Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Trump’s Chaotic Management Style

Donald Trump’s White House – under the strong influence of tear-the-government-down agitator Steve Bannon – is doing exactly that with a chaotic policy style, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains. By Paul R. Pillar The fiasco of President Trump’s…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-chaotic-management-style.html

Rising Resistance to Trump on Immigration

President Trump has stirred up anger over his provocative executive orders targeting immigrants, both undocumented people inside the U.S. and arrivals from seven mostly Muslim nations, as Dennis J Bernstein describes. By Dennis J Bernstein A grassroots rebellion against President…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/rising-resistance-to-trump-on.html

Monday, January 30, 2017

Trump Quiets Some Russian Doubts

President Trump’s weekend phone call to President Putin seems to have quieted some of Russia’s concerns about the unpredictability of the real-estate-mogul-turned-politician, reports Gilbert Doctorow. By Gilbert Doctorow Donald Trump’s desire to establish constructive working relations with Russia got off…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trump-quiets-some-russian-doubts.html

If You Call This a ‘Muslim Ban,’ You Are a Shameless Liar

I’m not going to bother with an in depth breakdown of Trump’s Executive Order on immigration. Plenty of those have already been written, and a few of them are even accurate (examples: here and here). I have only a few random points that need to be emphasized:

1. EVERYONE CALM DOWN.

I wasn’t able to pay very close attention to the news this weekend, so I witnessed the hysterical meltdown over the Executive Order before I’d had a chance to read the actual text (a step that 98 percent of the protesters have clearly not taken). From the way the Left went into full meltdown mode, you’d think that Trump took some kind of extreme, incredible, unthinkable step. That is, you might come to that conclusion if you hadn’t noticed that the Left is now in a state of perpetual nuclear meltdown. The Fukushima meltdown went on for three days; the Left’s own nuclear meltdown is sure to outlast that by a factor of a thousand.

Trump’s action here is certainly more than Obama ever did or ever would do, but it’s not entirely unprecedented even by Obama’s standards. As has been pointed out many times since Friday, Obama put a temporary hold on the Iraqi refugee program for 6 months back in 2011. If you happened to be in an airport after Obama signed that order, you may have noticed the complete lack of protesting going on. On second thought, you probably would not have noticed because, back in those ancient times, you never would have expected to see a national panic over a reasonable measure meant to ensure that terrorists aren’t entering the country. But those were also the days when Obama could assassinate US citizens without the Left uttering a word or protest. They were more easy going back then, it seems. I wonder why?

Anyway, yes, Trump’s order goes beyond Obama’s. Trump is putting a hold on the Syrian refugee program until the process can be revamped and security measures are put in place. He’s also suspending all refugee admissions for just 4 months. And he is temporarily preventing the citizens of 7 terrorists hot spots from entering the United States. Those hot spots are: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It should be noted that Trump did not single out those countries by name in his Executive Order. He simply adopted the Obama Administration’s list of “countries of concern.” It was Obama who highlighted them initially. Trump just took the next logical step.

If these measures seem radical, they only seem radical to us because we’d grown accustomed to a president who did very little to protect national security and sovereignty. Indeed, we’d grown accustomed to a president who, infamously, couldn’t even bring himself to verbally acknowledge Islamic terrorism. Compared to that, yes, what Trump has done here is absolutely shocking. Looked at objectively, however, it’s honestly not that radical. It’s not a big deal at all, really. It’s a sensible first step towards ensuring that American citizens are better protected from the violence and chaos overseas.

What would these protesters have us do, anyway? Somalia, Syria, Libya — these are failed states. They’re literal breeding grounds for terrorism. They’re like an assembly line for mass murdering zealots. These are some of the most dangerous places on Earth. Nobody is saying that we should never again admit anyone from this region of the world, but it seems enormously sensible to take a brief and temporary pause to assess how we admit them.

Should we not even do that much? Really?

The post If You Call This a ‘Muslim Ban,’ You Are a Shameless Liar appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/if-you-call-this-muslim-ban-you-are.html

Recalling ‘People’s Lawyer’ Leonard Weinglass

In many of the major social/political battles of the Twentieth Century, lawyer Leonard Weinglass defended activists facing government criminal charges, as a new book about his life recalls, writes Marjorie Cohn. By Marjorie Cohn Legendary people’s lawyer Leonard Weinglass defended…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/recalling-peoples-lawyer-leonard.html

Trump’s Incoherent Anti-Terrorism Policy

By blocking travelers from seven mostly Muslim nations – but not ones that have sent terrorists to the U.S. – President Trump has pushed an incoherent policy that may increase the risks of terrorism, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-incoherent-anti-terrorism-policy.html

Rachel Maddow Plays Glenn Beck

By pushing the new anti-Russian McCarthyism as an attack strategy against President Trump, Democrats – and progressives like Rachel Maddow – are encouraging a costly and dangerous New Cold War, writes Norman Solomon. By Norman Solomon When Rachel Maddow finished…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/rachel-maddow-plays-glenn-beck.html

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Trump Lets Saudis Off His ‘Muslim Ban’

Exclusive: By leaving Saudi Arabia and other key terrorism sponsors off his “Muslim ban,” President Trump shows the same cowardice and dishonesty that infected the Bush and Obama administrations, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry President Trump’s ban against letting…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trump-lets-saudis-off-his-muslim-ban.html

The Tests Ahead for Trump

Donald Trump’s path to victory was eased by the fact that the Republican and Democratic parties were brittle, corrupt, hollowed-out institutions ready for cracking, but his tests have only begun, writes John Chuckman. By John Chuckman The chance for greatness…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-tests-ahead-for-trump.html

Calling a Lie a Lie in the Age of Trump

The U.S. mainstream media bends over backward not to call the President a liar even when it’s deserved, but Donald Trump’s falsehoods are so glaring that the L word should apply, says ethicist Daniel C. Maguire. By Daniel C. Maguire…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/calling-lie-lie-in-age-of-trump.html

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Deep State vs. Donald Trump

President Trump has stepped onto a high-wire in defying America’s Deep State, but can he withstand the powerful winds that will surely buffet him and what will President Putin do to help or hurt, asks ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke. By…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/deep-state-vs-donald-trump.html

Friday, January 27, 2017

Today Is the Real Women’s — and Men’s — March

Today I’ll be at the March For Life in DC. I expect it to be different from the march that took over the city last week in a few important ways:

First, there won’t be nearly as many news cameras.

Second, there won’t be any vagina costumes or vagina signs or vagina hats. There won’t be any reproductive organs on display at all, except perhaps by the counter protesters. The participants will be putting their message — not their genitals — forward.

Third, the speakers won’t be going on any vulgar or profane tirades. The march will be family friendly.

Fourth, there won’t be any discussion of blowing up the White House.

Fifth, the marchers will not be demanding any special entitlements. They will not be looking for free birth control, or free tampons, or free anything. They will not be making any personal demands, because this march is not about them. The people who make their voices heard today do so not for their own sake. They do so for the sake of those who cannot speak for themselves.

The march participants stand to gain nothing from this. Their motivations cannot be selfish because their demands are not self-serving. Every single person — hundreds of thousands of them — will be marching in the place of someone else. The march last week, and so many others of its type, have been made up mostly of people saying, “Do such and such for me. Give me something. Help me. Me. Me. Me.” But the March For Life is different. The March For Life says, “Do this for them. Give them a chance. Give them their rights. Help them. Them. Them. Them.”

And the “them,” of course, are pre-born children. Whereas the people at the so-called Women’s March said, “Forget them, let them die,” we at the March For Life say, “Remember them, let them live.” These are the two competing points of view. Here is the great dividing line in our culture. The question is asked and must be answered: “Should these children be given a chance to live or not?” How you answer that question will determine on which side of the line you belong.

Our culture has answered with a cruel and callous “no” for the past 40 years. The so-called Women’s March echoed that answer. The feminist movement, liberalism, the media, the Democratic Party, academia — all of these powerful forces join together in shouting “no.” No, give them no chance. Give them nothing. Take everything from them. Take their dignity. Take their rights. Take their lives. And when they are dead, take some more. Take their limbs, their livers, their brains, their hearts, carve them up and make use of the pieces. Take it all. They are nothing to us. They are insects. They are lower than insects because we would sooner acknowledge the life of an insect than the life of this “clump of cells.” They are dirt. Let them die, then. Pick apart their carcasses and throw the rest in the dumpster. This is the answer the pro-aborts shout proudly from the rooftops.

Well, today in Washington DC a great many people will gather to deliver a different answer.

The post Today Is the Real Women’s — and Men’s — March appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/today-is-real-womens-and-mens-march.html

Donald Trump and His ‘Magic Mirror’

Exclusive: President Trump’s vain tirades about crowd size and voter fraud make him look like Snow White’s evil queen gazing into her mirror, but he could turn that around by telling some important truths, says Robert Parry. By Robert Parry…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/donald-trump-and-his-magic-mirror.html

Fear Among Undocumented Immigrants

Moving quickly on campaign promises to tighten U.S. borders and crack down on “sanctuary cities,” President Trump is spreading fear among communities where many undocumented immigrants live, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein The new mayor of the…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/fear-among-undocumented-immigrants.html

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Death of the Syrian ‘Moderate’ Fantasy

Exclusive: Neocons and liberal hawks sold the fantasy that Syrian “moderate” rebels were a viable option when all they did was help arm Al Qaeda jihadists and worsen the bloodshed, as Jonathan Marshall explains. By Jonathan Marshall The neoconservative and…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/death-of-syrian-moderate-fantasy.html

Trump’s Ego-Driven Lies

U.S. government lying is surely not a new thing – recall the Iraq War deceptions – but Donald Trump has started off his presidency with clearly false claims that make the problem worse, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-ego-driven-lies.html

Ignoring the Voice of the People

The massive protests that followed the inauguration should have reminded Donald Trump that he is a minority president with a slim-to-none popular mandate, as Michael Winship describes. By Michael Winship “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/ignoring-voice-of-people.html

Hey Feminists and ‘Transgenders’, You Need to Get Your Stories Straight

I have long said that feminism and “transgenderism” are on a crash course. They cannot really coexist under the umbrella of the same ideology. Liberalism cannot put forward the notion that a woman’s reproductive organs afford her certain entitlements and special rights while at the same time putting forward the notion that a woman’s reproductive organs are not essential aspects of her womanhood. Liberalism especially cannot claim that men have no business formulating opinions about women’s issues due to our lack of a vagina while at the same time claiming that men can actually be women despite our lack of a vagina.

Either a woman’s anatomy means something or it doesn’t. Either men can intrude into spaces that are uniquely feminine or they cannot. Either our bodies are inherent to our identity or they are not. It’s impossible to answer “both” to any of these questions. It’s even more impossible to answer “both” to all three of them.

So, what’s it going to be? If the feminists are right about everything, then the “transgender rights” advocates are wrong about everything. And if the “transgender rights” advocates are right about everything, then feminists are wrong about most things.

The post Hey Feminists and ‘Transgenders’, You Need to Get Your Stories Straight appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/hey-feminists-and-transgenders-you-need.html

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

In Case You Missed…

Some of our special stories in December looked at the new propaganda war against dissident news outlets, the nasty fallout from the U.S. presidential election, and the bleak winter for neocons. “The Orwellian War on Skepticism” by Robert Parry, Dec.…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/in-case-you-missed.html

Thanking Trump for Killing TPP?

Progressives have long called for the death of the Trans-Pacific Partnership but many are holding their applause now that President Trump was the one who killed it, observes anti-war activist John V. Walsh. By John V. Walsh President Trump wasted…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/thanking-trump-for-killing-tpp.html

Getting Better Results Than Law-and-Order

Exclusive: Despite President Trump’s tough law-and-order rhetoric, courts and schools are finding that “restorative justice” – as an alternative to traditional punishments – can reduce offenses and save money, writes Don Ediger. By Don Ediger Early next month, police in…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/getting-better-results-than-law-and.html

Trump’s Pipeline Orders Challenge Protesters

Ignoring environmental concerns and tribal objections, President Trump has put the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines back on track without even consulting the opponents, Dennis J Bernstein reports. By Dennis J Bernstein On his second business day in office,…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-pipeline-orders-challenge.html

The Injustices of Manning’s Ordeal

Exclusive: For exposing war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pvt. Chelsea Manning suffered nearly seven years in prison, an ordeal President Obama finally is ending but without acting on the crimes she revealed, says Marjorie Cohn. By Marjorie Cohn After…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-injustices-of-mannings-ordeal.html

Did Manning Help Avert War in Iran?

From the Archive: Though President Obama commuted Chelsea Manning’s prison sentence, he showed no appreciation for her brave disclosures, including one that undercut war plans with Iran, Robert Parry reported in 2013. By Robert Parry (Originally published on Aug. 19,…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/did-manning-help-avert-war-in-iran.html

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Obama Bequeaths a More Dangerous World

Special Report: President Obama may have entered the White House with a desire to rein in America’s global war-making but he succumbed to neocon pressure and left behind an even more dangerous world, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry Any…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/obama-bequeaths-more-dangerous-world.html

Need to Reorganize US Spy Agencies

On President Trump’s first full day in office, he went to the CIA and promised to back the nation’s spy agencies, but his time would be better spent downsizing the sprawling intelligence community, says Ivan Eland. By Ivan Eland Originating…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/need-to-reorganize-us-spy-agencies.html

Let’s Not Insult Women by Calling That Shameful Nonsense a “Women’s March”

On Saturday, thousands of ladies in vagina hats descended upon DC to demand more dead babies.

They demanded other things, too, like free birth control and free tampons and a free Palestine. They demanded equal rights, even though they already have equal rights. They demanded that the wage gap be closed, even though the wage gap is a fabrication. And they demanded that the government “get out of their uterus,” even though the government was never — and, really, for logistical reasons never could be — in their uterus.

The march was an eclectic mix of non sequiturs and falsehoods. Every aspect of feminist mythology was represented in one way or another. But unlimited access to abortion was the theme that tied it all together. Before the march even began, abortion on demand had been proclaimed an essential “unity principle” of the so-called “Women’s March.” They were so serious about this principle that pro-life groups were barred from participating. It’s fair to say that once a political demonstration cites baby murder as a fundamental value, nothing else it stands for really matters. I cannot take a march seriously after it has professed an affinity for child killing just as I cannot willingly consume your homemade chocolate cake after you inform me that fecal matter is one of its ingredients.

But I’m not sure that I could have taken the march seriously even if continuing the mass slaughter of children hadn’t been named as one of its fundamental goals. It’s hard to take people seriously when they’re all wearing genitalia-themed beanies, after all. It’s even more difficult when they’ve adorned themselves in vagina masks, and full vagina costumes, and are carrying vagina signs, including some grossly explicit and some casually sacrilegious. But please don’t think that it was only a bunch of vaginas walking around. Penises were sometimes represented in the signage and the outfits as well, though usually with a derisive tone. Feminists, as you’ve noticed, are rather obsessed with genitals. That’s why they can’t get together for any kind of event without half of them showing up dressed as their own reproductive organs.

The speakers who addressed the vagina-clad hordes were as inspiring as you’d imagine. One of them came on stage in a dress with the word “abortion” scrawled across it in huge, proud letters (did I mention that these ladies REALLY love abortion?). Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood CEO and the most prolific mass murder in the world, spoke before the adoring throngs and courageously resolved to go on killing babies no matter what obstacles are put in her way. Refusing to be outdone, Madonna stood behind the podium and, to the sound of applause, openly fantasized about blowing up the White House. The most esteemed speaker of the afternoon, former actress Ashley Judd, refused to be overshadowed by any of them. In a bold attempt to be the craziest person in Washington that day, Judd let loose with a bit of feminist slam poetry that included this line:

“I am not as nasty as your own daughter being your favorite sex symbol, like your wet dreams infused with your own genes.”

The post Let’s Not Insult Women by Calling That Shameful Nonsense a “Women’s March” appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/lets-not-insult-women-by-calling-that.html

Stop Pretending That You Care About Tolerance

It has been remarked upon many times that the people who most regularly preach “tolerance” are often the people who are least likely to demonstrate it. I’ve mentioned my own experiences dealing with the Tolerance Mob. I have found them to be largely vicious, ruthless, and as close-minded as any group on Earth. Tolerant? Not hardly.

But we all get it. Liberals show absolutely no tolerance while they shriek about tolerance. That’s been observed a million times over because the dichotomy is just so absurd and so obvious that you can’t help but observe it and comment on it. What I try to talk about in my podcast today is not just the fact that the Prophets of Tolerance are relentlessly intolerant, but why. Why is it that the people who have raised tolerance to a virtue are so incapable of living by the virtue themselves?

I think the answer goes beyond mere hypocrisy. The answer is that these people cannot live by the tolerance virtue because tolerance is not a virtue. It is a word that means very little and, in terms of moral principles, it means nothing…

The post Stop Pretending That You Care About Tolerance appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/stop-pretending-that-you-care-about.html

Divining Trump’s Military Strategies

A big question about President Trump is whether he will live up to promises to pull back from military interventionism or will find military adventures a way to boost his popularity, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R.…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/divining-trumps-military-strategies.html

Russia’s Leery Reaction to President Trump

Russian leaders remain leery about prospects for improved U.S. relations despite the inauguration of President Trump, doubting that he can overcome the political pressures from Washington’s “deep state,” says Gilbert Doctorow. By Gilbert Doctorow Contradicting the U.S. mainstream media’s expectations,…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/russias-leery-reaction-to-president.html

Monday, January 23, 2017

The Zionist Record on Refugees

Historically, Zionists have put the interests of Israel over the humanitarian plight of refugees, even in the face of Nazi Germany and now in shying away from offending President Trump, writes Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson It is a strange…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-zionist-record-on-refugees.html

America’s Putin Derangement Syndrome

Exclusive: The mainstream U.S. media blames Russian President Putin for pretty much everything – from the Mideast mess to Europe’s disorder to the U.S. elections – but the reality is quite different, notes Daniel Lazare. By Daniel Lazare Last week…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/americas-putin-derangement-syndrome.html

Sunday, January 22, 2017

A Balanced Assessment of Obama

Much commentary on Barack Obama’s presidency has focused on the shortcomings and missed opportunities, but it must be recalled how grim was his inheritance and fierce his opposition, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar Most of…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-balanced-assessment-of-obama.html

How Clinton Defeat Derailed Syrian War

Hawkish think tanks had laid plans for escalating the U.S. “regime change” war in Syria after Hillary Clinton’s expected election, but a different result has forced them to repackage their scheme, says Gareth Porter. By Gareth Porter A new coalition…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-clinton-defeat-derailed-syrian-war.html

Trump’s Bait and Switch

Donald Trump has portrayed himself as a billionaire for the common people but his early presidency has the look of a flock of plutocrats feathering their own nests, write Michael Winship and Bill Moyers. By Michael Winship and Bill Moyers…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-bait-and-switch.html

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Selectivity in Trashing Trump

Exclusive: Around the United States, massive demonstrations have protested the inauguration of Donald Trump, but there is a danger that the anti-Trump forces could block the positive elements of his message, writes Robert Parry By Robert Parry To say that…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/selectivity-in-trashing-trump.html

Friday, January 20, 2017

Obama Admits Gap in Russian ‘Hack’ Case

The hole in the U.S. intelligence community’s “high confidence” about Russian “hacking” Democratic emails has always been who gave the material to WikiLeaks, as President Obama admitted, notes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By Ray McGovern Oops. Did President Barack Obama acknowledge…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/obama-admits-gap-in-russian-hack-case.html

Trump’s Threat to Farmworkers

The Age of Trump is an unsettling time for undocumented farmworkers whose labor has helped make California’s “wine country” rich but are now facing threats of draconian arrests and deportations, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein There is…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-threat-to-farmworkers.html

Where Donald Trump Makes Sense

Many progressives so despise Donald Trump that they decry all his positions even those that make some sense, such as questioning NATO and the dangerous New Cold War with Russia, as ex-CIA official Graham E. Fuller explains. By Graham E.…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/where-donald-trump-makes-sense.html

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Going Over the Top in Trump-Bashing

Democratic Party fury toward President-elect Trump has led some progressives to suggest a rash scheme for invoking an archaic law to punish his deviation from foreign policy orthodoxy, warns Norman Solomon. By Norman Solomon Heading into the last week of…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/going-over-top-in-trump-bashing.html

Bradley Manning is Still a Traitor. He’s Also Still a Man.

The Democrats have, for several months now, been in a state of convulsive rage over WikiLeaks. They tell us that WikiLeaks is in league with Putin. They tell us that WikiLeaks subverted our system and destabilized the very foundations of our democracy. WikiLeaks stole the election. Sabotage! So on and so forth.

With this in mind, it seems a little odd that right in the midst of this apocalyptic hand wringing over WikiLeaks, the president would choose to commute the sentence of a guy who went into a war zone, stole reams of classified files, and gave them to WikiLeaks. Bradley Manning didn’t merely release email correspondences between DNC officials where they complain about Bernie Sanders and talk about spirit cooking. These weren’t embarrassing revelations about a political party. These were hundreds of thousands of secret documents relating to national security, appropriated during a time of war, and “leaked” indiscriminately with no regard to how it would undermine our war efforts and even less regard for the lives it put at risk. The Democrats apparently want us to believe that humiliating Hillary Clinton is a far worse crime than jeopardizing the safety of our troops, intelligence officers, and allies. The word “outrageous” does not even begin to describe what’s going on here.

It would appear self-defeating as well. Why would the Democrats — who have almost unanimously applauded this move, by the way — suddenly decide to undermine their own case against WikiLeaks? Shameful hypocrisy has never slowed them down before, granted, but even by their standards this is a rather extreme case of it. They must know that they’ve made it impossible for anyone to take them seriously the next time they whine about email leaks and “election hacking.” It so discredits them, makes so little sense, makes them look so utterly foolish, renders their own arguments so fantastically irrelevant, that you may conclude that the entire Democrat Party has gone into a state of collective psychosis.

That’s not a bad theory. Not too far from the truth, either. But there is, you might say, a method to this madness. And you can understand the method once you understand that, in the world of modern leftism, the letters “LGBT” override anything and everything. At the very top of the progressive Victimhood Hierarchy sit the members of this elite club. Any opportunity to advance their cause must be exploited. Any time the Great Cause and some other concern collides, the Cause wins out. These are the priorities of leftism nowadays. Its only one priority, really. Nothing — and I truly mean nothing — is more important than its sexual agenda.

The post Bradley Manning is Still a Traitor. He’s Also Still a Man. appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/bradley-manning-is-still-traitor-hes.html

How the NYT Plays with History

Special Report: By failing to tell the hard truth about Establishment wrongdoing, The New York Times — along with other mainstream U.S. media outlets — has destabilized American democracy, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry Whenever The New York Times…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-nyt-plays-with-history.html

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The Ugly Specter of Torture and Lies

Exclusive: President Obama refused to hold “war on terror” torturers to account but punished truth-tellers severely, a bleak legacy not erased by Chelsea Manning’s belated commutation, as Jonathan Marshall explains. By Jonathan Marshall January 17 was an unusually good day…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-ugly-specter-of-torture-and-lies.html

Obama’s Bombing Legacy

Exclusive: Last fall, President Obama joked that he still didn’t know why he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, but his long record of waging war was no joke to the thousands at the receiving end of U.S. bombs,…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/obamas-bombing-legacy.html

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The Murky Future for US Health Care

Republicans vow to repeal Obamacare, but President-elect Trump has injected confusion by claiming that the replacement will provide health insurance for all. But many health experts fear what comes next, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein All…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-murky-future-for-us-health-care.html

If Your Lifestyle is None of My Business, Stop Demanding That I Celebrate it

As I mentioned in my previous post, it has been decided that I am this week’s Worst Person Ever for a couple of things I recently wrote.

One was a criticism of the idea that the government should fund your birth control. I’ve already expanded upon that (correct and appropriate) criticism here. The other was a tweet and an article — or really a homophobic rant stemming from my fragile masculinity, as its been described by the media — warning fathers that we need to be there to raise our sons lest they grow up confused about their masculine identity:

Dads, this is why you need to be there to raise your sons. http://pic.twitter.com/8ybirgppKi

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 6, 2017

The man in the picture goes by the name Manny Mua. He was recently anointed as Maybelline’s new spokesmodel. He responded to what I said, which resulted in his fans displaying their tolerance and open mindedness in the usual way. My friend Manny spent a while retweeting and “liking” many of the attacks against me, obviously trying to encourage more of it. So, more and more of his fans dutifully came to remind me that Manny is a kind and compassionate and gentle and utterly perfect human being while I am a barely sentient bucket of vomit and I should immediately hang myself so as to free the Earth from the burden of my existence, and so on. (The “sentient bucket of vomit” thing is verbatim, by the way. I had to respect it for its originality at least. Although I had to wonder how an animated mass of vomit would go about hanging itself. The logistical difficulties seem insurmountable, if you ask me.)

Manny’s dad soon chimed in, understandably so. He told me that he supports what his son does, he did raise him well, and my comment stems from ignorance about the LGBT community, which is populated by some of the “most real and most kindhearted people” on Earth. It was, according to Manny, a “f*cken SAVAGE” beat down, and according to Yahoo News and other outlets it was an epic comeback that succeeded in “nailing” a “bigot” and a “homophobe,” etc. I don’t know, I thought his response was more measured than that. At least a lot more measured than the tolerant liberals who told me that my kids should die of AIDS .

Anyway, I’m not actually interested in getting into an argument about how this particular makeup model was raised. As I said in the article I wrote on the topic last week, it’s certainly possible that a boy could be raised by a good father and still end up living a confused and disordered lifestyle. That very well could have been the case with Manny. I have no idea. Maybe he’s the exception to the rule. Could be. Who knows?

That’s why I never said “This dude, specifically, was raised by a crappy dad.” Rather, I said “this sort of dude is why dads — plural, universal — need to raise their sons.” Much like I might point to a liquor store robbery in the inner city and say “this is why inner city kids need dads at home.” If it were to turn out that the particular liquor store robber in the particular case I used to make my general point did indeed have an attentive father at home, that wouldn’t negate my point. Nor would I apologize for using that case to make the point. It’s still true, regardless of that person’s biography, that this is the sort of thing that is often the result, or partly the result, of a dad not being physically, spiritually, and/or emotionally present in the home.

I’m also not going to get into another long explanation as to why men shouldn’t dress themselves up as women. I’ve already done that. To summarize, my reasoning goes like this: Men shouldn’t dress up like women because men aren’t women. There’s a certain logic to that, you have to admit. But we can once again go into detail on that revolutionary idea another time. Instead what I’d like to focus on is the Left’s relentless attempt to have it both ways on every topic imaginable. Yesterday we discussed how they do this with respect to birth control. Now we have another great example.

I’ll show you what I mean with two points:

The post If Your Lifestyle is None of My Business, Stop Demanding That I Celebrate it appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/if-your-lifestyle-is-none-of-my.html

If Your Sex Life is None of My Business, Stop Demanding That I Finance It

A lot of people have been offering their, um, feedback, to a couple of things I tweeted over the past week or so. And when I say “feedback” I mean that an angry mob numbering in the thousands descended upon my social media feeds and email inbox like rabid hyenas, eager to inform me that I’m awful, evil, ugly, fat, old, stupid, [expletive], [expletive], [expletive] [expletive] [expletive], etc., and because of this I should die, my wife should die, my children should die, everyone who has ever said a kind word to me should burn to death in a house fire, and my kids, who should already be dead, should also somehow become gay and transgender and pregnant so that karmic justice may be visited upon me, a bigot and a Nazi who is literally worse than a millions Hitlers combined.

Of the thousands of responses I received since Friday, easily 95 percent of them consisted of some combination of these. Because of my unspeakable tweets, I have been objectively described as an “anti-LGBTQ bigot” in the headlines of news articles. So far as I know, nobody who has written an article matter-of-factly calling me a bigot took the time to reach out to me first, but I suppose if I’d followed the clearly outlined instructions of the leftist Tolerance Brigade, I should have killed myself by now anyway. I guess they assumed I wouldn’t be able to comment because I’d be too busy playing Backgammon with my friend Adolf in Hell.

I say all of this not to paint myself as a victim but to again drive home the point that the people who preach the loudest about “acceptance” and “tolerance” are often the least likely to demonstrate those qualities when the opportunity presents itself. I think this is an important point not because it exposes them as hypocrites — although it does that, for certain — but because it exposes “acceptance” and “tolerance” as faux virtues.

Nobody on Earth accepts and tolerates everything, nor should they. Things should only be accepted and tolerated if they are acceptable and tolerable. Liberals deny that any standard of acceptability and tolerability can be imposed, yet they have no problem ruthlessly imposing such standards themselves. So it isn’t that conservatives are less tolerant than liberals, it’s that we have different ideas about what is tolerable. Liberals clearly believe that my ideas and my very existence are intolerable, proving that they do not actually consider tolerance a universal principle. They’re right. It’s not.

With that established, I’d like to elaborate on the two horrible things I said on Twitter which caused such an absurd backlash.

First, provoking the ire of our nation’s feminists, I said this:

“If you actually cannot afford birth control then you are not nearly mature or responsible enough to be having sex in the first place.”

Second, unrelated and actually from a week before, in reference to the man who was just named spokesmodel for Maybelline but intended as a general comment about men who reject their masculine nature in order to appropriate femininity, I said this:

“Dads, this is why you need to be there to raise your sons.”

I already elaborated on that second point. I’ll have more to say about it later, but I’m going to start with the birth control topic. I should stipulate upfront and for the record that I issue no apology for either statement, neither am I interested in “explaining myself.” Myself is irrelevant. I’m not the topic here. I don’t really care if you think I’m a horrible person, but I do care about the issues at hand. If I’m given an opportunity to go further into depth about them, I will gladly take it.

The post If Your Sex Life is None of My Business, Stop Demanding That I Finance It appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/if-your-sex-life-is-none-of-my-business.html

It’s Not About Trump, But Us

The looming inauguration of Donald Trump has led many on the “liberal/left” to vow eternal resistance but this fury has obscured the need for self-reflection on how “progressives” have lost their way, as John Pilger explains. By John Pilger On…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/its-not-about-trump-but-us.html

A Demand for Russian ‘Hacking’ Proof

More than 20 U.S. intelligence, military and diplomatic veterans are calling on President Obama to release the evidence backing up allegations that Russia aided the Trump campaign – or admit that the proof is lacking. MEMORANDUM FOR: President Barack Obama…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-demand-for-russian-hacking-proof.html

Monday, January 16, 2017

Trump’s Remaking of US Foreign Policy

President-elect Trump is outlining a foreign policy that rejects the interventionist tenets of Washington’s neocon/liberal-hawk establishment and puts U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control at the top of his agenda, writes Gilbert Doctorow. By Gilbert Doctorow Over the weekend, President-elect Trump received…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/trumps-remaking-of-us-foreign-policy.html

Donald Trump v. the Spooks

Exclusive: President-elect Trump is in a nasty slugfest with U.S. intelligence agencies as they portray him as a Russian tool and he blasts their attempt to delegitimize his election, says ex-British intelligence officer Annie Machon. By Annie Machon The clash…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/donald-trump-v-spooks.html

Playing Politics with Terrorism List

Congressional Republicans continue to push Islamo-phobic bills, now seeking to put the mostly political Muslim Brotherhood on the foreign terrorist list, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar Legislation introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep.…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/playing-politics-with-terrorism-list.html

Democrats Lost in a Corporate Wilderness

Over the past quarter century, the national Democratic Party merged with the Clinton pay-for-play money machine and lost touch with American populism. So, what must be done and what are the party’s prospects, asks Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson You…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/democrats-lost-in-corporate-wilderness.html

Sunday, January 15, 2017

America’s Self-Destructive Obsessions

The U.S. population is led from one hysteria to the next, now transitioning from the Global War on Terror to the New Cold War with Russia, a fearful madness that is infecting the collective psyche, says Michael Brenner. By Michael…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/americas-self-destructive-obsessions.html

A Very Effective Propaganda Technique-Omit and Retract…later

Omit and Retract…Later

The frequency which this propaganda technique is being employed by the Washington Post is breathtaking. Readers of said paper, beware! An article is run with a false or misleading headline, significant errors or ommissions in the content and then corrected later after being disseminated throughout the bloggesphere and social media. Retractions or corrections are never disseminated in a similarly broad fashion therefore the original distorted content gets traction in the minds of the people who are already on to the next news cycle and barely paying attention when the correction is made. Brietbart has the story on the latest propaganda sleigh of hand. breitbart.com

The Washington Post’s original report set off a wave of stories across the world, causing raised eyebrows over Trump’s “extremely unusual” decision to fire a general in the middle of the presidential oath of office ceremony, especially during these dangerous times.

The paper reported that Major General Errol R. Schwartz, who has commanded the D.C. National Guard since his appointment to the position by George W. Bush, was told to vacate his office the moment Trump says his “I dos” to the oath of office. The decision was presented to readers as unfathomable, if not dangerous, by a president who doesn’t know what he is doing.

In an interview, General Schwartz told the paper that his firing was strange. “The timing is extremely unusual,” the general said.

“My troops will be on the street,” Schwartz continued. “I’ll see them off, but I won’t be able to welcome them back to the armory.” The general added he would “never plan to leave a mission in the middle of a battle.”

Subsequent to the publishing of the paper’s story making Trump appear incompetent, news emerged that the incoming Trump administration offered to let General Schwartz keep his position through inauguration day, but it was the general himself who refused the offer, preferring instead to quit at 12 noon on January 20, the hour Trump takes his oath of office.

The general then ran straight to the media to “argue his case in the press,” as a recent Fox News report noted.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Civics Redefined: Indoctrination at Universities?

A report entitled Making Citizens: How American Universities Teach Civics recently released by the National Association of Scholars, a network of scholars and citizens commited to academic freedom, disinterested scholarship, and excellence in American higher education, reveals the extensive indoctrination taking place in the name of “New Civics”. “New Civics” is Civics redefined as progressive political activism. an up-to-date version of volunteerism and good works. “Instead of teaching college students the foundations of law, liberty, and self-government, colleges teach students how to organize protests, occupy buildings, and stage demonstrations. Though camouflaged with soft rhetoric, the New Civics, properly understood, is an effort to repurpose higher education.”

The transformation includes:
De-carbonizing the economy
Massively redistributing wealth,
Intensifying identity group grievance
Curtailing the free market
Expanding government bureaucracy
Elevating international “norms” over American Constitutional law
Disparaging our common history and ideals

breitbart.com The report’s findings suggest that the suppression of free speech on college campuses that is making headlines is only the tip of a very large iceberg. What lies beneath the surface is a massive, publicly funded program of indoctrination through a remaking of the curriculum as a vehicle for advancing the political agenda of progressivism.

The full NAS report, MAKING CITIZENS: HOW AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES TEACH CIVICS, can be found here

The “New Civics” can accurately be called indoctrination because it is far more ambitious and open than the left-liberal bias in classroom instruction encountered by students for decades. Yes, 90% of college faculty in the liberal arts and humanities are liberal and progressive, and classroom propaganda

is a growing problem, but the “New Civics” has ambitions for transforming the entire institution and all academic disciplines into “change agents.”

The “New Civics” is replacing traditional “civic literacy,” and it’s campus-wide ambitions have the endorsement and support of university administrators. In public institutions like the four cases documented in the MAKING CITIZENS report, it sees no conflict in using taxpayer dollars to accomplish its progressive mission. Read More

The post Civics Redefined: Indoctrination at Universities? appeared first on PropagandaGuard.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/civics-redefined-indoctrination-at.html

The Scheme to Take Down Trump

Exclusive: The U.S. intelligence community’s unprecedented assault on an incoming U.S. president – now including spreading salacious rumors – raises questions about how long Donald Trump can hold the White House, says Daniel Lazare. By Daniel Lazare Is a military…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-scheme-to-take-down-trump.html

Friday, January 13, 2017

Mainstream Media’s Russian Bogeymen

Exclusive: The mainstream hysteria over Russia has led to dubious or downright false stories that have deepened the New Cold War, as Gareth Porter notes regarding last month’s bogus tale of a hack into the U.S. electric grid. By Gareth…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/mainstream-medias-russian-bogeymen.html

Obama’s Greatest Legacy Is the Utter Collapse of Race Relations in This Country

There’s been a lot of talk over the past few weeks about Barack Obama’s “legacy.” I think he will be remembered for many things, none of them good, but his greatest legacy is precisely the opposite of the legacy he claimed he would leave: the utter collapse of race relations in this country.

The funny thing is that prior to this great “unifier” making his way in the White House, race relations in America were better than they’d ever been. Better than they were anywhere in the world, even. There wasn’t perfect harmony, of course, but most of us got along OK and there wasn’t a thick atmosphere of racial tension in the air.

Then Obama gets in there, and next thing you know we have race riots and looting and cops getting gunned down by racial crusaders and seemingly every week there’s another race related incident on the front page. Prior to Obama, most in my generation had never seen, or couldn’t remember, anything like this. Obama made things so much worse that I don’t think he could have made them any worse if he’d explicitly tried to do so. And in fact I believe that he did explicitly try to do so, and succeeded.

The post Obama’s Greatest Legacy Is the Utter Collapse of Race Relations in This Country appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/obamas-greatest-legacy-is-utter.html

Who’s the Real Manipulator of Elections?

Exclusive: In berating Russia for alleged interference in the recent U.S. election, the U.S. intelligence community ignores the extensive U.S. role in manipulating political movements around the globe, observes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall The Director of National Intelligence’s public…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/whos-real-manipulator-of-elections.html

America in Need of ‘Democracy Promotion’

The U.S. government lectures other countries about “democracy” – and finances internal opposition in the name of “democracy promotion” – but its own behavior falls far short of democratic norms, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/america-in-need-of-democracy-promotion.html

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Pulling a J. Edgar Hoover on Trump

Exclusive: President-elect Trump is fending off a U.S. intelligence leak of unproven allegations that he cavorted with Russian prostitutes, but the darker story might be the CIA’s intervention in U.S. politics, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry The decision by…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/pulling-j-edgar-hoover-on-trump.html

Did Trump Kill ‘Liberal Democracy’?

Donald Trump’s victory has spurred commentary about the “death of liberal democracy,” but the seeds of that demise were planted in the 1980s amid elite orthodoxy in favor of neoliberal economics, argues Mike Lofgren. By Mike Lofgren The election of…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/did-trump-kill-liberal-democracy.html

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

How Obama Spread the Mideast Fires

Exclusive: Barack Obama is one of the “coolest” American presidents, but his “team of rivals” approach to governing – trying to accommodate and co-opt his adversaries – proved disastrous, especially in the Mideast, says Daniel Lazare. By Daniel Lazare With…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-obama-spread-mideast-fires.html

Obama’s Unkept Promise on Nuclear War

Exclusive: By ratcheting up tensions with Russia, U.S. national security is raising risks of accidental nuclear war with missiles still on hair-trigger alert — despite President Obama’s promises, writes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall With little more than a week…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/obamas-unkept-promise-on-nuclear-war.html

What DeVos Might Do to Public Schools

Donald Trump is stocking his administration with fellow rich people including “school voucher” advocate Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, a choice that makes many public school defenders nervous, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein With only days to…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/what-devos-might-do-to-public-schools.html

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Dads, We Can’t Expect Our Sons to Become Real Men If We Don’t Teach Them How

I confess that I don’t usually keep up to speed on the marketing campaigns of make up companies, but a couple of recent ones were hard to miss. First, it was announced that the new Cover Girl would be a person named James Charles, who is indeed not a girl at all. Feeling left out, Maybelline countered by naming Manny Gutierrez as its brand ambassador. Also not a girl. The country braces itself for the day when Tampax joins the fray.

It should be clarified — because this is the sort of thing that needs to be clarified these days — that James and Manny do not identify as women. There is no risk of them being named women of the year as Glamour Magazine did for Bruce Jenner. But they and the companies they represent have co-opted femininity in a very similar way, turning it into a grotesque sort of mask, something that can be worn when the mood strikes and removed just as quickly.

Maybelline’s announcement comes directly on the heels of National Geographic’s now infamous cover story about the young, abused boy who has “given up pretending to be a boy” so that he can assume his “true identity” as a girl. His parents have decided to parade him around like a circus sideshow act, ensuring that their poor son’s psychological crisis will be witnessed by a large and approving crowd. And this has all happened in the last few weeks. The assault on science, reason, masculinity, and femininity continues to gain steam.

As I watch all of this, one point especially comes to mind, obvious though it ought to be: this is why boys need dads.

I do not know the life story of our friends James and Manny. I’m told that at least one of them comes from an intact family where a father was present and active in the home. Perhaps that really is the case. It’s certainly possible — though unlikely, I would think — that a boy could have the best dad in the world and still turn into a makeup model. Children have a will and an identity of their own, after all, and there’s only so much we can do to shape it.

The post Dads, We Can’t Expect Our Sons to Become Real Men If We Don’t Teach Them How appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/dads-we-cant-expect-our-sons-to-become.html

Don’t Flatter Yourself, Meryl Streep. You People Are the Biggest Bullies of All.

When I heard that Meryl Streep had given a speech at the Golden Globes blasting Donald Trump and Trump’s voters, my first thought was: “Oh, that’s on tonight?” And then I thought: “Wait, there were only like three good movies in 2016. How could they even do a whole awards show?” And then I thought: “Anyway, who cares about any of this?”

Of course, a lot of people do care. They shouldn’t, but they do. And Hollywood has a profound influence on our culture. It shouldn’t, but it does. So, although I sort of cringe at myself for jumping into this conversation, it may be worth saying a few words on the subject nonetheless.

First, a quick and probably unnecessary recap: Meryl Streep was called to the podium to receive a lifetime achievement award last night. She began her speech by complaining that the press and Hollywood celebrities are “the most vilified segments of American society.” She then rattled off a list of overpaid actors who were born in other countries, and warned us that if all of these actors are kicked out of America (a plan nobody has seriously suggested, although I would be open to discussing such a proposal) that would leave us with only “mixed martial arts and football” to watch on TV. As millions of people immediately called up their cable providers to see if they could purchase a package like that, Streep transitioned back into complimenting herself and her Hollywood compatriots.

Actors “enter the lives of people who are different” in order to “let you feel what that feels like,” she said proudly. That brought her to her attack on Donald Trump, which inevitably included attacks on the 60 million people who voted for him. Conjuring an image of rabid dogs, she said that Trump’s bullying made his supporters “show their teeth.” She finished, finally, by lavishing more praise on Hollywood and the press. Hollywood “safeguards the truth,” she swooned, and they all ought to be proud of themselves. They can teach the world to be “empathetic” and “understanding.” “The powerful are using their position to bully others,” Streep warned, but fortunately Hollywood rises above it. And from its position of moral supremacy it acts as society’s guardian angels. The crowd of well-heeled angels roared with approval as Streep left the stage.

The post Don’t Flatter Yourself, Meryl Streep. You People Are the Biggest Bullies of All. appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/dont-flatter-yourself-meryl-streep-you.html

This Is Very Simple: If You Can’t Afford College, Don’t Go to College

Bernie Sanders suggested this week that college graduates should not only have their student loans erased, but they should be provided with “affordable” houses on top of it. This can go along nicely with the free birth control and free health care they require. Now is there anything else we can get them? Free massage chairs? Free foot rubs? A lifetime supply of roast beef sandwiches from Arby’s?

In my podcast, I make a couple of points about the entitlement of college students and graduates in my generation. The first point, as it pertains to college, is very simple but very important. Here it is: If you can’t afford college, don’t go to college. That really applies to everything in life. If you can’t afford it, don’t do it. The dumbest and most irresponsible thing is to buy the thing you can’t afford and then complain, after you’ve already purchased it, that you can’t afford it.

The post This Is Very Simple: If You Can’t Afford College, Don’t Go to College appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/this-is-very-simple-if-you-cant-afford.html

Obama Belatedly Says No to Israel

Exclusive: If President Obama had confronted Israel over its illegal settlements earlier, he might have really achieved something, but his U.N. abstention as he heads out the door is better than nothing, observes Marjorie Cohn. By Marjorie Cohn For the…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/obama-belatedly-says-no-to-israel.html

Wall Street’s Win-Win with Trump

Exclusive: Most Wall Street bigwigs sided with Hillary Clinton in 2016 but now have adroitly shifted affections to Donald Trump whose populist rhetoric is giving way to another super-rich bonfire of the vanities, explains Mike Lofgren. By Mike Lofgren During the…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/wall-streets-win-win-with-trump.html

The Democrats’ Russia-Did-It Dodge

To avoid facing up to why Hillary Clinton’s pro-corporatist candidacy really lost key Rust Belt states, national Democrats are finding it easier to blame Russia, a dangerous and self-defeating game, says Norman Solomon at The Hill. By Norman Solomon Two…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-democrats-russia-did-it-dodge.html

Monday, January 9, 2017

The ‘Post-Truth’ Mainstream Media

Exclusive: U.S. mainstream media sees itself as the definer of what is real and what is “propaganda,” but it has gotten itself lost in a fog of self-delusion and become the principal purveyor of “post-truth” news, writes Nicolas J S…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-post-truth-mainstream-media.html

Europe’s Mixed Feelings About Trump

Exclusive: European governments are nervous about a Trump presidency, but – for economic and other reasons – many on the Continent would welcome a friendlier approach toward Russia, reports Andrew Spannaus. By Andrew Spanners Few in Europe expected Donald Trump…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/europes-mixed-feelings-about-trump.html

Sunday, January 8, 2017

The Left’s Challenge in Age of Trump

The impending Trump presidency challenges the American Left to consider how to contest a right-wing agenda and how to create electoral options beyond Democratic Party orthodoxy, as Dennis J Bernstein and Norman Solomon discuss. By Dennis J Bernstein Left activists…

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-lefts-challenge-in-age-of-trump.html

Saturday, January 7, 2017

This Was Not Merely a Hate Crime — It Was Much Worse

This kind of thing isn’t even unique. The white man kidnapped and savagely tortured by a group of racist thugs wasn’t the first to fall victim to a hate crime of this sort in Chicago recently. It was only a few weeks ago that a white Trump supporter was dragged from his truck by a group of black teens and ruthlessly beaten in the middle of the street while a crowd of onlookers egged them on. A pattern is emerging. And it’s getting worse.

Edited version from Fox32 in Chicago below. Some may consider this graphic.

The latest incident stands out because of its brazen cruelty. The victim — a white, mentally disabled teenager — was bound, gagged, and brutalized, all for the amusement of his captors. They hurled abuse at him, screaming “f*ck white people” and “f*ck Donald Trump.” They forced him to drink water out of a toilet. They dragged him around by his neck. They cut off pieces of his scalp. And this is just what we saw in the 30 minute video, which one of the assailants broadcast live on Facebook. Police think the victim, who was found wandering the streets dazed and in shock on Tuesday evening, was held captive for at least 24 hours. One can only imagine what other indignities he suffered at the hands of these psychopaths.

A lot can and will be said about this incident (by conservatives, mainly), but I’d like to offer a couple of thoughts on the “hate crime” angle of this story. The Chicago police chief has already said that hate crime charges are not guaranteed:

“Although they are adults, they’re 18. Kids make stupid decisions — I shouldn’t call them kids; they’re legally adults, but they’re young adults, and they make stupid decisions,” Duffin said.
“That certainly will be part of whether or not … we seek a hate crime, to determine whether or not this is sincere or just stupid ranting and raving.”

For the record, “kids” make a “stupid decision” to “rant and rave” when they talk back to their parents or disrespect their teachers. When they graduate to scalping the mentally disabled, they have far exceeded the bounds of what may be described as a mere “stupid decision.” Let’s call it an evil decision. A demonic decision. A decision that ought to land them 50 years in prison. And the attempt by law enforcement and the media to downplay the severity of this crime is an evil all to its own.

As far as the “hate crime” designation goes, there is no question that, according to the law, this qualifies. No further investigation is needed on this front. A group of black people falsely imprisoned a white man and shouted racist slurs as they gleefully tortured him. The statute requires that any crime motivated by racism be tried as a federal hate crime. OK, well, the perps announced their racial prejudices explicitly, on video, and their actions clearly fell in line with their verbal pronouncements. Case closed.

The post This Was Not Merely a Hate Crime — It Was Much Worse appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

from Propaganda Guard
http://propagandaguard.blogspot.com/2017/01/this-was-not-merely-hate-crime-it-was.html