You have to be a fool to believe unverified allegations that come from the mainstream media

Posted on November 19, 2017 by lawofmarkets

Remember Michelle Fields? Remember how the media were all agreed that Donald Trump’s campaign manager had thrown her to the ground? Remember how the videos soon after appeared proving she was a liar. Even then the media continued but when the evidence became so obvious that nothing had happened, it just stopped. No apology, no owning up that it was made up out of whole cloth. Just nothing said at all, and on they moved.

So move forward to today and we see not hypocrisy but the continuation of their out and out strategy of lying to harm Republicans in flogging issues which if the same is done by a Democrat there is nothing to be said. No sexual predator in politics is in the same league as Bill Clinton but no Democrat ever said a word while he was in a position to advance whatever agenda the left wished to see advanced. Falling for these things is a massive political weakness on the right. So we are now dealing with Roy Moore over what is certainly a series of lies being told about him in comparison with the visual evidence of sexual harassment and worse by Al Franken.

This is to go with the other photo of Franken pawing the breasts of this same woman. This is from the USO show in which Tweeden had said she had turned away from Franken having had his tongue rammed down her throat in the rehearsal he insisted on having. A predator, and unelectable as a Republican, but absolutely re-electable as a Democrat. This below is from The Washington Post via Allahpundit.

So here is the point. If you don’t want to elect sexual predators, never pay attention to the mainstream media. Donald Trump was among the few to finally get past the inanities of the right voting for their enemies because of some unproven and unprovable allegation by various women about what Donald Trump had supposedly done, which oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, these women had never previously mentioned. With Franken, even Tweeden doesn’t want him to leave the Senate. And you may be sure that if Franken had done this once this was not the sole occasion when something like this has happened.

Democrats have no morals to speak of, only appetites and a will to power. If Republican voters are going to continue to fall for these things time and again, we will be at the end of times before you know it and there will be no one there to defend the moral codes Democrats and their media enablers are using against you to kick you and your values to the curb.

Separating out the threads

Posted on November 16, 2017 by lawofmarkets

Let us see if we can pull apart the various threads over whether Roy Moore, a former justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, is fit to be a US Senator.

1) Ivanka: ‘Special Place In Hell’ For Child Predators… which no one is contesting. The question is whether Roy Moore is such a person.

2) There is no evidence for any of the accusations

3) The only supposed proof that Moore met one of the accused is a signature in a yearbook from 1977 in which mid-signature the ink changes colour – the colour of the ink goes from black to light blue – there are plenty of other reasons for thinking it’s a forgery including the woman’s lawyer won’t deny that it is

4) The media in the US has a history of bringing forward spurious accusations of sexual harassment and assault against Republicans none of which have any evidence other than the word of the accuser. Here is the list from 2016 against Donald Trump which have all disappeared since the election.

So where are we now. Here are a few conclusions that spring off the page.

The Republican mainstream are opposed to Trump’s agenda and will see him out of office as quickly as possible. The left and the media could not make this accusation stand if the Republicans wished to take the small bit of trouble required to show that the accusations are false.

To my tremendous disappointment, Drudge has crossed over and Instapundit may have as well.

Irrespective of the outcome in the Senate special election, Trump’s extraordinary achievements in Asia have been all but obliterated.

If The Swamp succeeds here, PDT will be next.

AN UPDATE: From Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit whose commenters are far more on the ball than the actual posters, including Glenn, unfortunately.

So on the one hand I feel like I’m not taking this seriously enough, but on the other hand I find it impossible to take seriously. Based on what we know so far, what percentile of awfulness in the Senate would Roy Moore be? Would he be 99th Percentile — making him the worst person in the Senate? Seems doubtful given that there’s a secret slush fund paying victims of Congressional harassment already. He can’t compare to such past lions as Ted Kennedy or Robert Packwood, and it seems likely that there are other, current ones that we just haven’t hear about. So say he’s at the 90th percentile. That means there are 10 sitting Senators worse than him. How exercised should I be about the prospect of him joining them? And maybe he’s only, say, 75th percentile!

Jonathan Adler makes a persuasive case that Moore is a constitutional illiterate, but it’s not like that would set Moore apart much in the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body.

The truth is, the Senate is just awful — and the House is no better — because it’s full of politicians. The real travesty here isn’t that we might send another clown to join the clown show. It’s that the clown show has so much power, and so little accountability, when it’s doing things that are a lot more serious than groping.

And no, this isn’t good, it’s terrible. It’s more evidence of our decline. And I feel bad for having to point it out, again.

Here then are the top comments at Instapundit.

Richard Allen • an hour ago

If the allegations against Moore are actually true, then he would fit right in in Washington. His real sin is that he bucked the GOPe.

TempoNick  Richard Allen • 43 minutes ago

That is my biggest reservation about the guy. Practically everybody hates him. Usually, not always but usually, people like that are self-righteous pains in the arses. There is a constructive way to change the system, and there are ways of being a jerk about it. I’m guessing there’s a reason why all the knives came out and it isn’t because he stands up for the Ten Commandments.

But, whatever. He’s still better than the commie.

robcrawford2  TempoNick • 40 minutes ago

Both parties hate Trump, too, yet he’s appointing conservative judges, pushing tax reductions, and enforcing immigration laws.

Honestly, I wonder if “hated by both parties” shouldn’t be something to be proud of.

LarryD  robcrawford2 • 32 minutes ago

Nowadays, anyway. I’m not an Alabaman, but it seems like nothing recommends Moore so much as his enemies.
happyfeet47 • an hour ago

Mr. Moore is the #1 best choice for Alabama!
- Dar ul Harb happyfeet47 • an hour ago
  
  #otherRepublicansrolledover
- sirpatrick  happyfeet47 • an hour ago
  
  He has my vote.
  
  TempoNick  sirpatrick • an hour ago
  
  I’d go to Alabama and vote for him too, but I’m not an illegal or a Democrat.
  
  alexia_sf • an hour ago
  
  You might want to post something about the Allred accuser having had her divorce case overseen by Moore in 1999 even though she said she never had contact with him after the alleged assault. Minor detail I know, but I don’t know many people who would not have at least requested a different judge if he’d sexually assaulted the plaintiff.
  
  andycanuck  alexia_sf • an hour ago
  
  Why would she ask for a change of venue with her attempted rapist? After all he signed her yearbook!
  
  smmy33  alexia_sf • 31 minutes ago
  
  He supposedly molestered her, years later he is a judge in her divorce proceeding, she doesn’t ask for him to be recused or bring up the allegations even when he ruled against her, saw nothing wrong it but 18 years later she’s crying at just the thought of the event 40 years ago.
  
  But what is even more important. She got his signature from the divorce paper. That’s why it’s in two pens. The Roy in yearbook isn’t his signature at all and the Moore was a forgery and the stupid idiot thought the DA was part of his signature so she added it , but it his assistants initials he adds in court documents as a witness.
  
  Dar ul Harb  smmy33 • 22 minutes ago
  
  The “two pens” thing is a hoax, BTW. Looks to me like an effect of the lighting in the room, combined with low-res JPEG compression of narrow out-of-focus features in the original image. Still probably fake though.
  
  smmy33  Dar ul Harb • 14 minutes ago
  
  One could be a better resolution. Once they examine the ink, they know that it’s not 40 years old ink.
  
  Allred wouldn’t even deny on CNN the signature is a fraud…. The DA was taken right off her divorce papers…. The Roy is not how he signs his name, the Moore was copied from the divorce papers, along with the DA.
  
  smmy33  Dar ul Harb • 12 minutes ago
  
  Ben is lying it was taken from CNN tweet
  
  vbmoneyspender  Dar ul Harb • 15 minutes ago
  
  I thought the image came from CNN. Also, how does Benson explain away the two very different uppercase M’s in Merry and Moore?
  - Dar ul Harb vbmoneyspender • 4 minutes ago
    
    When I bring the image into Photoshop, here are my observations:
    
    The “black-n’-blue” photo appears to have only been in focus in a narrow strip centered on the word “Roy” (or “Ray”) as though it was taken from an oblique angle, with limited depth-of-field. The “blue” part is out-of-focus, as is the inscription. The lighter color could be a combination of the original lighting conditions, the photo’s limited depth-of-field and out of focus, and JPEG compression artifacts blending the background color into the out-of-focus pixels. You’re talking about downsampling color in a relatively low resolution web image of a relatively thin feature.
    
    That’s assuming nobody changed the color of that section of the image deliberately, which I can’t see any evidence of, by the way. What I see is a gradual shift in color that affects the “77” in “1977” and the “Olde” and the “M” in “Moore”. But as Benson shows, another color image (apparently taken at a more direct angle, but still not quite in focus) does not exhibit this color shifted effect.
    
    As I said, I suspect the yearbook inscription has been forged by Allred’s client, but it’s probably not as obvious as “two pens” would have you believe.

“Trusting the ABC was a rookie mistake”

Posted on November 15, 2017 by lawofmarkets

An interesting article about the hysterics at the ABC and their fellow hysteric our interim Prime Minister: Four Corners stopped truth from ruining its ripping yarn. It’s about how nothing has come of the Royal Commission after “the ABC’s Four Corners announced to the world that the Northern Territory ‘tortured children’, and engaged in ‘barbarism’ in facilities such as Don Dale”. Here’s how the article ends.

During conversations with Four Corners, I sought and repeatedly was given assurances that the highest ethical standards were being applied. In the opinion of other news outlets, trusting the ABC was a rookie mistake. That trust was why it was given the extraordinary access.

Those ethical standards can be found in the ABC’s Code of Practice under the heading Impartiality and Diversity of Perspectives. I believe Four Corners failed all five guidelines.

The ABC is a federally funded public service organisation. It withheld information from a Prime Minister and based on partial information the Prime Minister made a call to spend $50m. Since that time, the ABC has declared its footage unavailable; attempted to suppress evidence before a royal commission; and, when asked, has refused to investigate itself. Even an ABC journalist referred to it as a “hatchet job”.

If the royal commission report does not deliver scalps or, worse still, fails to even recommend criminal investigations and prosecutions, it will be because the information that led to its establishment was deeply flawed and misleading.

“Deeply flawed and misleading” – given the way it operates I thought that was already the first item on the ABC’s Code of Practice in how it presents the news.

Illogical negativism in, logical positivism out

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lawofmarkets

I have a post up at Quadrant Online: Weaponising Illogical Negativism. This is how it starts, discussing the base philosophical creed across the media and the left.

The core principle of logical positivism which underpins verification as the basis for scientific investigation of the truth of any statement:

A statement that cannot be conclusively verified cannot be verified at all. It is simply devoid of any meaning.

This then is the principle of illogical negativism, now applied near universally across the media and throughout the Left. It is the principle that denies any need whatsoever to verify any statement that suits the political outcome sought by the person making the statement or hearing it.

A statement that cannot be conclusively denied cannot be denied at all. It is simply true because someone has said it and conforms to what those who hear the statement prefer to believe.

Let us look a little more deeply at this principle, seen everywhere among the empty heads of the Republican Party as much as among Democrats. No evidence or factual underpinnings are required, only that someone says it and it suits others that it has been said.

Or to put it more plainly, they are liars who count on the complicity and ignorance of others. Now go to the link to see what has brought all this to mind.

“It would be a great thing to have a good relationship with Russia, Trump said”

Posted on November 12, 2017 by lawofmarkets

PDT is afraid of nothing. Here they are, out to railroad his presidency because of some alleged form of pre-election collaboration with Putin and Russia, and here he is, just yesterday, collaborating with Putin and the Russians: Putin and Trump talk Syria, election meddling at brief meeting. The US and Russia working together against a common enemy works for me, and apparently for them as well.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed a statement on Syria during a brief meeting at a summit in Vietnam on Saturday and Putin again dismissed allegations of meddling in last year’s U.S. election.

And walking into the media-Democrat Lion’s den, this is how the article ends.

“It would be a great thing to have a good relationship with Russia,” Trump said.

It would indeed. It would be great if the relationship between Russia and the United States could somehow be reset. It would be a true benefit if the President could have more flexibility now that the election is over, if you know what I mean, which no Democrat following the party line would ever do.

And then there’s this, in late-breaking news: South Korea, China agree to manage North Korea issue peacefully, in stable manner. It would be great to have a good relationship with China too.

The impossible will take a little longer

Posted on November 9, 2017 by lawofmarkets

I gave a presentation yesterday on “Donald Trump – One Year On.” These were my speaking notes. And while I mainly think of politics in relation to policy, the left thinks of policy as a fashion statement. They hate capitalism and they hate Christianity which basically explains most of what they do and say. Even in a friendly audience, after a year of finding how moderate and full of good sense PDT is, I was asked, what about Russia? Well what about Russia, I replied. The 2020 election is no certainty, nor are the Congressional elections next year. There are enough on the Republican side in the same [slime]mould as our Malcolm who would prefer to see the Democrats take Congress than see Trump succeed. Anyway, this is what I said on the first anniversary of the election. And of course, the book I refer to is my Art of the Impossible which remains as alive and relevant as the day it was published. Highly recommended, if I do say so myself.

The most extraordinary part about going through the book a year after the election is to find how relevant every page of it still is.

The areas of relevance:

• domestic
• economic
• international
• cultural/social

Who are the enemies he is dealing with and what are the central issues?

fanatical and ignorant opposition

• SJW are far left anti-capitalist, anti-free institutions
• the left in the US and across the world is no longer about provisioning the welfare state but is out and out communist and totalitarian
• Antifa is representative of the mindset

far-far left media

• malevolent, ignorant and totalitarian at heart
• utterly oppositional in everything they say or write
• stand for nothing other than a series of empty clichés
• tweet-storms is Trump’s modern means to outflank the media
• Catallaxy, Quadrant, The Spectator, bits of Sky News and tiny bits of The Australian are literally the only pro-Trump sources in Australia

focus on the national economy – wishes to restore the American economy to good health – others are welcome to join in to restore their own in exactly the same way

• reduce public spending
• roll back regulations
• cut taxation – business and personal
• interest rate increases although limited
• more room for entrepreneurial decision making
• crony-capitalism [Keynesian theory] no longer at the centre of policy

judicial appointments

• rebalancing a left judicial system
• one SCOTUS appointment and others likely to follow

international trade – no evidence of protectionist sentiments – only pro-American sentiments

• no national governmwnt leaves trade relations to the market
• comparative advantage occurs automatically in an economy in which governments do nothing to promote local industry relative to foreign competition – no such government exists – TPP Agreement is 5000 pages long! – that is not free trade
• national governments in every country attempt to steer international trade towards the goods and services they already produce – subsidies, tax breaks, protectionist measures even without tariffs directly applied – plenty of cheating going on at every level
• has merely said the US will not absorb the economic losses watching others bend the rules to their advantage at America’s expense

open-borders

• believes migrants should benefit the host nation
• migration should not be a system of self-selection
• migrants should fit into our system of values based on a Judeo-Christian ethos – if you don’t like the value system here in the West you are not forced to migrate
• he thinks that the value system of the West has worked very well for us in the past – personal wealth and personal freedom to an extent found in no other societies not now nor across the entire sweep of history – and his aim is to preserve these as much as he is able

Islamic jihad

• the most dangerous ideological enemy of the West
• aims to resist to the fullest extent possible

North Korea

• developing nuclear weapons along with an ICBM delivery system
• NK leader is unstable and impossible to reason with
• massive danger
• will never permit NK to have nuclear weapons
• no one else has any plausible approach to dealing with NK – other than the usual left approach which is to do nothing and hope for the best

Global Non-Warming

• absolutely rejects global warming as a basis for policy
• pulled out of the Paris Accords already
• promoting carbon-based fuels
• pulling subsidies from alternative fuels – if you can make it on your own by being competitive OK – otherwise nothing

personal qualities

• tough minded and clear headed
• understands business and the operation of a market economy
• a strong believer in education and learning
• has a high regard for the study of history

The full quote for the title, by the way: comes from, “The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer.”

AND FURTHERMORE: A quite striking find by mh in the comments: It’s Trump’s Party Now, wherein we find:

How could the Beltway GOP not see that its defining policies — open borders, amnesty, free trade globalism, compulsive military intervention in foreign lands for ideological ends — were alienating its coalition?

What had a quarter century of Bushite free trade produced?

About $12 trillion in trade deficits, $4 trillion with China alone, a loss of 55,000 plants and 6 million manufacturing jobs.

We imported goods “Made in China,” while exporting our future.

U.S. elites made China great again, to where Beijing is now challenging our strategic position and presence in Asia.

Could Republicans not see the factories shutting down, or not understand why workers’ wages had failed to rise for decades?

And there’s more there than just that.

The Russian Revolution 100 years ago today

Posted on November 7, 2017 by lawofmarkets

Here it is November 7 and it’s the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution – that is, the Russian Revolution – and there is going to be a celebration in Melbourne, and no doubt everywhere else across the West (but certainly not in Russia). Of course, for most of us, the only part worth celebrating is that we do not live in a communist state. Not for all these fools trying to get us there. Already discussed last month since the October Revolution was how the Russians remembered it, as did all communists. The question that really comes out of this is the absence of sense in supporting these regimes. Since we know that some people do not learn from history, we are forever in danger of falling into some leftist trap.

Socialism is a form of sadism. This story from Venezuela defies any sense of humanity: VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT EATS EMPANADA ON LIVE TV WHILE ADDRESSING STARVING NATION. Not an ounce of sympathy or sense of shame in the massive pain inflicted on his nation. All socialist leaders are the same, however they may portray themselves before they find their way to power. And it’s not just some ratbags off on their own, but try to find in any part of the mainstream media a full-scale discussion of the horrors of communism. We know it, and they know it too, but next time it will be better. Or maybe the time after that. Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn should be constant reminders that these people are everywhere. And let us not forget the most recent addition to the lists of clueless far left political leaders, Jacinda Ardern.

IDIOTIC IDEAS: Picked up by Baldrick in the comments and much appreciated: from the ABC’s Big Ideas series – Legacy of the Russian Revolution. Here’s the text:

The Russian Revolution is one of the determined attempts ever to build a better and more equal world. Extreme inequality was what fuelled that revolution. Analysing the reasons for its failures is important if we are to face the same question today, a century later. Once again, issues of inequality loom large. Big Ideas looks at the Russian Revolution – in the context of thousands of years of human history.

The Legacy of the Russian Revolution – Annual lecture of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia.

Okay stupidoes, compare the capitalist West in 1917 with the capitalist West today. You known, in places like the US, Australia, Canada, Europe etc etc. How are we going building a better and more equal world? I don’t despair in seeing things like this but am in fact infuriated by such base stupidity and ignorance. The ABC is filled with fools of the most debased kind, absolutely without a clue about what gives them their freedoms and their prosperity. Where are their programs on the 60-100 million deaths at the hands of communists never mind a bit of something on Venezuela or Cuba or North Korea right now? Worse than just stupid but actually complicit in evil. If they can support such communist horrors, the blood is on their own hands and nothing they might say about hoping for a better world will wash it away.

The strangest weirdest oddest article I may have ever read

Posted on October 30, 2017 by lawofmarkets

It is also perhaps the most depressing article I may ever have read. It is almost impossible to summarise in a way that explains how bizarre it is. It comes in four parts. I will highlight what I think matters first and then give you the link.

Part I – I read with great interest and approval all of the MSM and as much of it as I can find

I’m a political junkie. Every day I read The Washington Post and The New York Times, among other media giants, with great interest and appreciation. I understand and value the great writing, thoughtful analysis, logic and reasoning. And the fact checking. Especially the fact checking.

Given that I live in Iowa, The Des Moines Register, The Chicago Tribune and The Kansas City Star are among my favorites as well. I also try to catch a variety of broadcast news organizations over the course of the evening. Being ADD, Twitter presents an endless buffet of delightful and distracting news commentary and stories.

I’m learning that President Donald Trump continues to offend, make missteps, court World War III and faces isolation in the face of the worst presidential polling in history. That he faces possible impeachment, or removal from office when his cabinet invokes Section 25 of the Constitution. I learn that the Republican Party is in disarray and may never recover. In this chaos commentators are speculating just how many Democrats will gain seats in the House and Senate and if it will be enough to take over one or both bodies of Congress in 2018. Possible Democratic candidates for president are being vetted for 2020.

Part II – Even at the request of a friend I could not bear to watch a speech given by Trump but I did manage to read it

My friend Mark said something like, “Hey Bob, if you want to understand why rural conservatives like Trump, watch the speech he gave at the Values Voters Summit.”

I replied, “Just tell me why,” not wanting to tell Mark I can hardly stand to watch or listen to Trump, I despise him so. I thought, how perfectly ironic and hypocritical of the religious right to have a man without honor or dignity preach about “values.”

“No, you have to watch it first. Then we’ll talk,” he said. . . .

While I couldn’t bring myself to actually watch Trump give his speech, I read the transcript as provided by the White House.

Part III – I read the speech and can see what Trump voters like

Doing my best to understand how my conservative friends might read Trump’s speech, I read it again. Only this time, I contrasted Trump’s messaging with how rural conservatives often view Democratic messaging. Here goes.

Trump began by saying we are a nation of believers and that “together we are strengthened and sustained by the power of prayer.” Democrats want prayer out of the public sphere.

Trump called the Las Vegas shooting a “horrific mass murder” and an “act of pure evil.” Democrats blame the guns and want to take yours away.

Trump honored the heroes of Las Vegas, including the police officers and other first responders. Democrats elevate thugs and view our protectors in blue with disdain.

Trump quotes scripture. Democrats ridicule those who do.

Trump stresses unity. Democrats divide American society into victims and oppressors.

Trump says, “We love our country.” Obama went on an international apology tour.

Trump says, “We cherish the sacred dignity of every human life.” Democrats murder babies.

Trump says, “We believe in strong families.” Democratic policies pull them apart.

Trump says, “We are proud of our history.” Democrats tear down monuments.

Trump says, “We respect our great American flag.” Democrats take a knee.

I could go on. There’s much, much more in Trump’s speech that’s fodder for conservative thought.

Part IV – I therefore warn all my comrades that these Trump supporters are so stupid that if the Dems think they are going to ever get their votes they are wasting their time

So, big media, keep up the great writing, thoughtful analysis, logic and reasoning. And fact checking. But, remember here in Trumplandia, you won’t change any minds. The cultural fissure is too deep, and relates to fundamentally different worldviews with respect to freedom and the nature of man.

Given so, Trump’s sinking poll numbers are irrelevant. My conservative friends will vote for a fence post before they vote for a Democrat.

Keep preaching to the choir, coastal media elites. Continue to predict the downfall of Trump in 2020 if not before, and great victories for Democrats in congressional races in 2018, and we’ll see if it works. That’s my hope. I fear, however, such stories will only lead to complacency among the Democratic electorate.

My conservative friends remain “Trump-strong.”

And this moron, what does he remain? Read it all: They’re Trump-strong in rural Iowa — and not changing their minds. It is unimaginable what would need to happen for someone as smug and dense as he is to even understand what might possibly be wrong with the way he thinks. But at least he is ahead of me on this: I cannot even now conceive why anyone would have preferred Hillary and could not possibly provide a list in the same way he has done on how someone on the left sees the world.

Racing towards Gomorrah

Posted on October 27, 2017 by lawofmarkets

Picked up from Ace of Spades:

The approach to foreign policy America has desperately needed

Posted on October 26, 2017 by lawofmarkets

Via Instapundit whose heading is Ridiculous, it’s not getting any press as if anything PDT did right would ever be mentioned: Trump’s Malaysia Gambit: Call It Another Win. Who would have thought foreign policy would be one of his major strengths? The following is only for those to whom foreign policy counts:

Trump’s Malaysia gambit is an excellent example of the kind of realpolitik approach to foreign policy that America has desperately needed for more than a decade. Rather than coddling tin-pot dictators and terrorists at the White House, we have an administration that is willing to work with leaders who are willing to work with the United States, reach mutually beneficial agreements, and along the way strengthen U.S. national and economic security both abroad and at home. . . .

We’ve seen what happens when we have a president unwilling to defend and uphold our nation’s interests at home and abroad. It will take years for us to recover, but the Trump White House is digging in and rebuilding that trust and that national interest one ally at a time and whether the media elite and its friends like it or not.

It’s not long so you should read it all. As discussed already, the most transformative president in American history. The more you see what he does, the more vile his opponents become.

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