might be the first to do it selling Hitlerian race theory. White Fragility has a simple message: there is no such thing as a universal human experience, and we are defined not by our individual personalities or moral choices, but only by our racial category. If your category is 'white,' bad news: you have no identity apart from your participation in white supremacy ('Anti-blackness is foundational to our very identities… Whiteness has always been predicated on blackness'), which naturally means 'a positive white identity is an impossible goal'." In "On 'White Fragility'," by Matt Taibbi, blog post, 28 June 2020.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of a Racist Tract:   "Rather, I have learned that one of America’s favorite advice books of the moment is actually a racist tract. Despite the sincere intentions of its author, the book diminishes Black people in the name of dignifying us. This is unintentional, of course, like the racism DiAngelo sees in all whites. Still, the book is pernicious because of the authority that its author has been granted over the way innocent readers think." In "The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility," by John McWhorter, Atlantic, 15 July 2020.   ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Addendum of a P. T. Barnum For Our Time:  "DiAngelo is a white lady who has gotten very, very rich speaking to litigation-averse corporations, campus groups, self-flagellating white progressives, and black allies joining the cause of white guilt, which is apparently like the rain in Blade Runner, a mephitic poison that is forever soaking everyone to the bone. People have been mocking DiAngelo. We should be in awe of her instead. She’s the absolute master of this, a P. T. Barnum for our time." In "The Capitalist Genius of the Anti-Racism Industry," by Kyle Smith, National Review, 16 July 2020.  ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Addendum of Another Barnum For Our Time:   "Ironically, though, Ross has used his own privilege to enrich himself at taxpayers’ expense. In the language of his own discourse, he has monetized collective black pain to create individual white profit." In " 'White Fragility' Comes to Washington, Profiteering race theorists expand their footprint in the federal bureaucracy," by Christopher F. Rufo, City Journal, 18 July 2020.   ^{[ 5 ]}

 

Addendum of the power of Black Leaders' white superiority complex:   "The power of the white superiority complex held by black leaders doesn't just come from distorting racism, but also from minimizing any issue that requires self-examination and self-correction within black culture. There is no greater example of this than the reluctance of black leaders to publicly address the decades-long disappearance of the black nuclear family. We black Americans may talk about the importance of family structure amongst ourselves, but any leader who addresses it publicly — including President Obama — is denounced by leftists and accused of engaging in 'respectability politics'." In "It's Time For The Conversation About Black Lives To Stop Focusing On White People," by Delano Squires, Federalist, 21 July 2020.   ^{[ 6 ]}

 

Addendum of Ensuring Racial Differences:   '...today's cultural revolution. It seeks to ensure that racial difference is the foundation of American life, dividing the country between supposed non-white victims and purported white victimizers, past and present." In "Why This Revolution Isn't Like the '60s," by Victor Davis Hanson, TOwnhall, 23 July 2020.

 

Addendum of "If You're White":    "If you’re white...." In "Anxiety over racism: A path towards peace," by Roxane Battle, Sanvello, 7 July 2020.   ^{[ 7 ]}

 

Addendum of Surveying Racism in America:  "A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 75% of American Adults think the term 'racism' refers to any discrimination by people of one race against another. Just 15% say it refers only to discrimination by white people against minorities. These findings have changed little in surveys for the past several years. ...Eighteen percent (18%) say most white Americans are racist. But 25% believe most black Americans are racist. Fifteen percent (15%) think most Hispanic-Americans are racist, while nearly as many (13%) say the same of most Asian-Americans." In "Americans Say Blacks More Racist Than Whites, Hispanics, Asians," Rasmussen Reports, 24 July 2020.     ^{[ 8 ]}

 

Addendum of Declaring Grammar Racist:    :...the department said it will provide more reading to upper-level writing classes on the subjects of racism, sexism, homophobia, and related forms of 'systemic discrimination.' Leonydus Johnson, a speech pathologist and libertarian activist, said the school's change makes the racist assumption that minorities cannot comprehend traditional English. Johnson called the change 'insulting, patronizing, and in itself, extremely racist. The idea that expecting a student to write in grammatically correct sentences is indicative of racial bias is asinine,' Johnson told the Washington Free Beacon. 'It's like these people believe that being non-white is an inherent handicap or learning disability…. That's racism. It has become very clear to me that those who claim to be 'anti-racist' are often the most racist people in this country'." In "Rutgers Declares Grammar Racist," by Chrissy Clark, Free Beacon, 24 July 2020.   ^{[ 9 ]}

 

Addendum of Obsession:    "Ward Connerly, a civil rights leader who is older and wiser than I, writing in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, asserts that there is no such thing as institutional racism in America. Frankly, I am relieved, because I have lived in this country for decades, and it has been some 40 years since I encountered a racist, a white supremacist, or even a Euro-maniac. I have encountered some left-wingers — once politely called liberals — who are obsessed with race, but even these troubled souls I do not consider racists, though some might be. They are more properly referred to as bigots, and intolerant bigots at that. They, of course, call anyone who might disagree with them 'racists,' but I have tried to verify their charges from time to time, and I have been unsuccessful. They, as a rule, present no evidence that race is even at issue. In point of fact, I have found that in debate the first person who brings up the matter of race is usually the real racist. For instance, if I were debating Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, either one might bring up the question of race before I would utter the word, and Al might talk about nothing else." In " Listening to Ward Connerly on Racism, An honest voice in a singularly dishonest debate," by R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., Spectator, 29 July 2020.   ^{[ 10 ]}

 

Addendum of Prolific Hate Speech Ignored:    "It's time to put to rest the black vs. white, white vs. black preoccupation with one another. In case it hasn't been noticed, America is not just black and white. No, we aren't simply the black and white keys of a piano. We have become a beautiful masterpiece of art. America is one of the most beautifully colorful, multi-racial nations in the world. This preoccupation with two races ignores the reality of today's America. The politicians and the media can do much to alleviate and bury this falsely promoted enmity based on racial hatred if willing by ceasing and censoring the usage of 'white Americans' when addressing race issues. Neither black Americans nor white Americans represent monolithic perceptions or thought. We shouldn’t be treated as if we are monolithic. That treatment is based on a grave and huge falsehood—even what could be called a myth." In "A Most Prolific Form of Hate Speech Is the Most Ignored," by Helen Louise Herndon, Aquila Report, 30 July 2020.   ^{[ 11 ]}

 

Addendum of Robin Racist's Skinfolk, Henry:   "A Boston University president who said President Trump's Supreme Court nominee was a racist 'white colonizer' for adopting two black children from Haiti and using them as 'props' while 'cutting the biological parents out of the picture' is being urged to resign on Sunday. The controversial charge was leveled at Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday by Ibram X. Kendi, a Boston University professor. 'Some White colonizers 'adopted' Black children,' Kendi wrote on Twitter. 'They 'civilized' these 'savage' children in the 'superior' ways of White people, while using them as props in their lifelong pictures of denial, while cutting the biological parents of these children out of the picture of humanity'." In "Boston University professor is urged to resign for calling Amy Coney Barrett a 'white colonizer' who is using her two adopted Haitian children as 'props'," by Ariel Zilber, Frances Mulraney and Geoff Earle, Dailymail.com, 28 September 2020.   ^{[ 12 ]}

 

Addendum of Redirecting Money to the Trainers of the Race Hustle:   "The Mayor of Lexington, Linda Gorton, is proposing to use the funds that had been earmarked for people suffering financial hardship during the pandemic and instead redirect them towards Critical Race Theory training. 'Lexington's woke mayor is taking funds for poor people and using them to pay a rich white woman so she can teach city employees how to become woke... this is progressivism in the 21st century,' author Ryan James Girdusky said on Twitter." In "'Woke' Kentucky mayor is slammed for trying to pull $120,000 from an emergency rental fund to pay for 'critical race theory' training for city employees," by James Gordon, Dailymail.com, 30 November 2020.    ^{[ 13 ]}

 

Addendum of Powerful Moneyed Interests:   "DiAngelo’s own business model exposes the unmistakable absurdity of this idea. Her claim is particularly ironic given that she masquerades as a revolutionary while making a living off of calling middle-class workers racist — supposedly 'challenging racism' — in presentations sponsored by powerful moneyed interests like Amazon, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, various universities, municipal governments and school districts. While she claims that we live in a 'white supremacist culture,' and that white bias is 'backed by institutional power,' her own business model undermines this faulty understanding." In "SWAB and SGA Use Campus Life Fee To Push Racial Division," by Spencer Lundqvist, Pepperdine Graphic, 22 March 2021.

 

Addendum of a Black Scholar's View:   "Liberals recognize that race and racism is a money maker. From Al Sharpton to Ibram X. Kendi, racism and being a racist is a loot clocking activity. If a kid gets on a bus and sets a woman hair on fire, this is acceptable if the kid is black. Just like attacks on Jews and Asians across the nation (by mostly Blacks sad to say) is ignored unless a white male is the perpetrator. Why because Blacks attacking folks is okay and normal but the aberration (truly) is when whites do the same – this is a money maker. It is as if they expect us to accept a rise in crime as if we really want such in our community." In "Liberal White Elitism and Their Commodification of Race," by Torrance Stephens, PhD, Thought Crime-Permanently Banned from Twitter & YouTube, 4 June 2021.   ^{[ 14 ]}

 

Addendum of a Black Mother's View:    "I don't know about you, but telling my child or any child that they are in a permanent oppressed status in America because they are black is racist. And saying that white people are automatically above me, my children, or any child is racist as well." In "Black Mom: Critical Race Theory Is False 'Unless You Believe That Whites Are Better Than Blacks'," by Staff, Daily Signal, 11 June 2021.

 

Addendum of Accusations:  "Among the examples cited are two paragraphs reproduced almost entirely from Northeastern University’s Thomas Nakayama — who is Asian-American — and coauthor Robert Krizek, in which DiAngelo fails to provide adequate attribution. Another example in the complaint shows DiAngelo allegedly playing fast and loose with a paragraph written by Asian-American professor Stacey Lee of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In it, rather than clearly delineating that Lee had summarized the work of scholar David Theo Goldberg, the information was presented in such a way to appear as though DiAngelo herself was providing the summary herself." In " ‘White Fragility’ author Robin DiAngelo accused of plagiarizing minority scholars in Ph.D thesis," by Chris Nesi, NY Post, 26 August 2024.

 

Consider a clearer view -- The colors of man

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]    The article notes: "DiAngelo's answer seems to imply that she would abolish these high-paying professions altogether: 'Capitalism is so bound up with racism. I avoid critiquing capitalism — I don't need to give people reasons to dismiss me. But capitalism is dependent on inequality, on an underclass. If the model is profit over everything else, you're not going to look at your policies to see what is most racially equitable.' (Presumably DiAngelo's ideal socialist economy would keep in place at least some well-paid professions — say, 'diversity consultant,' which earns her a comfortable seven-figure income.)"           The assertion that some others economic system under some other governance would not yield "inequality" or an "underclass" is an article of faith to the Left, which pretends that the history of the Left across that last century has not bred enormous inequality and a bi-furcated class of rulers and underlings.           In the article Chait amusingly notes that this particular racist has managed a "comfortable seven-figure income." This is consistent with -- as but one example -- the reality of Capital for Communists - a story growing old.           Chait also opined ""...one day DiAngelo’s legions of customers will look back with embarrassment at the time when a moment of awakening to the depth of American racism drove them to embrace something very much like racism itself."   More plainly said, this is merely a new intellectual form of racism.   Pure Toxicity             It seems, in fact, that an elite to include academics, has bought into racism as camouflaged by this moment. One reads:   "This is just stunning. This handy little flyer is available at the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) website under a section called Talking About Race. This Talking About Race section is pure toxicity and, in the parlance of the Left: hate speech. It hits all the shibboleths and jargon of the woke mob we’ve been seeing and hearing in the last couple of months of 'mostly peaceful protests' which have resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars of property damage and the direct deaths of dozens of people. If one did not know any different one might think the NMAAHC Talking About Race section was from Black Lives Matter – in this section are matter-of-fact definitions and discussions of white supremacy, white fragility, white nationalism, white privilege, systematic racism, and institutional racism as if these were long established and agreed facts, presentations by race hustlers such as Robin DiAngelo and the flyer that started this post...." In "The Casual Bigotry of Elite Black Americans: National Museum of African American History & Culture," posted by "tigerlily," Ricochet, 16 July 2020.           The oddity of defining "whiteness" is that, if different from "blackness," the definitions by these academics by their specificity imply that whatever "whiteness" is, "blackness" is something else. An opposite? A nuanced parallel? The "conversations" on race goes no farther than a laundry of accusations against one race, and oddly by members of that ostensible race.           It seems quite an ado about White Noise , as race is serving now as a substitute for the old games of class distinctions.           But certainly the focus on collapsing "all identity into racial categories" is a matter of arguing that Everything's about my colored skin - (or sadly, Why racism works) and Everything's about your colored skin - (or sadly, why these games begin).   To Dehumanize Blacks             For this, a conservative Jew opines:  "If blacks are black before they are human -- if no nonblacks can relate to blacks, disagree with blacks or want to see past color to the person's heart -- black-nonblack relations will have been set back a half-century. Incredibly, beginning this coming year, thanks to progressive teachers, there will be mandatory reading of racist tracts like "White Fragility" to dehumanize blacks. That any black would see this as progress is worthy of tears." In "The Dehumanization of Blacks," by Dennis Prager, Townhall, 21 July 2020.           And for this a liberal exchange in an interview:   "Chotiner: 'How much of this role of whiteness we’re talking about is about whites being the majority here the way whites are the majority in France or Hindus are the majority in India, and how much of this is really about America itself?' DiAngelo: 'I actually don’t think it’s about numbers. I think it's about power. White men are approximately 34 percent of the population in the U.S. and control virtually all institutions. Women are the majority of not just the country but the world, and the poor are the majority of the world. It's about institutional power. That's why with the so-called browning of America, there will be adaptations, but the institutions will continue to be controlled by those who currently control it'." In "Why White Liberals Are So Unwilling to Recognize Their Own Racism," by Isaac Chotiner, Slate, 2 August 2018.           The game is afoot. How many of the 34 percent identified actually hold "power?"  An indication of this and the political consequences may be considered through the rhyme, addenda and footnotes to White Eric and white Gavin .   Racial Essentialzing             One also reads another view:   "...DiAngelo's thinking is so extreme that it carries its own kind of racial essentializing. In her view all white people without exception are racist, even — indeed, especially — progressive ones. 'I believe that white progressives cause the most daily damage to people of color,' she writes. Any denial of this is taken as evidence of white fragility and prejudice. It may be true that all white Americans have at least some race prejudice given the gruesome history of this country, but this is blatantly circular reasoning, and raises the question of just what the point of all this self-flagellation is. In DiAngelo's own telling, most of her diversity seminars flop, and studies have shown no benefit whatsoever from her style of training — indeed, some show a backfire effect where people become more prejudiced." In " The limits of White Fragility's anti-racism," by Ryan Cooper, The Week/MSN News, 24 June 2020.           The object of such diversity seminars as with book publishing is money. Money at any rate.   [ 2 ]    Taibbi opines:   "DiAngelo’'s writing style is pure pain. The lexicon favored by intersectional theorists of this type is built around the same principles as Orwell's Newspeak: it banishes ambiguity, nuance, and feeling and structures itself around sterile word pairs, like racist and antiracist, platform and deplatform, center and silence, that reduce all thinking to a series of binary choices."   Race, White Race, and an Obsession About Race             Robin's race theory is called in the article "Hitlerian race theory."  It seems an opposite, when one considers "For years before Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, he was obsessed with ideas about race. In his speeches and writings, Hitler spread his beliefs in racial 'purity' and in the superiority of the 'Germanic race'—what he called an Aryan 'master race.' He pronounced that his race must remain pure in order to one day take over the world. For Hitler, the ideal 'Aryan' was blond, blue-eyed, and tall." In "Nazi Racism," United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n. d.           One reads:  "Hitler evidently suffered also from severe anxiety. How much of Hitler's destructive behavior, before and after rising to power, was a defense mechanism against his painful anxiety? Existential anxiety stems from the inevitabilities or givens in life that we are unable to control or overpower, such as insecurity, aloneness, meaninglessness, suffering, sickness and mortality." In "How Mad was Hitler?" by Stephen A. Diamond, Psychology Today, 20 December 2014.           Existential anxiety? Fragility? Obsession? And yet, like that "obsession" with older ideas of race, the current crop of ideas is quite "obsessed with ideas about race."  Obsessed about skin color. Therein lies the similarity. And the argument for fragility, for anxiety.  Moreover, the ideas are quite identically structured. Embrace racism, one way or another, and it still comes to embracing racism.           One finds this a theme throughout the academe.  It is among The Privileges of Intellectuals .   Derek Knighton             Standing against the whiteness and its "condescension" directed at blacks, one finds a quite opposing and plainly spoken view:  "Nobody cares about your fucking skin color. Nobody gives a damn about your brown skin. See, it's your fucked up shit in the head is why people don't like you. That's why I don't like you." A rant on TikTok by Derek Knighton, circa 25 July 2020.  Ideas "in your head."   [ 3 ]    McWhorter, professor of linguistics at Columbia says:   "In my life, racism has affected me now and then at the margins, in very occasional social ways, but has had no effect on my access to societal resources; if anything, it has made them more available to me than they would have been otherwise. Nor should anyone dismiss me as a rara avis. Being middle class, upwardly mobile, and Black has been quite common during my existence since the mid-1960s, and to deny this is to assert that affirmative action for Black people did not work. In 2020—as opposed to 1920—I neither need nor want anyone to muse on how whiteness privileges them over me. Nor do I need wider society to undergo teachings in how to be exquisitely sensitive about my feelings. I see no connection between DiAngelo’s brand of reeducation and vigorous, constructive activism in the real world on issues of import to the Black community. And I cannot imagine that any Black readers could willingly submit themselves to DiAngelo’s ideas while considering themselves adults of ordinary self-regard and strength. Few books about race have more openly infantilized Black people than this supposedly authoritative tome."   Dehumanizing Condescension             This last conclusion stings in the same way as does Chait. The reduction of all things human to skin color is racist, no matter how well marketed by Beacon Press.           McWhorter continues:  "DiAngelo’s outlook rests upon a depiction of Black people as endlessly delicate poster children within this self-gratifying fantasy about how white America needs to think—or, better, stop thinking. Her answer to white fragility, in other words, entails an elaborate and pitilessly dehumanizing condescension toward Black people. The sad truth is that anyone falling under the sway of this blinkered, self-satisfied, punitive stunt of a primer has been taught, by a well-intentioned but tragically misguided pastor, how to be racist in a whole new way."           One may survey this "dehumanizing condescension toward Black people in the "news" above, which breaks the nation merely into Black and White, part deux .   [ 4 ]    Smith notices the effects:   "Is hiring DiAngelo to educate/browbeat your team likely to make anything better in any way? It’s hard to see how. People who consider themselves victims of racism will emerge angrier than before. People who don’t believe they are racist will feel resentment at being forced to sit through an attack session. People who fear they are racist will come out guiltier and more self-hating than before, will feel more powerfully than ever before that daily existence is a stroll through a minefield. All of these are negative, destructive feelings. DiAngelo and her fellow hucksters make the world more divided, surlier, less at ease. As recently as 2013, two-thirds of blacks and nearly three-quarters of whites thought race relations between blacks and whites were good. Will we ever experience such a moment again? I doubt it. There’s too much money to be made."           Smith says we "should be in awe of her," for she has made racism popular again, call it anti-racism or anything else, it still "collapses all identity into racial categories." For money.   A Duplicitous Tactic             In that regard, one finds basic research to explain this new game:   "Together, our studies present converging evidence that the virtuous victimhood signal is an effective mechanism for persuading others to part with their resources in a way that benefits the signaler and that people who tend to engage in amoral social manipulation to achieve their goals are more likely to emit them. To reiterate, we do not refute the claim that there are individuals who emit the virtuous victim signal because they experience legitimate harm and also conduct themselves in decent and laud-able ways. We strongly caution against this interpretation of our findings and the uncritical categorization of people as being good or bad depending on whether or not they publicly communicate their suffering or misfortune. Our conclusion is simply that victim signals are effective tools of social influence and maximally effective when deployed with signals of virtue. We also provide evidence supporting our proposition that for some people these signals can be deployed as a duplicitous tactic to acquire personal benefits they would otherwise not receive. Given the ubiquity of victimhood claims circulating through public discourse by word-of-mouth, news reports, social media, legal cases, and the like, an explanation for the multiple motives that drive people to claim this status has both theoretical and practical relevance." In "Signaling Virtuous Victimhood as Indicators of Dark Triad Personalities," by Ekin Ok, Yi Qian, Brendan Strejcek, and Karl Aquino, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2 July 2020.           Racism is popular again, and may been seen as an "effective mechanism for persuading others to part with their resources in a way that benefits the signaler," and, as an "amoral social manipulation," it is very profitable.           Race relations be damned. Social progress be damned. Racial harmony be damned. There's money to be made. "DiAngelo and her fellow hucksters make the world more divided, surlier, less at ease."   [ 5 ]    White millions, in fact. And one learns it is centered on race as fact, not social construct:   "Critical race theory  a subset of Marxist thought — the academic discourse centered on the concepts of 'whiteness,' 'white fragility,' and 'white privilege' — is spreading rapidly through the federal government. Last month, a private diversity consultant, Howard Ross, conducted a training for federal financial agencies called 'Difficult Conversations about Race in Troubling Times,' which asked white employees at the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the National Credit Union Association, and the Officer of the Comptroller to pledge 'allyship amid the George Floyd Tragedy'."   No Exit:  It Begins With the Narrative of Racism and Ends With Racism             "Corrective" conversations, more like required confessions, starting from a position of unproven assertions and accompanying condemnation are the stuff of cults.  So to participate is to begin and the predetermined end point.  One reads further: "According to whistleblower documents, the training begins with the premise that 'virtually all White people contribute to racism' and have internalized 'fairly consistent narratives about race' that 'don’t support the dismantling of racist institutions.' Therefore, the trainers argue, white federal employees must 'struggle to own their racism' and 'invest in race-based growth'."   "All white people are racist -- PayPal me...."             As other comments above observe, it is essentially racist at its core. One reads:  "Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has "label[ed] critical race theorists and postmodernists the 'lunatic core' of 'radical legal egalitarianism.' " He wrote: What is most arresting about critical race theory is that…it turns its back on the Western tradition of rational inquiry, forswearing analysis for narrative. Rather than marshal logical arguments and empirical data, critical race theorists tell stories – fictional, science-fictional, quasi-fictional, autobiographical, anecdotal – designed to expose the pervasive and debilitating racism of America today. By repudiating reasoned argumentation, the storytellers reinforce stereotypes about the intellectual capacities of nonwhites'." In "Critical race theory," Wikipedia article, n. d.   An Untestable Theory Which Pays Very Well Indeed             Moreover:   "Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that critical race theorists have constructed a philosophy which makes a valid exchange of ideas between the various disciplines unattainable: 'The radical multiculturalists' views raise insuperable barriers to mutual understanding. Consider the 'Space Traders' story. How does one have a meaningful dialogue with Derrick Bell? Because his thesis is utterly untestable, one quickly reaches a dead end after either accepting or rejecting his assertion that white Americans would cheerfully sell all blacks to the aliens. The story is also a poke in the eye of American Jews, particularly those who risked life and limb by actively participating in the civil rights protests of the 1960s. Bell clearly implies that this was done out of tawdry self-interest. Perhaps most galling is Bell's insensitivity in making the symbol of Jewish hypocrisy the little girl who perished in the Holocaust – as close to a saint as Jews have. A Jewish professor who invoked the name of Rosa Parks so derisively would be bitterly condemned –and rightly so."           But the peddlers of modern racism are become wealthy, violating thereby their own supposed concerns about Income Inequality as Doctor Oppression comes to call .   [ 6 ]     Squires observes with great clarity:   "Any political philosophy that says black people are powerless victims of society's institutions and systems who require white people to use their autonomy, agency, and privilege to uplift blacks is held down by the black intelligentsia's unique view of white supremacy. Suggesting whites have a greater capacity for moral reasoning, emotional regulation, and reasoned decision-making than blacks is a paternalistic and infantilizing impulse that should be rejected completely. It doesn’t matter if the people pushing it are grievance grifters targeting guilty white liberals, anointed prophets of anti-racism who promote sophomoric ideas, or people who would trade the solid substance of black self-sufficiency for the thin gruel of white benevolence. Any social, cultural, economic, or political phenomenon that affects other groups can affect black people as well."           But, as seen above, millions are to be made by "grievance grifters."  And indeed they are "targeting guilty white liberals" with a "thin gruel of white benevolence."  Millions. Follow the money.   Delano Squires             Squires writes also about "the Talented Tenth," ostensibly leaders among blacks.  One reads:   "Perhaps the single biggest failure of the Talented Tenth is its total (public) rejection of responsibility that black people bear in addressing the most pressing problems in our community. Black folk have very complex conversations privately about where solutions for social and cultural ills fall on the spectrum between systemic change and personal responsibility, but our public conversations have been monopolized by the types of people who believe that the eradication of white supremacy is the key to black people getting ahead in America. That means that conversations about disparities in academic performance only focus on school funding, segregation, transportation, and racism to explain why black students are below the city average in math and English but never even ask about home environment and the extent to which academics are prioritized. In fact, you can’t even get people to accept responsibility for black people getting their children to school or ensuring they attend school every day. When DC uncovered an attendance scandal at one local high school (the majority of graduating seniors missed more than 30 days of school during the year), the conversation quickly pivoted to systemic failures (unreliable transportation) and competing priorities (jobs, medical care for sick parents) without even addressing what role parents were playing (and should play) in ensuring their children show up to school every day ready to learn. The same thing is seen in black culture. Bring up any substantive critique of hip hop culture glorifying violence, drug use, and disrespecting women and watch the conversation switch from the responsibility of artists (largely black) to the responsibility of music executives (largely white) or larger American culture. Whether we’re talking about NWA’s declaration that “a bitch is a bitch”, Snoop showing up at the 2003 MTV Awards with two women on leashes, or Nelly swiping a credit card down a woman’s backside in Tip Drill, our reactions predictably exonerate the creators of the art and indict the people funding it. Simply put, there isn’t a single venue outside of the black church where public conversations about black issues even give significant space to individual agency and responsibility. This is infantilizing for adults who have the capacity to make decisions for themselves and their families." In "The Talented Tenth is Failing Us – Part 2," by Delano Squires, Truth No Chaser, 26 August 2019.           The wealthy, white Robin Racists would disagree, for obvious reasons.  $$$s.   [ 7 ]     An app "free to download" is encouraged, marketed through universities. The company, Sanvello, markets by offering through its app that one may "Introduce yourself to an ecosystem of clinically validated techniques for feeling better. A whole new understanding of your personal challenges and goals awaits."            Oddly this is the "pitch" of all religions as well as the entirety of psychology and psychiatry, offering "techniques for feeling better" and with the lure of "goals." So how does the "free" app pay for itself?   With $$$s              One reads from the Sanvello site, "On Your Time, a therapist or psychiatrist speaks with you during a scheduled video session. Many insurers cover teletherapy like a regular, in-person appointment. For Your Health Journey, we match you with a clinician who’s licensed to provide evidence-based therapy or psychiatry in your state of residence. Their first step is getting to know you, assessing your needs, and developing an effective therapeutic plan."            So to cure the anxiety of racism "if you're white," money is of course required. Again as with the above programs, seminars, books and speakers with their fees, it comes down to money. "If you're white," spend money on white people, as a pictorial survey of the company management reveals.   Sanvello Management, alphabetically: Beermann, Bremmer, Dusil, Edds, Mockler, Roots, Sauer, Rutstein              Based in Minneapolis, the company states "37 million Americans have Sanvello covered by their health plan." That is indeed a lot of referrals, by "keeping patients, doctors, counselors, and insurance providers on the same page, Sanvello is working to make the mental health system more connected and effective."           Of the company, one reads:  "Targeted to help those with anxiety and mood disorders and stress, this app teaches deep breathing, behavioral exercises, excises and identifying cognitive distortions (negative thinking patterns), and learning how to replace them with positive thinking patterns. It’s also good for those experiencing bouts of anxiety between treatment sessions. The app does a terrific job of personalizing one’s cause of anxiety using voice recordings, and introducing CBT and reinforcing exercises between therapist appointments. This app is designed to be used in conjunction with therapy, not as a substitute for professional treatment." In "Sanvello," Anxiety and Depression Association of America, n. d.           It is reported that the company with about 40 or so employees does annual business of $4,800,000.00. And, as above, among the sales pitches is the one which says "if you're white...." And anxious. And insured.           A "premium subscription" to Sanvello includes, per their site, "All meditations, All Guided Journeys, All thought activities, Unlimited health habits, Retroactive mood/health ratings, All themes."           One might consider how such an "if you're white" company's marketing plan fits into the larger theme of White Noise .   Panorama Education's Tanner and Garland             Similarly, one finds quite white and quite politically-connected business people marketing "social-emotional" education materials.  One reads:   "Panorama Education’s contract with APS was settled in 2017 and was for three school-wide surveys over a five year period. According to Forbes, the contract cost taxpayers $288,270. Since 2017, the company has raised around $76 million from investors and just last month, Panorama Education struck a $60 million private financing raise with General Atlantic. The company has been paid millions of dollars by various states. In California, the El Dorado County Office of Education paid Panorama Education $1.4 million last year in part to 'reduce the achievement gap by ensuring that all systems are culturally, linguistically, and equitably responsive to the needs of our students'." In "AG Garland’s son-in-law’s education company supports critical race theory," by Callie Patteson, NY post, 2021.           A survey of the "success" of schools by measuring students "feelings" and "social" attitudes in no way addresses the basic issues of education rather than indoctrination. Success in the so-called "so-called three Rs" as in math, science and engineering seems not to be addressed by the various rather "white" owners of such "education" companies.           Such companies, run for profit by some very white "players" boasting of reducing "the achievement gap," are informed in part by a simple examination of "all systems" which they purport to address in a positive way. One might consider the political irony of White Eric and white Gavin .   [ 8 ]    A reputable poll suggests that 75 percent of Americans clearly in a way the "white fragility" and "white privilege" purveyors do not. But the constant media focus on race, and on race-based counseling and such seems to be having an adverse effect.           Rasmussen notes:   "Only 25% of Americans think race relations in this country are getting better, while 43% say they are getting worse. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of blacks – and 22% of all Americans – think most Americans are racist." Perhaps focusing on race and race and race is not progressive in the sense of making social progress, though seemingly effective as a part of "progressive" politics.           "Skin means values, as you choose." It seems that if you assign value to the color of skin, you are a racist. It would be better not to.           Opinions are changing for the constant focus on race. One reads as an example:   "Social Justice Marxists LIE. Look at their behavior and see if it matches up even with their redefined words. It doesn’t. They tell us that we must shut up and listen to black voices, listen to women, listen to gay people and trans people. Oh but, not that black person, or that woman, or that gay person or that trans person. Or that one or that one or that one or that one. What they REALLY mean is that we must speak their ideology, and only their ideology, or else remain quiet. They are the FIRST to use racist and sexist and homophobic slurs against anyone brave enough to stand up to their backwards beliefs." In "A Liberal for Trump," by Keri Smith, Medium, 12 August 2020.   [ 9 ]    The article states:   "Rutgers University's English department will change its standards of English instruction in an effort to "stand with and respond' to the Black Lives Matter movement. In an email written by department chairwoman Rebecca Walkowitz, the Graduate Writing Program will emphasize 'social justice' and 'critical grammar'."    Pin the Tail on the Racist?             This is an amusing turn of political events, given notions of what race is and who are the proponents of racism. Therefore a test is suggested, as we try to identify the racist, as below:      Leonydus Johnson / Rebecca Walkowitz             Johnson, left, states "It's like these people believe that being non-white is an inherent handicap or learning disability…. That's racism. It has become very clear to me that those who claim to be 'anti-racist' are often the most racist people in this country'."  And the department chair, who therefore holds some degree of power over those in her department and is de facto a white racist according to Robin DiAngelo, has decided, in Johnson's parlance, "that being non-white is an inherent handicap or learning disability."           What is "critical grammar" exactly? Anything like critical race theory, which is Marxism coupled to the "collapsing identities into racial categories?" But "collapsing identities into racial categories," in Chait's verbiage, is evidence of racism. Is a white English professor "fragile," in DiAngelo's parlance? "Condescending," in McWhorter's sense of the word?           Or perhaps Johnson is an "uncle Tom," a "sell out," a "race traitor" and other such pejoratives with which white Leftist women have attacked black police officers, as one has seen in  Black and White, part deux .           [ 10 ]   In the game of life, few things are certain. But among them is this. Any claim can be made - a truth of a lie's charade.   [ 11 ]  Herndon finishes:  "It's time to bury a most prolific form of hate speech that is ignored and refuse to apply it to any other race. This isn't only for the sake of white Americans; it's for the sake of all Americans. If we achieve this, we will have won another round for justice and equality. Good-bye to another form of racism—hate speech based on racial identity!"           Opinion from seemingly opposite ends of the political spectrum agree that applying "values" monolithically to any group based on skin color -- I would add other characteristics as well -- is hatred, whether it be called loathing or self-loathing, hate or self-hate. But to assign to any taxonomically identified group worth or worthlessness is a form of hatred. Then the question remains, who practices racism? Who plays the so-called "race card?" Who "hustles" as a "race hustler?" The implications are enormous, as are reactions.   Racism Answered With More Racism   .          One reads: "The Left has decided that the solutions to problems with race relations in America is more racism."   This assertion by the #walkaway movement is a direct answer to the Robin Racist assertions.           Quite specfically, one reads:  "...Democrats are still stuck in their old ways. Nothing has changed for the Democratic Party. Gov. Ralph Northam, Virginia Democrat, wore blackface while in grad school in the 1980s. Or it might have been a KKK hood. We’re still not sure which. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, also has a racist past. Why aren’t they being protested? Just this week, the congressional Democratic leadership committed the worst kind of faux pas by posing in traditional Kente cloth in an attempt to out-woke the virtue signaling rioters in our streets. Black leaders were not impressed. Systemic racism is indeed a vile problem, one that must be addressed immediately. When Democrats stop pointing fingers and look in the mirror, we can begin the conversation about where the systemic racism truly lies." In "Of course there is systemic racism in America and it's in the Democratic Party," by Aubrey Shines, Washington Times, 12 June 2020.           One reads further:  The #WalkAway Campaign encourages and supports those on the Left to walk away from the divisive tenets endorsed and mandated by the Democratic Party of today. Classical liberalism on the left is a thing of the past. Today’s leftist pseudo-liberalism is more committed to expanding the scope of government, pushing us into collectivism, and groupthink. The Democratic Party has gone astray, and it is time to recognize that there is very little true liberalism practiced there anymore. ...The 'liberal' agenda of today has become authoritarian and fascist: forcing people into government-controlled health care; restricting school choice to assigned government-run schools; stifling speech that challenges liberal beliefs and candidates; buying political support from corrupt interest groups; welfare programs that breed dependence upon the state; legal preferences for particular groups rather than equality for all before the law; establishing price floors and ceilings enforceable by law; using government to redistribute wealth just to satisfy their egalitarian instincts, and shaming anyone who dares to deviate from their obligatory way of thinking." In "About #walkaway," Walkaway Campaign, circa 2020.           Indeed, it seems that "Classical liberalism on the left is a thing of the past."  Or conversely, a wave of the future. One sees the odd dissonances of Marxist postmodernism in a very racist Black and White, part deux .   [ 12 ]   Among the latest in a string of new entries into vocabulary is "skinfolk."  Is clever play of words is found, as as one reads: " 'I found it offensive that he would call out celebrities and alleged influencers because he too says he is a Black man and somehow celebrities cant speak for Kentuckians but as a Black man he can speak for us. I understand that he is skinfolk, not kinfolk. He doesnt [ sic ] speak for me'." In "Former LAPD Sergeant on Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron: 'He Is Skinfolk, Not Kinfolk'," by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton, Black Enterprise, 25 September 2020.  Perhaps, in order to sidestep other pejoratives such as Uncle Tom" and "race traitor," this new word is intended to separate an individual from a group.           Clever new words are quite the game to play in the arena of racial politics. Another new entry, blackground, may be found in footnote 6 of Everything's about your colored skin - (or sadly, why these games begin).   [ 13 ]   Money, it has been said, is the lifeblood of politics.  The article observes:  'The proposal is part of Mayor Gorton's response to the Commission for Racial & Equality. But Black and Brown people are disproportionately evicted,' the group said. 'Taking $ from rental assistance does not advance racial justice. It means more Black and Brown people will lose their homes."   Summarizing Critical Race Theory Inexpensively             The Daily Mail allows comments. One --Mr. Quin, Nowheresville, United States -- wrote succinctly:  "Allow me to save the taxpayers $120,000 by summarizing critical race theory. 'If you are whyte [ sic ]you are responsible for the poor choices of others and everything else that bothers them, so vote Democrat to have your taxes raised and rights infringed. We will still hate you but at least you can feel woke about it'."                Money to assure more for members of the Left, and compliance to assure more compliance to members of the Left, with new lingo and racist throughout.   Skinfolk, not Kinfolk             As to Robins Racist's kin though apparently not skin folk, one reads:  "Ibram Xolani Kendi (né Henry Rogers; born August 13, 1982) is an American author, historian, and scholar of race and discriminatory policy in America. In July 2020, he assumed the position of director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. His work in Boston is a continuation of his work at the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at the American University. Kendi was included in Time magazine 's 100 Most Influential People of 2020." In "Ibram X. Kendi," Wikipedia article, n. d.           As highly positioned academic, likely well paid, a "most influential" person, and successful published author, a Henry Racist shares much with Robin Racist. Oppression seems demonstrably to pay well, and certainly better by far than for those who are afflicted by their Wide privy ledge .           Question: can it be said that Robin and Henry are skinfolk, given the modern phenomenon in which postmodern thought declares race, like gender, to be fluid? Transmutable? Of this, Any day now, truth'll be told - while lying pretense is growing cold.   Inequitable Outcomes, Racial Version             One learns that a Henry, quite like a Robin, internalizes racism.  One reads:  "Kendi comes to define racism as any policy that creates inequitable outcomes between people of different skin colors. Therefore a person is not 'a racist' (noun). A policy is 'racist' (adjective). And policy is made by the powerful. He examines his own internalized racism and disagrees with the prejudice plus power model of racism, which would not allow for Black racism." In "How to Be an Antiracist," Wikipedia article, n. d.           One notes that this current game played out, in part, during the administration of a black President who has become powerful and wealthy, as well as evidenced his own prejudices for and against political allies and adversaries. This dulls the argument, as would inquiries into other parts of the world where other races -- as one is forced to discuss race by the terms of the conversation -- hold "prejudice plus power."           But the "prejudice plus power" model is odd, for who does not carry prejudices? And to rid prejudices from one's self is a preoccupation which then dulls other notions, for discriminatory shortcuts in thinking about and perceiving the world are biological structures, at least in part, as heuristic modes -- shortcuts -- of creating models and expectations. Artificial intelligence work requires such heuristics, such shortcuts as to avoid infinite loops and to cull logic trees down to manageable size which is simply necessary. Such new vocabulary as "skinfolk" and "blackground" evidence this, as to notions such as "race traitor." The cull and avoid the infinite loop of "skin color" down to political skin color.   Who Hoodwinks Whom?             Kindi says of his pursuit:  "... I’m basically coming to them and saying, 'Here is the way you were a victimizer and here is the way you were a victim.' And it’s critically important, I think, for people to understand, people have been tricked, they've been manipulated, they've been hoodwinked, and that's why I think, that's what I'd want people to realize." In "Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist," Episode Transcript, Brené Brown Podcast, 3 June 2020.           Who hoodwinks whom? Who manipulates whom? If, as a Henry asserts, "you were a victimizer" and a "victim," then the age old game of life is found. Who has not played both roles, or been accused by others of having done so? One might extend the model in the language of questioning. This is among the outcomes as Doctor Oppression comes to call .   Any Claim Can Be Made             The "trans" model from the postmodern school of thought has allowed for, if not sparked and encouraged, assertions of being trans-racial as of being transsexual, and even trans-species, Fluidity being asserted.           What so much of this seems to reduce down to is this:   Any claim can be made - a truth of a lie's charade.   [ 14 ]    Another take on the issue of many liberals' racist stance, one reads further:   "They have never given up the premise of skin color as political policy – they have just transformed or mutated it to something that can be palatable to their slaves in the house and field. They have pounded in our heads untruthfully that we who are generations from and never experienced slavery still suffer from it. Their beliefs about blacks from the formation of the KKK to reconstruction and Jim Crow to segregation has never altered, only the language has changed. The new thing is to teach ideology to maintain their true intentions as it pertains to blacks in this great nation. Specifically addressing everything other than the real issue that could facilitate change and this ideology being taught and shoved down our throats is inversely proportional what is needed for individual improvement which is having fathers in the home. It is no secret that not having fathers raising their sons leads to the troubles that we see and experience in the black community. Always have and always will be. The kicker is that all of this always has come from the liberal left." In "Black America is a Fatherless Child, How and why historically the left intentionally desires to disrupt the black community," by Torrance Stephens, PhD, Thought Crime-Permanently Banned from Twitter & YouTube, 12 July 2021.   Race as a Commodity             Certainly Stephens point that there is a commodfication of race is demonstrated quite nicely by the financial success of race-oriented books of late.           Dr. Stephens continues:   "I write this simply to say that what the left desires is right in front of our face. It has been continuous since the establishment of the welfare state. What we see is that each generation of blacks in America have fewer fathers in the home, more unwed mothers, higher rates of criminal behavior, teen pregnancy and less pride in ourselves. This is what liberal elites desire, and this is how they destroy communities and it is the same protocol that was used during slavery and the black codes in this nation. They see us as the proletariat, as a peasant uneducated underclass of serfs that do not deserve safe communities. Why do you think that it is mainly white liberals who live in safe communities that advance doing away with police? They are not that dumb not to know that those who bear the brunt of crime day and night don’t want that at all and don't live where they live. They use the term gun violence as doublespeak for murder. Their goal is anarchism for the lower classes while in their gated communities, they maintain private police forces for themselves. They may not say it openly, but I could surmise that their mantra is 'black people, let us tell you what you need'."           The observation is all the more pointed:  "Truth remains that policy based on race never works, just ask the Nazi’s. Without logic, reason or explanation, the liberal class that fought to keep slavery still maintain that we must discriminate based on race today. Maybe it is just me, but anytime you judge folk by the color of their skin, that is racism."           The "new" is for profit. What a surprise.   For Profit, as Governments Pay Top Dollar              One reads:   "The 'Liberated' curriculum adopted by Hayward is the brainchild of the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Institute (LESMC), a for-profit educational consulting firm established by the authors of the rejected first-draft of the ESMC as a lucrative means of peddling a version of their rejected draft — including its anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist lessons — in school districts throughout the state." In "‘Liberated’ ethnic studies curriculum fails to liberate California schools from anti-Semitism," by Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Jewish News Syndicate, 14 July 2021.            One finds:  "The curriculum is influenced by teachings from the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Institute. One consultant affiliated with the institute, R. Tolteka Cuauhtin, has been hired by another school district, Salinas Union High School District, to provide professional development for teachers to help implement ethnic studies - at a cost of $1,400 an hour, the WSJ said." In "California school district will spend $40M making 'ethnic studies' MANDATORY for high school students sparking a woke gold rush for consultants who charge $1,500 an HOUR to train teachers in CRT," by Harriet Alexander, Daily Mail, 13 July 2021.

 

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Under the Mantle

A Party for Socialism and Liberation party salutes

Under the mantle of diversity,
Diverse thinking is excluded.
    Under the rubric of tolerance,
    Some tolerant are deemed deluded.
        Under the thumb of progress now
        Transformation must be concluded,
            And in concluding what must be foregone,
            Obedience has intruded.
                Then from the mantle of diversity,
                Tyranny is thereby extruded.

 

 

Addendum of Twits:   "Twitter seems to exist primarily for the purpose of generating mobs — composed primarily of individuals who are hungry for blood and desiring to bask in the joys of reasonably risk-free reputation destruction, revenge and self-righteousness." In "The activists are now stalking the hard scientists; Expert researchers in STEM fields are already in great danger of being pushed aside by activists of the proper opinion. The rest of us will pay in the longer run," by Jordan Peterson, National Post, Jun 24, 2020.

 

Addendum from the Bolshevik Revolution and Suicide of Liberals:   "When asked to condemn terrorism, another liberal leader in the Duma, Ivan Petrunkevich, famously replied: 'Condemn terror? That would be the moral death of the party!' Not just lawyers, teachers, doctors, and engineers, but even industrialists and bank directors raised money for the terrorists. Doing so signaled advanced opinion and good manners. A quote attributed to Lenin—'When we are ready to kill the capitalists, they will sell us the rope'—would have been more accurately rendered as: 'They will buy us the rope and hire us to use it on them.' True to their word, when the Bolsheviks gained control, their organ of terror, the Cheka, 'liquidated' members of all opposing parties, beginning with the Kadets. Why didn’t the liberals and businessmen see it coming? That question has bothered many students of revolutionary movements. Revolutions never succeed without the support of wealthy, liberal, educated society." In "Suicide of the Liberals," by Gary Saul Morson, First Things, October 2020.

 

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They're gonna put y'all back in chains

"Police in northern Nigeria rescued nearly 70 men and boys from a second purported Islamic school where they were shackled and subjected to 'inhuman and degrading treatments'. The raid in Katsina, the northwestern home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, came less than a month after about 300 men and boys were freed from another supposed Islamic school in neighbouring Kaduna state where they were allegedly tortured and sexually abused." In "Nigerian police rescue 67 from 'inhuman' conditions at Islamic 'school'," by ad/Reuters, 15 October 2019.

 

They're gonna put y'all back in chains,
Some Joe joked sometime.
Was it just rhetoric, as one explains,
Just tricky political grime?
    They're gonna put y'all back in chains
    Is a reality for this time.
    It isn't rhetoric, for it obtains
    To an uglier truth, a crime.
They're gonna put y'all back in chains,
Not politics' quicklime,
For the real truth, someone disdains,
Tells chains are found all the time.
    They're gonna put y'all back in chains
    Is an ancient paradigm.

 

 

 

Addendum of Imagined Chains in a Southern Drawl:   " 'We got a real clear picture of what they all value,' Biden said. 'Every Republican's voted for it. Look at what they value and look at their budget and what they're proposing. Romney wants to let the - he said in the first hundred days he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules, 'unchain Wall Street.' They're going to put y'all back in chains'." In "VP Biden Says Republicans Are 'Going to Put Y'all Back in Chains'," by Jake Tapper, ABC News, 14 August 2012.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

   

 

Addendum of Real Chains in 2020:   "Police have freed 15 children from an Islamic school in central Nigeria where they were kept in chains and tortured. The children, aged between two and 10, were discovered Sunday in a 'dehumanising condition' at an informal Koran school in the town of Suleja in Niger state, regional police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said on Tuesday. In the house where they were found, 'three chains used to tie their legs were also recovered,' he said." In "15 children are found covered in scars and wounds at a Nigerian Islamic school where they were tortured and kept in chains," by Agence France Presse and Sophie Ranno, Mail Online. 21 July 2020.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of Chains:  "Narrated Abu Huraira: The Verse:--'You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.' means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam."   Sahih al-Bukhari 4557, Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 80.

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]    Political puffery sounds as if it tells truths. It so often lies. One reads:  "Sen. Joe Biden told an audience which included hundreds of African Americans that Republican economic policies would 'put y'all back in chains'."  In "Did Joe Biden Tell a Racially Mixed Audience that Republicans Would 'Put Y’All Back in Chains'?" by David Emery, Snopes, 15 May 2019. They judged it "True."           Harsh words require finessing.  One reads further:  " 'The last time these guys unshackled the economy, to use their term, they put the middle class in shackles,' he said. 'That's how we got where we are. Nine million jobs lost, wage stagnation, 16 trillion dollars in wealth you all lost, in your home equity, in your 401ks, and your pension plans - you're the ones that got nailed. All of America except for the very few'." In "Joe Biden clarifies 'in chains' remark," by Brian Montopoli, CBS, 14 August 2012.           Drawl and clarifying nuance aside, this was an example of racially divisive politics, as was Everything's about some "you ain't" skin - revealing the politics that lies within.   [ 2 ]    The dissonance between American political rhetoric conjuring images of modern slavery, made illegal in the United States with the ratification of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution in 1865, on the one hand, and the reality of the wider world on the other, makes such as Biden's drawling "metaphor" an insult to the true injustices of the modern world. One should consider the harsh, inhumane reality of Modern Slavery

 

---

 

Showplaces intended to fool the world

Showplaces intended to fool the world
            are founded on lies atop lies.
Promises emptied of all but pretense
            to trick even skeptical eyes.
Showplaces planned as make-believe
            cheerfully advertize,
As long as the make-believe's propped up
            and only each showplace amplifies.
Showplaces intended to fool the world
            are places and acts in disguise,
With realities hidden from scrutiny,
            for to trick is their greatest prize.

 

---

 

It's the little tidbits that I like

"The government has slashed public spending, even as it hands out sweeteners in the form of luxury vehicles for senior officials to shore up its base of support, in a bid to reduce the budget deficit to 1.5 percent of GDP." In "Zimbabwe: Social unrest grows amid economic collapse," by Stephan McCoy, World Socialist Web Site, 25 July 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

It's the little tidbits that I like which tell a detailed tale;
It's the little things that so strike, to reduce news' size and scale.
                    It's just a few words out from many which tweak the narrative,
                    As truths twist, all and any, as accusative and imperative.
It's the smallest things that I like which cut to the chase so well.
It's the smallest things, often alike, that capsule much in parallel.
                    Luxury vehicles for the ruling class, mentioned so casually,
                    Tell a tale of governments' crass corruption contextually.

It's the little tidbits that I like which tell a detailed tale.

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]   "Zimbabwe's currency has collapsed against the US dollar and inflation has risen to a catastrophic 785 percent."            While the press which does not announce itself as socialist, directly as or in sympathy with socialism, the World Socialist Web Site speaks clearly and plainly to what is often attacked in the West as governments practicing "austerity." The reality looking through any lens is that when one -- individual or nation -- runs out of a reasonable form of currency and is burdened with crushing debt, it is in trouble. And in the midst of such trouble, governments still feather their own nests. In this instance "senior officials" get "luxury cars" as gifts. How socialist? Not really. How capitalist? Not really. Just corrupt.           Consider asking the question from any political perspective. Should government be limited?

 

---

 

Any day now, truth'll be told - while lying pretense is growing cold

"An Arizona State University professor who posted on Twitter for years about social justice issues and recently detailed her fight with COVID-19 was said to have died last week — but she actually never existed. BethAnn McLaughlin — who announced the made-up professor's death on July 31 — admitted to The New York Times on Tuesday that she was behind the hoax. 'I take full responsibility for my involvement in creating the @sciencing_bi Twitter account,' she said in a statement through her lawyer."  In " Scientist says she made up Twitter account for Arizona State prof who ‘died’ of COVID-19," by Tamar Lapin, NY Post, 4 August 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Any day now, truth'll be told.
        Until that day, many've grown bold.
                Any day now, lies'll unfold.
        After all that, truth'll be extolled.
Any day now, lo and behold.

 

Addendum of Any Day Now in Academia:   "Despite publicly living as a black woman for years, George Washington University associate professor Jessica Krug admitted Thursday that she is actually a 'culture leech' — who is white. 'For the better part of my adult life, every move I've made, every relationship I’ve formed, has been rooted in the napalm toxic soil of lies,' Krug, 38, writes in a brief but life-shattering Medium post titled 'The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies.' The self-proclaimed 'historian of politics, ideas, and cultural practices in Africa and the African Diaspora' goes on to detail a lengthy trail of public deception." In "Professor Jessica Krug admits she lied about being black: 'I cancel myself'," by Hannah Frishberg and Elizabeth Rosner, New York Post, 3 September 2020.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of the Addendum in Academia:   "Musician Ken Pazn, 30, was expecting an afternoon of flirty fun after he swiped right on Krug's profile and suggested a romantic stroll in Manhattan. But he was soon regretting the February 2018 hook-up after Krug began boasting of her hatred of white people and attacked him for being too 'passive' in the 'war' on gentrification. 'I have never met anyone more racist than her,' Pazn, who is Afro-Latino, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. 'It was all F whites, F the police, F capitalism, all of that stuff. You could not believe the look on her face when I revealed I had friends of all races." In "EXCLUSIVE: 'I have never met anyone more racist than her!' Musician reveals he went on a 'Tinder date from hell' with race faker Jessica Krug who spewed her hatred for white people and attacked him for being 'passive' in the 'war' on gentrification," by Ben Ashford, Daily Mail, 10 September 2020.   ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Addendum of Pretending for Gain I:   " 'I ran across a newspaper article about Rommel Nobay, an Indian who lied about being black to gain admission into medical school. Nobay got caught because he lied about a bunch of other stuff on his application, such as being a National Merit Scholar — not because he lied about his race. Light bulb. I wondered if I could pull it off by being completely honest about everything except, of course, my . . . race. I shaved my head, trimmed my long Indian eyelashes, joined the University of Chicago’s Organization of Black Students (a black friend ran it, knew my scam and got me in) and began applying to medical schools as a black man. I transposed my middle name with my first name and became Jojo, the African-American applicant'." In " Why I faked being black for med school," by Vijay Chokal-Ingam, New York Post, 12 April 2015.

 

Addendum of Pretense for Gain II:  "It has emerged that an artistic director at one of the UK's few black-led theatres has been masquerading as black. Anthony Ekundayo Lennon describes himself as an 'African born again' and stated in 2012 that 'although I'm white, with white parents, I have gone through the struggles of a black man, a black actor'."  In "A white artistic director pretended to be black – it would be laughable if the consequences weren’t so damaging," by Paula Akpan, Independent UK, 4 November 2018.

 

Addendum of Pretense for Gain III:   "The evidence we have today suggests the people who faked their blackness gained from their lies. They advanced their careers at the expense of men and women who ARE black. They took honors, positions, financial awards and more from men and women who ARE black. They were respected by men and women who ARE black. The real evil here is not lying about being black. It’s profiting from it. Their careers might be toast, but their evil is not." In "The real evil of pretending to be black," Anthony Moretti blog, 5 September 2020.

 

Addendum of Pretense for Gain IV:   "Alicja is just one of a number of white Instagram influencers who've been accused of changing their features to make themselves look more like black women. People have pointed in their pictures they have darker skin, fuller lips, bigger thighs and bums, and hairstyles that include curls and braids. Sweden's Emma Hallberg, who has more than 260,000 Instagram followers, is the most infamous. She had to defend herself after two photos of her went viral on social media." In "Blackfishing: The women accused of pretending to be black," by Kameron Virk and Nesta McGregor, BBC, 5 December 2018.

 

"I have caused harm to the city, friends and the work...."

 

Addendum of Pretense for Gain V:    "Cole — who uses pronouns they/them — worked with Indy10 Black Lives Matter and Indy SURJ, apologized and admitted lying in a social media post. Cole, who also was active in the LGBTQ community, did not respond to multiple phone messages and emails from IndyStar this week. 'Friends, I need to take accountability for my actions and the harm that I have done. My deception and lies have hurt those I care most about. I have taken up space as a Black person while knowing I am white. I have used Blackness when it was not mine to use. I have asked for support and energy as a Black person. I have caused harm to the city, friends and the work that I held so dear,' she posted on a Facebook page under the name Satch Paige." In "Satchuel Cole, leader in the fight for racial equality in Indianapolis, lied about own race," by Tim Evans and Natalia E. Contreras, Indianapolis Star, 18 September 2020.

 

Addendum of Pretense for Gain VI:   "A prominent Black Lives Matter activist who has been accused of lying about his race was forced to discuss deeply personal issues after reporters pointed out that the father named on his birth certificate is white. ...Mr. King declined on Wednesday to discuss the accusations against him with The New York Times, referring a reporter to his response on social media." In "In Questions Over Shaun King’s Race, Activists See Challenge to Black Lives Matter Movement," by Katie Rogers, New York Times, 21 August 2015.

 

Indeed, one finds too often that a bogus Doctor Oppression comes to call

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]     " 'This faking being Native has a long history of being tied to the actual theft of resources and land,' Kim TallBear of the University of Alberta in Canada, who studies the engagement of Indigenous people with science and technology, told BuzzFeed News. 'The fact that this woman thought she could get away with this tells you how little she understands about the actual state of affairs for Native people in the United States. I am disgusted that anyone would take advantage of persistent sexism, racism, homophobia, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and COVID fears for their own personal gain,' Jacquelyn Gill, a paleoecologist at the University of Maine, told BuzzFeed News. 'This is a person that did harm to very real movements and people'." In "At First It Looked Like A Scientist Died From COVID. Then People Started Taking Her Story Apart," by Peter Aldhous, BuzzFeed, 4 August 2020.           Thus one observes that this academic faked a racial identity as well as other fraudulent claims, taking advantage of identity through the operative medium of identity politics.   [ 2 ]      Other news opines:  "Krug's behavior was immoral, deceitful and cynical. For a white Kansas-born academic to pretend to be a North African-descended black woman or a Caribbean-descended black woman from The Bronx — she liked to mix it up — is out of order. But it isn’t shocking. Not today. Not in an era in which people are more often rewarded for their identities, especially if it's a victim identity, rather than for their achievements." In " ‘White Lie’ professor Jessica Krug exposes the fallacy of identity politics," by Brendan O'Neill, NY Post, 10 September 2020.           O'Neill notes:  "Identity politics encourages the cultivation of identities that are exaggerated, reimagined or simply made up. If people know they will be listened to, and possibly even rewarded with newspaper columns and book deals, if they can show that their identity is one of oppression and difficulty and at odds with the tyranny of whiteness, then they will do what they can to present themselves as all of those things. Krug's salsa-dancing may be out of step, but her blacking-up fakery was entirely in step with our warped culture that values victimhood over autonomy."           A sampling of proof may be considered in the The Minstrel Show Redux of modern liberals in their attempts to amuse and entertain.           In the entries into the body politics of this era, "cultural appropriation" became an accusation, a pejorative. One could say in terms of issues of race, certainly racist. O'Neill reports that Krug as a self-confessed fake "wore bright colors (apparently she put on over-the-top Latino garb even for quite formal settings) and who 'dismantled whiteness' was instantly seen by students and others as authentic. There is something tragicomic about privileged, upper middle-class students nodding along as a white woman from Kansas wearing ethnic fancy-dress tells them how awful whiteness is."           The notion that skin color speaks, in one case, as "whiteness" is blatantly racist. Consider the assertion that Everything's about my colored skin - (or sadly, Why racism works).           That's the point. Racism works, as a "professor" of race proves. Identity politics, grouping individuals into collectives based on various measures, skin color and sexual identities and more, is politics which cannot debate the merits of policy without reference to group identity, and one who would step away from such assigned identity is accused of being traitorous. As such, those who practice identity politics ultimately will argue that nothing lies outside of politics' realm. It becomes the demand for Everything within -- an original sin.           Thus does the seeming modern liberal, forgetting the historical classical roots of freedom's call, too easily become Totalitarian .   [ 3 ]    Pazn's quote is worth noting: "It was all F whites, F the police, F capitalism, all of that stuff."  As with the aggregate character above, Robin Racist , so many seeming "academics" and "scholars" express some anti-capitalist message.  In holding and expressing such views, might one know them by the company they keep?           Consider other Enemies of Capitalism , for it is a matter of the company one keeps.

 

 

---

 

Racism as your point-of-view

If you say that the color of skin
Tells of the individual alive within,
Then race is a strong held belief for you;
Your racism steals out into view.

If you make distinctions based on skin,
Ignoring that man should all be kin,
Then race means far too much to you;
Your racism's evident, plainly true.

If on skin color you most depend,
Rather than true character comprehend,
Then race is your measure and a clue
That racism is your point-of-view.

 

White and Woke?

 

Addendum of a Point-of-View:   "If there is an endgame here besides the accrual of power and control, it is advancing the idea that being a nice person is no longer enough. Now that the vast majority of Americans are non-racists, the push is for everyone to become 'anti-racist,' which is a whole different deal. Anti-racists are expected to actively strive each day to dismantle what they say is the systemic injustice that defines America. It means seeing every act as a political act that supports the existing tyranny if it doesn’t purposefully seek to dismantle it. Racial reconciliation is yesterday's goal; today's is reparations, which doesn't mean just a check from the government but personal sacrifice – of jobs, money and other tangible things. This apparently now includes sending one's children to demonstrably lousy schools to serve the greater good." In "The Newest Demon in the Left's Sights: Woke White Women," by J. Peder Zane, Real Clear Politics, 4 August 2020.    ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Manning Johnson, ex-Communist

 

Addendum of Following Phony White Liberals:   "Betrayal of the Negro people may well come through Communist corruption of the Negro intellectual. This is not so difficult since the Communists, the 'white liberals' and the 'white progressives' do the thinking for most of them. The utter bankruptcy of the Negro intelligentsia is startlingly evident by reason of the absence of any strong and dramatic movement for genuine Negro organization, leadership and thinking. Deep in the swamp of inferiority, lack of ability, muddled thought, the Negro intelligentisia looks to the phoney [sic] white liberals, politicians and progressive hypocrites for leadership, guidance and money. These 'whites' are carriers of 'isms' other than Americanism which spreads like an epidemic in the ranks of the hapless Negro intellectuals. Due to the lack of race pride, there is no immunity." In "Color, Communism and Common Sense," by Manning Johnson, Alliance, New York, 1958.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Carol Swain, anti-Communist

 

Addendum of a Part of the Cultural Marxist Agenda:    "Prof. Carol Swain slammed the newly empowered Black Lives Matter as she spoke with Mark Levin during an interview on his Fox News show, 'Life, Liberty & Levin.' Swain, a leading African-American academic who has taught at both Princeton and Vanderbilt, described the far-left BLM movement as 'part of the cultural Marxist agenda against America'." In "Ex-Princeton Professor: Black Lives Matter Only Helps Democrats, NOT Black People," by Jay Greenberg, Neon Nettle, 22 August 2020.  ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Tommy Craggs - a white Leftist "carrier of an ism?"

 

Addendum of a White Leftist's Guide to Republican Party Racism:   "Your nightly guide to racism at the Republican National Convention. Tonight was the 'I'm not racist, and my Black friend says so' portion of the RNC, featuring speeches from Tim Scott and Herschel Walker, among others, and a lot of predictable talk about 'opportunity zones' and the Democratic 'plantation'." In "How Badly Did They Want to Say the N-Word? RNC, Day 1," by Tommy Craggs, Mother Jones, 24 August 2020.   ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Jason Whitlock - seeing bigotry

 

Addendum of Seeing a Racist Tactic:   "LeBron James foolishly thinks he’s overseeing the police. He's overseeing the black KKK. He's promoting racism. He's demonizing a group of white people based on the behavior of a few. As a black man that sort of racist tactic should be terrifying. That racist tactic was used to deny us freedom in this country. No one who professes to care about the welfare of black people would adopt the tactics of white bigots." In "Whitlock: LeBron James Is A Bigot," by Jason Whitlock, Outlick, 25 August 2020.

 

For examples of the political leaders over Systems of Racism, see:   White Eric and white Gavin

 

For an example of tyranny and "every act as a political act," consider:   Everything within -- an original sin

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]     One may see some white liberals hard at work on issues of their own evident racism in the addenda and footnotes to Black and White, part deux , as well as the most obvious capital-accumulating anti-capitalist Robin Racist and the modern, mythic Heroes' Tale  - small and stale.           One would reset one's view of such colorist thinking by considering truths about The colors of man .   [ 2 ]     "Manning Rudolph Johnson AKA Manning Johnson and Manning R. Johnson (December 17, 1908 – July 2, 1959) was a Communist Party USA African-American leader and the party's candidate for U.S. Representative from New York's 22nd congressional district during a special election in 1935. He later left the Party and became a government informant and witness." In "Manning Johnson," Wikipedia article, n. d.   The Decadent Capitalist System Is Responsible?             Johnson writes in the first chapter of this tract, "The color of one's skin is no bar to a young man or woman   dreaming of making a better world. Like other Negroes, I experienced and saw many injustices and inequities around me based upon color, not ability. I was told that 'the decadent capitalist system is responsible,' that 'mass pressure' could force concessions but 'that just prolongs the life of capitalism'; that I must unite and work with all those who more or less agree that capitalism must go.  Little did I realize until I was deeply enmeshed in the Red Conspiracy, that just and seeming grievances are exploited to transform idealism into a cold and ruthless weapon against the capitalist system—that this is the end toward which all the communist efforts among Negroes are directed. Indeed, I had entered the red conspiracy in the vain belief that it was the way to a 'new, better and superior' world system of society. Ten years later, thoroughly disillusioned, I abandoned communism. The experiences of those years in 'outer darkness' are like a horrible nightmare. I saw communism in all its naked cruelty, ruthlessness and utter contempt of Christian attributes and passions. And, too, I saw the low value placed upon human life, the total lack of respect for the dignity of man, the betrayal of trust, the terror of the Secret Police and the bloody hand of the assassin, during and since, those fateful years when I embraced communism."           How intriguing then that such as the Robin Racists of this time evidence ideologically-driven sentiments of anti-capitalism. And yet, their game is so often a grift, when massive sums of money change hands as notions of skin color are bought and sold, ideological blather the high-priced products, allowing politicians and bureaucrats to ascend on some of that the money and some of the accompanying  hype to lofty position and political power and privilege. The peddlers of racism will not be poor, it is assured, until the racism marketplace dries up for lack of demand.           Until that new era, one may assured that Everything's about my colored skin - (or sadly, Why racism works). Why? As Manning Johnson states, "there is no immunity." Yet.   [ 3 ]    Professor Swain also is quoted:   "Democrats 'are using black people to advance a radical agenda that will be destructive to our nation, that will hurt all of us,' Swain warns. 'And it's hurting us right now'."   One Source of the Hurt             A historian comments on the documented racism of a central figure for the Left:   "...the reality is that Marx gets a pass from the left because he’s of the left. Leftists ignore or try to separate him from the ideology bearing his name that helped produce over 100 million deaths in the 20th century alone. The dread 'dead white European male' tag conveniently eludes Karl Marx, nor does he raise the needle on the Left's bigotry meter. But alas, he should. Karl Marx was, after all, a bigot. His attitude toward blacks and Jews alone (not to mention women) would stun Stonewall Jackson. Ugly racial-ethnic stereotypes by Marx are littered throughout his writings. Consider how Marx spoke of his own son-in-law, Paul Lafargue, husband of his daughter Laura. Paul came from Cuba, born in Santiago, and Marx thus viewed him as marred by 'Negro' blood and denigrated him as 'Negrillo' or 'the Gorilla.' Karl never let up his ridicule of poor Paul. In November 1882, still 14 years after Lafargue and Laura married, Marx complained to Engels that 'Lafargue has the blemish customarily found in the negro tribe — no sense of shame, by which I mean shame about making a fool of oneself'." In "So Why Not Cancel Leftist Karl Marx?" by Paul Kengor, Frontpage, 25 August 2020.           Therefore one should be informed about the "social construct" of a Jewish nigger .           One may then also consider this all in light of the graphic evidence of white Leftist "protestors" screaming at black policemen, as in Black and White, part deux , and as in the irony of Everything's about some "you ain't" skin - revealing the politics that lies within.   [ 4 ]    It is supposed to be clever commentary on the part of the modern Left to accuse some blacks aligning with a party opposed to Democrats of being dupes, and so to Craggs these blacks are supposed to be. That assertion sparked an opinion of his opinion.   Progressives Obsessed With Racism             One reads of Craggs:   "It really is shocking that in this day and age, white progressives still feel free to lecture grown black people about what their politics should be when doing so is exactly what these black people, especially Klacik are specifically saying they reject. It could not prove the point more forcefully. Here is a young black woman trying to make a difference in her community by rejecting decades of incompetent Democratic leadership in Baltimore and Craggs thinks she should shut up, stay in her place, and line up behind Joe Biden and the Democrats. It is becoming clear that the reason progressives are so obsessed with racism is that they are themselves racist. You are not an individual to them unless you are white. White people can be good (progressive) or bad (conservative) just as people, not as a representative of their race. Tim Scott on the other hand, isn’t just bad; he is a foolish puppet who should know better than being used to obscure the alleged racism of those who do not support the left’s agenda. It is frankly disgusting." In "Racist White Guy At Mother Jones Calls Tim Scott And Herschel Walker Uncle Toms," by David Marcus, Federalist, 25 August 2020.   Of a Perfected Formula for Snark             Craggs worked awhile for now defunct Gawker, gone as of 21 September 2016. Of Craggs and others then, one reads:   "...tensions between Gawker’s executive leadership and editorial staffers hit a fever pitch after four out of six managing partners – including Denton – voted to remove a distasteful post that claimed to out a relatively obscure media executive as gay. Its removal went against the wishes of executive editor Tommy Craggs and Gawker editor-in-chief Max Read. Livid that a group of executives who worked on the business side of the organization could so easily undermine the supposedly independent editorial team, Craggs and Read resigned from Gawker Media. The loss of Craggs and Read is undoubtedly a blow to the company. But throughout its 12-year existence, Gawker has experienced remarkable turnaround in its top editorial staffers. This revolving door included talented editors like Sicha, who went on to found the Awl, Elizabeth Spiers, who later ran the New York Observer, and Jessica Coen, who left for Vanity Fair. Although these editorial voices helped shape Gawker’s brand, the brand itself thrived long after their absence, and will continue to thrive without Craggs and Read. Not just anybody can capture the Gawker voice, but the company has nevertheless practically perfected a formula for snark that easily replicated." In "Gawker's high-profile resignations are the least of its worries to stay afloat," by David Holmes, Guardian, 22 July 2015.           Craggs imagined "How Badly Did They Want to Say the N-Word?" Apparently they didn't, and apparently Craggs has no proof to the contrary. Merely an assertion, which itself may be seen to be racist. The posing of the question is then perhaps proof of that "formula for snark." And it illustrates the rhyme.             And so, the rhyme:  "If you say that the color of skin / Tells of the individual alive within, / Then race is a strong held belief for you; / Your racism steals out into view."

 

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Moocherism

I'd like to have what you've produced, for having it gives me a boost;
But you shan't have that which is mine, a quid pro quo that won't be loosed.
            I'd like to take what you have made, and plainly leave you, yes, unpaid.
            But you won't take from me; you swine. My deal's one way, my way's hoorayed.
I'd like to mooch, as is my way, and laugh and cheer and never pay.
But don't expect the same from me; don't whine. As predator, I seek out my prey.
            "I'd like." That's all there is to it, to want, to covet, and benefit
            From others as my pastime. All I ask is you submit.

 

Consider Schisms - they're about isms

 

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I see race in everything - six sad stanzas not to sing

"In an indication of what was to come, the founder of the New York Times' 1619 Project penned a lengthy racist screed attacking all white people in 1995. Nikole Hannah-Jones, the lead essayist on New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project, wrote a letter to the editor in Notre Dame's The Observer stating that 'the white race is the biggest murderer, rapist, pillager, and thief of the modern world'." In "In Racist Screed, NYT’s 1619 Project Founder Calls 'White Race' 'Barbaric Devils,' 'Bloodsuckers,' Columbus 'No Different Than Hitler'," by Jordan Davidson, Federalist, 25 June 2020.

 

'I see race in everything,'
That's the racist's song to sing.
Icy race provides the sting
Which divides us all by coloring.

'I find race in every place;'
That's the racists' sad disgrace.
Icy race, so commonplace,
Is what they see, in every case.

'I think race' has sullied folks
Such that it fuels even a hoax.
Race is kindling that fire stokes,
For race is that which so provokes.

"I believe?' No human race
Stands above that racist place?
Believe division is the case
For separations' hate-fueled chase.

'I see race in everything,'
'I believe and my hands wring.'
'I affirm and hatred bring
To racist thoughts to which I cling.'

'I see race in everything;'
How sad it is, that song to sing.
How tragic color worshipping.
How foolish to think, 'skin's the thing.'

 

   

Some of the of white "barbaric devils?"  ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of White Skin and Slave Ownership:   "...the Times has moved beyond overt partisanship to declare itself the decider of all things relating to race. Its 1619 Project insists that slavery was the key to the nation's founding, and that the war for independence was primarily about perpetuating white supremacy. This narrative is deeply misguided, according to a long list of top historians. Yet the paper is not deterred, and has ramped up its demonization of any who disagree with that or its reckless support for the Marxist-inspired Black Lives Matter agenda. Handcuff the cops, tear down the statues, rewrite the textbooks, make America the world’s bad guy — that's what today's Times is selling. Anyone with such an activist agenda had better be purer than Caesar’s wife. The Times clearly fails that test and owes its staff, stockholders and readers a full account of the slave holders and Confederates in its past." In "The family that owns the New York Times were slaveholders: Goodwin, NY Post, 18 July 2020.      ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of a False and Dangerous Conception:    "The essays featured in the magazine are organized around the central premise that all of American history is rooted in race hatred—specifically, the uncontrollable hatred of 'black people' by 'white people.' Hannah-Jones writes in the series' introduction: 'Anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country.' This is a false and dangerous conception. DNA is a chemical molecule that contains the genetic code of living organisms and determines their physical characteristics and development. The transfer of this critical biological term to the study of a country—even if meant only in a metaphorical sense—leads to bad history and reactionary politics. Countries do not have DNA, they have historically formed economic structures, antagonistic classes and complex political relationships. These do not exist apart from a certain level of technological development, nor independently of a more or less developed network of global economic interconnections."   In "The New York Times’s 1619 Project: A racialist falsification of American and world history," by Niles Niemuth, Tom Mackaman and David North, World Socialist Web Site, 6 September 2019.   ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Addendum of 'Nice' White Parents:   "Why does the public education system continue to fail America’s children? Policy experts have pondered this question for decades. Most say the answer is complicated, requiring a nuanced, collaborative approach. But not The New York Times. It found the problem, and it's simple: white parents. The solution? 'Try, whenever possible, to suppress the power of white parents'." In " 'Nice White Parents' Responsible for Failing Public Schools, New York Times Says," by Mary Clare Amselem, Daily Signal, 25 August 2020.  ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Addendum of Of Translucent Color:   "...the U.S. press makes a tremendous mess of racial complexity. Just a few months ago, Antonio Banderas was described as an actor of color nominated for an Oscar. The joke in Spain was sensational. We are all colored! With the new canon today he would be described as 'a nonwhite actor.' This may just be the nonsense of the very stupid politically correct, and the mania of labelers without historical knowledge. But nowadays the NYT, whose editors must be translucent, reduces our chromatic scale to such an absurd generalization that it no longer means anything: We are of a color according to our Hispanic culture where anything but white is accepted." In "Hispanics of Color," by Jorge Montojo, Taki's Magazine, 17 September 2020.

 

Becoming translucent "barbaric devils?"

 

Addendum of Walking Back:   "When the New York Times published an interactive version of their 1619 Project online in August 2019, they included the bold claim that the year 1619 is the United States' 'true founding.' At some point in the last year, while defending their project from the disputes of respected historians and issuing corrections for other central claims, the paper of record quietly omitted the controversial 'founding' claim from its description. A look at the source code of the original description found through internet archives confirms that lead essayist Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project removed the line 'understanding 1619 as our true founding,' from the description of the project sometime after August 2019." In "The New York Times Deceptively Edits False Claim At The Center Of 1619 Project," by Jordan Davidson, Federalist, 21 September 2020.

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]    "Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist. Sulzberger became the publisher of The New York Times in 1992, and chairman of The New York Times Company in 1997, succeeding his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger. On December 14, 2017, he announced he would be ceding the post of publisher to his son, A. G. Sulzberger, effective January 1, 2018." In "Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.," Wikipedia article, n. d.    Desperately Seeking 'Barbaric Devils'             Among other "barbaric devils," in the parlance of the New York Times' Nikole Hannah-Jones one finds other purveyors of racial thinking in speech, politics and marketing, Robin Racist and her ilk.   [ 2 ]    Goodwin, writes  "... according to a family history, Oscar Levy fought alongside two Mississippi cousins, meaning at least three members of Bertha's family fought for secession. Adolph Ochs' own 'Southern sympathies' were reflected in the content of the Chattanooga Times, the first newspaper he owned, and then the New York Times. The latter published an editorial in 1900 saying the Democratic Party, which Ochs supported, 'may justly insist that the evils of negro suffrage were wantonly inflicted on them.' Six years later, the Times published a glowing profile of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on the 100th anniversary of his birth, calling him 'the great Southern leader'."   Look Somewhere Else, But Not Here             Earlier, Goodwin had stated:   "...the Times has never applied to its own history the standards it uses to demonize others. If it did, reporters there would learn that the Ochs-Sulzberger family that has owned and run the paper for 125 years has a 'complicated legacy' of its own. That legacy includes Confederates in the closet — men and at least one woman who supported the South and slavery during the Civil War. In fact, Times patriarch Adolph S. Ochs contributed money to the very Stone Mountain project and other Confederate memorials the Times now finds so objectionable." In "Why New York Times praises 'cancel culture' but skips over its own racist history," by Michael Goodwin, NY Post, 11 July 2020.           It is observed that there have been "...five generations of white male heirs running the Times, all chosen under the protection of an unusual trust that allows family members to retain majority control of the board of directors."   The White Race, Characterized             But with its 1619 Project to rewrite the history of the United States and its "lead essayist," a little scrutiny is sparked. As a student, Nikole Hannah-Jones then simply Nicole Hannah, writing from Breen-Phillips Hall at the University of Notre Dame, complained to the school newspaper Observer these words, a letter printed with the title "Modern Savagery": "What responsible editor would print an article that applauds and dignifies the white race's rape, plunder, and genocide of a whole race of people. I find it hard to believe that any member of the white race can have the audacity and hypocrisy to call any other culture savage. The white race is the biggest murderer, rapist, pillager, and thief of the modern world."           How go the counter culture cancellations? Are some or all of the "five generations of white male heirs" murderers, rapists, pillagers and thieves? The "race" to the finish has begun.   [ 3 ]   The World Socialist Web Site article states  "The methodology that underlies the 1619 Project is idealist (i.e., it derives social being from thought, rather than the other way around) and, in the most fundamental sense of the word, irrationalist. All of history is to be explained from the existence of a supra-historical emotional impulse. Slavery is viewed and analyzed not as a specific economically rooted form of the exploitation of labor, but, rather, as the manifestation of white racism. But where does this racism come from? It is embedded, claims Hannah-Jones, in the historical DNA of American 'white people.' Thus, it must persist independently of any change in political or economic conditions."   Racialist Falsification? To What Purpose?             If there is posited a historical DNA of American white people, then the New York Times, for its "five generations of white male heirs" MUST by definition be a racist company. Thus does Hannah-Jones condemn the company she has written for, and being "irrationalist" and leading through a "false and dangerous conception," it has led to a "racialist falsification of American and world history."           Thus writer and publisher both by their stances as seen through the eyes of some on the Left to be simply false.  "How foolish to think, 'skin's the thing."   Race Theory Defined             The WSWS writes further:   "...race theory is the mechanism by which the ruling class justifies a strategy to divide and weaken the working class, shrouding its aims with lies about intrinsic differences between the races, about 'whiteness,' 'blackness' and other such nonsense. Almost as distressing as Hannah-Jones' remarks was the response of the affluent audience. The president of NYU, Andrew Hamilton, offered no objection to her ignorant remarks. Nor—with the exception of a speaker from the Socialist Equality Party, whose microphone was cut off—was there any critical response to Hannah-Jones' racialist interpretation of history and ignorant comments on the Holocaust." In "Nikole Hannah-Jones, race theory and the Holocaust." by Eric London and David North, World Socialist Web Site, 26 November 2019.           When the socialists writing such a critique see the "falsification" while those opposed to socialism find that same "falsification," a conclusion might well be that "falsification" of American and world history is being done, courtesy of some racialist "theorists" with the support of an entity under the editorial and financial control of "five generations of white male heirs."           Ergo, 'I see race in everything;' / How sad it is, that song to sing.   [ 4 ]   Amselem writes:  "...the fact that The New York Times attacks parents of a particular race for executing their autonomy is worse. 'Nice White Parents' isn't just troubling, it's wrong, and an affront to American ideals. Ultimately, this hurts all children because 'Nice White Parents' racializes the failure of the public schools, hurting the students who are trapped there and don’t have the resources to flee the public system. There has got to be some accountability for the failure of the public system. The New York Times' use of a racist canard to avoid systemic culpability for failing these kids isn't going to cut it."           If "attacking" based on "a particular race" is chosen as the editorial stance of the corporation, then "racialist" is technical description taxonomically, while a convoluted racism based on race theory is the foundation from which this springs. If that race is white, then the "five generations of white male heirs running the Times" make a fine target for racialist critique as for deconstruction, in the varied definitions of that word.

         

---

 

That's one Freudian slip

" 'Are you ready? I believe we are. This is a great nation. We're a good and decent people. For Lord's sake, this is the United States of America,' he said. 'There's never been anything we've been able to accomplish when we've done it together,' he then stated. According to the transcript as prepared for delivery, this line should have read: 'And there has never been anything we’ve been unable to accomplish when we’ve done it together'." In "There's Never Been Anything We've Been Able to Accomplish When We've Done it Together'," by Hannah Bleau, Breitbart, 20 August 2020.

 

That's one Freudian slip,
    Misspoken, quite a pip!
        Shoddy was the showmanship.
            A goofy gaffe to snip,
                Misstated, a verbal slip.
                    My gosh, man, get a grip!
                        That's parody's catnip,
                            Mistaken, a prime time blip
                                Caught on a video clip.
                                    That's one Freudian slip!

 

An example of a virtual personality

 

Addendum of a Dystopian Satire:    "Max Headroom is an American satirical science fiction television series by Chrysalis Visual Programming and Lakeside Productions for Lorimar-Telepictures that aired in the United States on ABC from March 31, 1987 to May 12, 1988. The series is set in a futuristic dystopia ruled by an oligarchy of television networks, and features the character and media personality Max Headroom. The story is based on the Channel 4 British TV film produced by Chrysalis, Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future." In "Max Headroom (TV Series), Wikipedia, n. d.

 

Addendum of the All-Virtual:   "This year, the Democratic officials and delegates who were supposed to travel to Milwaukee for the party’s biggest celebration will have the same view of the Democratic National Convention as everyone else in the country: from their television screens. All the major networks will carry two hours of programming each night of the DNC — from Monday, August 17, to Thursday, August 20 — beginning at 9 pm Eastern; the convention will also be streamed live from the DNC’s website." In "The all-virtual Democratic National Convention, explained," by Ella Nilsen, Vox, 17 August 2020.

 

Addendum of Being Consumed:   "We're a nation of Miss Havishams, consumed by loneliness and nostalgia for things we used to take for granted, like eating out or singing karaoke or just saying hi to someone on the sidewalk without worrying that it's going to spread a deadly disease. The whole thing felt like a massive version of every Zoom 'happy hour' we, the people, have been having — an event you think will be fun but is mostly people being sad and talking about the coronavirus." In "DNC's first night was claustrophobic and grim: A compelling mirror of life in America," by Amanda Marcotte, Salon.com, 18 August 2020.

 

 

Addendum from a Conservative Source:    "You read that correctly: one of the leaders of America's few, but vile and toxic, white supremacists just endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. There's a kind of beautiful symmetry to this, not just because Biden's been lying for over a year about Trump, but also because the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists originated in the Democrat party. With his Biden endorsement, Spencer is bringing the haters back home." In "America's leading white supremacist announces his surprise endorsement," by Andrea Widburg, American Thinker, 24 August 2020.

 

Addendum from a Center Source:    "White nationalist Richard Spencer has said he will be backing Democratic candidate Joe Biden in November's election after previously distancing himself from Donald Trump. Spencer, who was one of the key figureheads of the alt-right movement, tweeted how he is 'on Team Joe' on Monday, adding in a self-made campaign slogan, 'Liberals are clearly more competent'. ...The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Spencer as 'a suit-and-tie version of the white supremacists of old'." In "Richard Spencer Backs Joe Biden, Says 'MAGA/Alt-Right Moment is Over'," by Ewan Palmer, Newsweek, 24 August 2020.

 

Addendum from a Marxist Source:   "Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. Caussidière for Danton, Louis Blanc for Robespierre, the Montagne of 1848 to 1851 for the Montagne of 1793 to 1795, the nephew for the uncle. And the same caricature occurs in the circumstances of the second edition of the Eighteenth Brumaire."   In "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon (Der 18te Brumaire des Louis Napoleon), Karl Marx, 1851-2.

 

Addendum from a Democrat Mayor:   "The radical environmental movement has dragged the Democratic Party so far to the left, they can no longer claim to be advocates of the working man,” he [Robert Vlaisavljevich] said. 'This is hard for me to say because I am a lifelong Democrat'." In "Democrat Mayor: Joe Biden 'Too Weak, Too Scared, Too Sleepy to Stand Up to the Radical Left'," by Hannah Bleau, Breitbart, 25 August 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of Biden Estimating:   " 'If Donald Trump has his way,' Biden said, 'the complications from COVID-19, which are well beyond what they should be, it's estimated that 200 million people have died probably by the time I finish this talk. The complication of COVID-19, like lung scarring and heart damage, could become the next deniable pre-existing condition for over six million! Americans have already contracted the disease.' Biden almost certainly meant to say that 200 million have died already from the coronavirus, not that 200 million likely died in the time that it took for him to deliver his address in Philadelphia. But, man alive, that is not much of a defense. Biden’s number is nowhere near close to being accurate." In "Biden just said that 60% of the US population is dead from COVID-19," by Becket Adams, Washington Examiner, 20 September 2020.

 

An often virtual candidate

 

Reprise of a Mis-Speak:   "There's never been anything we've been able to accomplish when we've done it together."

 

Consider the question:  Should government be limited?

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]    Vlaisavljevich is quoted on Biden as politician and candidate:  " 'He has been doing nothing in Washington for 47 years. Why would year 48 be any different? President Trump won’t back down to anybody,' the mayor said, praising the president for delivering a strong economy and predicting that he will 'do it again' for the country."           The question is an interesting one, given that so many politicians have made being in political office their lifelong career. But additionally comes the question about supposedly "institutional racism" and "systemic racism" in the campaign season, with someone "in Washington for 47 years" and having been Vice President for eight years making complaint about the "institution" and "system" he has been "serving" for most of his life, and all of his political life.           The same observation may be made about others, especially when thinking about White Eric and white Gavin .

 

---

 

Cosmopolitan corvids

Detail of a graphic by Julie Dalton-Williamson, "Corvid 19," a larger piece with 19 birds.

Cosmopolitan Corvids
Like to crow, they do,
Cracking nuts like Rooks
And winging into view.
Black wings are not racist,
And few are in a stew
That cosmopolitan Corvids
All -- like Anthony -- flew.
Jules draws out the Jackdaws
In a Ravenous sort of hue
And so her cawing Magpies
Fly out in an August hue.

 

Envoi:   "Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In common English, they are known as the crow family, or, more technically, corvids."  In "Corvidae," Wikipedia article, n. d.

 

Addendum of Questions Remaining:   "...bird brains are structured quite differently from primate brains, and are smooth where mammalian brains are layered. So even though corvids - the bird family that includes crows and ravens - are incredibly smart, with cognitive abilities found in primates, questions remained over whether they could cross the line into conscious thought." In "Crows Are Capable of Conscious Thought, Scientists Demonstrate For The First Time," by Michelle Starr, 28 September 2020.

 

Consider that Jules wrote to me and I rhymed:  Some Days Are Diamonds

 

---

 

When experts disagree - as they do continually

"Now we know why his advisers have kept Joe Biden under wraps. Asked in an ABC interview airing Sunday night whether he'd be willing to shut down the economy again to head off a new wave of coronavirus infection, he replied: 'I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists.' Ah, the resort to scientists. But which scientists? The truth is that the experts have been wrong numerous times in this pandemic, and they often disagree." In "Biden's Lockdown Mistake: A President's job is to consider the national interest, not to default to experts who often disagree," WSJ Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal, 23 August 2020.

 

When experts disagree,
Will an expert then be found
To testify which experts
Inexpertly propound
That which is inexpert?
Is such thinking sound?

Will scientists disagree?
Of course, as science will
Disagree within itself
And in its science skill.
Such is the nature then
Of disagreement, sometimes shrill.

When experts fire away
At other experts' expertise,
One may note the callousness,
The rancor ill at ease
In those disagreements
Which do not some experts please.

Please! The experts cannot speak
With one collective voice,
As experts of all sorts and kinds
Offer not one choice.
Experts quite often disagree,
And in disagreement rejoice.

 

Addendum of Expert Against Expert:    "The move drew widespread criticism and confusion from public health experts, who said that testing to identify asymptomatic people with the virus is important and that the change could undermine contact tracing, a core strategy for slowing the spread of the virus. 'Without explanation, the @CDCGov made remarkable and troubling changes to their guidelines on coronavirus testing this week,' tweeted Carl Bergstrom, a professor of biology at the University of Washington. 'The most recent guidelines seem to give up any pretense of using contact tracing to control COVID,' he added. 'The whole point of contact tracing is to find asymptomatic contacts of known cases and isolate them. If you aren't even going to test them? Certainly no point in tracing'." In "CDC says asymptomatic people don't need testing, draws criticism from experts," by Peter Sullivan, The Hill, 26 August 2020.

 

---

 

I shall not join street protests

 

I shall not join street protests,
Nor lift a raised salute.
I'll not shriek in sloganed fests,
As a simpering new recruit.

Each mob defines by mobbing,
Demanding all comply,
With slogans loudly throbbing,
With salutes raised up on high.

Comply and join the mob
Screaming in your face?
Compliance is quite macabre,
Oft rooted deep in race.

I shall not heed such pressure
When bullies force their will.
I'll wide avoid each thresher
And all enforcers shrill.

Parties are for joyous days
And fêting cycles lived,
But a party enforcing who obeys
Mobs one who'd be negatived.

To stand for or stand against,
That is one's daily choice,
But mobs, angered and incensed,
Shout down a differing voice.

 

  

 

Addendum of a Claim:   "BLM activists claimed that anyone who won't raise their fist in protest are 'white supremacists' as they 'bullied' diners." In "PUBLIC SHAMING BLM activists brand anyone who won't raise their fist in protest 'white supremacists' as they surround diners," by Fionnuala O'Leary, Sun UK, 25 August 2020.

 

 

Compare and Contrast, Now and Then

 

 

Addendum of Being Shouted At:   "The footage shows the woman, identified as Lauren Victor, being shouted at by white protesters after she refuses to raise her fist. The group crowded Victor's table, with two female demonstrators leaning down and shouting in her face. 'Are you a Christian?' one of the women shout, outraged by the fact Victor was unwilling to raise her fist in solidarity." In "Aggressive crowd of BLM protesters accost diners outside restaurants," by Andrew Court, Dailymail.com, 25 August 2020.

 

Lipton Matthews

 

Addendum of Covert Racism:   "Few recognize the covert racism of attempts to 'assist' African Africans. ...We are told that there is something inherently fragile about African Americans, making them perpetual victims. Many have espoused the subtle racism of the Black Lives Movement, without recognizing an effort to infantilize African Americans. African Americans possess the foresight and talent to uplift themselves from the trenches without the benevolence of the state. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass understood this quite clearly even in the nineteenth century." In "Stop Infantilizing African Americans," by Lipton Matthews, American Thinker, 26 August 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

 

Addendum from a Time of Solidarity and Its Raised Salutes:   "Knowing that it was, in fact, Hitler standing before the crowd makes the disobedience all the more admirable, but what may seem like an act of justified transgression was at its core a gesture of love. August Landmesser, the man with his arms crossed, was married to a Jewish woman." In "August Landmesser, The Story Of The Man Behind The Crossed Arms," by All That's Interesting, 20 June 2013/ 23 July 2018.

 

Consider Options More Than Two:   I shall not join the party

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]   Matthews, writing about a similar theme playing out in Jamaica observes:  "Political and intellectual elites cannot recover from the fact that their ancestors were once slaves. Therefore, to compensate for insecurities, they have decided to replace even positive aspects of British culture with Jamaican practices and it does not matter that many of these practices, are maladaptive. So, teaching Patois, for instance, becomes an exercise in challenging the hegemony of English, according to these delusional people. Jamaicans must ignore politicians and intellectuals, because they only offer platitudes." In "The idiocy of politicians and intellectuals," Lipton Matthews, The Gleaner (Jamaica), 14 January 2020.           The current political game in the US is to pretend to "recover" from ills in the past, and yet replacing those ills with modern ones, especially with violence as a strategy, yields only societal strife. But a closer look reveals the real bullying and its ultimate goal, which is not to "recover" but rather to cheer on the Totalitarian .

 

---

 

Are you anti-fascist?

Are you an anti-fascist? I hope the hell you are.
National socialism's evil too, murderous and bizarre.
And are you anti-Communist? That's not a step too far.
But if you choose one of these, your view is just about par
With all the above destroyers, those near and those afar.
                Do you state you're a statist, when that state births a czar?
                If you're among any one these, you've a horrid exemplar.
Are you an anti-fascist? I hope the hell you are.

National socialism's evil too, murderous and bizarre.
And maybe anti-Communist? That's not a step too far.

But if you choose one of these, your view is just about par
With all the above destroyers, those near and those afar.

 

Consider the definitions and imagery through   How it's pictured, how it's seen - images and what we mean

 

---

 

Useful Idiot

     

Memento mori for a tattoo

Useful idiot? Handy dolt?
Gullible believer primed for revolt?
Uninformed activism's thunderbolt?
Useful idiot was in for a jolt.

 

Addendum of One Dead in a Shoot-out:   "While left-leaning journalists and politicians have repeatedly insisted that the riots are 'peaceful,' the riots have destroyed black lives, black livelihoods, and black monuments. At least 26 Americans have died in the riots, most of them black. As for a 'race war,' Michael Forest Reinoehl, the man who provided 'security' at the riots and who was suspected of shooting Aaron 'Jay' Danielson, said he saw a 'civil war right around the corner.' He died in a shoot-out after fleeing from federal officers." In "Black Woman Takes Antifa Rioters to Task for Calling Her a 'F***ing N****r B**ch'," by Tyler O'Neil, PJMedia, 7 September 2020.

 

---

 

Sir Veiled Lance - the continuing dance

"...human rights organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union have hailed the ruling as 'a victory for our privacy rights'." In "NSA mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal," Deutsche Welle, 3 September 2020.

 

Sir Veiled Lance rode off to battle,
        And skewered some folk of his shire.
The Judge examined his Knightly prattle
        And judged it quite rightly with ire.
'Sir Knight, you've lanced the flesh of your own.
        Should you then not be shamed?'
'Oh no,' the haughty Knight did groan,
        'I'd schemed so as not to be blamed.'
Sir Veiled Lance rode back from battle,
        With nary a twinge of guilt.
'Upon my honor, they were mere chattel
        Upon which my position is built.'
'Sir Knight, you've lanced the flesh of your own.
        What have your deeds then taught?
'Ah yes,' the haughty Knight did groan,
        'I'd schemed not too well and am caught.'

'The folk of the shire will not forget,'

        Said the Judge to the arrogant Knight.

'Upon this point, I disagree,' Sir Lance did bet,

        'And I wager that I am right.

'The little folk, the folk of my shire,

        'Will nod off again to sleep;

'My misadventures in the muck and the mire

        'Will be swept into time's dust heap.

'On this I wager my Knightly pride,

        'And my wherewithal, as well,

'For little folk take much in stride,

        'Even their taste of hell.

'I'll worry not; no twinge of guilt

        'Will prick my armored side,

'For I, Sir Veiled Lance, have built

        'Defenses wherein I may hide.'

The Judge examined his Knightly stance
        And found it, quite sadly, quite right.

'The folk of the shire so easily forget,

        'As passes each day into night.'

 

 

Addendum of Obama's Surveillance State:  "On April 28, 2017, the NSA issued a rare press release indicating it will no longer monitor all internet communications that mention a foreign intelligence target. Neema Singh Guliani, the ACLU's legislative counsel in Washington, DC stated, 'I think what this emphasizes is the shocking lack of oversight of these programs.' Chris Farrell, Director of Investigations for the watchdog group Judicial Watch asserted, 'This is an abuse of power and authority like we have never seen in this country'."  In "Barack Obama on mass surveillance," Wikipedia article, n. d.

 

Addendum of Lying About Unlawful Activities:  " 'I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA's activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them,' Mr Snowden said. 'And yet that day has arrived,' he added. Top US intelligence officials had publicly insisted the NSA had never knowingly collected data from private phone records, until Mr Snowden exposed evidence to the contrary in 2013."  In "NSA surveillance exposed by Snowden ruled unlawful," BBC, 3 September 2020.

 

Addendum So Vast:  "Evidence that the NSA was secretly building a vast database of U.S. telephone records - the who, the how, the when, and the where of millions of mobile calls - was the first and arguably the most explosive of the Snowden revelations published by the Guardian newspaper in 2013. Up until that moment, top intelligence officials publicly insisted the NSA never knowingly collected information on Americans at all. After the program’s exposure, U.S. officials fell back on the argument that the spying had played a crucial role in fighting domestic extremism, citing in particular the case of four San Diego residents who were accused of providing aid to religious fanatics in Somalia." In "U.S. court: Mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal," by Raphael Satter, Reuters, 2 September 2020.

 

Addendum of a Unique Get-Rich-Quick Plan:  "Keith Alexander is trying to explain himself. The former director of the NSA stoked astonishment when reports surfaced that he would ask from $600,000 to as much as $1 million per month as a cybersecurity consultant. What could make him so valuable, save the highly classified secrets in his head? A congressman went so far as to speculate that he'd be selling state secrets. But it isn't so, Alexander says. In an interview with Foreign Policy, he offers a new accounting: The answer, Alexander said in an interview Monday, is a new technology, based on a patented and 'unique' approach to detecting malicious hackers and cyber-intruders that the retired Army general said he has invented, along with his business partners at IronNet Cybersecurity Inc., the company he co-founded after leaving the government and retiring from military service in March. But the technology is also directly informed by the years of experience Alexander has had tracking hackers, and the insights he gained from classified operations as the director of the NSA, which give him a rare competitive advantage over the many firms competing for a share of the cybersecurity market." In "Keith Alexander's Unethical Get-Rich-Quick Plan," by Conor Friedersdorf, Atlantic, 31 July 2014.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of the Continuing Dance:   "The NSA's vast dragnet of electronic data is only supposed to be used by domestic agencies such as the FBI in cases of national security." In "FBI combed through NSA's trove of Americans' communications WITHOUT a warrant in its search for 'racially motivated violent extremists' when it was already warned the practice was unconstitutional," by Bevan Hurley, Daily Mail, 27 April 2021.

 

The larger saga tells much:   Sir Veiled Lance

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]    Of Alexander, one reads further:   "The man who both presided over the creation of the most sophisticated cyber-weapon in history and hyped the threat of cyberattacks more than anyone else in America will now patent and privately sell for millions a product to stop cyberattacks. When did the business partnership with the mystery man form, one wonders? The whole story, which could only happen in America, would seem to lend some urgency to Jason Leopold's lawsuit trying to secure Alexander's financial disclosure forms from the NSA, which is refusing to give them up. If the limited facts on offer don't stink enough to prompt a congressional inquiry—ideally one that gets Alexander testifying under oath—what possible fact pattern would rouse the branch of government charged with oversight? At the very best, he is stoking a perception of impropriety so extreme that it speaks poorly of his character that he's chosen to retire in this fashion. If anything more nefarious is going on, hopefully either Congress or the press will be able to expose it."   I Made a Big Mistake and Simply Didn't Understand             But exposing the politically well-connected is difficult. One reads as an example in this particular "illegal" "mass surveillance program" the following:   "James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, denied Tuesday that he lied to Congress when he falsely testified during the Obama administration that the government does 'not wittingly' collect the telephone records of millions of Americans. The head of the U.S. intelligence community under former President Barack Obama, Mr. Clapper recalled his 2013 testimony in light of the National Security Agency reportedly abandoning a controversial, warrantless mass-surveillance program he previously denied existing. 'I didn't lie, I made a big mistake, and I just simply didn't understand what I was being asked about,' Mr. Clapper said on CNN. 'I thought of another surveillance program, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, when I was being asked about Section 215 of the Patriot Act at the time, I just didn't understand that'." In "James Clapper denies lying to Congress about NSA surveillance program," by Andrew Blake, Washington Times, 6 March 2019.           One may well consider the argument, and its deft political game. Those atop an "illegal" "mass surveillance program" run at the highest level of the federal government admit to "a big mistake" and to not understanding the subject of basic questions. Then the questions stop.           One may well consider those atop an "illegal" mass surveillance program" under Bush and Obama angling for a "get-rich-quick plan" based on that illegal program. And then it's back to business-as-usual.           Such considerations justify a most basic question:  Should government be limited?

 

---

 

Divine was the panic - sometime later

"Some of the nation's leading public health experts are raising a new concern in the endless debate over coronavirus testing in the United States: The standard tests are diagnosing huge numbers of people who may be carrying relatively insignificant amounts of the virus. Most of these people are not likely to be contagious, and identifying them may contribute to bottlenecks that prevent those who are contagious from being found in time. But researchers say the solution is not to test less, or to skip testing people without symptoms, as recently suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead, new data underscore the need for more widespread use of rapid tests, even if they are less sensitive." In "Your Coronavirus Test Is Positive. Maybe It Shouldn't Be," by Apoorva Mandavilli, NY Times, 29 August 2020.

 

Divine was the panic,
Divined so well;
Endless discussion,
Gone on a spell.
Divining panic
Cast a media spell
Over a populace
Becoming scared as hell.
Divine insignificance
Tested to tell
Contagion, not contagious,
Wasn't selling so well.
Divine was the panic,
But then fare-thee-well,
As panic recedes
And facts rebel.

 

 

Addendum of Needlessly Being Told:   "Prof Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, said eight days after contracting Covid-19, the chances the infected person will pass the virus on 'goes down to zero' if they have no symptoms. However, he said fragments of the virus can still remain in the body for many weeks afterwards - with some studies showing intermittent shedding up to 70 days later - leading to a positive test and skewing the real picture of how many people are at risk of passing on the virus. The warning comes after spikes in cases across the UK have led to local lockdowns, despite no increase in hospital admissions, leading to speculation that people are needlessly being told to quarantine." In "Coronavirus tests too sensitive, Oxford University academic warns. People get positive results even when they had the virus 70 days ago skewing real picture of how many people are contagious," by Phoebe Southworth, Telegraph UK via MSN, 5 September 2020.

 

CDC End of August 2020 as daily deaths recede in the US

 

 

CDC Mid-November 2020 as daily deaths recede in the US

 

Addendum of a Depressing Pandemic:    "Specifically, the team found that individuals with less than $5,000 in savings were 50% more likely to be experiencing symptoms of depression than those who had more. Ettman says that the study underscores the value of a society 'where a robust safety net exists, where people have fair wages, where equitable policies and practices exist, and where families can not only live on their income but can also save money toward the future.' As for what the authorities can do now to lessen the emotional toll of the ongoing pandemic in the U.S., Ettman suggests: 'There may be steps that policymakers can take now to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 stressors on depression, such as eviction moratoria, providing universal health insurance that is not tied to employment, and helping people return to work safely — for those able to do so'." In "US cases of depression have tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic," by Robby Berman, Medical news Today, 19 September 2020.

 

Addendum of the Obama Administration's Hand:   "On Dec 19, 2017, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that they would resume funding gain-of-function experiments involving influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. A moratorium had been in place since October, 2014. At the time, the NIH had stated that the moratorium “will be effective until a robust and broad deliberative process is completed that results in the adoption of a new US Government gain-of-function research policy”. This process has now concluded. It was spearheaded by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) and led to the development of a new framework for assessing funding decisions for research involving pathogens with enhanced pandemic potential. The release of the framework by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), of which NIH is part, signalled the end of the funding pause." In "Ban on gain-of-function studies ends," by Talha Burki, The Lancet, February, 2018.

 

Addendum of an Atlas:   "...data and studies showing that schools should be reopened and that children are not significant spreaders of the coronavirus but was virtually ignored by Fauci and others on the team. 'As I finished, there was silence," Atlas wrote. "No one offered any contrary data. No one spoke of scientific studies. No one even mentioned the discredited Korea study. Zero comments from Dr. Birx. Nothing from Dr. Fauci. And as always, not a single mention by Birx or Fauci about the serious harms of school closures. In my mind, this was bizarre. Why was I the only one in the room with detailed knowledge of the literature? Why was I the only one considering the data on such an important topic with a critical eye? Were the others simply accepting bottom lines and conclusions, without any analytical evaluation? Weren’t they supposed to be expert medical scientists, too? I waited.' Atlas said that Birx told him his opinion was 'out of the mainstream' and said he was part of a 'fringe' group of people who believed schools should be opened. 'Meanwhile she insisted that all experts agreed with her,' Atlas wrote. 'I shook my head, thinking of some of the world-class epidemiologists who agreed with me—John Ioannidis and Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford, Martin Kulldorff of Harvard, Carl Heneghan and Sunetra Gupta of Oxford—and wondered if she or Fauci had ever read a single publication by them'." In "Dr. Scott Atlas unloads on Fauci, Birx, Redfield in forthcoming memoir: 'I was disgusted', Atlas says the data he presented was ignored by his colleagues," by Andrew Mark Miller, Fox News. 12 November 2021.

 

Another larger saga tells much:   Divine the panic  

 

And then the taxonomy is seen for what it was:   With -- but not from -- to arrive at some sum

 

---

 

From one fountainhead

No two snowflakes are alike, it's said.
Some fall from skies, some from one's head,
Yet all flow from one fountainhead,
Though none may know what lies ahead.

 

---

 

Mostly white, one sees at night - the American Left's delight in spite

"As the definitely non-peaceful rioters continue their destructive, violent force in this most bizarre year, the know-it-all, know-nothing, life-insulated narcissist young adult offspring game-playing pouters of wealthy parents emerge — surprise! — unscathed. The past few days provided some interesting examples. Clara Kraebber, 20 years old, the school-smart, life-dumb, over-educated, under-knowledgeable daughter of wealthy, highly accomplished parents, recently profiled on this blog for her protest demonstration temper tantrum for over six years, is currently confined in her family's second mansion — complete with four fireplaces to complement the ecologically correct heating system — in an upscale Connecticut suburb, awaiting the next step for damages caused in a riot in which she participated. Elsewhere, some of her peers are also suffering similar fates. Elliot Rucka, 20, nabbed in the same riot (I repeat, not 'peaceful protest'!) as Kraebber 'that caused at least $100,000 in damages, authorities said,' is also the offspring of prominent parents...." In "How many of the rioting 'protesters' come from super-rich families?" by Ethel C. Fenig, American Thinker, 8 September 2020.

 

   

Mostly white, suburbanite,
    Oh so right, when Left to fight.
        Thugs must sate their appetite
    Mostly those one sees at night.
Mostly white, roiled with spite,
    Old wounds war and reignite.
        Thugs they are, and this despite
    Mostly peaceful media light.
Mostly white, upscale, uptight.
    Thugs and misfits are they quite.

        Mostly white, suburbanite,
            Oh so right, when Left to fight.

 

Envoi of Emotional Momentum and the Radical Chic:   "The emotional momentum was building rapidly when Ray 'Masai' Hewitt, the Panthers' Minister of Education and member of the Central Committee, rose to speak. Hewitt was an intense, powerful young man and in no mood to play the diplomacy game. Some of you here, he said, may have some feelings left for the establishment, but we don’t. We want to see it die. We’re Maoist revolutionaries, and we have no choice but to fight to the finish.  For about 30 minutes Masai Hewitt laid it on the line. He referred now and again to 'that M  -­ F  -­ Nixon' and to how the struggle would not be easy, and that if buildings were burned and other violence ensued, that was only part of the struggle that the power structure had forced the oppressed minorities into. Hewitt’s words tended to provoke an all-­or-­nothing reaction. A few who remembered the struggles of the Depression were profoundly moved, fired up with a kind of nostalgie de that old-­‐time religion. But more than one Park Avenue matron was thrown into a Radical Chic confusion. The most memorable quote was: 'He's a magnificent man, but suppose some simple-minded schmucks take  all that business about burning down buildings seriously?' "  In " 'Radical  Chic: That Party at Lenny's'... It’s a tricky business,  integrating new politics with tried and true social motifs..." by Tom Wolfe, New York Magazine, 8 June 1970.

 

Revolutionary White Privilege? Or radical slumming perhaps?

 

Addendum of Privilege:   "The so-called revolutionaries who were busted for rioting at a New Afrikan Black Panther Party rally took a break from their yacht club lives and modeling careers to be a part of the mayhem." In " Inside the privileged lives of protesters busted for rioting in Manhattan," by Gabrielle Fonrouge, NY post, 9 September 2020.

 

 

Addendum of What's Lacking:    "What we lack is a conception of a city as a repository of civilization, as a place where kids can walk to a library without fear, and where monuments stand as frozen testaments of history. As a nation of garage rockers, we may never make this commitment." In "Insufferable San Francisco," Suburban rockers have ruined my city," by Katya Sedgwick, Spectator, 7 September 2020.

 

 

Apt observations come to light when considering a contemporary Heroes' Tale - small and stale

 

---

 

Systemic racism - the newest oldest game in town

"Kate Brown, Oregon’s 38th Governor, has over 25 years of experience in standing up for working families and making government more accountable. As Governor, she’s signed legislation to improve the state’s education system, to add jobs by passing Oregon’s largest transportation package, to contain costs by improving government efficiency and accountability, and to ensure that 95 percent of adults and all children have access to health care." In "Meet the Governor," Oregon.gov, n. d.

The system that I lead, having led for years and years,
    Is a system that is racist beneath its thin veneers.
This system that is racist is the system that I lead,
    And so does it muddle on with politics' due speed.
The system that I lead is racist, led by me,
    For that is my confession, unabashedly.
That racism's a system, with me atop its heap
    Is the only clear conclusion, which ought to make one weep.
The system that I lead, having led for years and years,
    Is a system remaining racist, my politics stoking fears.

 

Interview with a White Democrat who heads many state institutions of systemic racism

 

Addendum of an Unintended Confession:  "We are continuing to have conversations with folks in the community about how we can tackle the underlying racism issues that are really the underlying cause of the situation. And we are continuing to take action. The legislature has passed six bills in the last two months addressing police accountability and I am working to re-craft, re-envision how we train law enforcement in this state and how we can co-create a new type of public safety that will insure that all our community members feel safe." "...so we know that these protests are caused by folks who have been experiencing systemic racism in this state and in this country for decades, for centuries. And it will take time, frankly, to eradicate the racism in our criminal justice system, in our law enforcement system, in our healthcare system, in our educational system. Violence does nothing. It answers nothing. It solves nothing. But I do think it is a distraction from the critically important work that we need to do to tackle the systemic racism in our institutions, in our cultures, and -- um -- state." In an interview with Oregon's state governor, Kate Brown, "PBS NewsHour full episode," 11 September 2020.

 

Addendum of the Left's Bluff and Bludgeon:   "The invocation of 'structural racism' in political argument is both a bluff and a bludgeon. It is a bluff in the sense that it offers an 'explanation' that is not an explanation at all and, in effect, dares the listener to come back. So, for example, if someone says, 'There are too many blacks in prison in the US and that's due to structural racism,' what you're being dared to say is, 'No. Blacks are so many among criminals, and that's why there are so many in prison. It's their fault, not the system's fault.' And it is a bludgeon in the sense that use of the phrase is mainly a rhetorical move. Users don't even pretend to offer evidence-based arguments beyond citing the fact of the racial disparity itself. The 'structural racism' argument seldom goes into cause and effect. Rather, it asserts shadowy causes that are never fully specified, let alone demonstrated. We are all just supposed to know that it's the fault of something called 'structural racism,' abetted by an environment of 'white privilege,' furthered by an ideology of 'white supremacy' that purportedly characterizes our society. It explains everything. Confronted with any racial disparity, the cause is, 'structural racism'." In "Unspeakable Truths about Racial Inequality in America." by Glenn Lowry, Quillette, 10 February 2021.

 

The Whitest City's White Mayor

 

Addendum of the Whitest Big City:    "Portland is the whitest big city in America, with a population that is 72.2 percent white and only 6.3 percent African American. 'I think that Portland has, in many ways, perfected neoliberal racism,' Walidah Imarisha, an African American educator and expert on black history in Oregon, told me. Yes, the city is politically progressive, she said, but its government has facilitated the dominance of whites in business, housing, and culture. And white-supremacist sentiment is not uncommon in the state. Imarisha travels around Oregon teaching about black history, and she says neo-Nazis and others spewing sexually explicit comments or death threats frequently protest her events." In "The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America, It's known as a modern-day hub of progressivism, but its past is one of exclusion," by Alana Semuels, Atlantic, 22 July 2016.

 

Addendum of Systemic Racism in Beaverton, Oregon:   "Beaverton School District perpetuates institutional racism and embodies a white supremacist culture that continues to create barriers and inequities for members of our community." In "EQUITABLE POLICIES TASK FORCE UPDATE," Beaverton School District, 21 June 2021.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of White Supremacy Infiltration into Oregon Schools:      "A newsletter sent by the government body last week included the mention of a course titled 'A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction: Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction,' which teachers may partake in on Feb. 21. The program seeks to align educators with the 'path to math equity' through exploring 'ethnomathematics' with 'culturally relevant, antiracist pedagogy, practices, and curriculum'. 'White supremacy culture infiltrates math classrooms in everyday teacher actions,' the course description stated. 'Coupled with the beliefs that underlie these actions, they perpetuate educational harm on Black, Latinx, and multilingual students, denying them full access to the world of mathematics'." In "Oregon promoting teacher course on 'dismantling racism in mathematics', by Jake Dima, Washington Examiner via MSN, 12 February 2021.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of Seeing a Really Big Blind Spot:    "A committee of students, staff, and community members elected to replace Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School's Trojan with an evergreen tree, but when the matter came before the school board, Director Michelle DePass suggested a correlation between the evergreen and a racial history of lynching. 'I'm wondering if there was any concern with the imagery there, in using a tree ... as our mascot?' DePass asked the renaming and mascot committee during a March 30 meeting, according to the Portland Tribune. 'I think everyone comes with blind spots, and I think that might've been a really big blind spot'." In "Portland school fears 'evergreens' mascot connotes lynching," by Jeremy Beaman, Washington Examiner via MSN, 5 April 2021.

NOTE   [ 1 ]    The testimony of a school board's words convicts.  One finds the latest version of "separate but equal" in the news from Beaverton.            "The draft, which the task force members believe will pass in a vote Monday, is part of the school's 'Antiracist Vision Statement.' It promised to 'confront' and 'eliminate' all forms of 'conscious' and 'unconscious' racism and 'bias' from Beaverton schools while calling for 'permanent' funding to help accomplish the vision. The story comes after a report earlier this year that the district sent out an email to parents touting a districtwide 'Black Student Graduation Ceremony.' The ceremony, which was organized by the Beaverton Black Parent Union, said the event was 'open to any senior student in-district who identifies as Black (including African-American, Afro-Latino, African or mixed-race Black)'." In "School district that touted segregated graduation ceremonies labels itself 'white supremacist' in new 'anti-racist' vision statement," by Michael Lee, Washington Examiner, 21 June 2021.           The historical context:   "Because new research showed that segregating students by 'race' was harmful to them, even if facilities were equal, 'separate but equal' facilities were found to be unconstitutional in a series of Supreme Court decisions under Chief Justice Earl Warren, starting with Brown v. Board of Education of 1954. However, the subsequent overturning of segregation laws and practices was a long process that lasted through much of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, involving federal legislation (especially the Civil Rights Act of 1964), and many court cases." In "Separate But Equal," Wikipedia article, n. d.           Placing this testimony in a historical context informs. Segregating students by 'race' is either "harmful" or "justifiable" by one sort of political -- and racial -- argument.   A White Superintendent over Systemic Racist Schools?             Just as a governor of the state of Oregon, with 25 years of experience, claims "it will take time" to eradicate systemic racism, so a lesser political figure with 22 years of "service" seems to play the same game.           From the systemic racist -- they have labeled themselves that -- school board website one learns:  "Don Grotting joined the Beaverton School District in July 2016. He has served as a Superintendent in Oregon for the past 22 years, during which time, he has established himself as a leader in the state and national education arena as well as the communities he serves." In "Superintendent Grotting's Biography," Beaverton School District, n. d. accessed June 2021.           What then of the lingering system of racism? A governor with 25 years experience and a school superintendent of 22 years experience only now testify to the systemically racist institutions they lead?           But from a previous statement, one reads:  "I have a philosophy -- no excuses. There may be barriers as to why certain populations don't achieve. But we don't make excuses because of one's socioeconomic status or race." In "New David Douglas superintendent Don Grotting says his philosophy is 'no excuses'," by Kimberly Melton, Oregonian, 27 March 2010.           Eleven years later, it seems we do make excuses. And separate but equal, once thought of as Jim Crow, reappears under such leadership.           "No excuses?" After decades in leadership, the politicians have little but excuses. With a white governor over a structurally racist state and a white superintendent over a structurally racist school system, according to the testimony of their own political brand, one wonders who is responsible. Perhaps these white racists -- so goes the argument that white supremacy and structural racism go hand-in-hand and remain entrenched under their leadership -- should step down from their leadership positions?           No excuses....   [ 2 ]    As to the state level school administration, one finds a consistency. White administrators with many years of service to a self-confessed systemically racist state and its systemically racist public education system.      A White Director of the Oregon Department of Education             "Colt Gill was appointed by Governor Brown as Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction (and as such serves as the Director of the Oregon Department of Education), and he was confirmed by the Senate on February 12, 2018. He served previously as Oregon’s first Education Innovation Officer. ...He has been an Oregon educator since 1989."  In leadership positions for a systemic racist government for decades.           As Deputy Superintendent, one wonders then, deputy to whom?  One learns:   "As provided by section 1, Article VIII of the Oregon Constitution, the Governor is the Superintendent of Public Instruction." In "Oregon ORS, Volume 9, Title 30, Chapter 326, Section 326.300 - Governor as Superintendent of Public Instruction; appointment of deputy," accessed June 2021.  Ta-da!   White Governance Named Brown             The politics of the systemically racist state of Oregon -- for so does its various key political players admit -- is a somewhat consistent color, so to speak. It is the color of politics, as one reads:   "Since 2016, Brown has designated 52 'Office of Governor' employees as 'lobbyists' working on the 'governor's agenda.' However, Brown's official 'Lobbyist Expenditure Report' displayed on the Oregon Ethics Commission website showed zero dollars spent on lobbying for the past seven quarters (website screenshot from 1/23/2018 here). It wasn't possible that the governor’s office spent zero dollars, and it wasn't until our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com asked for confirmation that Brown's office churned out records showing $165,489 in lobbying costs." In "Ms. Ethics, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Has 52 Lobbyists But State Website Shows $0 Spent On Lobbying," by Adam Andrzejewski, Forbes, 23 January 2018.           Forbes' coverage noted:   "Furthermore, the new documents show $10,201 paid to Governor Kate Brown herself in lobbying compensation, even though the Oregon lobbyist registration law specifically exempts the governor from registering or reporting as a lobbyist."           One is tempted to more deeply understand the venal nature of Politics .           As a state, Oregon seems well into the throes of a classic struggle session over its racism, historic and current. What skin color characterizes the supreme leaders of Oregon? Oh.

 

One may consider others atop self-confessed racist systems:   White Eric and white Gavin

 

---

 

I'm amazed at my good fortune

I'm amazed at my good fortune
    As fortunes are so often offered
    By princes from the faraway
    And widows whose money's proffered.
Financial wizards all about
    And voodoo types send greetings,
    Always and ever, just the same,
    Seeking me for financial meetings
As could separate from one gullible
    What money's in a wallet.
    This is their con game, charmingly,
    From each Blowhard Whatchamacallit.

Or from some oh-so foreign bank

    On which one should not bet?

    Or from some Marabout Feticheur

    With deals one would regret?

Be amazed at my good fortune,
    As such liars smile at me?
    Advisors from quite faraway
    Attempt such criminality.

 

---

 

Banned Music in the Ivied League - just the latest Heil to 'sieg'

 

"...the band's acknowledgment of its troubling past has struck a negative chord with some. Steve Greenfield, CC ’82, a former drum major for the band, expressed his disdain for this shift in opinion on the band’s Sept. 2 statement condemning its actions. Greenfield claimed that any new iteration of the band would not have the same 'irreverent' spirit of the version that has existed for the past century. 'The band is gone, and if and when it returns, it will be exactly what the corporations bankrolling Ivy League sports specifically because Ivy League sports is an essential establishment power identification and training system, want it to be'." In "Columbia University Marching Band votes to disband after 116 years," by Lizzie Karpen, Columbia Spectator, 15 September 2020.

 

Whose gonna roll the bank
Back into funding tunes?
Whose gonna bankroll chords
For musical lampoons?

Whose gonna cheer what's banned
When the band disbands by vote?
Virtue signals marching now
Have decomposed each note.

What's the plan? What's the score?
What's the tune? What's the theme?
Anything that's musical
From this league's most ivied team?

Whose gonna bankroll drum rolls?
Whose gonna fanfare that?
What's gone toot its own horn
When this silliness falls flat.

Sharpen away what's natural
To score rhetorical points,
And wind up with a silence
To score cheap counterpoints?

There are no ancient blowhards
Blowing on those winds,
But if you think that's the thing,
It's music each of you rescinds.

 

Would you like to toot your horn?

Blow the sax? Beat your drum?

Columbia's not the place for you,

But for politics ad-nauseum.

 

Addendum of Columbia University Benefiting from Slavery:   "At Columbia University, which released a report in January about its connections to slavery, at least half of the university’s 10 presidents between 1754 and 1865 owned slaves at some point in their lives." In "3 Ways America's Elite Universities Benefited From Slavery," by Katie Reilly, Time, 7 November 2017.

 

Addendum of Examining Columbia University and Slavery:    "We hope that this website, very much a work in progress, will contribute to public understanding of the key role slavery has played in our nation's history and offer an example to other institutions of higher learning as they pursue their own investigations." In "Columbia University and Slavery," quote of Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia University, circa 2020.    ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of Being Banned from a Year Ago:    "The band defiantly waited till this semester to apply as an independent group, but the school said they were too late. It nixed their already severely reduced budget and banned them from official sporting functions. Trombone player Quentin Rubel, 20, said, the school's action strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a college student. 'The band has always been a very outspoken source of counter-culturalism on Columbia's campus,' he said. But the school is just as defiant. It is tapping outside entertainment to keep fans engaged during games and creating a new spirit organization to be overseen by a faculty director, band members said."    In " Columbia’s marching band banned from all sporting events," by Khristina Narizhnaya and Selim Algar, New York Post, 27 September 2019.

 

September 15, 2020

 

Addendum of Singing Lampoons, Loud and Irreverent Laughter and Ludicrous Effects:   "In order to arouse sympathy, the aristocracy was obliged to lose sight, apparently, of its own interests, and to formulate their indictment against the bourgeoisie in the interest of the exploited working class alone. Thus, the aristocracy took their revenge by singing lampoons on their new masters and whispering in his ears sinister prophesies of coming catastrophe. In this way arose feudal Socialism: half lamentation, half lampoon; half an echo of the past, half menace of the future; at times, by its bitter, witty and incisive criticism, striking the bourgeoisie to the very heart’s core; but always ludicrous in its effect, through total incapacity to comprehend the march of modern history. The aristocracy, in order to rally the people to them, waved the proletarian alms-bag in front for a banner. But the people, so often as it joined them, saw on their hindquarters the old feudal coats of arms, and deserted with loud and irreverent laughter." In "Manifesto of the Communist Party, published February 1848. Marx/Engels Selected Works, Vol. One, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1969, pp. 98-137; translated: Samuel Moore in cooperation with Frederick Engels, 1888.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]   It is deliciously ironic to examine the Columbia band's disbanding in light of Columbia University itself not disbanding, based on the same premise as the band's student leadership has acted. If a connection to slavery should result in disbanding a voluntary band of students, why not an entire university?   Seceding from the United State akin to Seceding from the Soviet Union?             Of one of Columbia's historians, Eric Foner, one reads:  "As a visiting professor in Moscow in the early 1990s, Foner compared secessionist forces in the USSR with the secession movement in the US in the 1860s. In a February 1991 article, Foner noted that the Baltic states claimed the right to secede because they had been unwillingly annexed. In addition, he believed that the Soviet Union did not protect minorities while it tried to nationalize the republics. Foner identified a threat to existing minority groups within the Baltic states, who were in turn threatened by the new nationalist movements. In "Eric Foner, Wikipedia article, n. d. citing "Secession of Baltic States?", Eric Foner, The Nation, 11 February 1991, Volume 252.           One notes a "troubling past" in the individual whose name is on Foner's professorship. One reads:  "Harry Brown, his wife and children made up one of the very few African American families living in Wayne County, Pa. in the mid-19th century. Highly regarded, his personal story was featured in a Honesdale newspaper when he was in his 90′s, telling about Brown’s days as a slave working for Governor DeWitt Clinton." In "Local History: Former slave was Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s coachman," by Peter Becker, Tri-Country Independent, 1 November 2019.         It is a complex tale, for Clinton first owned and then emancipated his slave. A troubling past, one sees. Not troubling enough, apparently, as a slave owner is rehabilitated by his own life, but the details of the ownership of a slave being absent from much discussion these days.   Affirming Marxist Convictions             Another academic observes in a syllabus:  "Foner, in contrast, finds in the durability of an indigenous radical tradition an explanation for the socialism’s lack of appeal: 'Not the absence of non-liberal ideas, but the persistence of a radical vision resting on small property inhibited the rise of socialist ideologies... According to Nick Salvatore, American socialists like Eugene V. Debs viewed corporate capitalism, not socialism, as the revolutionary force in American life, disrupting local communities, undermining the ideal of the independent citizen, and introducing class divisions into a previously homogenous social order'. And he mentions that 'The ideologies of nineteenth-century labor and farmers' movements, and even early twentieth-century socialism itself, owed more to traditional republican notions of the equal citizen and the independent small producer, than to coherent analysis of class-divided society'. Is Foner, then, speaking as a socialist critic of this indigenous streak of radicalism? After all, near the end of the article he pointedly affirms his Marxist convictions: 'In the end, of course, 'why is there no socialism' rests upon an interpretation of history that accords socialism a privileged position among radical movements because it arises inexorably out of the inner logic of capitalist development, and holds out the promise of a far-reaching social revolution'." In "U.S. Political Thought, Lecture 3," by Joseph Boland, University of Oregon, 3 October 1995.           Here's a far-reaching revolutionary notion. Follow the lead of the Ivy League band, and disband an entire Ivy League and private university based on the same assumption -- a connection to slavery and a resulting and demonstrative mea culpa.           One could echo a Columbia University distinguished professor, "To the Marxist paradigm that underlies this vision, I have no objection."  Really? What would De Witt Clinton have thought of such a paradigm?   Forcible Overthrown of All Existing Conditions             Then one might ask of that vision as seen by a very bourgeois professor in a wealthy, private Ivy League college to reflect on this, some of the final words of the 1848 Marxist vision:   "They (Communists) openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains."           And their marching bands. And their endowments. One waits for the "paradigm" underlying the "vision" to forcibly overthrow "all existing social conditions." Music, a self-dissolving marching band and....   [ 2 ]     But one learns of private and capitalist Columbia, which benefited from slavery, that "The university's endowment stood at $10.9 billion in 2019, among the largest of any academic institution." As of June 30, 2019. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2018 to FY 2019". National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. Retrieved by Wikipedia, January 30, 2020.   Pricey, and with a Troubled Past Too             The tuition and fees?   "Based on 4-years changes on tuition & fees, we estimate 4 year tuition at Columbia University for future and perspective students. For the students who admit in Fall 2020, the estimated 4 year tuition is $264,447. The estimation excludes the book, supplies, and living costs and before receiving any financial aid. See the other tabs for estimating 4 year total costs of attendance and after financial aid. Next table shows the 4 year tuition & fees estimation for next 5 admission years at Columbia University in the City of New York.." In "Paying for Columbia University in the City of New York," College Tuition Compare, circa 2020.           That's a lot of capital, isn't it? Especially for a trombone player. Sounds like a Marxist-enthused professor, students paying such hefty tuition and the entire university are quite 'radically' bourgeois.           But as to a "troubling past," in the sense of the student-run Columbia Spectator's prose, one might consider Musicological Marx - patter song variations on "Mademoiselle from Armentières."  Therein lies a musical and historical tale.

 

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Are you atop the system you say is racist, pal?

"We have convened several task forces during the past decade to study issues of diversity and inclusion at Princeton University and made progress by implementing changes they recommended. We have not, however, focused on eliminating racism. That is the charge I give to you now. We must seize this tragic and searing moment in American history to ask how we can more effectively fight racism—through our teaching and research, through our operations, and through our interactions and partnerships with those around us. I am accordingly asking all Cabinet members to submit reports to me by Friday, August 21 that specify a set of actions that could be taken within your areas to identify, understand, and combat systemic racism within and beyond the University. Additionally, Chair of the Board of Trustees Weezie Sams and I have initiated a conversation within the board about these topics, beginning with individual conversations with every trustee. The full board will convene in a special meeting later this month to continue discussing how the University can help fight systemic racism. We will come together as a Cabinet in late August to discuss the results of our work and develop clear plans for implementation and accountability." In "President Eisgruber calls on University leadership to confront realities and legacy of racism at every level of our institution," subset "Message to Cabinet Regarding Anti-Racism Initiatives," by the Office of Communications, Princeton University, 22 June 2020.

 

President Eisgruber presiding over Princeton's systemic racism

 

Are you atop the system you say is racist, pal?
    Then you're the one to scrutinize, and, looky there, they shall.
Are you the leader leading the racist academe?
    Then racism leads up to your door, as racism does seem
To tag those who now lead the racist system, pal.
    Tag, you're it, for now it's you who leads the race cabal.
Are you atop the system you say is racist, Prez?
    Interrogation awaits you, as federal law so says.

 

Addendum of the Systemic Box:   "...Princeton’s response to the Department’s information requests falls under 18 U.S.C. Section 1001. This means that knowingly and willfully providing false information carries a fine and a prison sentence of not more than 5 years. The Department’s letter begins by reminding Eisgruber that Princeton has received more than $75 million in federal aid during his tenure as president, and that as a condition of receiving this aid, the University has repeatedly certified that it complies with Title VI’s non-discrimination requirement. In addition, Princeton represents to the public, including students and their parents, that it does not discriminate on the basis of race. The letter then notes the contradiction between Princeton’s representations that it doesn’t discriminate and Eisgruber’s confession that the institution is systemically racist. Based on this contradiction, and perhaps understating the obvious, the Department tells Eisgruber that Princeton’s representations may have been false. It also expresses concern that Princeton 'perhaps knew, or should have known, these assurances were false at the time they were made'." In "Princeton’s “systemic racism” captures the government’s attention," Paul Mirengoff, Powerline, 17 September 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of and from a Famous Alumna:   "Activities organized by University groups such as Student Government rarely, if ever, take into account the diverse interests which exist at a University that is not 100% White. If Black students want to have certain speakers or programs, catering to their interests, they must form separate groups within the University, i.e., the Organization of Black Unity, the Princeton University Black Thoughts Table, the Society of Black Engineers. Several Black students within the past four years, have even organized a Food Co-operative which provides these students with an inexpensive alternative to University eating facilities and Eating Clubs which are very expensive by comparison. Thus, it is not surprising that, in their attempts to satisfy their own intellectual, social, and also economic needs, some respondents became attached to Blacks during the Pre-to-Prin period." In "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community, a thesis presented to Princeton University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Department of Sociology" by Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, Princeton, New Jersey, 1985.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of College Deepening Inequality:  "Rather than pseudo-righteous indignation, maybe it's time to confront uncomfortable facts about both college preparedness and the way our society bases economic opportunity on college success. According to critical race theory, our intellectual class' obsession du jour, any hiring disparity reflects structural racism, and companies like Wells Fargo simply 'aren’t trying hard enough' to find black candidates. In reality, there are wide racial gaps even before college. The average black SAT taker trails the overall average by more than 100 points, reflecting a pattern that shapes applicant pools in all college-dependent jobs." In " How 'college for al' only deepens inequality," by Nathaniel Fischer, NY Post, 29 September 2020.

 

Another tidbit in the tale of what happens when a Doctor Oppression comes to call

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]   The notion that a system is racist is a popular political mantra. Thus, taking the mantra at its root assertion, the system may be interrogated, to ask by whom it is governed. In the case of the system one may identify as a university, it is governed by its president and board of governors. As the president has self-confessed that the university he leads is an example of systemic racism, then the question is sparked. He is obligated not to lie, legally, and so either Princeton is "systemically racist" and he testifies to this, or it is not and he has lied, or at least misled.           "Christopher Ludwig Eisgruber has served as Princeton University’s 20th president since July 2013. He served previously as Princeton’s provost for nine years, beginning in 2004, after joining the Princeton faculty in 2001."   Condemn Systemic Racism? Then Condemn Those Who Lead Such Systems             It has become most popular to condemn systems of racism, now at the level of the university, as at the level of cities and states, even unto a nation which was governed by a Black president for eight years most recently.           As to examples of such systemic racism led by apparently systemic racist leaders, one may survey the confession of Systemic racism - the newest oldest game in town, and as other examples, a look at other systems confessed to be systemically racist, White Eric and white Gavin .   [ 2 ]   This mot famous alumna is Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States. Her testimony is that in 1985, she found Blacks "must form separate groups within the University." Not can, but "must" if they wished "to have certain speakers or programs." Was this evidence of systemic racism in that time? Is it evidence that systemic racism has continued from then until now, a period of 35 years of unanswered systemic racism at Princeton University?           But of systemic racism as seems in evidence at Princeton, one may also consider issues of wealth and capital, which are easily seen, with the help of the university itself..   Money and Lots of It             One reads of Princeton's wealth:  "The endowment value stood at $26.1 billion, an increase of about $200 million from the previous year." In "Princeton endowment earns 6.2 percent return," by the Office of Communications, Princeton University, 11 October 2019.            With such an endowment, one might wonder at the odd fact that it takes "aid" from the federal government, all the while its investments "increase." Welfare for the rich, perhaps, as seems the nature of corrupt governance?           The University states:   "Typically, Princeton students from families with the U.S. median household income of $65,000 pay no tuition and their average grant also covers room, board and fees. Most students from families with incomes up to $160,000 pay no tuition, and for an average family with income around $190,000, an average package covers about 81 percent of tuition. Students from families with incomes above $250,000 may qualify for some aid."           "No tuition" for families with "income up to $160,000" compares to the median income of a New Jersey family how?  "According to the Census ACS 1-year survey, the median household income for New Jersey was $81,740 in 2018, the latest figures available. Compared to the median US household income, New Jersey median household income is $19,803 higher." In New Jersey Household Income, Department of Numbers, accessed September 2020. And from the same source, on learns that per capita income in New Jersey was $42,815 in 2018.   Systemic Racism Wedded to Systemic Income Inequality?             Meanwhile back at the office of president, "Eisgruber, who made $970,900 in 2018 while the median Black salary in America that year was $41,511, apologized for the University's past of excluding races and for the 'systemic legacy of past decisions and policies.' He failed to mention Princeton's current usage of looking at race during the admission process as a factor—instead he proposes doing this for everything including faculty, lecturers, and even contract workers. 'We can and will provide central support and increased accountability to enhance Princeton’s diversity, but there are limits, including legal restrictions, to what we can do or require as we press ahead with initiatives to diversify the University,' he writes. 'For example, we cannot reserve jobs or specific positions for members of underrepresented minority groups'." In "Princeton President Bends Over Backwards To Combat 'Systemic Racism'," by Ben Wilson, Sara Carter Show, 3 September 2020.           Princeton says:            Would an academic with an income approaching a million dollars step down, in order for a qualified "person of color" to to serve as president? After all, among the other streams of political activity in the nation is the burning issue of Income Inequality .   In a Rhetorical and "To a Degree" Legal Box             Mirengoff, as above, notes:  "Eisgruber has put Princeton in a box. It either must formally admit to engaging in unlawful discrimination, which might well result in serious financial penalties, or it must admit, in effect, that Eisgruber was blowing smoke when he copped to systemic racism at Princeton — an admission that surely would enrage the militant students and alumni Eisgruber has been working so hard to appease."           A wealthy white man confesses to racism in the institution he has led for years. Guilty of this form of racism, what shall his penalty be?  Likely, he will fall back onto the argument of The Privileges of Intellectuals .           Ah but this seems much more like one more among so many Incidents of Idiocy .

 

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Three wrongs apparently make a right?

"A black male walked into a Louisville bar owned by a retired police officer and shot three random people at point blank range on Friday night - while wearing a Justice for Breonna Taylor shirt. The suspect was smiling from ear to ear as he was arrested for the shooting at Bungalow Joe’s Bar and Grill." In "Black Lives Matter Activist Wearing 'Justice for Breonna Taylor' Shirt Walked into a Louisville Bar and Murdered Three People," by Cassandra Fairbanks, Gateway Pundit, 20 September 2020.

 

Three wrongs apparently make a right,

As three deaths avenged one death that night?
Three random people at point blank range
Were payback in this murderous exchange?
Three wrongs apparently settle one score?
Then nine should tally in the payback war?
Then twenty-seven, to multiply
Justice for one, thinks a murderous guy.
Three times three time three times three
Factors quickly into infinity.
Three wrongs apparently make a right,
As god dammed justice rages through the night.

Let's go back and start again;

That's how evil conquers men.

 

Addendum of the Victims:  "Two of the victims were white and one was black." (ibid.)

 

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Whose throat is it that you're at?

Whose throat is it that you're at?
Against whom do you aggress?
Must you seek, with self caveat,
To rule, as to repress?

Whose brow is it you would beat?
Whose knee is it you'd make bend?
Must you force your will's conceit?
What then does that portend?

Whose neck is it at which you'd strike?
What freedoms would you blithely end?
Must you push as if godlike
To reign as you intend?

Each counter-revolution come
Just when you think you've won.
Power meets devolution;
Events full circle come.

 

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Racist racist theory

"According to its own terms, critical race theory must be racist. Furthermore, Black Lives Matter, the political movement based on its theories, must also be racist—and not black racism, but white racism. At a deep, subconscious level, it serves the purpose of advancing and enhancing 'white privilege.' How else do you explain rich white kids screeching venom at black police officers and business owners? Or how else do you explain that the theorist who's been most empowered by critical race theory is white author Robin DiAngelo? Ruminate on the sad indisputability of this statement for a moment: Something in the leftists' minds needs to keep minorities from finding hope and advancing in existent American 'systems'. Meanwhile, of necessity by the terms of critical race theory, the flip side of this dynamic is going on. Leftists feel the new world order will advance their wills to power. Now, at the subconscious level, leftists don’t know they're doing this. They may reject they're doing this — because they have white fragility. Or, more accurately, they are projecting onto others what they themselves are. They are truly the racists, as they always have been." In "Why Black Lives Matter Only Empowers Racist White Leftists," by Peter Burfeind, Federalist, 24 September 2020.    ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Racist racist theory
States race is good and bad.
Rages still grow weary,
And skin colors the cad.

Racist racist theory
Invests in colored skin;
Of this one should be leery;
Colors lose when colors win.

Racist racist theory
Flipped the age old tale
But ended up quite dreary
With the same old racist fail.

 

Racist racist theory
Found race both bad and good,
Rages still grow weary,
In the racists' neighborhood.

 

A White Man

 

Addendum of Marxism's Fingerprint:    " 'The first thing, I think, is that we actually do have an ideological frame. Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers,' she said, referring to BLM co-founder Alicia Garza. 'We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories. And I think that what we really tried to do is build a movement that could be utilized by many, many black folk,' Cullors added in the interview with Jared Ball of The Real News Network. While promoting her book 'When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir' in 2018, Cullors described her introduction to and support for Marxist ideology." In " Black Lives Matter co-founder describes herself as 'trained Marxist'," by Yaron Steinbuch, New York Post, 25 June 2020.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Stanley Crouch

 

Addendum of the Trickle-down Negro Marxist":   "On his African American critics: I’ve been applauded by black bus drivers, subway drivers, mechanics, various people who have come up to me and said, 'I'm sure glad somebody is saying it.' That's enough for me. I don't care what some trickle-down Negro Marxist says'." In "Stanley Crouch told it like it is," by Paul Mirengoff, Powerline, 17 September 2020.   ^{[ 3 ]}

 

An American Defines Being American

 

Addendum of a Black Conservative's View:   "One of the attendees pointed to the mix of people of all backgrounds and races, telling Breitbart News that it is emblematic of 'what America is.' 'I mean if you look at this group of people that we have out here, we've got Asian people, Hispanic people, white people, black people, mixed people. We have mixed families. It's everyone. because that's what America is,' the attendee said, adding that law enforcement goes out and protects 'everyone.' 'American isn't a skin tone. It's an ideology. It's a mental state. It's knowing what your freedoms are and defending those freedoms, not just for yourself but for everyone else,' he explained. 'And that's why they want to strike so hard against it. Because if you can get people to believe otherwise, then America isn't what it is. We see the beauty in it,' he added." In "Blexit Member: Being American 'Isn't a Skin Tone' But 'Knowing What Your Freedoms Are and Defending' Them," by Hannah Bleau, Breitbart, 10 October 2020.

 

Wyatt Tee Walker

 

Addendum of Opposing Racist Critical Race Theory:   "As Dr. Walker tried to make clear, thinking in terms of blocs of people, rather than of people as individuals, leads to a whole set of insidious results. How can two people bind together in friendship if they are members of power blocs that are presumed to be inherently opposed? How can a person prove his innocence if he is branded as inevitably a part of a guilty group? Why should an individual strive to succeed by individual merit if group dynamics are presumed to be overwhelming and inescapable? How can we ever find peace among the races and religions if we won't look to each other, person by person, based on actual facts and actual intentions? The saddest thing is to see well-intentioned people, trying to achieve Martin Luther King's dream by employing CRT methods that are the opposite of King's dream. King asked for everyone to be judged by the content of their own individual character, not by their inescapable genetic links to post-Marxist style analytical power groups. Supporters of civil rights should follow the example of Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, and not allow the two incompatible definitions of civil rights -- King's and CRT's -- to be confused with one another." In "The Civil Rights Legend Who Opposed Critical Race Theory," by Steve Klinsky, RealClear Politics, 12 October 2020.

 

Addendum of Reasonable Questions:    "How can a sane society foster and further an irrational cult like this one? Reason cannot be rejected, even if we try really hard to do it. It is too basic. It is a voice everyone hears. The CT promoters who say it is oppressive use it constantly in every other area of life and discussion. To attempt to escape reason would require a self-lobotomy or heavily drug-induced state of mind. So why would they suggest it? Clearly it is because they want to remain impervious to criticism. Reason is their enemy because their system of doctrines is altogether unreasonable. In a fair debate on a level playing field, Critical Theory would be rather handily obliterated. Thus writers, speakers, politicians, and yes, entire school systems, avoid hard questions by simple intolerance. No criticism, no dissent. Agree or you’re evil." In "Critical Theory's War on Critical Thinking," by Clint Roberts, The Stream, 14 October 2020.

 

Addendum of a Californian's Advice:   "Racism is a government policy, promoted for years by the Democrats, founders of the KKK, creators of Jim Crow and segregation laws. Democrats support discrimination in hiring that is why they supported Prop. 16—while the voters opposed the racism of this measure. 'I do think that as a government, we can do better to serve communities of color. I also think we can do that by just being better at governing. To me, a crisis is something that comes at us fast and requires an aggressive and immediate solution. That is not what the resolution was asking for, though.' If there are racist laws—repeal them. If hiring practices are racist, fire those responsible. If tax spending is used to promote racism, end it. No need for a resolution—do the work. Make the case and end the practice. Until then stop primping for the TV cameras and stop making silly claims." In "Frost: Attacks Against me in Sacramento Bee," by Stephen Frank, California Political Review, 20 November 2020.

 

Consider other Californians in Government -- White Eric and white Gavin
 

Addendum of a Black Conservative's Opinion:   "The Obamas package their remarks as primary causal reasons and/or factors for white people not wanting to defund police and moving out of neighborhoods blacks move into. But what they are really saying is that blacks are like locusts, i.e., wherever they go they soil and destroy. This is the view white liberals hold of blacks, which is why they hate people such as myself, who not only believe in the American dream, but who are proof that it exists for all people. That is the message those like the Obamas cannot allow the masses to publicly assert – because if the public as a whole accepts the truth I am speaking, America will no longer be ripe for subversion by heinous contaminants intent upon using the fabrication of social injustice and racism as a means to transform America into a communist state." In "Our Betters: The Obamas despise blacks," by Mychal Massie, WorldNetDaily, 7 December, 2020.

 

Addendum of a Hell of a Racket:   "The only way for a white person to not be a racist is to self-flagellate on the altar of progressive politics while cutting a big check to whichever of these grievance grifters happens to be collecting a big payday from the nearest school that day. It’s a hell of a racket. Who knew there were literally millions to be made in telling rich white liberals their skin is the root of all problems in the world? I wish I had thought of it. If I had known wealthy suburbanites led lives so devoid of meaning that they’d turned to mental masochism, I would’ve happily told them how awful they are and for half the price." In "Democrats Manufacture Racism," by Derek Hunter, Townhall, 28 February 2021.

 

Addendum of the Mythology Being Well Fed by Predatos:   "Race is predominantly viewed as an obsolete concept by the majority of the population regardless of their political inclination, yet there are aspects of Academia which seem disproportionately focused on keeping racialization alive. The motivation for doing so likely boils down to two things. Firstly, racialization and concepts of race are easily accessible methods for creating support as they draw on historical injustices. Secondly, these factors also serve to create considerable financial benefits for academics who keep this concept alive. The most vocal academic proponents of this highly racialized worldview are individuals who stand the most to gain via the financial incentives such as research sponsorship or publication of their books which are bought by those who feel disenfranchised and who may have genuinely suffered or by those who wish to help. Such manipulation can rightly the reviewed as having a predatory aspect because it capitalizes on the suffering of others." In "Blackness, Whiteness and other Mythological Creatures," by Alaric Naudé, The Professor's Blog, 23 February 2021.

 

A father and his daughter

 

Addendum of a Father and His Daughter:   " 'Daddy teaches you, you can be anything in this world that you want to be, right, don't Daddy teach you that?' the dad says. 'Yeah, and it doesn't matter if you’re black or white or any color.' 'Doesn't matter if you're black, white, brown, yellow,' the dad says. 'And how we treat people is based on who they are, and not what color they are.' His daughter interrupts him with, 'And if they're nice,' she says. 'And smart.' 'This is how children think right here. Critical race theory wants to end that,' the dad explains. Not with my children, it's not going to happen,' he declares. 'My baby's going to know, no matter what she wants to be in life, all she has to do is work hard and she can become that.' 'Work hard even though you don't know anyone,' the little girl exhorts. 'You can make friends.'' The father laughs and says, 'You can make friends no matter what color they are, so stop CRT. Period. Point blank. Children do not see skin color, man. Children love everybody, if they're good people, they love 'em.' 'We pray for people that are hurt,' she exclaims." In "Brilliant dad and his cute young daughter just obliterated Critical Racist Theory…" posted by Kane, Citizen Free Press, 2 June 2021.   ^{[ 4 ]}

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]   The article observes the "white" soil out of which this "critical theory" has been spawned and for which it argues. One reads:  "... how on earth do critical theorists exempt themselves from what they say are forces at work determining what everyone else does? How on earth is critical theory itself not a quest for power by those who came up with the theory? So, who came up with critical theory? You got it: white men. Or do you not recognize in Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, Ferdinand de Saussure, George Herbert Mead, Noam Chomsky, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Roland Barthes, and Jacques Derrida, a whiteness the lilies themselves would envy. Should we not add critical theory to the list of oppressive systems dead white men came up with to advance white power?"           Many of the of 'white' antecedents to this newest strain of racist thought may also be surveyed in the graphic which decorates the rhyme and its accompanying addenda and footnotes:  White Noise .   Believe Them             And for this, Burfeind adds:   "The left has had decades of power and control of our cities, academia, and media. They’ve had ample opportunities to demonstrate the wonders of their ideas. Yet all we see is the perpetuation of the very things they decry, while they gain more and more power. For decades, we've been told all the violence and ugliness spawned by leftism are merely the birth pangs of a new system. Well, how long do you leftists need to give birth? Enough already! Give us a taste of the glories of the New World in your urban microcosms! Or maybe, as Maya Angelou said, 'When someone shows you who he is, believe him.' Leftists are outing themselves as racists complicit in perpetuating systems of oppression. Maybe we should believe them."           Like so many seemingly modern political movements, little is new, and much is little more than attempts to revitalize failed and failing public policies enacted by a most illiberal modern Left. A fine argument for this conclusion is merely to Scratch a Leftist - to the tune of "Plant a Radish," from the Fantasticks.   [ 2 ]   Of Cullors and therefore of her white Marxist mentor, one reads some detail:   "Patrisse Cullors describes herself as a 'working class, queer, black woman.' She claims the country killed her father, a drug addict. At a 2015 Netroots Nation conference, Cullors led chants shouting, 'If I die in police custody, burn everything down … rise the f–k up! That is the only way motherf–kers like you will listen!' Cullors founded and directs Dignity and Power Now, which claims to seek 'dignity and power of incarcerated people, their families, and communities.' Cullors was trained by Eric Mann, a former Weather Underground leader who exhorts followers to become 'anti-racist, anti-imperialist' activists. Mann runs another Freedom Road front, the Labor/Community Strategy Center. Like many professional leftists, he makes good money—over $225,000—living in 'the system' he advocates destroying." In " Black Lives Matter, Racist Provocation with Radical Roots," by James Simpson, Capital Research Center, 21 September 2020.   Exhortation is a Profitable Game for Some             Let that be reiterated.  "...he makes good money—over $225,000—living in 'the system' he advocates destroying."   A white Mann, mentor to Marxists             The ironic thing about the ostensibly open and orthodox Marxist and Communist as one finds today proves that the top Communists love capital, when it is theirs. Consider the truth of Capital for Communists - a story growing old.           Then consider Eric Mann's reported "over $225,000" income as a data point in the larger discussion of  another political stream of thought:   Income Inequality .           Or perhaps an economically upper class Mann could further invert words. After all, today some argue that Communism's capitalism, don't you see? - seventy years. wrenchingly.           Moreover the anti-capitalist may be counted among the many historical Enemies of Capitalism .  After all, apparently there is something to be learned from the company one keeps.   Just Another White Mann             In the case of this particular white Mann, mentor to a figure which Crouch captures as a "trickle-down Negro Marxist," one notes the similarity to a story element in Orwell's seminal fiction. A individual in a privileged position speaks:  " 'It is called wine,' said O'Brien with a faint smile. 'You will have read about it in books, no doubt. Not much of it gets to the Outer Party, I am afraid.' His face grew solemn again, and he raised his glass: 'I think it is fitting that we should begin by drinking a health. To our Leader: To Emmanuel Goldstein'." In "Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel," by George Orwell, Secker & Warburg, 8 June 1949.           Of this interplay between persecutor and persecuted, one finds:  "O'Brien rejects as nonsense Winston Smith's perspective that Big Brother and the Party can be overthrown, because he is a member of the Inner Party, and not a revolutionary of the Brotherhood. At the Miniluv, O'Brien tortures Winston to cure him of his political insanity: the belief that there exists an objective reality that is external to the reality of the Party. In their torture chamber conversations, he tells Winston that The Book was written by a committee that included himself. When Winston asks O'Brien if The Book is true, he replies: 'As description, yes. The program it sets forth is nonsense'." In "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism," Wikipedia article, n. d. It is said that Goldstein, the supposed author of "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism," was modeled after Leon Trotsky.           Of the fictional vignette akin to Eric Mann's economic success, one may think capital wealth for wine, as the "inner party" -- he, a mentor to a novice -- has much of that -- relative wealth -- which doesn't get out to the "outer party," much less to the proles.           A white Mann, with income in the top few percentile of wealth in the nation, peddles for money the ideology from a book of which it may be argued, it is "truth" but  "As description, yes. The program it sets forth is nonsense." And that activity is simply the pursuit of wealth and power, via the Marxist method. Descriptive but revolutionary nonsense.           Similarly one may think on White Eric and white Gavin .   [ 3 ]     That white, European-background Marxists and Communists have found in some from other races to further their ends by employing specific racist canards and tropes, is seen clearly by such as acerbic yet amusing critics as Stanley Crouch, in his trenchant phrase.           How to deal with such opposing voices? The "trained Marxist" will use racist tropes, as one finds "Uncle Tom" and "race traitor" themes aplenty. Consider the addenda and footnotes to Everything's about your colored skin - (or sadly, why these games begin).   Assisting the White Mann             The narrative, like racist theory itself, may be flipped on its head. Perhaps those like Patrisse Cullors are among the "race traitors," assisting a white Mann to gather in upper class capital, as they romp through their ideological games and gather wealth in the process.           After all, if whites are racist -- see the assertions of a Robin Racist --, is not a white mentor of a new "trained Marxist" also a racist? And as Marx was white, was he not also a racist? Why then adopt a racist's political stance?   [ 4 ]    More:   "The video posted by TikTok user Kory Yeshua shows him sitting next to his unnamed daughter and saying he teaches her she can be anything she wants to be." In "Video of dad, daughter speaking out against critical race theory goes viral," by Mark Lungariello, NY Post, 2 June 2021.

 

---

 

I'm gonna git cha

I'm gonna git cha befur you gits me.
 Pre-revenge comes violently.
  I'm gonna git cha befur you gits me;
   It just make sense so logically.
I'm gonna git cha, don't think I won't,
 But don't fight back; nah, just don't.
  Redress'd revenge is an age old game,
   Dressed up purty, takin' modern aim.

 

---

 

Let's gather up all tyrannies by their several names

"Under a 'climate lockdown,' governments would limit private-vehicle use, ban consumption of red meat, and impose extreme energy-saving measures, while fossil-fuel companies would have to stop drilling. To avoid such a scenario, we must overhaul our economic structures and do capitalism differently. Many think of the climate crisis as distinct from the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic. But the three crises – and their solutions – are interconnected." In "Avoiding a Climate Lockdown," Mariana Mazzucato, Project-syndicate.org, 22 September 2020.

 

Let's gather up all tyrannies by their several names,
    Placing all together, and not in separate frames.
Tyranny's mask proposes, among its varied aims,
    To combat other tyrannies, as it fans crises' flames
Of conflicts heaped on bonfires, fueled by counterclaims.
    Yet each is a brother tyranny, and each tyranny exclaims,
"The other is the tyranny," as each tyranny proclaims.
    Is there then an answer to tyranny's many names?
Indeed, gather all as sisters in their fisted games --
    How each would reign, while another tyranny defames!
All, with that urge to rule, each one then so inflames
    Strife on strife until, by rule, all dissent it tames.
Let's gather up all tyranny by its many names,
    Placing all together, and not in separate frames.

 

Addendum of the Camouflaged Game of the Left:    "Critics of anti-racism worry about its ability to chill dissent and advance left-wing policies from the Black Lives Matter playbook, such as dismantling capitalism and defunding the police, by accusing anyone who disagrees of being racist. 'Capitalism has inequitable outcomes. Most everything has inequitable outcomes, so the entire status quo could be considered racist, and is considered racist,' said Max Eden, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. 'Traits of American culture are increasingly being labeled by critical-race theorists, Kendians, as parts of White supremacy culture'." In "Anyone 'not racist' is racist: Universities latch on to antiracist movement," by Valerie Richardson, Washington Times, 29 September 2020. 

 

 

Camouflaged Anitfa, black bloc clad Thug attacking a Black Man

 

Addendum II of the Camouflaged Game of the Left:   "A rally called to promote free speech and denounce big tech censorship turned ugly Saturday in San Francisco, when hundreds of alleged Antifa counterprotesters showed up and berated and attacked demonstrators, leaving one missing a tooth." In "Free speech rally marred by violence as counterprotesters storm event, beat pro-Trump demonstrators - An organizer of the protest had a tooth knocked out," by Paul Best, Fox News, 18 October 2020.    ^{[ 1 ]}

 

"Do capitalism differently" speaks as one among the many Enemies of Capitalism as they seek their latest, camouflaged Reset

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]  One learns that a "black live matter" supporter viciously attacked a black apparently for being "conservative"  One reads further:   "...a Black Lives Matter mob targeted a free speech rally against Big Tech in San Francisco. An assailant socked the free speech rally organizer, 25-year-old black conservative Philip Anderson, in the jaw, knocking out his two front teeth. On Sunday, the San Francisco Police Department arrested a suspect, 35-year-old Androa 'Dro' Anderson, charging him with mayhem and a hate crime enhancement." In "BLM Activist Faces Hate Crime Charges for Knocking Out the Teeth of a Black Conservative," by Tyler O'Neil, PJMedia, 20 October 2020.

 

---

 

Good old Doctor Psychopath - on a pedophile's aftermath

"Starting in 1969, Berlin welfare authorities handed over the care of at least three homeless teenagers to Dr Helmut Kentler, a sex researcher from Hanover. He placed the youths with known paedophiles, including one who already had a criminal record for child abuse, believing that it would give troubled teens a social anchor while giving the paedophiles a chance to become caring foster parents. Berlin’s youth-affairs minister, Sandra Scheeres, didn't mince her words when she presented the report. 'It was a crime to put these people into this kind of care,' she said. 'It is simply unimaginable that something like this happened with state oversight'." In "Germany's secret paedophilia experiment, Under the 'Kentler Experiment' of the 1970s, Berlin welfare authorities handed over homeless teenagers to known paedophiles," by Derek Scally, Irish Times, 10 December 2016.

 

Good old Doctor Psychopath
Wore a white lab coat.
What was queer, in the aftermath,
Is more than an anecdote.
With support through dumb politics,
Influential men did vote
For that old Doctor Psychopath
And the bullshit that he wrote.

Good old Doctor Psychopath
Had help from the highest high;
There came from them no wrath
Against this psychopathic guy.
Hey, diddle diddle, kids in the middle,
Access was his supply,
And good old Doctor Psychopath
Piled up each bald-faced lie.

Good old Doctor Psychopath
Got away with it for years,
Because the kids were captive,
And silenced by their fears.
Lauded and cheered on was he,
By the party's partied peers,
But as it happens which such tales,
Exposure ever nears.

Good old Doctor Psychopath
Now naps in earth's eternity,
But his passions, they still lingers on
In his passions' hell fired infamy.
Those who voted to agree
Have yet most wretchedly
Made little amends to victims
And precious small apology.

Good old Doctor Psychopath
Spawned seed by word and deed,
And all for what was prurient
Did from his lies proceed.
Shall one be so liberal as
To turn one's gaze away
From testimonies' tales
Seeing now the light of day?

 

"Eltern sagt es uns rechtzeitig"
 

Addendum of State Support for Pedophilia:   " In January 2018 the Leibniz Universität Hannover announced that it had initiated further investigations into Kentler. 'I am downright shocked that at that time the executive and the judiciary let themselves be swallowed up by it,' said President Volker Epping at the New Year's reception. 'I am also completely irritated that the professional community of this acting Kentler did not comment, did not cry out!' Only after the completion of the project 'The Role of the Sexologist in the Discourse on Pedosexuality – for example Helmut Kentler', which was funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, did the university (nine years after Kentler's death) realise the extent of the case. The aim of the further investigation will be to examine the circumstances of Kentler's doctorate, appointment and work until his retirement. This also includes the behaviour of the university, faculty and department with regard to his person. For a proper processing of the case, contracts are awarded to external, independent persons. On 15 June 2020, a report prepared by scientists entitled 'Helmut Kentler's Work in Berlin Child and Youth Services' was presented in Berlin. In this context, the Berlin Senator for Education Sandra Scheeres promised those affected by abuse financial compensation by the State of Berlin." In "Helmut Kentler," Wikipedia, n. d.

 

Addendum of Blind-Eyed Authorities Condoning Decades' Long Experiments on Humans:  "Starting in the 1970s psychology professor Helmut Kentler conducted his 'experiment.' Homeless children in West Berlin were intentionally placed with pedophile men. These men would make especially loving foster parents, Kentler argued. A study conducted by the University of Hildesheim has found that authorities in Berlin condoned this practice for almost 30 years. The pedophile foster fathers even received a regular care allowance. Helmut Kentler (1928-2008) was in a leading position at Berlin's center for educational research. He was convinced that sexual contact between adults and children was harmless. Berlin's child welfare offices and the governing Senate turned a blind eye or even approved of the placements." In "Berlin authorities placed children with pedophiles for 30 years," by Rina Goldenberg, Deutsche Welle, 15 June 2020.

 

Addendum of a Larger Problem:   "Just days after a shocking study showed that Berlin authorities supported homeless boys being placed in foster care with known pedophiles, the German state of North Rhine Westphalia has uncovered a dark internet ring of 30,000 pedophiles who shared child pornography and exchanged tips how to sedate and abuse young children. Officials from the North-Rhine Westphalia cyber crime unit said on Monday it had uncovered the pedophile ring after a nine month cyber crime investigation. 'I hadn't reckoned with the extent of child abuse on the internet,' said state Justice Minister Peter Beisenbach." In "Massive Pedophile Ring With Over 30 THOUSAND Suspects Uncovered By German Authorities," by A.M. Smith, en-volve.com, 4 July 2020.

 

Addendum of an International Problem:   "Attorney Michael Dolce from the law-firm Cohen Milstein, who speaks from experience from representing children abused in foster care, wrote an opinion piece published by Newsweek in 2018 stating that the nation’s foster care system is set up to sexually traffic children. Dolce said: 'Here's the ugly truth: most Americans who are victims of sex trafficking come from our nation's own foster care system. It's a deeply broken system that leaves thousands vulnerable to pimps as children and grooms them for the illegal sex trade as young adults. We have failed our children by not fixing the systemic failures that have allowed this to happen for decades." In "Pedophiles Continue to be Licensed as Foster Parents in the U.S. to Meet the Demand for Child Sex Slaves," by Stevie Ray Hansen, H News Wire, 16 August 2019.

 

Addendum of A Victim Taking Action:   " 'There were numerous deliberate and negligent failings in the state in this case, as despite constant DCS presence and reports and complaints, the Frodshams were allowed to traffic their children for sex and pornography, abuse and beat the children in horrific ways, and yet blame it all on the children,' the claim said. John Doe has both physical and emotional scars from his years of abuse and will continue to suffer 'permanent and devastating' emotional damage, the claim said. In addition to the $15 million the claim is seeking, John Doe also wants to change the way DCS operates and send a message to the state to protect children in its care, according to the claim. 'The Department of Child Safety must be held accountable for the abuse this child has suffered,' Cadigan told the Star. 'How could such horrific abuse occur on their watch?' " In " Ex-foster child of convicted pedophile files $15M claim against Arizona DCS," by Caitlin Schmidt, Tucson.com, 4 February 2018.

 

Addendum of Another Doctor:   "United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Dr. Justin Neisler, age 32, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced to serve 276 months (23 years) in federal prison, followed by 10 years in supervised release for the production of child pornography. He was also ordered to pay $10,100 in assessments to the Court and into funds set up to assist victims of child exploitation crimes. Dr. Neisler appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody and was remanded at the hearing’s conclusion, to be placed in an institution designated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Denver office of the FBI joined in this announcement." In "Denver Doctor Justin Neisler sentenced to twenty-three years ub federal orison for producing child pornography," Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, 22 September 2020.

 

Addendum of Another:    "Poul Thorson was a physician, CDC employee and later CDC contractor who both manipulated Danish data to remove the adverse effects of thimerosal, and stole funds from the CDC. Thorson is currently on the Department of Health and Human Services' list of fugitives from justice. Despite strong evidence of scientific misconduct in these 3 CDC cases, the papers published in top medical journals with these manipulated data have never been retracted from the medical literature. Instead, they provide foundational support for the safety of the MMR vaccine and of mercury in vaccines. The fraudulent papers pollute the medical literature, making it impossible to discern the true adverse effects of vaccines." In " Why are legislatures imposing vaccine mandates now?" by Meryl Nass, MD, Alliance for Human Research Protection, 12 September 2019.

 

Simply too many very good reasons to "yes" the question:   Should government be limited?

 

---

 

With -- but not from -- to arrive at some sum

"Comorbidities - Table 3 shows the types of health conditions and contributing causes mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death." In "Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics," CDC website, accessed 3 October 2020.  

 

With -- but not from --
Is a prepositions' game,
Which cuts the deck
To diagnose blame.

With -- mixed with from --
Conflates more than two,
As prepositions brew
In a blended stew.

With -- wedded to from --
Tallies much and more
Than from, all alone,
Has heretofore.

From -- but not with --
Tells a tale all its own,
With greater precision
As such telling is prone.

From -- when not with --
Causes causes to flee;
And that sole preposition
Speaks minimally.

With -- mixed with from --
As a tabulating scheme
Asks -- who  been behind
The media's scream?

 

With -- and without --

Involving -- excluding --

From wed to with swells,

Great numbers extruding.

 

From -- when alone --

Tallies to six,

Detailing why 'with'

Plays prepositional tricks.

With -- but not from --
Is a prepositions' game,
Which stacked the deck
As seems was the aim.

 

From Table 2. Deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), pneumonia, and influenza reported to the NCHS by place of death, United States, Week ending 2/1/2-2- to 9/29/2020. Updated September 30, 2020. CDC.

 

Addendum of Very Small IFRs:    "Infection Fatality Ratio -- 0-19 years: 0.00003, 20-49 years: 0.0002, 50-69 years: 0.005 and 70+ years: 0.054." In "Current Best Estimate," as hidden in a jungle of prose, tables and footnotes....  In "COVID-19 Pandemic Planning Scenarios," Scenario 5: Current Best Estimate, CDC, Updated Sept. 10, 2020.  ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum Asking 'Are You Positive?':    "Whittington said a letter arrived from the Shelby County Health Department for his mother, Sandra Whittington. The letter says she has been diagnosed as COVID positive and needed to isolate. That would be difficult, according to her obituary: the 66-year-old died February 16th. That was weeks before the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Shelby County. 'It's been 6 months, almost 7, since she passed away. There was no testing that was done at that time. On her death certificate it was stated she died, what the cause of death was, and it was not COVID-19. It was COPD,' said Whittington." In "Shelby County woman who passed away 6 months ago gets letter saying she is COVID-19 positive," by Jeni Diprizio , Local 24 ABC, 3 September 2020.  ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum II Asking 'Are You Positive?':   "...Granquist expressed her anger over the state attributing her child's death to COVID-19. 'I am angry. I am so ANGRY. If you heard the state of Michigan report on COVID this morning, you may have heard a 2 month old baby died of COVID. I need everyone to know that (my child) did NOT die of COVID,' she wrote. 'According to the autopsy (which has been told to me via phone but not yet by mail), (my child) suffered a bowel perforation and an infection because of it... this is directly related to his gastroschisis. I am so angry. I am angry at the government for skewing numbers and making my baby a statistic to try and benefit their agenda while my family is suffering'." In "Michigan infant with COVID died from serious birth defect," by Beth LeBlanc, Detroit News, 18 September 2020.

 

Addendum III Asking 'Are You Positive?':   "On Saturday, Kent Donahue, from Dr. Pino's office, said the motorcyclist's death 'was reviewed and he was taken off the list for COVID fatalities.' Two days after a FOX 35 investigation, health officials confirm that a motorcycle death that was initially counted among COVID-19 fatalities has been removed from the state's data." In "FOX 35 INVESTIGATES: Questions raised after fatal motorcycle crash listed as COVID-19 death, by Danielle Lama, FOX 35 Orlando, 18 July 2020.

 

Addendum IV Asking "Are You Positive?':   "You can't tell if someone has Covid-19 if that person hasn't been tested for Covid-19. Therefore, if a person passes away, the only way to really tell if Covid-19 was the culprit is to have administered a test while the person was actively infected. The trouble is testing is a bit all over the place right now. Correction, testing is not all over the place, which is the problem. Testing is only some of the places right now. A handful of states like New York and California have been coordinating testing more extensively than others. So it isn't clear what percentage of actual Covid-19 cases and deaths each state is currently catching." In "How Many Have Died From Coronavirus? 8 Problems With Covid-19 Death Counts," by Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 27 September 2020.

 

Addendum V Asking "Are You Positive?":    "The state's Department of Health reported about 100 cases of people with the coronavirus or 'probable' cases of the COVID-19 virus who died and were included in the total tally of deaths attributed to the pandemic, but officials can't trace how the patient contracted the virus. 'So our method that we use to give up to date counts related to COVID death is not our usual process for how we track data for deaths in Washington,' Dr. Katie Hutchison, health statistics manager for the Department of Health, said. 'We had to modify what we normally do in order to quickly meet the data and informational needs of the pandemic. We're aware that there is some confusion about how this works and whether or not this modified process is accurate'." In " 'Related to obvious other causes': Gunshot victims included in Washington coronavirus death tally," by Emma Colton, Washington Examiner, 24 May 2020.

 

Addendum VI Asking "Are You Positive?":   "VERDICT - False. The 6% figure represents death certificates with COVID-19 listed as the only cause of death, but the remaining death certificates listed additional conditions, either COVID-19 complications or pre-existing illnesses, along with COVID-19." In "Fact check: 94% of individuals with additional causes of death still had COVID-19," by Reuters Staff, 3 September 2020.    ^{[ 3 ]}

 

Addendum VII Asking "Are You Positive?":   " 'Having COVID on there [death certificate] if the person was COVID positive, there's nothing actually wrong with that,' Holcombe said. 'Actually determining the cause of death - the cause of death may have been respiratory failure associated with COVID and so forth. So, it becomes a contributing factor anyway. So, there's nothing actually wrong with that if it allows for some additional reimbursements'."    In "Are hospitals using COVID-19 causes of death as financial incentives?" by Anna Denton, NBC KALB, 3 June 2020.

 

Addendum VIII Asking "Are You Positive?":   "During a COVID-19 briefing, The Virginia Department of Health announced it will now count the number of virus tests administered. That's a change. Before, if a patient was tested multiple times, which is rare, it would count as still one administered test in the state's data. Now, each time a patient is tested, each test is counted." In "Virginia sees jump in COVID-19 testing," by Henry Graff, NBC 12 News, 1 May 2020.

 

Addendum IX Asking "Are You Positive?":   "People have said they submitted their contact information at a COVID-19 testing site, but after seeing how long the line was, they decided not to wait an hour or more to get the test. Nevertheless, a few days later, they got an email or a phone call telling them that they tested positive." In "DeSantis 'concerned' after claims people who weren't tested for COVID-19 received positive results," by Rob Manch, ABC Action News, 21 July 2020.

 

Addendum X Asking "Are You Positive?":    "The CDC now says anyone who has been within six feet of an infected person, (with a documented case), for 15 minutes or longer should get a test. The agency called the changes a 'clarification' that was needed 'due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission'." In "CDC drops controversial COVID-19 testing advice that caused backlash," by Mike Stobbe, ABC 11 / Associated Press, 18 September 2020.

 

Addendum of What Remains Positively Unclear:   "John Brooks, the chief medical officer for CDC's COVID-19 response, apologized. 'I just want to let you know that this early draft of a document that's presently undergoing scientific review wasn't intended to be posted,' he said. 'That was an error on behalf of our agency, and I apologize on behalf of CDC for that. We weren't ready to put it up.' Brooks said that it remains unclear if the virus is airborne." In "CDC abruptly removes new guidance on coronavirus airborne transmission," staff, ABC 11 Eyewitness News, 21 September 2020.   ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Addendum of What Becomes More Clear:   "CommonPass says it adheres to tight privacy principles and is designed to protect personal data in compliance with relevant privacy regulations, including GDPR. It was launched by the World Economic Forum and The Commons Project, in collaboration with a broad coalition of public and private partners around the world." In "World's first Covid passport technology will be trialled on flights from Heathrow this week in bid to let passengers travel without risk of quarantine in future BUT requires authorities to trust test lab results from abroad," by Dan Sales, Mailonline, 7 October 2020.   ^{[ 5 ]}

 

A view into the method which did Divine the panic , and from which and with one learned in the past tense that Divine was the panic - sometime later

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]   Inverting the Infection Fatality Ratio by the simplest of arithmetic yields what could be called an Infection Non-fatality Ratio, i. e.  0-19: 99.997%, 20-49: 99.98%, 50-69: 99.5%, and 70+: 94.6%. Such a "survivability" best case scenario estimate, when expressed this way, does not feed the hysteria of a news cycle.          Basic arithmetic is applied to the numbers.  200,000 provisionally to date in the US  / 325,000,000 in the US population = 0.00061538 or a 0.062% lethality in the moment when considered within the context of a total US population. For the official IFR definition, cases versus deaths, this is something else. This simple application of numbers publicly available suggests the hysteria has been magnified in the political media.   WHO Said?            Only months ago, one heard from the WHO that:  "The latest global death rate for the novel coronavirus is 3.4 percent – higher than earlier figures of about 2 percent." In "WHO Says The Coronavirus Global Death Rate Is 3.4%, Higher Than Earlier Figures," by Rosie Perper, Business Insider, 5 March 2020.   WHO Says What?            One reads:  " 'Our current best estimates tell us that about 10 percent of the global population may have been infected by this virus,' Ryan told attendees from member governments who make up the executive board and provide much of its funding. The estimate — which would amount to more than 760 million people based on a current world population of about 7.6 billion — far outstrips the number of confirmed cases as tallied by both WHO and Johns Hopkins University, now more than 35 million worldwide. Experts have long said that the number of confirmed cases greatly underestimates the true figure." In "WHO: 10% of World’s People May Have Been Infected with Virus," Associated Press, Geneva, 5 October 2020.          One also reads:  "Deaths: 1,054,607," in "COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, Last updated: October 07, 2020," Worldmeters. And yet, the Imperial College month back had forecast more than twice that number of deaths is a short span of time.   WHO Says What When?            Simple arithmetic then examines these latest numbers from the WHO: 1,054,607 to date worldwide / 760,000,000 estimated "cases" out of global population = 0.00138764 or a 0.14% lethality within a global population of estimated cases. But against the total world population, rather than "cases," estimated or tabulated, the lethality rate drops by a factor of ten to 0.014%, a percentage similar to the other calculated lethality in the context of the world's entire population.   3.4%  >  2%  >  0.14%            A skeptical view of data collection -- estimated, probable and presumed being very weak data -- and simple analysis suggests that, at the minimum, authoritative voices have been widely incorrect, estimates announced in the media as firm facts. For this, dying "from" might well be considered as separate from dying "with," as the CDC itself has stated.          However, this does not feed a hysteria, as All the news is screaming .   [ 2 ]   "With" or "from?"  The article notes:   "Whittington said when he called the health department, he was told she took a COVID-19 test June 20th, which was clearly impossible. She was cremated."   [ 3 ]   One notes that in addition to the taxonomy of "with plus from," now "either" and "or" become part of the science, such that precision yields to imprecision.  "Still had COVID-19"  tells nothing of causes of death, per se, and as such the arguments for and against -- both phrases involving prepositions" -- ends in the same logical and  linguistic morass as from and with, as with and without, as excluding and including. This is no longer precise taxonomy, but something quite different from precision in definitions. It has been, at best, inexactitude.          Reading some of the CDC's confusing, confused reporting, it seems that in this season pneumonia and its complications was the cause of many deaths in the elderly -- and "with" was applied to these to send these numbers to the COVID-19 tally.   Under-reported or Over-reported?            One reads:  "Torriani recalls a recent flu season with an unusually high death toll among the elderly, saying that many older folks in San Diego died at home, without ever taking a flu test, meaning that that year, the actual death numbers would have been an underreported. 'It's better to be prudent than just to make a black-and-white statement, because most of the time, black and white doesn't work,' Torriani said." In " Fact Check: Flu Deaths vs. COVID-19 Deaths," by Alexis Rivas, NBC San Diego, 24 September 2020.          This has been the current guidance from the CDC that "presumed" and "probable" suffice for the tallies.   Phenomena and the Epiphenomenon            The news cycles have been breathless in their reporting. Yet it is more subtle than "news" allows. One reads of:  "Involvement of COVID-19 in the dying process - Death attributed only to COVID-19 (previously healthy, predicted long life expectancy) - [versus] Death primarily due to old age, frailty, or advanced disease (COVID-19 is an epiphenomenon) - Death due to COVID-19 in an individual with limited life expectancy (COVID-19=coronavirus disease 2019)." In "Understanding pathways to death in patients with COVID-19," by Jean-Louis Vincent and Fabio S Taccone, The Lancet, 6 April 2020."           The Lancet article states:  "To be able to better interpret case fatality rates, more data are thus needed (panel). First, the type and severity of organ failure: what are the real contributions of respiratory or cardiovascular failure? How many patients died with isolated respiratory failure, in shock or with acute kidney injury or multiple organ failure? Second, the actual process of death, including therapeutic limitation when present and the relative contributions of patient factors (eg, age and comorbidities) or environmental factors (eg, lack of facilities, beds, personnel, or equipment). Last, the real contribution to death of SARS-CoV-2 infection, because COVID-19 can be an epiphenomenon in some patients."   WHO Causes What and When?            These various "pathways" are distinct and different. As are "from" and "with" "probable" and "presumed."  The Lancet article's observation that "COVID-19 is [in some cases] an epiphenomenon" bears consideration.          A dictionary definition which is not cluttered by preposition wedded to preposition informs. One is dealing with "...a secondary phenomenon accompanying another and caused by it specifically : a secondary mental phenomenon that is caused by and accompanies a physical phenomenon but has no causal influence itself."          The assertion that the classes of deaths are distinct is a claim. A different assertion that one class may be parsed by "only" and therefore distinct from mixed classifications mirrors the CDC's 6 percent "current best estimate." But words such as "estimate" weaken the argument, as have "probable" and "presumed."          "From" is such a better preposition in this tale than "with," as then one might "be able to better interpret case fatality rates," and indeed "more data are thus needed."  "With" sullied by "probable" does not contribute to "more data."  But is does contribute to larger numbers over which to become hysterical.       [ 4 ]    Months after the pandemic was declared and amplified loudly across media worldwide, one learns that the CD remains "unclear" about its transmission. "From" this public statement and "with" the Lancet's admission that  "more data are thus needed," the media may have been seen to have reported that which has been "unclear" as clear, and fact which was regularly changed guesstimate, such as the WHO's March statement that the virus had a 3.4 percent death rate, which it did not then and does not months later.          As to transmission, one reads:  "Symptoms for COVID-19 can start as early as 2 days and as long as 14 days after you are exposed. Research shows that the average time symptoms appear is around 4 to 5 days. For many people, these symptoms initially are mild and then worsen over a few days. The most common symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath." In "How long does it take for symptoms of COVID-19 to show up?" WebMD, 11 August 2020.          Given the onset of this declared pandemic early in 2020, and given that the WHO is still guessing as to the infection rate around the world, and given the 2-14 day incubation of the disease, how many fourteen day periods has it been through until October to "flatten the curve" and incubate symptoms? It becomes all the more interesting that the IFR or even global population infection rate is as low as it seems to be for a pandemic.   Who Said There's No Reason To Be Walking Around With a Mask?            Looking back is instructive:  " 'There's no reason to be walking around with a mask,' infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told 60 Minutes. While masks may block some droplets, Fauci said, they do not provide the level of protection people think they do. Wearing a mask may also have unintended consequences: People who wear masks tend to touch their face more often to adjust them, which can spread germs from their hands. But there is another risk to healthy people buying disposable masks as a precaution. The price of face masks is surging, and Prestige Ameritech, the nation's largest surgical mask manufacturer, is now struggling to keep up with the increased demand. 'It could lead to a shortage of masks for the people who really need it,' Fauci said." In "60 Minutes," CBS News, 8 March 2020.   Who Said "More Akin" To a Severe Seasonal Influenza?  Approximately 0.1 %?            That was then. And so...."If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively." In "Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted," by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., H. Clifford Lane, M.D., and Robert R. Redfield, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine, 382:1268-1269, 26 March 2020.          From March to October, the season of the pandemic hysteria brings a hysterical variant strain of political theater, against a far more serious lethality of growing deaths from shootings:   Chicago's Mayoral Mask for Halloween, October 2020            "More data are thus needed." Else, looking back, how is one to Divine the panic . Or the sillyness.   [ 5 ]    The pertinent tidbit in the article:  "It was launched by the World Economic Forum...."  For something "akin to... a severe seasonal influenza," a worldwide tracking system launched by the economic aristocracy of  Davos seems worthy of skepticism. It seems a fine to ask and answer, Should government be limited? .          Throughout history, power in the hands of a few has worked out so well....

 

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Media, media, media

Media, media, media Consuming and consumed Bangs the drum of stress To stress we all are doomed.

Media, media, media Depressing the depressed Is media magnifying media As media do attest

That media, media, media Must consume as be consumed; For this goal the little people Have been so long well groomed.

 

Addendum of the Negativity of Media Exposure:   "Acute stress and depressive symptoms were associated with personal exposure to the outbreak (β=0.09, β=0.11, respectively), but not community exposures (β=0.00, β=-0.01, respectively). Secondary stressors (e.g., job and wage loss) predicted higher acute stress (β=0.19) and depressive symptoms (β=0.12), and work-related exposures predicted lower depressive symptoms (β=-0.07). Finally, all three forms of media exposure predicted higher acute stress and depressive symptoms: Hours of COVID-19-related media consumption (β=0.15, β=0.13, respectively); increased media consumption relative to the participant’s pre-outbreak media behavior (β=0.12, β=0.04, respectively); and higher frequency of exposure to conflicting information about the outbreak in the media (β=0.17, β=0.09, respectively). Supplemental Table S2 presents findings for each of the three individual cohorts. The pattern across all three cohorts was consistent with the findings reported above." In "The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the U.S." by E. Alison Holman, Rebecca R. Thompson, Dana Rose Garfin and Roxane Cohen Silver, Science Advances 18 Sep 2020.

 

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May and might

May and might Really quite Whet the readers' Appetite.

May and Might Both excite, Virus like, Each parasite.

Maybe, could be, Like perhaps, Just knot knowing Barks and yaps.

May and might, Both affright Unwary readers To excite.

 

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Reset

Previous resetters of government and society for their view of a greater good

 

If one refuses to be reset
When the resetters arrive,
What are one's options to that threat?
What then might one contrive?

If one rejects their great reset
As the resetters push hard,
What response to their soviet
Will one's liberty safeguard?

If one will not fully embrace,
As resetters demand be done,
What next embrace will one face?
Down the barrel of a gun?

The resetters fashion their harness
To saddle, as point-of-view,
Whole nations under their genius
Which will rule and reign small you.

This latest reset's a revision
Of the old resets one's seen.
Each reset was a vision
Of which each resetter was keen.

If one refuses to be reset
When the resetters arrive,
What are one's options to that threat?
What then might one contrive?

 

Envoi economique:   "The WEF is not cheap. The membership fees range from 60,000 to 600,000 francs per year ($67,337- $673,370). Tickets for participation in the WEF cost extra: around 25,000 francs each ($28,061). In return, the business elites have access to a platform that brings them together with heads of state, scientists, and Hollywood stars. Without these people showing up, Schwab will have no attendance. Our cocktail event at our World Economic Conferences is famous for networking where people meet everyone from around the globe." In "Klaus Schwab Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine," Armstrong Economics Blog, 11 December 2020.
 

Consider how this comports with a modern phenomenon -- Power and money

 

Addendum of a Great Reset:   "The Great Reset agenda would have three main components. The first would steer the market toward fairer outcomes. To this end, governments should improve coordination (for example, in tax, regulatory, and fiscal policy), upgrade trade arrangements, and create the conditions for a 'stakeholder economy.' At a time of diminishing tax bases and soaring public debt, governments have a powerful incentive to pursue such action. Moreover, governments should implement long-overdue reforms that promote more equitable outcomes. Depending on the country, these may include changes to wealth taxes, the withdrawal of fossil-fuel subsidies, and new rules governing intellectual property, trade, and competition. The second component of a Great Reset agenda would ensure that investments advance shared goals, such as equality and sustainability. Here, the large-scale spending programs that many governments are implementing represent a major opportunity for progress. The European Commission, for one, has unveiled plans for a €750 billion ($826 billion) recovery fund. The US, China, and Japan also have ambitious economic-stimulus plans. Rather than using these funds, as well as investments from private entities and pension funds, to fill cracks in the old system, we should use them to create a new one that is more resilient, equitable, and sustainable in the long run. This means, for example, building 'green' urban infrastructure and creating incentives for industries to improve their track record on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. The third and final priority of a Great Reset agenda is to harness the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to support the public good, especially by addressing health and social challenges." In "Now is the time for a 'great reset'," by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, 03 Jun 2020.

 

 

Addendum of the Flavour of the Evening:   "The flavour of the evening is set by a final plenary session: a public meeting with Mr Schwab and the Chinese state councillor Hua Jianmin. Then it's off to a 'Dalian night' drinks party hosted by the Chinese region's mayor Xia Deren. Davos 07 is a conference obsessed by China. Mr Schwab's dream of spreading the message of globalisation has been far more successful than he could have ever wished or hoped for back at that first conference in 1971. Witness the two cocktail parties that follow: one hosted by the Russians and the other by the Americans. His day closes with a reception hosted by Rupert Murdoch." In "Klaus Schwab: The secret of Schwab's success - A day in the life: Everyone queues to shake the hand of the man who chairs the World Economic Forum," by Susie Mesure, Independent UK, 27 January 2007.

 

Addendum of the Distaste of Globalization:    "Klaus Schwab is a very dangerous man, and a typical academic who thinks talking to the average person on the street is pointless since we are all stupid. Schwab, who is the founder of the Davos World Economic Forum, now has the audacity to warn that a failure to tackle the deep-rooted ills of our society in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic could exacerbate the risk of “violent shocks,” such as conflicts and revolutions. In other words, we MUST accept his Great Reset. He is in league with Bill Gates and others and sees no problem with destroying jobs and sharply reducing the food supply all to further his nonsense to stop global warming when CO2 is only 0.04% of the atmosphere. There is no way to avoid civil unrest, global economic disputes, and the risk of international war all because Schwab and his friends are so arrogant that they think their delusions can redesign the world economy." In "Can Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum Ever Be Trusted?" by Martin Armstrong, Armstrong Economics, 23 July 2020.

 

Addendum of a Davos/WEF Reset Player:    "Follow the money. And we can expect that the New York Times will cheer BlackRock on as it destroys the world financial structures. Since 2017 BlackRock has been the paper’s largest shareholder. Carlos Slim was second largest. Even Carl Icahn, a ruthless Wall Street asset stripper, once called BlackRock, 'an extremely dangerous company… I used to say, you know, the mafia has a better code of ethics than you guys'." In "There is More to BlackRock Than You Might Imagine," by F. William Engdahl, New Eastern Outlook, 18 June 2021.

 

Consider the Unconsidered:   Economics 101

 

Addendum of Echoes from the Past:    "The importance of the State is rapidly growing. The so-called crisis can only be settled by State action and within the orbit of the State. Where are the shades of the Jules Simons who, in the early days of liberalism proclaimed that the 'State should endeavor to render itself useless and prepare to hand in its resignation'? Or of the MacCullochs who, in the second half of last century, urged that the State should desist from governing too much? And what of the English Bentham who considered that all industry asked of government was to be left alone, and of the German Humbolt who expressed the opinion that the best government was a 'lazy' one? What would they say now to the unceasing, inevitable, and urgently requested interventions of government in business? It is true that the second generation of economists was less uncompromising in this respect than the first, and that even Adam Smith left the door ajar - however cautiously - for government intervention in business. If liberalism spells individualism, Fascism spells government." In " The Doctrine of Fascism," Benito Mussolini, 1932.

 

Consider the Question:   Should government be limited?

 

Addendum of a Cardinal's Sermon:   " 'We come to Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day with troubled and heavy hearts. Our nation is going through a crisis which threatens its very future as free and democratic. The worldwide spread of Marxist materialism, which has already brought destruction and death to the lives of so many, and which has threatened the foundations of our nation for decades, now seems to seize the governing power over our nation," Burke began his sermon." In "Cardinal Burke: Forces of the 'Great Reset' have used COVID to advance 'evil agenda', by Kevin Edward White, Catholic Citizen of Illinois, 14 December 2020 .   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Consider Whom One Should Believe:   I Shall Believe the Socialist

 

Addendum of Carney's Electrified Reset:   "When it comes to the COVID crisis, writes Carney, 'We are living Lenin’s observation that there are 'decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen'.' Strange that Carney would cite one of the most ruthless murderers in history for this rather bland insight, but then Carney's Agenda is not without its own parallels to Lenin (minus, one presumes, the precondition of rampant bloodshed). Although Vladimir Lenin didn't know much about business or economics, he declared that 'Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country.' Carney's plan is global. 'We need,' he claims, 'to electrify everything and turn electricity generation green.' The problem is that wind- and solar-powered electricity needs both hefty government subsidies and fossil-fuel backup for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Green electricity is inflexible, expensive and disruptive to grids." In "Mark Carney, man of destiny, arises to revolutionize society. It won't be pleasant, What Carney ultimately wants is a technocratic dictatorship justified by climate alarmism," by Peter Foster, National Post, Canada, 5 June 2021.

 

Consider Lenin's Observation and Carneys' Dreams:   Sheer Ignorance

 

NOTE   [ 1 ]    " 'Then there is the mysterious Wuhan virus about whose nature and prevention the mass media daily give us conflicting information. What is clear, however, is that it has been used by certain forces, inimical to families and to the freedom of nations, to advance their evil agenda. These forces tell us that we are now the subjects of the so-called 'Great Reset,' the 'new normal,' which is dictated to us by their manipulation of citizens and nations through ignorance and fear,' said the cardinal."

 

 

---

 

Politics advances

To advance your political tribe,
An opposing tribe must fall.
Various means and methods
Enhance the bruising brawl.

Diverse methods coalesce
To mangle as to maul
Any tribe which is not yours
Into shards and bits and spall.

Diversity is not then strength,
Not your strength at all,
When advancing your political tribe,
To conquer over all.

 

Addendum of Tribal Warfare:   "In our team-sports era of politics as tribal warfare, we’re expected to be all-in for one side or the other. Figures such as Weiss or slightly nonconforming public figures such as author J. K. Rowling (a liberal feminist who expresses some reservations about transgender orthodoxy) or Goya CEO Robert Unanue (whose firm is being boycotted because he said something nice about Donald Trump) are a problem for the cheap moralists and fanatics because they complicate the narrative, forcing partisans to face up to the fact that not every critic of transgender ideology is a right-wing evangelical bigot from Oklahoma and that some Trump supporters are Spanish-American businessmen with deep ties to the Latino community." In "For left-wing purists, moderates — not conservatives — are the true enemy," by Kevin D. Williamson, NY Post, 18 July 2020.

 

Addendum of the Party of the Economic Elite:   "In sum, the new tribal progressivism is the career ideology foremost of the wealthy and elite—a truth that many skeptical poor and middle-class minorities are now so often pilloried for pointing out. Progressives have adopted identity politics and rejected class considerations, largely because solidarity with elite minorities of similar tastes and politics excuses them from any concrete concern for, or experience with, the middle classes of all races. The Left finally proved right in its boilerplate warning that the 'plutocracy' and the 'special interests' run America: 'If you can’t beat them, outdo them.' Self-righteous progressives believe they put up with and suffer on behalf of us—and thus their irrational fury and hate for the irredeemables and conservative minorities spring from being utterly unappreciated by clueless serfs who should properly worship their betters." In "Why Are Progressives So Illiberal?" by Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness, 31 January 2021.

 

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A gaggle at Google did giggle - alleged 'unprecedented research censorship'

 

A gaggle at Google did giggle
Over AI and racism's niggle.
One may jiggle their squiggle
As Google's policies wriggle.

To extricate? Or to prevaricate?
Which Google policies complicate?
Which newly rich pseudo-potentate
Need most unequally equivocate.

Google's bright artificial thinker
With oodles of bias did tinker?
Which of the gaggle's the stinker?
Few of them seem a freethinker.

 

Addendum of Google and a Lawsuit:   "Gebru's tweets about her termination came after the U.S. National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Google, accusing the company of violating labor laws. The company was allegedly 'interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act,' according to the complaint filed Tuesday. Since Gebru's termination, Google employees are standing in solidarity with the fired researcher due to 'unprecedented research censorship,' read the website Google Walkout For Real Change. 'We call on Google Research to strengthen its commitment to research integrity and to unequivocally commit to supporting research that honors the commitments made in Google's A.I. Principles,' the website said. This is just the latest incident showing Google is getting too powerful." In "Black Google Researcher Claims She Was Fired Because She Discovered AI Is Racist Profile picture for user," by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, 4 December 2020.

 

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Lockdown Tony, like Lockdown Neil

"In an extraordinary interview with the Times (of London), Ferguson admits that if it hadn’t been for China’s example, no Western country would ever have dreamed of putting its populace under house arrest. 'Back in 2019, about the time someone was getting infected by a bat, no European country’s pandemic plans seriously entertained the prospect of putting a country on pause. 'Then, that's what China did. 'I think people's sense of what is possible in terms of control changed quite dramatically between January and March,' Professor Ferguson says.' Ferguson appears to find the idea of emulating a totalitarian state exciting rather than embarrassing or shaming because he boasts about it again later in the interview." In "Lockdowns Were Inspired by the CCP, admits Professor Pantsdown," by James Delingpole, Breitbart, 27 December 2020.

 

Lockdown Tony, like Lockdown Neil,
Thought they'd spin the steering wheel.
Turn it! Turn to clamp down hard,
Because they're right! -- that old canard.

Seedy? See Tony, see sage SAGE Neil;
They charted a course with statistical zeal,
Not seeing we'd crash upon the shoals;
To rule proved among their keenest goals.

'Do as your told' Tony, like 'pants down' Neil,
Tipped their hand, to thereby reveal
They guessed at this, then guessed at that,
Stardom for a time for each bureaucrat.

From 'ball tosser' Tony and 'often-erred' Neil
Came consequences, alas, with their locks' ordeal
Which such bright boys saw as unforeseen,
Like extinguishing a fire with some gasoline.

Part of the problem for each Tony and Neil
Is the public eye's glare which does reveal
Some white-gowned fascists' locking fist,
Masked, and gloved, and quarantined kissed.

Each Tony and each Neil, sitting center stage,
Forgot to foresee their impact, as gauge
Of the loss and scars to the commonweal;
Like giddy little school kids, did they squeal.

These are 'just' doctors doing no harm
While managing to sound a crushing alarm?
Numbers tell much in an autopsy's tale,
As each Tony and Neil sparked a global fail.

While deaths proceed, not all indeed
Are as the lockdown has decreed.
Surprise! Surprise! More suicide,
Some say is to the lockdown tied.

Lock down hard, even harder for a while,
As the white gowned and the analyst smile.
Quarantine all with curfew law,
Because they're right! -like an ass' hee-haw!

'Separation' Tony and 'breaks his rule' Neil,
And all of their devotees spin their spiel.
Consequences all for the deaths of few
Begins to be coming well into view.

 

Addendum of Neil's Part in the Problem:   "Part of the problem is that as economists, historians, and political philosophers people are telling us to stay in our lane and not comment on medical matters. In general that is good advice. But there is a problem. The computer scientists and theoretical physicists who dreamed up this lock down haven’t really had serious medical training either and they sure haven’t stayed in their lane. They certainly have cared very little for the economic implications of their plans." In "How a Free Society Deals with Pandemics, According to Legendary Epidemiologist and Smallpox Eradicator Donald Henderson," by Edward Peter Stringham, American Institute for Economic Research, 21 May 2020.   ^{[ 1 ]}

 

Addendum of Tony's Implications Unforeseen:   "Extended social isolation can have serious health implications, from heart disease and dementia to depression and death. During the pandemic, our diets and lifestyles got worse, increasing our vulnerability to the very disease that isolation is meant to help address. Our mental health suffers, too. The psychological effects of loneliness are a health risk comparable with risk obesity or smoking. Anxiety and depression have spiked since lockdown orders went into effect. The weeks immediately following them saw nearly an 18 percent jump in overdose deaths and, as of last month, more than 40 states had reported increases. One in four young adults age 18 to 25 reported seriously considering suicide within the 30-day window of a recent study. Experts fear that suicides may increase; for young Americans, these concerns are even more acute. Calls to domestic violence hotlines have soared. America’s elderly are dying from the isolation that was meant to keep them safe." In "What Has Lockdown Done to Us? Renewed restrictions may be necessary, but they have a heavy toll," by Drew Holden, NY Times, 8 December 2020.   ^{[ 2 ]}

 

Addendum of What Neil's Model Missed:  "In summary, we estimated that changes in health-seeking behaviour and the availability of and access to essential diagnostic services resulting from national pandemic measures will result in a large number of additional deaths from breast, colorectal, lung, andoesophageal cancer in the medium (1 year) and longer term (5 years). Our study results do not consider the effect of delay on other cancer types, or the additional effect of changes in treatment pathways for these cancers that are likely to substantially increase the expected avoidable deaths beyond what we have estimated. Urgent policy interventions are necessary to mitigate the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cancer. These interventions should focus on increasing routine diagnostic capacity through which up to 40% of patients with cancer are diagnosed, public health messaging that accurately conveys the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 versus the risks of not seeking healthcare advice if patients are symptomatic, and the provision of evidence-based information for clinicians to adequately manage the risks of patients to the risk and benefits of procedures during the pandemic." In "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer deaths due to delays in diagnosis in England, UK: a national, population-based, modelling study," by Camille Maringe, James Spicer, Melanie Morris, Arnie Purushotham, Ellen Nolte, Richard Sullivan, Bernard Rachet and Ajay Aggarwal, The Lancetm Oncol 2020; 21: 1023–34, July 20, 2020.
 

Addendum of Tony's Heavy Toll:   "...the station was nearly empty. 'Business is going super down here, like before we were super busy,' Patel said, adding that his boss has already reduced his hours because business is slow. Outside the shop, city buses appeared to outnumber the few customers who were waiting to board them. For many workers and students in the Chicago area, the morning commute feels like a distant memory. And that’s dealt a huge financial blow to the transit agencies who rely on fares to balance their budget, raising questions about how quickly they'll be able to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The CTA, the nation’s second-largest public transit operator, reported an 80% drop in ridership during the early months of the pandemic. For METRA, which runs commuter trains between the city and the suburbs, the drop was 90%." In "Chicago-Area Transit Agencies Face 'Drastic' Service Cuts As Pandemic Ridership Plummets," by Claudia Morell and Michael Puente, WBEZ Chicago, 18 December 2020.

 

Addendum of Impacts Not Considered:  "She doesn’t say that outright but, like many articles in the mainstream press over this year, she very carefully crafts her words to avoid the crucial subject of lockdowns as the primary cause of economic disaster. It’s possible that she actually believes this virus is what tanked the world economy on its own but that is a completely unsustainable proposition."    In "Melinda Gates Admits 'We Hadn't Really Thought Through the Economic Impacts',"   by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge,10 December 2020.    ^{[ 3 ]}

Addendum of the Impact on Small Business:  " Yel on Wednesday released its latest Economic Impact Report, revealing business closures across the U.S. are increasing as a result of the coronavirus. As of Aug. 31, some 163,735 businesses have indicated on Yelp that they have closed, a 23% increase since mid-July. According to Yelp data, permanent closures have reached 97,966, representing 60% of closed businesses that won't be reopening." In " Yelp Data Shows 60% of Business Closures Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic Are Now Permanent," by Anjali Sundaram, CNBC, 11 December 2020.    ^{[ 4 ]}

 

Addendum of a Hard Leftist's View of the Lockdown Dictatorship:   "Although a hard-leftist, López Obrador has been a prominent skeptic of excessive government power over the course of this pandemic." In "FREEDOM: Mexico’s President Says COVID Lockdowns Are 'Dictatorship'," by Eduardo Rivero, National File, 16 December 2020.

 

Addendum of Lockdowns Attack on Human Rights:   "International IDEA-s Global Monitor of COVID-19’s Impact on Democracy and Human Rights finds that more than half the countries in the world (61 per cent) had, by the end of November 2020, implemented measures to curb COVID-19 that were concerning from a democracy and human rights perspective. These violated democratic standards because they were either disproportionate, illegal, indefinite or unnecessary in relation to the health threat." In "Taking Stock of Global Democratic Trends Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic," by Global State of Democracy, Special Brief, December 2020.   ^{[ 5 ]}

 

Addendum of Lockdown Neil's Food Poverty:   "The sharp rise in food poverty is being driven by self-isolation and a lack of money as an unprecedented economic shutdown leaves millions of workers newly unemployed, furloughed or dependent on government support. 'There is a food poverty problem that has not been dealt with, and we're seeing the results of that now,' said Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation. 'On top of that, we have new problems around isolation and shortages — people are telling us they simply can’t get out to get the food they need'." In "Three million go hungry in UK because of lockdown," by Bethan Staton and Judith Evans, Financial Times, 10 April 2020.

 

Addendum of 'Lockdown' Tony's Complaint:    "The Washington Post asked Fauci if the spike in cases is the fault of America’s individualist tradition or President Donald Trump’s refusal to demand national mandates. Fauci replied that the 'independent spirit in the United States of people not wanting to comply with public health measures has certainly hurt us a bit.' Fauci also complained about people who continue to treat the virus like a 'hoax'." In "Dr. Anthony Fauci: 'Independent Spirit' in U.S. Has 'Hurt Us' During Pandemic," by Charlie Spiering, Breitbart, 17 Dec 2020.   ^{[ 6 ]}

 

Addendum of Death Inside Lockdowns:   "But those on the front lines of the field say they believe serious mental health issues have increased dramatically as some people have despaired, lost hope and isolation has set in because of mandatory lockdowns to prevent the virus spread and social distancing precautions followed." In "COVID's heavy toll: Depression, suicides, opioid overdoses increase in pandemic era," by Jay Greene, Crain's Detroit, 4 October 2020.    ^{[ 7 ]}

 

Addendum of a Main Sources for New Claims:   "In the few days since the measures were announced, Ferguson has become the main source for claims that the new variant 'has a higher propensity to infect children,' though he has also stated that 'we haven't established any sort of causality on that, but we can see it in the data.' However, he also notes that 'we will need to gather more data' to actually determine if children are more easily infected by the new strain. Another NERVTAG member and also a professor from Imperial College, Wendy Barclay, also repeated the unproven claim that the new variant increasingly infects children, stating that 'children are, perhaps, equally susceptible to this virus as adults.' Barclay's laboratory at the Imperial College is funded by the UK government and the Wellcome Trust." In "Another Flawed Data Model from Imperial College to Blame for Latest UK Lockdown," by Whitney Webb, Last American Vagabond, 22 December 2020.

 

Addendum of Lockdowns Harming the World's Poor:   "Lockdowns have put many sustainable development goals out of reach. In many parts of the world there have been interruptions in childhood vaccinations, education, detection and treatment of infectious diseases (for example, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV), and prevention of under 5-year-old and maternal mortality, projected to cost many millions of lives in the coming years. These interruptions in economic activity and supply chains are estimated to cause more than 83 million people to become food insecure, and over 70 million people to enter severe poverty (living on less than US$1.90/day), both likely to cost many more millions of lives in the coming years. Violence against women, including intimate partner violence, female genital mutilation, and child marriage are projected to also increase by many millions of cases." In "Rethinking lockdowns: The risks and trade-offs of public health measures to prevent COVID-19 infections," by Ari Joffe, Commentary, December 2020.  ^{[ 8 ]}

 

Addendum of Fattening the World's Rich:    "One notable new billionaires is Uğur Şahin, the physician who co-founded BioNTech, which helped develop the Pfizer vaccine. Another notable new billionaire is Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna." In "Cashing in on COVID: Pandemic turns 50 doctors and scientists into BILLIONAIRES - with more than half hailing from China, Forbes reveals," by Valerie Edwards, Daily Mail, 27 December 2020.

 

Addendum of a Willingness to Mislead the Public:   "Fauci had previously admitted that in the spring, during the early phase of the pandemic, he misled the public about the efficacy of face masks in limiting the spread of COVID-19. Fauci's admission that he tailored his herd immunity threshold estimate to PR needs drew the ire of Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford University. Bhattacharya is a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for replacing 'devastating' coronavirus lockdown policies with a new, less restrictive strategy. 'Dr. Fauci's apparent willingness to mislead the public in support of his preferred policy objective should disqualify him from providing public policy advice in any official capacity,' Bhattacharya told Just the News on Monday. 'Dr. Fauci's advice throughout the epidemic has ignored the science regarding the devastating physical and psychological harms of the lockdowns, to which he seems utterly blind. For a policy advisor, science should inform policy preference, not the other way around'." In "Trust science? Fauci's admission he misled public puts scrutiny on Biden alliance," by Carrie Sheffield, Just the News, 29 December 2020.

 

Addendum of the Attack on Democracy:   "Democracy has been one of the victims of the pandemic. Governments across the world have been using the wider conditions created by the pandemic to both expand executive power and restrict individual rights. Whether these developments prove to be temporary or, as many suspect, more long-term in their effects remains to be seen. Aspects of democratic practice that have already been significantly impacted by anti-pandemic measures include the exercise of fundamental rights (notably freedom of assembly and free speech). Some countries have also seen deepened religious polarization and discrimination. Women, vulnerable groups, and ethnic and religious minorities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and discriminated against in the enforcement of lockdowns. There have been disruptions of electoral processes, increased state surveillance in some countries, and increased military influence." In "Taking Stock of Global Democratic Trends Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic," The Global State of Democracy, IDEA, Special Brief, December 2020.

 

Addendum of Cutting Into Small Businesses:   "A popular gauge of small-business confidence in the US sank to a seven-month low in December as stricter lockdown measures and climbing daily case counts cut into economic activity. The National Federation of Independent Businesses' index of small-business optimism fell 5.5 points last month to 95.9, according to a Tuesday release. The reading lands below the average index value since 1978 of 98 and marks the lowest level since May. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the gauge to dip slightly to 100.2." In "US small-business optimism tumbles to 7-month low as COVID-19 restrictions curb activity," by Ben Winck, Business Insider/MSN, 12 January 2021.

 

Addendum of Devastating Effects:   "Bhattacharya, who made the comments during an interview with the Daily Clout, co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, a petition that calls for the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, claiming that they are 'producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health.' As of Monday, the Great Barrington Declaration has received signatures from over 13,000 medical and public health scientists, more than 41,000 medical practitioners and at least 754,399 'concerned citizens'." In "Jay Bhattacharya, Stanford Doctor, Calls Lockdowns the 'Biggest Public Health Mistake We've Ever Made'," by Matthew Impelli, Newsweek, 8 March 2021.

 

Addendum of  The Pope of COVID, Fauci XIX:   " 'When you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, then you’ve got to make a judgment call.' Yes, Anthony Fauci actually said that. On national TV. Well, on CNN, at least. Isn't that great? Hey now, don't worry about all those pesky numbers and all that confusing technical jargon. Just trust the guy who knows what he's talking about because he says he knows what he's talking about. Who do you think you are, anyway? Are you a scientist? No? Then shut up and do as you’re told. This isn’t science. This is religion. Fauci has styled himself as the Pope of COVID...." In "I Am Really Freaking Sick of Anthony Fauci," by Jim Treacher, PJ Media, 10 March 2021.

 

Addendum of Analyzing More Assumptions and Estimates:    "There's some uncertainty around that depending on assumptions and how you analyse the data, between about 30 per cent and maybe even up to 100 per cent more transmissible'. Professor Ferguson said 60 per cent is 'a good central estimate' at the moment." In "'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson warns Indian variant is between 30% and 100% more infectious and twice as likely to cause hospitalisation in the unvaccinated compared to Kent strain as battle continues over June 21 Freedom Day," by Connor Boyd and Jack Wright, Mail Online, 3 June 2021.

 

NOTES   [ 1 ]   Stringham writes:  "Here is the riveting conclusion: 'Experience has shown that communities faced with epidemics or other adverse events respond best and with the least anxiety when the normal social functioning of the community is least disrupted. Strong political and public health leadership to provide reassurance and to ensure that needed medical care services are provided are critical elements. If either is seen to be less than optimal, a manageable epidemic could move toward catastrophe'."   [ 2 ]    Mental health? Indeed.  One reads:   " 'I am deeply concerned about the long-term impact on our children and young people both of lockdowns and mass testing. Face-to-face interaction and play is vital for healthy development from tots to teens,' Townsend told me a recent interview. 'Living in a constant state of threat will have impacts on mental health and development also. I think mass testing will exacerbate this fear. Mass testing will perpetuate restrictive measures - this is a scientifically unsound and unethical screening program. Lockdowns are a disaster for the young and the disadvantaged'. Townsend adds that these lockdown harms are not only temporary during the pandemic. They can have lasting effects. “We know that loneliness is being felt more acutely by young people than older people in this crisis. The mental health impacts of loneliness can last for up to 9 years,” she says." In "Children’s Mental Health Deteriorated 'Substantially' During Lockdown - The new University of Cambridge paper is the first longitudinal study to trace the mental health effects of lockdowns and social isolation on younger children," by Kerry McDonald, Foundation for Economic Freedom, 11 December 2020.   Spikes in Suicide and Depression         "...the Centers for Disease Control found that 1 in 4 young Americans considered suicide this past summer amid life under lockdown and unprecedented levels of social isolation. In one anecdote that painfully demonstrates this broader trend, a California hospital doctor told local news in May that during lockdown he witnessed 'a year's worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks'. ...It’s certainly true that we can’t solely attribute the burgeoning mental health crisis to the lockdowns. But there’s no denying the intuitive and demonstrable fact that confining people to their homes and stripping away their livelihoods has driven the spikes in suicide and depression. How could it not?" In "Gallup Poll: Americans’ Mental Health Hits 20-Year Low Ahead of Renewed Lockdowns," by Brad Palumbo, FEE, 7 December 2020.   [ 3 ]   More:  "Further, her comments provide a perfect illustration of the core problem all along: most of the people who have been advocating lockdowns in fact have no actual experience in managing pandemics. To many of these, Covid-19 became their new playground to try out an unprecedented experiment in social and economic management: shutting down travel, businesses, schools, churches, and issuing stay-at-home orders that smack of totalitarian impositions. Here is what she says: 'You can project out and think about what a pandemic might be like or look like, but until you live through it, it’s pretty hard to know what the reality will be like. So I think we predicted quite well that, depending on what the disease was, it could spread very, very, very quickly. The spread did not surprise us. What did surprise us is we hadn’t really thought through the economic impacts. What happens when you have a pandemic that’s running rampant in populations all over the world? The fact that we would all be home, and working from home if we were lucky enough to do that. That was a piece that I think we hadn’t really prepared for'."         To highlight by repetition:   "...we hadn’t really thought through the economic impacts."   [ 4 ]   Economic impacts?  Not really thought about them? Really?         "Restaurant owner, John Kouretas, says he's staying open to make sure his employees remain employed and can pay their bills. 'If you lock it down, they have no place to go,' Kouretas said. 'How are they going to survive?' Kouretas said he has spent at least $10,000 outfitting an outdoor patio and if he's forced to close, his 40 year business may go under. But he's most concerned with his employees who he says are like children to him. 'It's like throwing your children out on the street. Would you throw your children out on the street? I don't think so. It's the same thing,' Kouretas said." In "Hollister restaurant defies stay at home order, city says it has limited enforcement," by Christopher Salas, KSBW-TV, Dec 12, 2020   Tony's Considerable Hit             A like manner:   "Retail and restaurants have also taken a considerable hit under COVID-19 safety restrictions this year, the company said. There was 33 percent less retail foot traffic compared to last year and 34 percent fewer people in restaurants. Unacast blamed those numbers on new residents earning less. 'The popular interpretation is that this is foot traffic-related, but a tertiary cause is net outflow in city neighborhood populations everywhere, coupled with a reduction in average income and therefore reduced buying power,' it said. Unacast's analysis comes after apartment vacancies in Manhattan hit a 14-year high last month, with more than 16,000 spaces empty. 'The big question is, 'How does real estate and retail in particular adapt to that?' said Walle." In " NYC’s mass COVID-19 exodus cost $34B in lost income, study says," by Lia Eustachewich, New York Post, 15 December 2020.           Spin it any way you want, it's still loss. "San Francisco experienced a 43% year-over-year decline in sales tax revenues during the pandemic, which has been credited to an exodus from the expensive city. San Francisco’s chief economist Ted Egan attributed the drop in revenue that occurred between April and June to a flight of individuals from the city, rather than a decline in activity due to the pandemic." In "San Francisco tax revenue plunge points to resident exodus," by Brittany De Lea, Fox News, 9 October 2020.   Ordering the Toughest Lockdown?             "Starting at 10 p.m. this Sunday, San Francisco will close all outdoor dining (Indoor dining was already banned), outdoor playgrounds, zoos and aquariums along with other measures, according to a statement on the mayor's website. 'Low contact retail such as pet grooming, electronics or shoe repair services, may only operate in a curbside drop-off context,' the statement read. 'All other retail, including grocery stores must reduce capacity to 20 per cent'." In "San Francisco orders America's toughest lockdown to fight COVID surge," by Dan Whitcomb and Doina Chiacu, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 December 2020.           "The current coronavirus-induced recession has hit low-income workers the hardest, while higher-income workers, largely able to work from home, have escaped relatively unscathed. And the extent of the job losses among low-wage workers — particularly African Americans, Latinos, workers without college degrees and women — has remained worryingly high through the fall, researchers found. This could be 'exacerbating that kind of pattern of recession and recovery that’s worse for low-income families,' said lead author Sarah Bohn, PPIC's vice president of research. 'In fact, these unemployment rate differences across income are a bit worse today than they were during the Great Recession'." In "Coronavirus Erases Recent Wage Gains for Many California Workers, Report Finds," by Jackie Botts, KQED, 16 December 2020.   Non-Essential, says Neil's Essential Government          "For two generations society has been built of the concept of the regular wage earner. Housing, commercial development and politics have all been based on the presumption that most people will have regular jobs, bringing in regular incomes, and that they can expect this to continue until they retire. This presumption was being put under considerable strain before COVID-19. Where once a single wage earner could buy and keep a home for their family, now two full-time incomes aren’t enough to enable people to own their own homes in the cities where they can earn that much. Employers are resorting ever more to temporary workers or zero hours and at will contracts because they can't afford to pay pensions or benefits, and the inexorable march of a 'free market' only free for a chosen few has eroded many of the certainties a prospering economy is supposed to provide. COVID-19 has changed the game further. It was bad enough that politicians from the same parties that created an “us and them” attitude were now exploiting the problems of the same people they themselves had excluded as unworthy. Now those same politicians are wrecking economies with lockdowns – which may be necessary for health reasons (or not) but are rather an attempt to ensure that no one can have a future, unless the few that can provide one toe the political line." In "The Nexus: 'COVID-19, Gig Economy or Expendable Employees'," by Seth Ferris, New Eastern Outlook, 11 December 2020.   Guarantees flow "...into to pockets of the super-rich?"          Moreover, "In the wake of the pandemic, £350 billion was funnelled into the pockets of the super-rich in business guarantees. However, less than a third of that sum (£100 billion) has been used to support the millions of working people who have lost their incomes. As a result, the JRF expects the number of people facing destitution to double. This means an estimated two million families, including a million children, face a serious struggle for life itself. The worst affected are working people who have lost their income during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly young workers, and those in the lowest-paid jobs, who were already in a precarious financial situation, unable to cope with any unexpected costs or changes to their working situation." In "Over 800,000 workers fall off payrolls, as poverty rockets in Britain," by Julia Callaghan, World Socialist Web Site, 17 December 2020.   [ 5 ]     From the report as Similar Worldwide Coverage:  According to the Sweden-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), 61 percent of countries had by the end of November 2020 implemented measures to curb Covid-19 'that were concerning from a democracy and human rights perspective.' 'These violated democratic standards because they were either disproportionate, illegal, indefinite or unnecessary in relation to the health threat,' it said in a report." In "Freedom: another casualty of Covid-19 pandemic," France 24 / Agence France Presse, 16 December 2020.   A Permanent State of Emergency           This added:  "Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben has argued 'the voluntary creation of a permanent state of emergency -- even if it is not declared in the technical sense -- has become one of the essential practices of contemporary states, including those that are supposedly democratic'."   [ 6 ]    " 'Stay at home as much as you can, keep your interactions to the extent possible to members of the same household,' Fauci said. 'This cannot be business as usual this Christmas because we're already in a very difficult situation, and we're going to make it worse, if we don't do something about it.' Fauci urged resilience, qualifying that the pandemic is 'an unusual situation' and is 'not going to last forever'." In "Fauci tells Americans not to see their kids for Christmas," by Bradford Betz, Fox News, 16 December 2020.         Fauci worries about those who are of "independent" spirit, and wanting to do "business as usual," and those beginning to think of his pandemic and lockdown as something of a "hoax."  And yet his colleague, Dr. Birx, alongside many politicians, did not limit "interactions" when they wished, like Neil Ferguson, to break the "rule."         Detail:   "Kathleen Flynn, whose brother is married to Birx’s daughter who lives in the Potomac house, said she brought forward information about Birx's situation out of concern for her own parents, and acknowledged family friction over the matter. 'She cavalierly violated her own guidance,' Flynn said of Birx." In "Dr. Deborah Birx Visited Family Despite Own Travel Warning," by Associated Press, 20 December 2020.   "Only?"           One reads:  "Only 38% of all-cause excess deaths in adults aged 25 to 44 years recorded during the pandemic were attributed directly to COVID-19. Although the remaining excess deaths are unexplained, inadequate testing in this otherwise healthy demographic likely contributed. These results suggest that COVID-19–related mortality may have been under detected in this population." In "All-Cause Excess Mortality and COVID-19–Related Mortality Among US Adults Aged 25-44 Years, March-July 2020," by Jeremy Samuel Faust, MD; Harlan M. Krumholz, MD; Chengan Du, PhD; et al. Journal of the American Medical Association, 16 December 2020.         Some think there has been "inadequate testing," and mortality "under detected." Others are skeptical, as COVID-19 tallies wrap into them influenza and pneumonia deaths as "COVID" deaths.   Inaccurate Projections Related to COVID-19           One reads:   "In an 'Opinion' piece (though, we must confess, these sound more like facts to us), Bloomberg writer Justin Fox declares that the 'Twindemic' can be relegated to the scrap heap of inaccurate projections related to COVID-19. He starts by pointing out that by virtually every measure, flu cases in the US (and also in Europe, Australia and elsewhere) have fallen substantially since the beginning of the pandemic." In "Did COVID Murder The Flu?" by Tyler Durden, Investing Matters, 15 December 2020.   The lockdown -- 'unprecedented in public health history' -- led to human rights violations           In regard to the pandemic supposedly begun in Wuha, Province, China:    "...Xi personally authorized the lockdown of Hubei province based on his philosophy of fangkong, the same hybrid of health and security policy that inspired the reeducation and 'quarantine' of over 1 million Uighur Muslims 'infected with extremism' in Xinjiang. The World Health Organization’s representative in China noted that 'trying to contain a city of 11 million people is new to science … The lockdown of 11 million people is unprecedented in public health history, so it is certainly not a recommendation the WHO has made.' The CCP confined 57 million Hubei residents to their homes. At the time, human rights observers expressed concerns. As one expert told The New York Times, 'the shutdown would almost certainly lead to human rights violations and would be patently unconstitutional in the United States'. Regardless, on Jan. 29, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom said he was 'very impressed and encouraged by the president [Xi Jinping]'s detailed knowledge of the outbreak' and the next day praised China for 'setting a new standard for outbreak response.' Yet only six days in, the lockdown—'unprecedented in public health history'—had produced no results, so Tedros was praising human rights abuses with nothing to show for them." In "China’s Global Lockdown Propaganda Campaign -Inside the CCP’s use of social media bots and other disinformation tactics to promote its own response to the coronavirus pandemic and attack its critics," by Michael P. Senger, Tablet, 15 September 2020.   Flooding Social Media           Senger continues:  "International COVID-19 hysteria began around Jan. 23, when 'leaked' videos from Wuhan began flooding international social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—all of which are blocked in China—allegedly showing the horrors of Wuhan's epidemic and the seriousness of its lockdown."   Looking Back to March 2020           One looks back:   "We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. Test every suspected case." In "WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 16 March 2020, WHO, 16 March 2020.         A reflection on that messaging:  "The WHO message 'test, test, test' is important from a population perspective; low sensitivity can be accounted for when assessing burden of disease. However RT-PCR tests have limitations when used to guide decision making for individual patients. Positive tests can be useful to 'rule-in' covid-19, a negative swab test cannot be considered definitive for 'ruling out'." In "Interpreting a covid-19 test result," by Jessica Watson, GP and National Institute for Health Research doctoral research fellow, Penny F Whiting, associate professor in clinical epidemiology, John E Brush, professor of internal medicine, BMJ 2020; 369:m1808, 12 May 2020.         Positive rule in, while a negative cannot rule out. Such is the argument. Is the argument then, 'yes is yes, and no might also be yes?' Did China test? Yes? Or no?   Numbers and "Alleged" Horrors           Almost a year after the outbreak, Johns Hopkins' "COVID-19 dashboard" details COVID-19 deaths in China as a mere "4,762." Detail below:               Worldometer follows suite on the same date, 18 December 2020, with a similar number, detail below:             Given a country with a population of 1,439,323,776 reports COVID-19 deaths of 4,634 (the number accessed on the same is accepted by Johns Hopkins and other sites) seems arguably something of a "hoax" might well be considered, when compared to other nations represented in the same reports. Such reported numbers, whether for the USA at supposedly over 300,000 or for China at less than 5,000), seem anomalies of high order, when examined alongside one another.   Only 4,634 Chinese COVID-19 Deaths in About One Year, So It's Said           Additionally, one reads of China:  "At a time when digital media is deepening social divides in Western democracies, China is manipulating online discourse to enforce the Communist Party’s consensus. To stage-manage what appeared on the Chinese internet early this year, the authorities issued strict commands on the content and tone of news coverage, directed paid trolls to inundate social media with party-line blather and deployed security forces to muzzle unsanctioned voices. Though China makes no secret of its belief in rigid internet controls, the documents convey just how much behind-the-scenes effort is involved in maintaining a tight grip. It takes an enormous bureaucracy, armies of people, specialized technology made by private contractors, the constant monitoring of digital news outlets and social media platforms — and, presumably, lots of money." In "Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus," by Raymond Zhong, Paul Mozur, Aaron Krolik, and Keff Kao, ProPublica, 19 December 2020.   Weaponized Censorship - a Huge Thing           The ProPublica article adds:   " 'China has a politically weaponized system of censorship; it is refined, organized, coordinated and supported by the state’s resources,' said Xiao Qiang, a research scientist at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley, and the founder of China Digital Times. 'It's not just for deleting something. They also have a powerful apparatus to construct a narrative and aim it at any target with huge scale'. 'This is a huge thing,' he added. 'No other country has that'."   "Test, test, test and Find" a "very low (0.303/10,000)" Number of Cases?           Further one finds:   "...the detection rate of asymptomatic positive cases in the post-lockdown Wuhan was very low (0.303/10,000), and there was no evidence that the identified asymptomatic positive cases were infectious. These findings enabled decision makers to adjust prevention and control strategies in the post-lockdown period. Further studies are required to fully evaluate the impacts and cost-effectiveness of the citywide screening of SARS-CoV-2 infections on population’s health, health behaviours, economy, and society." In "Post-lockdown SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening in nearly ten million residents of Wuhan, China," by Shiyi Cao, Yong Gan, Chao Wang, Max Bachman, Shanbo Wei, Jie Gong, Yuchai Huang, Tiantian Wang, Liqing Li, Kai Lu, Heng Jiang, Yanhong Gong, Hongbin Xu, Xin Shen, Qingfeng Tian, Chuanzhu Lv, Fujian Song, Xiaoxv Yin & Zuxun Lu, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2020.         From an initial outbreak in Wuhan, so it was said - a splash in the media - the pandemic seems to have morphed a number of times, from deaths to cases and beyond. Looking back into how the numbers, as above, have been assembled, one finds documentation:   The New Codes and "Involving"           As the COVID-19 pandemic began to take shape, in March the WHO created a new code, U07.1, which the CDC shows on its tally as "deaths involving COVID-19." From the WHO's "INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR CERTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION (CODING) OF COVID-19 AS CAUSE OF DEATH," 16 April 2020, one reads, "Although both categories, U07.1 (COVID-19, virus identified) and U07.2 (COVID-19, virus not identified) are suitable for cause of death coding, it is recognized that in many countries detail as to the laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 will NOT be reported on the death certificate. In the absence of this detail, it is recommended, for mortality purposes only, to code COVID-19 provisionally to U07.1 unless it is stated as 'probable' or 'suspected'."         Thus one finds the guidance for classification includes the "probable" and the "suspected," as well as mention of "not identified" falling into the recommended taxonomy -- a COVID-19 death. The WHO's document continued: "Therefore, always apply these instructions, whether they can be considered medically correct or not. Individual countries should not correct what is assumed to be an error, since changes at the national level will lead to data that are less comparable to data from other countries, and thus less useful for analysis." The first graphic example on page 9 of that document, under section entitled "C – Comorbidities" shows how to take "suspected COVID-19" as U7.02 and move around entries on the form make acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia into a COVID-19 death.         Why not turn a COVID-19 entry into an acute respiratory distress death? Because that is not the intended purpose of U7.01, which seems to bundle many "co-morbidities" into the one classification, which would procedurally amplify the "toll" of one classification, which also gathers in the "suspected," the probable," and the "not identified."         Even so, the simple data of COVID-19 deaths' relationship to an overall population strips away the "suspected," the "probable" and the "not identified" and looks only at gathered statistics now reported as they relate to population. Or maybe not as one considers the December numbers for "leaders" in deaths, but for the largest population of all nations:.     Worldometer screen shot detail, 18 Dec 2020           The western media shrieks of the massive number in the Unites States, yet takes no notice and shows no interest in the above in generating lockdowns' justifications. China's numbers are inexplicable.         Coupling this data with reports of massive losses for small business affecting minorities, food "poverty," mental despair and suicides, along with result loss of democratic freedoms and the description of Western governments now acting as dictatorships, skepticism is more than warranted.   Inexplicable Change of a WHO Definition           And then it is noticed that the WHO is re-defining a concept:   "The World Health Organization, for reasons unknown, has suddenly changed its definition of a core conception of immunology: herd immunity. ...That is why the Great Barrington Declaration, written by three of the world’s preeminent epidemiologists and which advocated embracing the phenomenon of herd immunity as a way of protecting the vulnerable and minimizing harms to society, was met with such venom. Now we see the WHO, too, succumbing to political pressure. This is the only rational explanation for changing the definition of herd immunity that has existed for the past century. The science has not changed; only the politics have. And that is precisely why it is so dangerous and deadly to subject virus management to the forces of politics. Eventually the science too bends to the duplicitous character of the political industry. When the existing textbooks that students use in college contradict the latest official pronouncements from the authorities during a crisis in which the ruling class is clearly attempting to seize permanent power, we’ve got a problem." In "WHO Deletes Naturally Acquired Immunity from Its Website," by Jeffrey A. Tucker, AIER, 23 December 2020.   Deleting "Immunity Developed Through Previous Infection"           Checking this, one cites the WHO's earlier statement:  The now-deleted WHO statement: "Herd immunity is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection. This means that even people who haven’t been infected, or in whom an infection hasn’t triggered an immune response, they are protected because people around them who are immune can act as buffers between them and an infected person. The threshold for establishing herd immunity for COVID-19 is not yet clear."   Emphasize Vaccination, De-emphasize the Natural Human Immune System           The now-amended WHO text reads, in part:   "As more people in a community get vaccinated, fewer people remain vulnerable, and there is less possibility for passing the pathogen on from person to person. Lowering the possibility for a pathogen to circulate in the community protects those who cannot be vaccinated due to other serious health conditions from the disease targeted by the vaccine. This is called 'herd immunity'. 'Herd immunity' exists when a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, making it difficult for infectious diseases to spread, because there are not many people who can be infected."   Emphasize the Alarm -- Inaccurately?         Looking back at the WHO's statements, one finds reported:   "Many people were alarmed, then, when the World Health Organization announced in March that COVID-19 has killed 3.4% of the people who have caught it so far—a mortality rate far higher than not only the seasonal flu, but also higher than earlier COVID-19 mortality estimates, which were around 2%. That estimate may say more about the inherent uncertainty in making these sorts of calculations during an evolving outbreak than it does about the true deadliness of COVID-19." In "The WHO Estimated COVID-19 Mortality at 3.4%. That Doesn't Tell the Whole Story," by Jamie Ducharme and Elijah Wolfson, TIME, 9 March 2020.   Between 97% and 99.75% Recovery Rate -- Before Vaccinations Were Approved           The early estimates were alarming and wrong.  One finds:   "Most people who get COVID-19, the disease caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, will have only mild illness. But what exactly does that mean? Mild COVID-19 cases still can make you feel lousy. But you should be able to rest at home and recover fully without a trip to the hospital. Here’s what to expect and how to take care of yourself. Scientists and researchers are constantly tracking infections and recoveries. But they have data only on confirmed cases, so they can’t count people who don’t get COVID-19 tests. Experts also don’t have information about the outcome of every infection. However, early estimates predict that the overall COVID-19 recovery rate is between 97% and 99.75%." In "Coronavirus Recovery, WebMD, accessed 24 December 2020.         As to a possible partial "hoax" mixing elements of truth with elements from fantasy, one might consider how some did:   Divine the panic  and then how Divine was the panic - sometime later.         The names, Neil and Tony, may be found center stage, and in the background stand the WHO and Communist China with its December 2020 report of less than five thousand fatalities.   [ 7 ]    Exacerbation is the applicable verb, as one considers this Tony and Neil "lockdown" era.   Locking In Isolation, Financial Strain and an Eroding Society           "The pandemic, for many Americans, has exacerbated already-stressful scenarios -- deaths of loved ones, illnesses, loss of income -- according to psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe. Additionally, stay-at-home orders and school closures -- important actions to prevent virus spread -- created downstream consequences such as social isolation, eroding support networks and additional financial strain." In "Predictions of more suicides, overdoses and domestic abuse during COVID are coming true, Isolation, economic pressure and family conflict all are major contributors," by Dr. Yalda Safai, ABC News, 28 October 2020.         " A record 621 people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco so far this year, a staggering number that far outpaces the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen thus far." In " Staggering surge in drug overdose deaths far outpace COVID-19 fatalities in San Francisco," Associated Press, 19 December 2020.   Ravaging the City, One of Many and in Many Nations           "After closing two massive budget holes this year, San Francisco faces a new deficit of $653.2 million over the next two fiscal years as COVID-19 surges and a strict economic shutdown continues to ravage the city’s finances." In " 'Tough choices': San Francisco faces massive budget deficit that could force layoffs (19,000 employees make over $150K per year)," by Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 December 2020.         One wonders whether "contributors" Tony or Neil have considered such "staggering" numbers?  If so, one wonders what their prescription for their cure is.   [ 8 ]      The article notes additionally of the destructive consequences to the "first" world as well:  In high-income countries other collateral damage from lockdowns is occurring. Fear of attending hospitals resulted in 50 percent declines in visits for heart attacks and strokes, meaning missed opportunity for time-critical treatments. ‘Non-urgent’ surgery and cancer diagnosis/treatment were delayed, with backlogs that will take years of catch-up and untold effects on prognoses. Of excess mortality during the pandemic, 20-50 percent has not been due to COVID-19 (see Kontis et al. 2020; Docherty et all 2020; and Postill et al 2020); much of that excess is likely attributable to these collateral effects. An unexplained increase in deaths of people with dementia in the US and UK also likely arose from deterioration due to loneliness. Over time, suicide, depression, alcohol use disorder, childhood trauma due to domestic violence, changes in marital status, and social isolation are projected to cause millions of years of life lost in Canada alone."             All of such consequences may be laid at the feet of the lockdown enthusiasts who, quite like the quote from Melinda Gates above, seemed to have had no "divination" about the economic and societal distress they would have encouraged to "save" lives, by destroying others.         Such has been so often -- and too often -- one consequence of The Privileges of Intellectuals .