thestream--2020-10-08--A Health Care Opening for Mike Pence Tonight

Shortly after President Donald J. Trump announced plans to have Judge Amy Coney Barrett succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court , Democrats took to the airwaves attacking the president ’ s pick .
For a full week before her nomination , Democrats attacked her faith and her family but have apparently moved on to attacking her based on the assumption she ’ d favor repealing repealing Obamacare .
This misrepresentation of facts , however , comes from a line Barrett wrote in a book review , not a case she heard or a ruling she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a health-care focused message has nothing to do with Judge Barrett ’ s qualifications , which are beyond reproach , but because liberals think it will help them win the White House in November .
They ’ re pushing the narrative that Republicans don ’ t have a healthcare plan .
The problem with that strategy , however , is that they ’ re wrong .
President Trump laid out a Republican healthcare plan in North Carolina on Sept. 24 .
The plan , appropriately named “ the America First Healthcare Plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more choice , lower costs and better care .
The plan is a mix of things Trump ’ s already done and things he ’ s planning to do , which include increasing competition through transparency ; investing in and expanding access to telemedicine ; ensuring prescription-drug prices are the lowest among peer nations ; and more .
One pivotal part of the plan is pricing transparency , which would allow every American to know the cost of their healthcare up front so consumers are empowered to shop around and find savings .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this policy last year , but hospitals and insurance companies have been using their deep pockets to fight it ever since , even resorting to suing the administration to stop pricing transparency , an effort that — so far — has failed .
There is a similar bill in the Senate that 11 Republicans have signed onto but , so far , has zero support from Democrats — including Joe Biden ’ s running mate , Senator Kamala Harris .
Ironically , healthcare transparency is part of the Biden agenda .
Though , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to supporting Republicans ’ commonsense healthcare plan .
For the Trump administration , healthcare pricing transparency is a legacy-defining policy .
Ninety percent of Americans support pricing transparency and a whopping 98 percent of women under the age of 40 — a critical demographic — support transparency in healthcare pricing .
Women in this group support the policy proposal because it will protect patients from being blindsided by high costs they never expected .
Shoppers don ’ t blindly purchase groceries only to later receive a surprise bill weeks or months later .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ any differently .
Why is our healthcare not like grocery , retail , or every other industry , where you can make informed decisions based on price and quality ?
Knowledge is power .
Pricing transparency will increase competition and drive down prices for everyday Americans .
The cost savings will provide a tremendous stimulus to wages , earnings and our economy overall and is yet another example the Trump administration following through on its “ America First ” motto .
Democrats , on the other hand , are trying to mislead people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the chopping block .
That line , though , is nothing more than a scare tactic .
President Trump signed the first Executive Order in American history that declares it ’ s the policy of the federal government to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions and ensure patients have access to affordable care .
Coverage of pre-existing conditions will not be an issue when Trump is re-elected .
The president has made it clear that all pre-existing conditions will be covered under his plan .
During the debate Wednesday , Vice President Mike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pre-existing conditions .
When Sen. Harris asks him what the Republicans ’ healthcare plan is , he should tell her that it includes coverage for pre-existing conditions .
Then , he should ask her why Democrats , in the midst of a health crisis , oppose providing patients with the transparency that will protect them from surprise billing and price gouging .
While he ’ s at it , he should also ask the senator why her voting record on the issue , and that of every other Democrat in the Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truth is , President Trump and Vice President Pence are implementing an “ America First ” healthcare agenda and achieving what Democrats were never able to achieve : They are making healthcare affordable for all Americans .
Democrats , on the other hand , are shilling for hospitals lobbying hard to keep their prices secret .
The charade has gone on for too long , and tonight ’ s debate is the perfect opportunity to set the record straight .
Ken Blackwell is the former Treasurer of State of Ohio .

Shortly after President Donald J. Trump announced plans to have Judge Amy Coney Barrett succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, Democrats took to the airwaves attacking the president’s pick. For a full week before her nomination, Democrats attacked her faith and her family but have apparently moved on to attacking her based on the assumption she’d favor repealing repealing Obamacare.
This misrepresentation of facts, however, comes from a line Barrett wrote in a book review, not a case she heard or a ruling she made. The reason Democrats have resorted to a health-care focused message has nothing to do with Judge Barrett’s qualifications, which are beyond reproach, but because liberals think it will help them win the White House in November. They’re pushing the narrative that Republicans don’t have a healthcare plan. The problem with that strategy, however, is that they’re wrong.
Trump’s Healthcare Plan
President Trump laid out a Republican healthcare plan in North Carolina on Sept. 24. The plan, appropriately named “the America First Healthcare Plan,” focuses on providing Americans with more choice, lower costs and better care. The plan is a mix of things Trump’s already done and things he’s planning to do, which include increasing competition through transparency; investing in and expanding access to telemedicine; ensuring prescription-drug prices are the lowest among peer nations; and more. There is also inpatient drug rehab santa clarita that can help the victims of drug abuse.
One pivotal part of the plan is pricing transparency, which would allow every American to know the cost of their healthcare up front so consumers are empowered to shop around and find savings. President Trump signed an Executive Order on this policy last year, but hospitals and insurance companies have been using their deep pockets to fight it ever since, even resorting to suing the administration to stop pricing transparency, an effort that — so far — has failed.
There is a similar bill in the Senate that 11 Republicans have signed onto but, so far, has zero support from Democrats — including Joe Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. Ironically, healthcare transparency is part of the Biden agenda. Though, you would likely never hear them admit to supporting Republicans’ commonsense healthcare plan.
Trump’s Healthcare Pricing Transparency Policy
For the Trump administration, healthcare pricing transparency is a legacy-defining policy. Ninety percent of Americans support pricing transparency and a whopping 98 percent of women under the age of 40 — a critical demographic — support transparency in healthcare pricing.
Women in this group support the policy proposal because it will protect patients from being blindsided by high costs they never expected. Shoppers don’t blindly purchase groceries only to later receive a surprise bill weeks or months later. Our healthcare system shouldn’t operate any differently. Why is our healthcare not like grocery, retail, or every other industry, where you can make informed decisions based on price and quality?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Knowledge is power. Pricing transparency will increase competition and drive down prices for everyday Americans. The cost savings will provide a tremendous stimulus to wages, earnings and our economy overall and is yet another example the Trump administration following through on its “America First” motto.
The Democrats’ Scare Tactic
Democrats, on the other hand, are trying to mislead people into thinking coverage of pre-existing conditions is on the chopping block. That line, though, is nothing more than a scare tactic. President Trump signed the first Executive Order in American history that declares it’s the policy of the federal government to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions and ensure patients have access to affordable care.
Coverage of pre-existing conditions will not be an issue when Trump is re-elected. The president has made it clear that all pre-existing conditions will be covered under his plan.
The VP Debate
During the debate Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence should welcome the discussion on healthcare and pre-existing conditions. When Sen. Harris asks him what the Republicans’ healthcare plan is, he should tell her that it includes coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Then, he should ask her why Democrats, in the midst of a health crisis, oppose providing patients with the transparency that will protect them from surprise billing and price gouging. While he’s at it, he should also ask the senator why her voting record on the issue, and that of every other Democrat in the Senate, contradicts her own platform.
America First Healthcare
The truth is, President Trump and Vice President Pence are implementing an “America First” healthcare agenda and achieving what Democrats were never able to achieve: They are making healthcare affordable for all Americans. Democrats, on the other hand, are shilling for hospitals lobbying hard to keep their prices secret. The charade has gone on for too long, and tonight’s debate is the perfect opportunity to set the record straight.
Ken Blackwell is the former Treasurer of State of Ohio.


thestream--2020-10-07--Born in Utopia: Kamala Harris Promised the Riots Are ‘Not Gonna Stop’

The second of two columns .
See Part I here .
Born in Oakland , raised primarily in Berkeley , and making her name in San Francisco , Joe Biden ’ s running mate hails from a place that can not claim anyone who ever held the office of president or vice president .
To understand why , and to know Kamala Harris , one must understand her adopted hometown .
Yes , San Francisco famously bans Happy Meals .
And , in effect , the kids who love them ( the city boasts the lowest percentage of children of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Yes , tourists glimpse a live-action Night of the Living Dead strolling on Market Street .
There , glassy-eyed denizens carry oversized hammers and defecate on the sidewalk in broad daylight .
No Art for You !
This year , residents Talibanned statuary of Saint Junipero Serra , Ulysses S. Grant , and Francis Scott Key .
Before that , the city council , the historic preservation committee , and the arts commission all voted unanimously to remove “ Early Days.
” That ’ s a 124-year-old sculpture , near city hall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ branch , which depicted an American Indian at the feet of a missionary and a cowboy .
The electoral politics seems , at least judging by the lopsided results , something out of a totalitarian ballot box .
Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump , for instance , by a 9-to-1 margin in the city .
The Republican ’ s percentage of the total vote did not even reach the double digits .
Sightings of Republicans occur about as frequently as ones of Elvis .
The city ’ s present very much stems from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Temple , a tragedy planted in San Francisco that bloomed in South America .
The 9/11 attack permanently wove itself into the fabric of New York City .
So Jonestown , the largest man-made loss of civilian life in American history prior to 9/11 , became part of San Francisco forever .
( Although locals feign a case of amnesia about the whole bizarre episode . )
Harris has as about as much directly to do with Jim Jones as her Wednesday debating partner Mike Pence does to WIBC .
It rented airtime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carried Pence ’ s radio show in the 1990s .
But Harris ’ attitudes replicate those that made Jim Jones ’ rise to power possible .
Harris Learned from Willie Brown How to Coddle Terrorists It was a no-enemies-to-the-Left mentality that enabled Harris ’ mentor Willie Brown to boost Jim Jones .
That same stance plagues Harris today .
It ’ s most glaring in her refusal to condemn the violence taking place in the streets for much of the summer .
You know , the riots she euphemistically refers to as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ If you ’ re able to , chip in now to the @ MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.
” But the fund supported people charged with criminal acts , not protesting ( which is a right and not a crime ) .
One such beneficiary won his bail from the fund after authorities had accused him of molesting an eight-year-old girl .
“ They ’ re not gon na stop , and this is a movement , I ’ m telling you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ protests ” on June 17 .
“ They ’ re not gon na stop , and everyone beware , because they ’ re not gon na stop.
” In the 1970s as in 2020 , the hard Left sees criminals as persecuted victims when they embrace fashionable politics .
Kamala Harris inherited this political blindness from her mentor , Willie Brown .
Each fails to see how one who shares your politics might not necessarily share peaceful ethics .
This rationalizing politics taps into the worst in the history of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McNamara Brothers despite evidence of them murdering 21 people by dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building in 1910 .
Planned Parenthood still gives an award named for Margaret Sanger .
This although she advanced an explicit plan in 1932 to forcibly sterilize and imprison in concentration camps more than 10 million Americans .
( Yes , you read that right .
Go read Margaret Sanger ’ s own words . )
Extremists left and right regard political solidarity as an eraser for any sin .
This pattern repeats itself generationally .
It repeats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
San Francisco , like Kamala Harris , is an outlier .
Yes , the city proudly boasts many of the best kind of outliers .
Think of longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer .
Or the Emperor Norton ( self-proclaimed ruler of the United States and protector of Mexico ) .
Or Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia .
But Harris comes across as an outlier of the worst kind .
She conforms to the city ’ s extremist ( and corrupt ) politics , which she finds natural and normal .
She docilely accepted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When one marinates long enough in a fetid swamp , one might imagine it a delicious stew .
GovTrack.Us named Harris as the most liberal senator for 2019 .
The website noted that she joined bills introduced by Republicans fewer than any other Democrat and introduced just one bill that became law , the Saint Francis Dam Disaster Memorial Act .
It … authorized a federal memorial .
Politicians out of touch with their colleagues rarely accomplish much of note .
Someone so thoroughly San Francisco naturally seems thoroughly alien to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become vice president and perhaps even president .
( Some three in ten vice presidents do . )
For better and worse , she can never be an effective politician like Willie Brown .
Willie Brown gave Kamala Harris access to the powerful , patronage jobs , an expensive car , and donations to fuel her political ambitions .
He did not bequeath to his protégé his greatest assets : charm , gregariousness , sartorial style , and a larger-than-life personality crammed into a 62-inch-long body .
She is , alas , Bay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
See Part I of this column here .
Daniel J. Flynn , the author of Cult City : Jim Jones , Harvey Milk , and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco , serves as a senior editor of The American Spectator .

The second of two columns. See Part I here.
Born in Oakland, raised primarily in Berkeley, and making her name in San Francisco, Joe Biden’s running mate hails from a place that cannot claim anyone who ever held the office of president or vice president. To understand why, and to know Kamala Harris, one must understand her adopted hometown.
Yes, San Francisco famously bans Happy Meals. And, in effect, the kids who love them (the city boasts the lowest percentage of children of America’s 50 largest cities). Yes, tourists glimpse a live-action Night of the Living Dead strolling on Market Street. There, glassy-eyed denizens carry oversized hammers and defecate on the sidewalk in broad daylight.
No Art for You!
This year, residents Talibanned statuary of Saint Junipero Serra, Ulysses S. Grant, and Francis Scott Key. Before that, the city council, the historic preservation committee, and the arts commission all voted unanimously to remove “Early Days.” That’s a 124-year-old sculpture, near city hall and the public library’s main branch, which depicted an American Indian at the feet of a missionary and a cowboy.
East German Election Results
The electoral politics seems, at least judging by the lopsided results, something out of a totalitarian ballot box. Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump, for instance, by a 9-to-1 margin in the city. The Republican’s percentage of the total vote did not even reach the double digits. Sightings of Republicans occur about as frequently as ones of Elvis.
The city’s present very much stems from its past. That includes the Peoples Temple, a tragedy planted in San Francisco that bloomed in South America. The 9/11 attack permanently wove itself into the fabric of New York City. So Jonestown, the largest man-made loss of civilian life in American history prior to 9/11, became part of San Francisco forever. (Although locals feign a case of amnesia about the whole bizarre episode.)
A no-enemies-to-the-Left mentality enabled Harris’ mentor Willie Brown to boost Jim Jones. That same stance plagues Harris today.
Harris has as about as much directly to do with Jim Jones as her Wednesday debating partner Mike Pence does to WIBC. It rented airtime to Jim Jones in the 1960s and carried Pence’s radio show in the 1990s. But Harris’ attitudes replicate those that made Jim Jones’ rise to power possible.
Harris Learned from Willie Brown How to Coddle Terrorists
It was a no-enemies-to-the-Left mentality that enabled Harris’ mentor Willie Brown to boost Jim Jones. That same stance plagues Harris today. It’s most glaring in her refusal to condemn the violence taking place in the streets for much of the summer. You know, the riots she euphemistically refers to as “protests.”
She tweeted on June 1, “If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.” But the fund supported people charged with criminal acts, not protesting (which is a right and not a crime). One such beneficiary won his bail from the fund after authorities had accused him of molesting an eight-year-old girl.
“They’re not gonna stop, and this is a movement, I’m telling you,” Harris enthusiastically told Stephen Colbert of the “protests” on June 17. “They’re not gonna stop, and everyone beware, because they’re not gonna stop.”
Learning to Love Arsonists
In the 1970s as in 2020, the hard Left sees criminals as persecuted victims when they embrace fashionable politics. Kamala Harris inherited this political blindness from her mentor, Willie Brown. Each fails to see how one who shares your politics might not necessarily share peaceful ethics. This rationalizing politics taps into the worst in the history of the American Left.
The Left championed the McNamara Brothers despite evidence of them murdering 21 people by dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building in 1910. Planned Parenthood until recently gave an award named for Margaret Sanger. This although she advanced an explicit plan in 1932 to forcibly sterilize and imprison in concentration camps more than 10 million Americans. (Yes, you read that right. Go read Margaret Sanger’s own words.)
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Extremists left and right regard political solidarity as an eraser for any sin. This pattern repeats itself generationally. It repeats itself most obviously in politically homogeneous places.
Harris: Extreme Even for San Francisco
San Francisco, like Kamala Harris, is an outlier. Yes, the city proudly boasts many of the best kind of outliers. Think of longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer. Or the Emperor Norton (self-proclaimed ruler of the United States and protector of Mexico). Or Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia.
But Harris comes across as an outlier of the worst kind. She conforms to the city’s extremist (and corrupt) politics, which she finds natural and normal. She docilely accepted the outlier politics of her outlier hometown. When one marinates long enough in a fetid swamp, one might imagine it a delicious stew.
GovTrack.Us named Harris as the most liberal senator for 2019. The website noted that she joined bills introduced by Republicans fewer than any other Democrat and introduced just one bill that became law, the Saint Francis Dam Disaster Memorial Act. It … authorized a federal memorial. Politicians out of touch with their colleagues rarely accomplish much of note. Someone so thoroughly San Francisco naturally seems thoroughly alien to the rest of America.
Kamala Harris, You’re No Willie Brown!
Kamala Harris may become vice president and perhaps even president. (Some three in ten vice presidents do.) For better and worse, she can never be an effective politician like Willie Brown.
Willie Brown gave Kamala Harris access to the powerful, patronage jobs, an expensive car, and donations to fuel her political ambitions. He did not bequeath to his protégé his greatest assets: charm, gregariousness, sartorial style, and a larger-than-life personality crammed into a 62-inch-long body. She is, alas, Bay Area Blah, not San Francisco Stunning.
See Part I of this column here.
Daniel J. Flynn, the author of Cult City: Jim Jones, Harvey Milk, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco, serves as a senior editor of The American Spectator.


thestream--2020-10-07--Great Barrington Declaration: Low-Risk Individuals Should be Freed From COVID Restrictions Immediate

Great Barrington Declaration: Low-Risk Individuals Should be Freed From COVID Restrictions Immediately

On October 1-4 , a trio of epidemiologists met in Great Barrington , Massachusetts , to discuss an alternate strategy for dealing with the COVID-19 crisis .
Dr. Martin Kulldorff ( Harvard University ) , Dr. Sunetra Gupta ( Oxford University ) , and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya ( Stanford University ) called their approach : Focused Protection .
It offers a way of protecting the vulnerable while still minimizing impact on other physical and mental issues .
In an interview with Freddie Sayers , Dr. Kulldorff said , “ When dealing with public health , you can not look only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look at public health very broadly.
” He said our current strategy has not been very effective , and worse , it “ has generated an enormous amount of collateral damage.
” He listed , “ plummeting vaccination rates , less cancer screening , worse outcomes from cardiovascular disease and mental health problems.
” At the close of their meeting Sunday , they released an official statement of their proposal called the “ Great Barrington Declaration.
” They admit that the Declaration itself is nothing revolutionary .
In fact , many scientists have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March .
But those recommendations have been dismissed in favor of more draconian ( but not necessarily effective ) methods .
To this trio of scientists , “ protecting the vulnerable ” is not just a concern about people in high-risk categories .
Though it certainly covers that .
As their Declaration states : “ Keeping these [ current ] measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage , with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.
” They are concerned about the wider social harm the present strategy is inflicting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Current policies have been most detrimental to children who are the least at risk of mortality due to COVID-19 .
Allowing children to return to school , they argue , is not only best for their long-term mental and physical health , but it would ensure a quicker path to herd immunity .
That ’ s the point at which the rate of new infections becomes stable , which can be helped by ( but does not depend on ) a vaccine .
Within the first 24 hours of its release , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This morning , it garnered hearty approval by Sen. Rand Paul : You can read the full Declaration here , along with each of the doctors ’ impressive bios and the growing number of signatures .
And you can watch their full interview with UnHerd below :

On October 1-4, a trio of epidemiologists met in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to discuss an alternate strategy for dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Martin Kulldorff (Harvard University), Dr. Sunetra Gupta (Oxford University), and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (Stanford University) called their approach: Focused Protection. It offers a way of protecting the vulnerable while still minimizing impact on other physical and mental issues.
In an interview with Freddie Sayers, Dr. Kulldorff said, “When dealing with public health, you cannot look only at one disease. You have to look at public health very broadly.” He said our current strategy has not been very effective, and worse, it “has generated an enormous amount of collateral damage.” He listed, “plummeting vaccination rates, less cancer screening, worse outcomes from cardiovascular disease and mental health problems.”
At the close of their meeting Sunday, they released an official statement of their proposal called the “Great Barrington Declaration.” They admit that the Declaration itself is nothing revolutionary. In fact, many scientists have been saying the very same things since March. But those recommendations have been dismissed in favor of more draconian (but not necessarily effective) methods.
Protect the Vulnerable, Free the Children
To this trio of scientists, “protecting the vulnerable” is not just a concern about people in high-risk categories. Though it certainly covers that. As their Declaration states: “Keeping these [current] measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.” They are concerned about the wider social harm the present strategy is inflicting, both now and for the future.
Current policies have been most detrimental to children who are the least at risk of mortality due to COVID-19. Allowing children to return to school, they argue, is not only best for their long-term mental and physical health, but it would ensure a quicker path to herd immunity. That’s the point at which the rate of new infections becomes stable, which can be helped by (but does not depend on) a vaccine.
Gaining Support
Within the first 24 hours of its release, the Declaration received more than 5,000 signatures. This morning, it garnered hearty approval by Sen. Rand Paul:
Over 2300 Health scientists and over 2500 MDs sign Great Barrington Declaration proclaiming that low-risk individuals should be freed from COVID restrictions immediately. Great Barrington Declaration https://t.co/PPABJQkmB6 — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 7, 2020
You can read the full Declaration here, along with each of the doctors’ impressive bios and the growing number of signatures. And you can watch their full interview with UnHerd below:


thestream--2020-10-07--#Election2020: VP Debate, Prez ‘Feels Great’, NBC Town Hall Fake

It ’ s 27 days until the election that will decide the fate of America .
Will we be the “ Land of the Free , Home of the Brave ” or “ Land of the Lockdown , Home of the Fearful ” ?
The choice is that stark .
Today ’ s big campaign news is , of course , the VP debate tonight between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris .
Read our preview here .
Columnist Ben Shapiro has come up with a doozy list of questions he ’ d like to see Pence put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t expect moderator Susan Page of USA Today to put them to her . )
After some back and forth , Mike Pence has finally agreed to Harris ’ request for plastic partitions .
Harris ’ people claim it ’ s for COVID protection , but it ’ s another stage prop to scare people and keep COVID in everyone ’ s face even when they ’ re not talking about COVID .
Why ?
Because beyond COVID , Harris has nothing .
Worse , as the Trump campaign wants to remind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming for your guns ( and your pocket books and your religious liberty ) .
She is coming after your straws .
Several times in recent days the Trump campaign has suggested Biden is using a mask as a prop .
Maybe .
Maybe not .
But just wondering : Where ’ s the mask now , Joe ?
And where is the media hysteria ?
Trump takes his mask off on his own balcony and the MSM melted down like that Nazi ’ s face in Raiders of the Lost Ark .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ involving Joe Biden .
Just ask Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn .
Speaking of the Russian hoax , President Trump Wednesday night authorized the full declassification of all documents related to both the Russian hoax and the Clinton email scandal investigations .
No redactions .
The two investigations are directly connected .
Not only were the same investigators involved , not only did investigators like Strzok deliberately pivot away from Clinton to concentrate on getting Trump , but we now know from US intelligence that Hillary set out to create the Trump Russia hoax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Handwritten notes from former CIA Director John Brennan released Tuesday prove that he personally briefed President Obama on Hillary Clinton ’ s intentions in July of 2016 .
Shockingly , Brennan dismissed the revelation Tuesday night on CNN , claiming that even if Hillary was creating a false dossier , there ’ s “ nothing at all illegal ” about that .
No , Johnny .
But when you and Comey and the rest of your crooked horde take that fake dossier and use it as an tool to illegally spy on members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowing full well that it is concocted , knowing full well the Russians likely helped feed the dossier , you are doing something illegal .
And you did it with the full knowledge — and participation — of one Barack Obama .
President Trump was quick to telegraph the revelation and again demand justice .
President Trump says , “ I feel great !
” In the latest update on the president ’ s battle against COVID-19 , White House Physician Sean Conley reports : Dr. Conley also noted that lab results taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SARS-CoV- IgG antibodies.
” That ’ s good news .
According to the CDC , “ Antibodies most commonly become detectable 1-3 weeks after symptom onset , at which time evidence suggests that infectiousness likely is greatly decreased and that some degree of immunity from future infection has developed.
” ( Trump started developing the antibodies within 4 days . )
Translation : Seems like Joe ’ s hopes that the 2nd debate will be cancelled are dashed .
And Fauci ’ s warning of a deteriorating condition proved false .
And the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passing has been thwarted .
It also means Trump can soon donate his tiger blood to help others hit with the virus .
Further proof we are living with a Soviet-level world of media deception .
Joe Biden had a “ town hall ” on NBC Monday night .
Lester Holt told us the questioners were all “ undecided voters.
” The fact all these voters did was toss nerf ball questions Biden ’ s way was the first clue NBC , like CNN ’ s earlier town hall , wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we know , thanks to the Washington Free Beacon , the scam was even worse .
Two of the “ undecided voters ” who asked questions had actually been on NBC ’ s sister network MSNBC declaring their support for Biden !
Attorney Peter Gonzalez and Ismael Lano .
In fact , Gonzalez was featured in MSNBC tweets !
NBC and Lester Holt deceived American voters .
Tim Russert would be rolling over in his grave .
Of course it was deliberate … but what ’ s going to be their excuse ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Meanwhile , check out this montage of clips from Biden ’ s town hall .
Especially the second clip .
Did you see the mask he was waving around ?
Neither did I .
The emperor has no mask .
Joe Biden ’ s theme song is not “ Thank Heaven for Little Girls , ” but it might as well be .
You see the video yet from Joe ’ s campaign trip to Florida ?
Hope you do .
Twitter was trying to suppress it .
During his stop at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed by saying , “ the good news is , for me , I ’ m here .
The bad news for you is I ’ m coming back.
” Then he spotted two young dancers who had performed at the event .
“ And I want to see these beautiful young ladies — I want to see them dancing when they ’ re four years older too.
” Maybe it ’ s all innocent .
Just referring to a future visit when he ’ s running for re-election .
But given his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeeee bit weirded out ?
From Our “ Sure , Mail-In Balloting is Spiffy and Totally Safe ” File A U.S .
Postal Service employee in New Jersey was arrested Wednesday for discarding roughly 2,000 pieces mail , including 99 general election ballots sent to the Hudson County Board of Elections .
Nicholas Beauchene was charged with one count of delay , secretion , or detention of mail and one count of obstruction of mail .
Stick with The Stream for more # Election2020 news .
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ JZmirak , of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration .
You can follow him at @ StreamingAl .
And if you aren ’ t already , please follow The Stream at @ Streamdotorg .

It’s 27 days until the election that will decide the fate of America. Will we be the “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” or “Land of the Lockdown, Home of the Fearful”? The choice is that stark.
Today’s big campaign news is, of course, the VP debate tonight between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris. Read our preview here.
Columnist Ben Shapiro has come up with a doozy list of questions he’d like to see Pence put to Harris. (We certainly can’t expect moderator Susan Page of USA Today to put them to her.)
Check out his thread:
Things I hope Pence presses Harris on tonight:
1. Is your running mate a sexual harasser and a quasi-racist who attempted to stop a little girl like you from going to an integrated school?
2. Will your administration support court-packing? Yes or no? — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 7, 2020
After some back and forth, Mike Pence has finally agreed to Harris’ request for plastic partitions. Harris’ people claim it’s for COVID protection, but it’s another stage prop to scare people and keep COVID in everyone’s face even when they’re not talking about COVID. Why? Because beyond COVID, Harris has nothing.
Worse, as the Trump campaign wants to remind us, she’s not just coming for your guns (and your pocket books and your religious liberty). She is coming after your straws.
Joe and Kamala wouldn't only come for your guns. They'll also come for your plastic straws.#VPDebate pic.twitter.com/7ZTQ8EkmCa — Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 7, 2020
Unmasking Joe and the Russia Hoax
Several times in recent days the Trump campaign has suggested Biden is using a mask as a prop. Maybe. Maybe not.
But just wondering: Where’s the mask now, Joe? And where is the media hysteria? Trump takes his mask off on his own balcony and the MSM melted down like that Nazi’s face in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
https://twitter.com/Tombstone1954/status/1313481649087225860?s=20
It’s hardly the first unmasking involving Joe Biden. Just ask Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
Speaking of the Russian hoax, President Trump Wednesday night authorized the full declassification of all documents related to both the Russian hoax and the Clinton email scandal investigations. No redactions. The two investigations are directly connected. Not only were the same investigators involved, not only did investigators like Strzok deliberately pivot away from Clinton to concentrate on getting Trump, but we now know from US intelligence that Hillary set out to create the Trump Russia hoax to distract from her email scandal.
Handwritten notes from former CIA Director John Brennan released Tuesday prove that he personally briefed President Obama on Hillary Clinton’s intentions in July of 2016. Shockingly, Brennan dismissed the revelation Tuesday night on CNN, claiming that even if Hillary was creating a false dossier, there’s “nothing at all illegal” about that. No, Johnny. But when you and Comey and the rest of your crooked horde take that fake dossier and use it as an tool to illegally spy on members of Donald Trump’s campaign, knowing full well that it is concocted, knowing full well the Russians likely helped feed the dossier, you are doing something illegal.
And you did it with the full knowledge — and participation — of one Barack Obama.
President Trump was quick to telegraph the revelation and again demand justice.
NOW THAT THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS GOT CAUGHT COLD IN THE (NON) FRIENDLY TRANSFER OF GOVERNMENT, IN FACT, THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN AND WENT FOR A COUP, WE ARE ENTITLED TO ASK THE VOTERS FOR FOUR MORE YEARS. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU VOTE! https://t.co/gsFSghkmdM — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
Where are all of the arrests? Can you imagine if the roles were reversed? Long term sentences would have started two years ago. Shameful! https://t.co/w2s8LdiRu0 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
President Feeling Great
President Trump says, “I feel great!” In the latest update on the president’s battle against COVID-19, White House Physician Sean Conley reports:
His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range. He’s now been fever-free for more than 4 days, symptom-free for over 24 hours, and has not needed or received any supplemental oxygen since initial hospitalization.
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Dr. Conley also noted that lab results taken Monday found “demonstrated detectable levels of SARS-CoV- IgG antibodies.”
That’s good news. According to the CDC, “Antibodies most commonly become detectable 1-3 weeks after symptom onset, at which time evidence suggests that infectiousness likely is greatly decreased and that some degree of immunity from future infection has developed.” (Trump started developing the antibodies within 4 days.)
Translation: Seems like Joe’s hopes that the 2nd debate will be cancelled are dashed. And Fauci’s warning of a deteriorating condition proved false. And the TDS sufferers’ demonic dream of his passing has been thwarted.
It also means Trump can soon donate his tiger blood to help others hit with the virus.
The NBC Town Hall Con
Further proof we are living with a Soviet-level world of media deception. Joe Biden had a “town hall” on NBC Monday night. Lester Holt told us the questioners were all “undecided voters.” The fact all these voters did was toss nerf ball questions Biden’s way was the first clue NBC, like CNN’s earlier town hall, wasn’t on the up-and-up.
Well, now we know, thanks to the Washington Free Beacon, the scam was even worse.
Two of the “undecided voters” who asked questions had actually been on NBC’s sister network MSNBC declaring their support for Biden! Attorney Peter Gonzalez and Ismael Lano. In fact, Gonzalez was featured in MSNBC tweets!
“If we get four more years of Trump, good luck. And good luck with the future attracting younger voters,” a Cuban-American voter tells @ellisonbarber.https://t.co/nrrf4iNPMr — MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 23, 2020
NBC and Lester Holt deceived American voters. Tim Russert would be rolling over in his grave. Of course it was deliberate … but what’s going to be their excuse? Even NBC doesn’t watch MSNBC?
Meanwhile, check out this montage of clips from Biden’s town hall. Especially the second clip.
https://twitter.com/DonnaWR8/status/1313324730741649408
Did you see the mask he was waving around? Neither did I. The emperor has no mask.
Joe Creeps People Out Again
Joe Biden’s theme song is not “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” but it might as well be. You see the video yet from Joe’s campaign trip to Florida? Hope you do. Twitter was trying to suppress it.
During his stop at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, Joe closed by saying, “the good news is, for me, I’m here. The bad news for you is I’m coming back.” Then he spotted two young dancers who had performed at the event. “And I want to see these beautiful young ladies — I want to see them dancing when they’re four years older too.”
“The bad news is” creepy uncle Joe strikes again. pic.twitter.com/KL3HFFxlIE — Mythinformed (@MythinformedMKE) October 5, 2020
Maybe it’s all innocent. Just referring to a future visit when he’s running for re-election. But given his history, aren’t you a weeeee bit weirded out?
From Our “Sure, Mail-In Balloting is Spiffy and Totally Safe” File
A U.S. Postal Service employee in New Jersey was arrested Wednesday for discarding roughly 2,000 pieces mail, including 99 general election ballots sent to the Hudson County Board of Elections.
Nicholas Beauchene was charged with one count of delay, secretion, or detention of mail and one count of obstruction of mail.
Stick with The Stream for more #Election2020 news.
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with @JZmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl. And if you aren’t already, please follow The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-10-07--The Hostile Takeover We’re Resisting Has to Do with Ideology, Not Race

If you listen to the left , you would think that conservative Americans are primarily White racists who want to preserve a White America .
These White nationalists , frightened by foreign immigration and terrified by the rising prominence of Black Americans , have aligned themselves with Donald Trump in order to “ make America White again.
” In reality , while this may speak for a tiny minority of conservatives , it does not speak for the masses .
For them — for us — it is a destructive ideology we resist .
Race is not the issue .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ find far more harmony with a Black or Hispanic conservative than with a White leftist .
Conversely , Black or Hispanic conservatives would find far more harmony with a White conservative than with a Black or Hispanic leftist .
Conservatives Aren ’ t Trying to Preserve Whiteness , But Resist Destructive Ideology To repeat : it is destructive ideology we resist .
Allow me to explain .
Our universities have shifted dramatically to the left , to the point that , in 2016 , a Harvard student wrote , “ The lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troubling–this year ’ s poll of the Class of 2020 by The Harvard Crimson revealed that only thirteen percent of incoming freshmen identify as conservative , while an overwhelming two-thirds of the class reported being left of center.
” Fast forward to March 2020 , when a “ recent survey by the Harvard Crimson found that conservatives make up just over 1 % of the school ’ s faculty.
” Of the 500 faculty members surveyed , “ Only three people said they would vote for President Trump in his reelection bid.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial or ethnic makeup of the faculty or student body is absolutely immaterial .
In fact , I would rejoice if Harvard recovered its Christian roots while maintaining academic excellence and , in the process , became 90 % Black .
I would grieve if it became 100 % White and drifted even more to the left .
Shall I say it once more ?
Ideology , not race , is the issue .
Many conservatives are concerned with Big Tech censoring and/or suppressing our views , and there is good reason for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on October 6 , “ President Trump and other Republicans often complain that Silicon Valley has an anti-conservative bias .
A review of campaign finance data shows that contributions by employees at some of America ’ s biggest tech companies are overwhelmingly going to his Democratic opponent , Joe Biden .
“ WIRED found that employees at Alphabet , Amazon , Apple , Facebook , Microsoft , and Oracle have contributed nearly 20 times as much money to Biden as to Trump since the beginning of 2019 .
According to data released by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals who contribute $ 200 or more to a presidential campaign to report their employer , employees at these six companies have contributed $ 4,787,752 to Biden and just $ 239,527 to Trump.
” And who are the leaders of these companies ?
What faces come to mind when you think of Big Tech ?
Men like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook and Jack Dorsey , all of them White .
Our issue is with ideology , not color .
Our Solidarity is in Ideology , Not Color We don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that have been pushed in many of our school districts for several decades .
It ’ s the content , not the color , that concerns us .
We don ’ t like the direction that LGBTQ+ activism is taking us , but once again , that is an ideological conflict , not a racial conflict .
That ’ s why the same Black Californians who overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama in 2008 also voted for Proposition 8 , defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman .
They believed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too , stood for marriage as God intended it , and he knew that affirming that was important in gaining their votes .
Just think of the political leaders with whom conservatives differ most deeply , including people like Nancy Pelosi , Chuck Schumer , and Bernie Sanders .
What they have in common is a leftist ideology .
The fact that they are White offers us no sense of solidarity in the least .
That ’ s also our issue with leftist politicians like Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Rashida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of color is not the issue .
It is their radical ideology which we oppose .
We find great solidarity with solid conservatives who are Black or Hispanic .
( I could say the same in every example substituting the word “ Asian.
” It is ideology , not ethnicity that is the issue . )
That ’ s why the same things that trouble us with Antifa ( with many White leaders at the helm ) trouble us with the BLM movement ( with many Black leaders at the helm ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ we perceive to be a destructive , leftist ideology .
It is an ideology that is increasingly dominating our culture .
It is an ideology that is seeking to suppress and even cancel those who resist .
That is what concerns us .
May people of all colors and ethnicities stand together against it .
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads : Will We Pass the Trump Test ?
Connect with him @ @ @ @ @ @ @

If you listen to the left, you would think that conservative Americans are primarily White racists who want to preserve a White America. These White nationalists, frightened by foreign immigration and terrified by the rising prominence of Black Americans, have aligned themselves with Donald Trump in order to “make America White again.” In reality, while this may speak for a tiny minority of conservatives, it does not speak for the masses. For them — for us — it is a destructive ideology we resist. Race is not the issue.
To the contrary, White conservatives would find far more harmony with a Black or Hispanic conservative than with a White leftist. Conversely, Black or Hispanic conservatives would find far more harmony with a White conservative than with a Black or Hispanic leftist.
Conservatives Aren’t Trying to Preserve Whiteness, But Resist Destructive Ideology
To repeat: it is destructive ideology we resist. Allow me to explain.
Our universities have shifted dramatically to the left, to the point that, in 2016, a Harvard student wrote, “The lack of political and ideological diversity on campus is troubling–this year’s poll of the Class of 2020 by The Harvard Crimson revealed that only thirteen percent of incoming freshmen identify as conservative, while an overwhelming two-thirds of the class reported being left of center.”
The common element that concerns is what we perceive to be a destructive, leftist ideology. It is an ideology that is increasingly dominating our culture. It is an ideology that is seeking to suppress and even cancel those who resist.
Fast forward to March 2020, when a “recent survey by the Harvard Crimson found that conservatives make up just over 1% of the school’s faculty.” Of the 500 faculty members surveyed, “Only three people said they would vote for President Trump in his reelection bid.”
This is what concerns us. The racial or ethnic makeup of the faculty or student body is absolutely immaterial. In fact, I would rejoice if Harvard recovered its Christian roots while maintaining academic excellence and, in the process, became 90% Black. I would grieve if it became 100% White and drifted even more to the left.
Shall I say it once more? Ideology, not race, is the issue.
Conservatives’ Fight With Big Tech is Ideological
Many conservatives are concerned with Big Tech censoring and/or suppressing our views, and there is good reason for concern. As reported by Wired magazine on October 6, “President Trump and other Republicans often complain that Silicon Valley has an anti-conservative bias. A review of campaign finance data shows that contributions by employees at some of America’s biggest tech companies are overwhelmingly going to his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
“WIRED found that employees at Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Oracle have contributed nearly 20 times as much money to Biden as to Trump since the beginning of 2019. According to data released by the Federal Election Commission, which requires individuals who contribute $200 or more to a presidential campaign to report their employer, employees at these six companies have contributed $4,787,752 to Biden and just $239,527 to Trump.”
And who are the leaders of these companies? What faces come to mind when you think of Big Tech? Men like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook and Jack Dorsey, all of them White.
Our issue is with ideology, not color.
Our Solidarity is in Ideology, Not Color
We don’t like the aggressive sex-ed classes that have been pushed in many of our school districts for several decades. It’s the content, not the color, that concerns us.
We don’t like the direction that LGBTQ+ activism is taking us, but once again, that is an ideological conflict, not a racial conflict. That’s why the same Black Californians who overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama in 2008 also voted for Proposition 8, defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. They believed him when he said that he, too, stood for marriage as God intended it, and he knew that affirming that was important in gaining their votes.
Just think of the political leaders with whom conservatives differ most deeply, including people like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Bernie Sanders. What they have in common is a leftist ideology. The fact that they are White offers us no sense of solidarity in the least.
That’s also our issue with leftist politicians like Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Rashida Tlaib. The fact they are women of color is not the issue. It is their radical ideology which we oppose. We find great solidarity with solid conservatives who are Black or Hispanic. (I could say the same in every example substituting the word “Asian.” It is ideology, not ethnicity that is the issue.)
That’s why the same things that trouble us with Antifa (with many White leaders at the helm) trouble us with the BLM movement (with many Black leaders at the helm). The common element that concerns is what we perceive to be a destructive, leftist ideology. It is an ideology that is increasingly dominating our culture. It is an ideology that is seeking to suppress and even cancel those who resist.
That is what concerns us. May people of all colors and ethnicities stand together against it.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-10-07--Barrett’s Former Colleagues: ‘No One … Better Suited to Be on the Supreme Court’

Alexa Baltes has a unique perspective on Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett , as both a former student of hers at Notre Dame Law School and as a law clerk for her on the 7th U.S .
Circuit Court of Appeals .
“ I mentioned her enthusiasm for principles over preference as a law professor .
I got to see her turn theory into practice as a judge , ” Baltes said during a virtual panel discussion of Barrett held by The Heritage Foundation .
“ She was meticulous about taking herself out of decision-making .
It didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the public wanted .
The only thing that mattered in her chamber — and she made very clear — was what the law required , ” Baltes said .
Baltes clerked in 2018 and 2019 for Barrett , now President Donald Trump ’ s nominee for a vacant seat on the Supreme Court , and said that as a professor and judge , Barrett always challenged her students and clerks to defend their positions and question their assumptions .
“ In the same way she used to challenge us students , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back on her reasoning , ” Baltes said during the panel discussion Friday .
“ She just totally embodies the role of a judge as judge and not a policymaker.
” Laura Wolk , who attended the University of Notre Dame Law School from 2013 to 2016 , was a student of Barrett ’ s in two classes .
Wolk , who is blind , recalled how Barrett made sure she had all the technology she needed to enable her to compete on a level playing field with other students .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hear this a lot .
You hear a lot of people say , ‘ Don ’ t worry .
You can rely on me.
’ Unfortunately , a lot of times that isn ’ t actually the case , ” she said .
“ But when professor Barrett , who had no reason to owe me anything … but she did .
When she told me she would take care of it , as someone who has experienced these barriers many , many times , I knew it was a rare circumstance.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Catholic faith as a weakness are uninformed .
“ I don ’ t think these people have ever met anyone that has practiced radical love the way professor Barrett has , because radical love makes you a bigger person .
It expands your heart .
It doesn ’ t constrict it , ” she said .
“ And it makes you more capable of serving others , and loving others and being present to them .
… I received the benefit of Amy Coney Barrett ’ s faith.
” She was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easy , as other former students and clerks attested she constantly challenged them .
“ [ Barrett ] did not tolerate soft ideas , and she did not tolerate sloppy reasoning .
What she wanted from her students is that they would develop whatever jurisprudence , whatever philosophy , whatever position they decided to espouse , you had to come to class with good reasons for that decision and ready to debate with then-professor Barrett as she gave you the best counterargument against your position , ” Wolk said , adding : As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ briefs to the cases well before the oral arguments , and carefully weighed the law , said John Adams , one of the first people to clerk for her on the 7th Circuit in 2017 and 2018 .
“ She approached cases the same way that either side could be right , and we would follow what the law required , ” Adams said , adding : Adams said that ’ s the type of justice that should be on the Supreme Court , as someone who “ knows all the doctrinal core @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dive into the facts of a new issue or a new case before her.
” He noted that Barrett produced legal opinions “ with a sense of decency ” toward the parties involved .
“ She also taught me a very important lesson that I engaged with as I continued to develop as an attorney in private practice , ” Adams said .
“ She said that she would put herself in the shoes of the party that she was ruling against and consider how would that person perceive her decision.
” At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Snead said that he and other former colleagues of Barrett ’ s are happy for her nomination , but sad in another respect .
“ We ’ re obviously delighted that she has been chosen by the president , because there is literally no one in America who is better suited to be on the Supreme Court than Judge Barrett , ” said Snead , director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the school .
“ At the same time , we have some sadness at the prospect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D.C. ” Snead said Barrett ’ s former colleagues are also concerned about how judicial confirmations have turned into a “ no-holds-barred blood sport in our nation ’ s capital , which reflects our polarized politics.
” “ One of our colleagues at Notre Dame put it this way : ‘ Amy Barrett is the judge you would want to have on the court if you didn ’ t know which side of the lawsuit you were going to be on , ’ ” Snead said .
Fred Lucas is the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-host of “ The Right Side of History ” podcast .
Lucas is also the author of “ Tainted by Suspicion : The Secret Deals and Electoral Chaos of Disputed Presidential Elections.
” Send an email to Fred .

Alexa Baltes has a unique perspective on Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, as both a former student of hers at Notre Dame Law School and as a law clerk for her on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I mentioned her enthusiasm for principles over preference as a law professor. I got to see her turn theory into practice as a judge,” Baltes said during a virtual panel discussion of Barrett held by The Heritage Foundation.
“She was meticulous about taking herself out of decision-making. It didn’t matter what she wanted or what the public wanted. The only thing that mattered in her chamber — and she made very clear — was what the law required,” Baltes said.
Baltes clerked in 2018 and 2019 for Barrett, now President Donald Trump’s nominee for a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, and said that as a professor and judge, Barrett always challenged her students and clerks to defend their positions and question their assumptions.
“In the same way she used to challenge us students, she encouraged us clerks to challenge and push back on her reasoning,” Baltes said during the panel discussion Friday. “She just totally embodies the role of a judge as judge and not a policymaker.”
Laura Wolk, who attended the University of Notre Dame Law School from 2013 to 2016, was a student of Barrett’s in two classes.
Wolk, who is blind, recalled how Barrett made sure she had all the technology she needed to enable her to compete on a level playing field with other students.
“As a person with a disability, you hear this a lot. You hear a lot of people say, ‘Don’t worry. You can rely on me.’ Unfortunately, a lot of times that isn’t actually the case,” she said. “But when professor Barrett, who had no reason to owe me anything … but she did. When she told me she would take care of it, as someone who has experienced these barriers many, many times, I knew it was a rare circumstance.”
Wolk added that those who attack Barrett’s Catholic faith as a weakness are uninformed.
“I don’t think these people have ever met anyone that has practiced radical love the way professor Barrett has, because radical love makes you a bigger person. It expands your heart. It doesn’t constrict it,” she said. “And it makes you more capable of serving others, and loving others and being present to them. … I received the benefit of Amy Coney Barrett’s faith.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
She was clear that studying under Barrett was not easy, as other former students and clerks attested she constantly challenged them.
“[Barrett] did not tolerate soft ideas, and she did not tolerate sloppy reasoning. What she wanted from her students is that they would develop whatever jurisprudence, whatever philosophy, whatever position they decided to espouse, you had to come to class with good reasons for that decision and ready to debate with then-professor Barrett as she gave you the best counterargument against your position,” Wolk said, adding:
Judge Barrett never betrayed her own beliefs in the classroom. She never led her students. She never pushed them one way or the other. She acted as the paramount professor in the sense that her sole role was to expose her students to a variety of ideas from every side.
As a judge, Barrett heavily researched legal briefs to the cases well before the oral arguments, and carefully weighed the law, said John Adams, one of the first people to clerk for her on the 7th Circuit in 2017 and 2018.
“She approached cases the same way that either side could be right, and we would follow what the law required,” Adams said, adding:
She would dive right in. She would read all the briefs and then we would conference as law clerks, and we would discuss the case. Oftentimes, Judge Barrett would identify legal issues or wrinkles we had not even considered.
Adams said that’s the type of justice that should be on the Supreme Court, as someone who “knows all the doctrinal core issues” and “someone who will dive into the facts of a new issue or a new case before her.”
He noted that Barrett produced legal opinions “with a sense of decency” toward the parties involved.
“She also taught me a very important lesson that I engaged with as I continued to develop as an attorney in private practice,” Adams said. “She said that she would put herself in the shoes of the party that she was ruling against and consider how would that person perceive her decision.”
At Notre Dame Law School, O. Carter Snead said that he and other former colleagues of Barrett’s are happy for her nomination, but sad in another respect.
“We’re obviously delighted that she has been chosen by the president, because there is literally no one in America who is better suited to be on the Supreme Court than Judge Barrett,” said Snead, director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the school. “At the same time, we have some sadness at the prospect of losing her and her family to Washington, D.C.”
Snead said Barrett’s former colleagues are also concerned about how judicial confirmations have turned into a “no-holds-barred blood sport in our nation’s capital, which reflects our polarized politics.”
“One of our colleagues at Notre Dame put it this way: ‘Amy Barrett is the judge you would want to have on the court if you didn’t know which side of the lawsuit you were going to be on,’” Snead said.
Fred Lucas is the White House correspondent for The Daily Signal and co-host of “The Right Side of History” podcast. Lucas is also the author of “Tainted by Suspicion: The Secret Deals and Electoral Chaos of Disputed Presidential Elections.” Send an email to Fred.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Signal


thestream--2020-10-07--An Open Letter to Joe Biden’s Bishop, William Malooly

As a fellow Catholic American , and a father who lost his daughter to a forced abortion , let me get straight to the point .
When my teenage girlfriend got pregnant and her father forced her to abort , there was nothing I could do .
A series of dishonest court precedents had silenced voters ’ voices , and imposed the regime of death upon America .
Our little girl , whom we ’ d named Jessica , had fewer rights in American law than farm animals .
They must be killed humanely in most jurisdictions .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris ) refused to protect babies like Jessica .
They rejected the Pain Capable Abortion Act .
Indeed , they reject any limits on the killing of preborn children up through and after birth .
We couldn ’ t save Jessica .
Can This Soul Be Saved ?
Can you save Joe Biden ?
As a Catholic in your diocese , he is your spiritual son .
One of your sheep .
At least you can try .
No doubt you learned that you bear a heavy burden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eternal salvation rests in part on how hard you fought to keep your sheep from danger .
If Joe Biden showed up at your doorstep with a pistol in his hand , threatening suicide , would you slam the door in his face ?
I don ’ t think you would .
I think you ’ d try to save his life .
Will you help him save his soul ?
It ’ s clear that moral arguments don ’ t work with Joe .
His personal life suggests he doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lied repeatedly and brazenly about his own life and accomplishments .
He publicly defamed as a drunk a sober , innocent truck driver whom Joe ’ s wife plowed into , then died .
He has worked closely with white supremacists when that was politically convenient .
And now Joe affirms full support for abortion on demand right up through birth .
Now that it is politically convenient , Joe wants to force every taxpayer to fund abortions .
And to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to distribute abortion pills .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ moderate ” or “ pragmatist ” because his positions always perfectly tracked the vote-rich center of gravity among Democrats .
In the early 1990s , he was vocally opposed to gay activism in schools and same sex marriage .
By the 2000s , he didn ’ t just back same-sex marriage but performed one .
Did some profound scientific or psychiatric discovery in the interim change his mind ?
No .
The winds changed , and like a reed , Joe bent with them .
He backed the Iraq War that destroyed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2003 , then five years later backed Obama ’ s shock withdrawal , that made room for ISIS .
Now that China is waxing as the next great global power , Biden defers to it .
He opposed a travel ban on that country when it was sending virus carriers all around the world — but had locked down travel in China .
When Democrat governors dumped COVID patients on the most vulnerable , veterans and grandparents locked in nursing homes , Joe Biden said nothing .
His chief medical advisor on COVID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over 75 should receive life-saving medicine .
Now Joe blames every COVID death in America on … the man he happens to be running against for office .
So I realize that you don ’ t have much to work with here , bishop .
If you called Joe Biden and told him that it was a mortal sin for him to receive Holy Communion ( as clearly it is ) , he might not listen .
He probably wouldn ’ t , since it would hurt him politically .
Joe wants to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lax , fair-weather Catholic who voted for Obama , whom he hopes will vote for him .
They ’ re all about Communion without Confession , salvation without repentance , cheap grace without works or faith .
He sees the Body of Christ as his participation trophy for spending an hour basking in attention at Holy Mass .
He won ’ t go home without it .
Because I love my enemies , and even the enemies of preborn children like my daughter , I hope Joe Biden is saved .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope that he goes to his grave with his soul in its current state , and reaps his rich , rich “ reward.
” Instead , I would see him saved .
But that means repentance , and Joe has a long way to go .
To save Saul of Tarsus , God was constrained to knock him , blind , from his horse .
To save Biden of Wilmington , what would it take , bishop ?
I think you ’ d need to put pressure on the one consistent character trait @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : ambition .
Joe wants to win .
It ’ s actually sad in a man his age , but there you are .
What Would a Father Do ?
So what can you do as a pastor , a shepherd , a spiritual father who will have to answer for Joe on the day of judgment ?
I think you must use what leverage you have , stick a lever where it might lift the load .
I think you should publicly call on Joe Biden to repent , and order him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does .
Tell any priest in your diocese not to offer Joe the Host .
Ask your brother bishops to respect your decision .
At that , Joe will panic .
He might not understand eternal consequences .
But he knows that Catholics are swing voters , and that your decision makes him an outsider from the “ tribe.
” Perhaps if he sees how seriously you take the most fundamental issue of politics , protecting innocent life , he will think again .
He might repent his sin out of fear of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a start , just as the fear of Hell can make some sinners reform their lives .
Certainly Our Lord saw fit to mention it at many opportunities .
For the sake of Joe Biden ’ s soul , your own , and that of our country , I hope you consider this seriously .
Jason Jones is a senior contributor to The Stream .
He is a film producer , author , activist and human rights worker .
You can follow him @ JasonJonesShow .

Your Excellency:
As a fellow Catholic American, and a father who lost his daughter to a forced abortion, let me get straight to the point. When my teenage girlfriend got pregnant and her father forced her to abort, there was nothing I could do. A series of dishonest court precedents had silenced voters’ voices, and imposed the regime of death upon America.
Our little girl, whom we’d named Jessica, had fewer rights in American law than farm animals. They must be killed humanely in most jurisdictions. But the U.S. Congress and the Democratic party (including Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris) refused to protect babies like Jessica. They rejected the Pain Capable Abortion Act. Indeed, they reject any limits on the killing of preborn children up through and after birth. We couldn’t save Jessica.
Can This Soul Be Saved?
Can you save Joe Biden? As a Catholic in your diocese, he is your spiritual son. One of your sheep. At least you can try. No doubt you learned that you bear a heavy burden as a bishop. That your own eternal salvation rests in part on how hard you fought to keep your sheep from danger. If Joe Biden showed up at your doorstep with a pistol in his hand, threatening suicide, would you slam the door in his face? I don’t think you would. I think you’d try to save his life. Will you help him save his soul?
It’s clear that moral arguments don’t work with Joe. His personal life suggests he doesn’t have a strong conscience. He has lied repeatedly and brazenly about his own life and accomplishments. He publicly defamed as a drunk a sober, innocent truck driver whom Joe’s wife plowed into, then died. He has worked closely with white supremacists when that was politically convenient.
You don’t have much to work with here, bishop.
And now Joe affirms full support for abortion on demand right up through birth. Now that it is politically convenient, Joe wants to force every taxpayer to fund abortions. And to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to distribute abortion pills.
A Reed Blowing in the Wind
Joe Biden gained a reputation as a “moderate” or “pragmatist” because his positions always perfectly tracked the vote-rich center of gravity among Democrats. In the early 1990s, he was vocally opposed to gay activism in schools and same sex marriage. By the 2000s, he didn’t just back same-sex marriage but performed one. Did some profound scientific or psychiatric discovery in the interim change his mind?
No. The winds changed, and like a reed, Joe bent with them. He backed the Iraq War that destroyed that country’s Christian communities in 2003, then five years later backed Obama’s shock withdrawal, that made room for ISIS.
Now that China is waxing as the next great global power, Biden defers to it. He opposed a travel ban on that country when it was sending virus carriers all around the world — but had locked down travel in China. When Democrat governors dumped COVID patients on the most vulnerable, veterans and grandparents locked in nursing homes, Joe Biden said nothing. His chief medical advisor on COVID, Ezekiel Emanuel, thinks no patient over 75 should receive life-saving medicine.
Now Joe blames every COVID death in America on … the man he happens to be running against for office.
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Fear, the Beginning of Wisdom
So I realize that you don’t have much to work with here, bishop. If you called Joe Biden and told him that it was a mortal sin for him to receive Holy Communion (as clearly it is), he might not listen. He probably wouldn’t, since it would hurt him politically. Joe wants to present himself as the same kind of lax, fair-weather Catholic who voted for Obama, whom he hopes will vote for him. They’re all about Communion without Confession, salvation without repentance, cheap grace without works or faith. He sees the Body of Christ as his participation trophy for spending an hour basking in attention at Holy Mass. He won’t go home without it.
Because I love my enemies, and even the enemies of preborn children like my daughter, I hope Joe Biden is saved. I’m not cruel and vengeful enough to hope that he goes to his grave with his soul in its current state, and reaps his rich, rich “reward.”
Instead, I would see him saved. But that means repentance, and Joe has a long way to go. To save Saul of Tarsus, God was constrained to knock him, blind, from his horse. To save Biden of Wilmington, what would it take, bishop? I think you’d need to put pressure on the one consistent character trait he’s displayed over many decades: ambition. Joe wants to win. It’s actually sad in a man his age, but there you are.
What Would a Father Do?
So what can you do as a pastor, a shepherd, a spiritual father who will have to answer for Joe on the day of judgment? I think you must use what leverage you have, stick a lever where it might lift the load. I think you should publicly call on Joe Biden to repent, and order him not to receive Holy Communion until he does. Tell any priest in your diocese not to offer Joe the Host. Ask your brother bishops to respect your decision.
At that, Joe will panic. He might not understand eternal consequences. But he knows that Catholics are swing voters, and that your decision makes him an outsider from the “tribe.” Perhaps if he sees how seriously you take the most fundamental issue of politics, protecting innocent life, he will think again. He might repent his sin out of fear of the consequences. But that’s a start, just as the fear of Hell can make some sinners reform their lives. Certainly Our Lord saw fit to mention it at many opportunities.
For the sake of Joe Biden’s soul, your own, and that of our country, I hope you consider this seriously.
I remain yours in Christ,
Jason Jones
Jason Jones is a senior contributor to The Stream. He is a film producer, author, activist and human rights worker. You can follow him @JasonJonesShow.


thestream--2020-10-08--The Socialist Who Justifies Murdering Children

It ’ s not a good look .
Especially not for a leader of a movement that stresses human equality and fights those who oppress the poor and the marginalized .
Bhaskar Sunkara tweeted “ The question isn ’ t what we think justice demands .
I think killing little Romanov children was justified .
But it ’ s not surprising why these views are controversial given most people ’ s ethical and moral frameworks.
” When the Bolsheviks took over Russia , they had to decide what to do with the Czar and his family .
They could have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in prison .
They decided to kill them all .
Even the children .
That way , they didn ’ t have to worry that the Russian people would try to restore the monarchy .
The end ( securing the revolution ) justified the means ( murder ) .
Which meant they happily built Soviet socialism by shooting children , kicking them in the head , and stabbing them with bayonets .
Great , says a leading American socialist .
You can ’ t make omelettes without breaking eggs , as the old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He took down the tweet .
But it tells us what he really thinks .
He thinks you can kill innocent children to get what you want .
What the Socialist Should Not Say Sunkara founded and now edits the journal Jacobin .
He ’ s gotten the attention of the New York Times and the other big journals .
Fortune named him one of its forty under forty .
The avowedly socialist magazine , very well produced , and cleverly aimed at the general reader , endorses leftist causes .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rightist magazine Reason : a committed political magazine not written by dweebs that people flee at parties .
Bernie supporters and members of the Democratic Socialists of America follow it .
Its editors and writers look down on Biden and Clinton as capitalists .
They think liberalism just a slightly more statist form of neo-liberalism .
They present the classic socialist dream .
Jacobin wants to create the new socialist society in which everyone will be valued and respected and have what they need .
The kind of dream one may think idealistic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone should accept .
Even a libertarian should recognize that they want a good thing , even if he thinks they ’ ll actually create the opposite .
Their editor thinks killing children justified .
The socialist should not say this .
He should see what it allows .
If you can kill little children to get what you want , you can do anything .
You can kill socialists , for example .
By the way , there ’ s one irony to Sunkara ’ s despicable claim — and his critics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they focus on the czar ’ s children .
Also murdered were their valet , cook , and parlor maid .
( The brutes even killed their dog . )
Members of the working class .
People whose lives a socialist of all people should protect .
Even the socialist feels their lives not only worth taking , but worth forgetting .
Compare Sunkara with one of the last century ’ s socialist heroes , the writer George Orwell .
He was all-in on socialism .
As he explained in an essay called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written , directly or indirectly , against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism , as I understand it.
” A near atheist , Orwell didn ’ t believe morality had any sort of transcendent justification .
But he knew some actions are wrong .
Some of his examples relate to Sunkara ’ s claim .
He often used kicking a baby in the stomach as an example of something that ’ s just wrong .
It ’ s evil , period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You could never justify it as a lesser evil or as a means to an end .
It ’ s wrong .
Orwell saw — unlike Sunkara —the ultimate worth of human beings .
That included not just little children but the unborn .
In his early novel Keep the Aphidistra Flying , the main character ’ s girlfriend thinks about aborting their child .
“ That pulled him up .
For the first time he grasped , with the only kind of knowledge that matters , what they were really talking about.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ baby ” no longer meant “ a mere abstract disaster , they meant a bud of flesh , a bit of himself , down there in her belly , alive and growing .
… He knew then that it was a dreadful thing they were contemplating — a blasphemy , if that word had any meaning.
” He spoke bitterly of Sunkara ’ s kind of moral calculus .
In “ Notes on Nationalism , ” one of his most famous essays , Orwell condemned the idea that “ Actions are held to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own merits but according to who does them.
” He noted bitterly that in the politics of his day , “ there is almost no kind of outrage – torture , the use of hostages , forced labour , mass deportations , imprisonment without trial , forgery , assassination , the bombing of civilians – which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘ our ’ side.
” That the left did this really upset him .
In the same essay , he noted “ In 1927 Chiang @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and yet within ten years he had become one of the heroes of the Left .
The realignment of world politics had brought him into the anti-Fascist camp , and so it was felt that the boiling of the Communists ‘ didn ’ t count ’ , or perhaps had not happened.
” The same moral sense drives his most famous essay , one you might have read in college , “ Politics and the English Language.
” Orwell knew something Sunkara doesn ’ t .
Only a belief in absolute right and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It has to be the right belief , of course , one that sees the intrinsic dignity of the human person .
Relativism — the belief that lets the socialist editor say “ I think killing little Romanov children was justified ” — takes away the one intellectual support the poor have .
It steals their ability to say “ You can ’ t treat me like that ” and “ I deserve to be treated well.
” It takes from them their claim to be treated as ends , not means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people want for them , or from them .
As one of contemporary literature ’ s greatest villains put it , just before he tries to kill a little boy who ’ s gotten in his way : “ There is no good and evil , there is only power and those too weak to seek it.
” Sunkara wants economic equality .
Suppose someone else wants economic inequality ?
Suppose that person believes some people are made to be oppressed ?
And has the power to get his way ?
Who ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the social darwinist ?
No one .
It ’ s one man ’ s choice against another ’ s .
The second ’ s a barbarian , but Sunkara gave up the grounds for calling him that .
Because he chose barbarism as well .
David Mills is a senior editor of The Stream .
After teaching writing in a seminary , he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things .
He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes a weekly column for The Catholic Herald @

It’s not a good look. Especially not for a leader of a movement that stresses human equality and fights those who oppress the poor and the marginalized. Bhaskar Sunkara tweeted “The question isn’t what we think justice demands. I think killing little Romanov children was justified. But it’s not surprising why these views are controversial given most people’s ethical and moral frameworks.”
When the Bolsheviks took over Russia, they had to decide what to do with the Czar and his family. They could have sent them into exile or put them in prison. They decided to kill them all. Even the children. That way, they didn’t have to worry that the Russian people would try to restore the monarchy. The end (securing the revolution) justified the means (murder).
Which meant they happily built Soviet socialism by shooting children, kicking them in the head, and stabbing them with bayonets. Great, says a leading American socialist. You can’t make omelettes without breaking eggs, as the old saying goes.
Not a good look. He took down the tweet. But it tells us what he really thinks. He thinks you can kill innocent children to get what you want.
What the Socialist Should Not Say
Sunkara founded and now edits the journal Jacobin. He’s gotten the attention of the New York Times and the other big journals. Fortune named him one of its forty under forty. The avowedly socialist magazine, very well produced, and cleverly aimed at the general reader, endorses leftist causes. It’s the leftist equivalent to the rightist magazine Reason: a committed political magazine not written by dweebs that people flee at parties.
Bernie supporters and members of the Democratic Socialists of America follow it. Its editors and writers look down on Biden and Clinton as capitalists. They think liberalism just a slightly more statist form of neo-liberalism.
They present the classic socialist dream. Jacobin wants to create the new socialist society in which everyone will be valued and respected and have what they need. The kind of dream one may think idealistic and even foolish, but an ideal anyone should accept. Even a libertarian should recognize that they want a good thing, even if he thinks they’ll actually create the opposite.
Their editor thinks killing children justified. The socialist should not say this. He should see what it allows. If you can kill little children to get what you want, you can do anything. You can kill socialists, for example.
By the way, there’s one irony to Sunkara’s despicable claim — and his critics’ responses as well. He and they focus on the czar’s children. Also murdered were their valet, cook, and parlor maid. (The brutes even killed their dog.) Members of the working class. People whose lives a socialist of all people should protect. Even the socialist feels their lives not only worth taking, but worth forgetting.
Orwell’s Socialist Morality
Compare Sunkara with one of the last century’s socialist heroes, the writer George Orwell. He was all-in on socialism. As he explained in an essay called “Why I Write”: “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.”
A near atheist, Orwell didn’t believe morality had any sort of transcendent justification. But he knew some actions are wrong. Some of his examples relate to Sunkara’s claim. He often used kicking a baby in the stomach as an example of something that’s just wrong. It’s evil, period. Nothing could justify doing it. You could never justify it as a lesser evil or as a means to an end. It’s wrong.
Orwell saw — unlike Sunkara —the ultimate worth of human beings. That included not just little children but the unborn. In his early novel Keep the Aphidistra Flying, the main character’s girlfriend thinks about aborting their child. “That pulled him up. For the first time he grasped, with the only kind of knowledge that matters, what they were really talking about.”
Now, the words “a baby” no longer meant “a mere abstract disaster, they meant a bud of flesh, a bit of himself, down there in her belly, alive and growing. … He knew then that it was a dreadful thing they were contemplating — a blasphemy, if that word had any meaning.”
He spoke bitterly of Sunkara’s kind of moral calculus. In “Notes on Nationalism,” one of his most famous essays, Orwell condemned the idea that “Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits but according to who does them.” He noted bitterly that in the politics of his day, “there is almost no kind of outrage – torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians – which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side.”
That the left did this really upset him. In the same essay, he noted “In 1927 Chiang Kai-Shek boiled hundreds of Communists alive, and yet within ten years he had become one of the heroes of the Left. The realignment of world politics had brought him into the anti-Fascist camp, and so it was felt that the boiling of the Communists ‘didn’t count’, or perhaps had not happened.”
The same moral sense drives his most famous essay, one you might have read in college, “Politics and the English Language.”
Sunkara’s Big Mistake
Orwell knew something Sunkara doesn’t. Only a belief in absolute right and wrong can protect the poor and marginalized. It has to be the right belief, of course, one that sees the intrinsic dignity of the human person.
Relativism — the belief that lets the socialist editor say “I think killing little Romanov children was justified” — takes away the one intellectual support the poor have. It steals their ability to say “You can’t treat me like that” and “I deserve to be treated well.” It takes from them their claim to be treated as ends, not means.
And replaces it with whatever other people want for them, or from them. As one of contemporary literature’s greatest villains put it, just before he tries to kill a little boy who’s gotten in his way: “There is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.”
Sunkara wants economic equality. Suppose someone else wants economic inequality? Suppose that person believes some people are made to be oppressed? And has the power to get his way? Who’s to choose between the socialist and the social darwinist?
No one. It’s one man’s choice against another’s. The second’s a barbarian, but Sunkara gave up the grounds for calling him that. Because he chose barbarism as well.
David Mills is a senior editor of The Stream. After teaching writing in a seminary, he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things. He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes a weekly column for The Catholic Herald.