Author: AW1Ed

Down Along the Border

You would have to be pretty hard-hearted to not have at least some minor sympathy for the poor wretches who are on pause waiting for an asylum hearing at the Tijuana border. It’s probably like spending weeks standing in line at DMV. And imagine the induced narcolepsy for the unlucky vato who winds up at the end of the queue.

On the other hand, since available evidence points to the fact the alleged asylum seekers are actually garden-variety illegals testing a new way to game the system, does that mean they’ll want to cut in the front of the line? And if new line cutters cut in on prior line cutters in a line-cutting frenzy, it’s not difficult to imagine things reaching a level of line-cutting chaos not seen since a Sex Pistols concert…

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton demonstrates why she has more spin cycles than Maytag.

Late last week, in an interview with the UK Guardian, the former Secretary of State and current commandante of the #resistance said if Europe doesn’t get a handle on its immigration problems, brought about by an influx of one million Muslims, both the EU and the U.S. risk the rise of “populist” right wing figures.

“I admire the very generous and compassionate approaches that were taken particularly by leaders like Angela Merkel, but I think it is fair to say Europe has done its part, and must send a very clear message – ‘we are not going to be able to continue to provide refuge and support’ – because if we don’t deal with the migration issue it will continue to roil the body politic.”

Clinton urged forces opposed to rightwing populism in Europe and the U.S. not to neglect the concerns about race and identity issues that she says were behind her losing key votes in 2016. She accused Trump of exploiting the issue in the election contest – and in office.

For those playing at home, apparently among Clintonistas, populism is defined as getting majority support among voters in a democracy but only applies to those you disagree with. If you’re a Progressive, majority support is good because it’s democracy at work; if you’re a Conservative, it’s bad because reasons.

Hillary also understandably did not mention to the Guardian what she was saying a few years ago. Or maybe she just forgot:

“My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the Hemisphere,” she said in a May 2013 (private) speech to the Brazilian bank Banco Itau, according to a speech transcript obtained by Wikileaks.

With Thanksgiving over, and with 6800 or so Army troops still on the Mexican border, it might be interesting, at least for those of us easily amused, to start placing bets on a stand-down date and whether those same folks in uniform will be home for Christmas. Possible prizes for winners of the pool could include a free copy of the rumored upcoming Commissar Taylor bestseller How I Make Friends; consolation prizes for the unfortunate losers might be piñatas of gummi pendejos.

I’m picking December 17. It’s the 115th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, and I’m feeling lucky…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/22/hillary-clinton-europe-must-curb-immigration-stop-populists-trump-brexit

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/8/hillary-clinton-dreams-open-borders-leaked-speech-/

CC photo credit – Frank Hamilton for Baltimore City Paper

Why McRaven and McChrystal have it McWrong

Of media gods and generals

As part of a new ploy in its ongoing conflict with President Trump, the mostly New York City-based news media now seems to be shifting focus to a tactic of trying to drive a wedge between Trump and the military.

In an interview this week with CNN, which has rippled like an outrage stone dropped in the hysteria pond, retired Admiral William McRaven reasserted claims that Trump was a threat to democracy.

“I stand by my comment that the President’s attack on the media is the greatest threat to our democracy in my lifetime,” McRaven said, “When you undermine the people’s right to a free press and freedom of speech and expression, then you threaten the Constitution and all for which it stands.”

Among those jumping in to cover McRaven’s six o’clock has been retired General Stanley McChrystal. Both are former commanders of the Joint Special Operations Command. McChrystal’s comments bear some minor irony, for those keeping score, because of him being fired by President Obama for the general’s critical riffs about the Obama administration during a 2010 Rolling Stone interview.

Two things would seem to be a problem with giving too much credence to the comments of McRaven and McChrystal. The first is the logical fallacy of false authority. Although both of the former flag officers have shown themselves to be very good at the lethal business of military skills, their opinion of the news media has no more value than yours, mine, or the guy who sells papers from a kiosk on 42nd Street.

Another thing to be skeptical of is the news media’s implied assumption that flag-rank military officers are somehow completely neutral when it comes to politics. This is something anybody who has reached the level of O-6 would probably suggest is right up there with an abiding belief in leprechauns. It might be pointed out, for example, that McRaven is likely to have been on a Hillary Clinton short list of those to be appointed to political high office had she been elected.

It’s probably fair to say that the original framers of the Constitution, Franklin and Jefferson most noteworthy among them, had a fairly clear-eyed view of how the press was supposed to work under the 1st Amendment. The country, even then, had its share of saints and scoundrels trying to scribble out a living using the craft of journalism.

It seems to me if the news media feels threatened now, which it does, the wounds it claims to have suffered, more often than not, have been self-inflicted. Somehow, the current mainstream media has adopted a posture that Trump is the enemy; anything to cause harm to his administration should be pursued by any means necessary, and any journalist who disagrees is to be considered a pariah. All of which should set off alarm bells for those thoughtful enough to want a press tasked with fairness and objectivity. In short, one doing its job.

And despite what they might want everyone to believe, both the country and a free press can survive if the New York Times folds, or CNN winks out, or owner Jeff Bezos– who hates Donald Trump– decides to shut down the Washington Post tomorrow.

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/18/politics/donald-trump-william-mcraven/index.html