Stephan Colbert is what passes in some effete Postmodernist circles as a comedian and entertainer. He's also considered by the American Left to be a deep intellectual and profound political pundit; along with such characters as Al Franken and Sarah Silverman. Some specimens of Colbert's brilliance include quotes like:
"Religion: It's all equally ridiculous. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith got gold tablets from an angel on a hill, when everybody knows Moses got stone tablets from a burning bush on a mountain!"
"Christianity is the best way to cure gayness. Just get down on your knees, take a swig of wine, and accept the body of a man in your mouth!"
"Gun violence: It just keeps going up no matter how many guns we buy!"
Ah, such cutting wit; such insightful barbs; such rib-splitting irony...no doubt Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, and Johnny Carson will have to guard their reputation these days. And they say that Liberals have no sense of humor {yawn}.
Colbert himself isn't laughing though at the Podesta Files so much anymore. The intrepid whistleblower Julian Assange released a rather embarrassing 2013 communique between Craig Minassian, of the Clinton Global Initiative and John Podesta, which reads as follows:
"I hope you get a chance to see the Colbert Reports two special episodes that I had them do about CGI taped in St. Louis this weekend. This is a link to last night's show about commitments and the monologue and the interview with WJC (former President Clinton) aired this Monday. Hope you enjoy and looking forward to your feedback. Next will be your Colbert appearance!"
The revelations that Colbert was having his scripts written by Clinton Machine apparatchiks caused Colbert to throw an on-air tantrum on CBS. "WikiLeaks, Alex Jones, all the sub-Reddit sub-geniuses---grow the f*** up!" he bellowed in front of a shocked audience; which then roared with approval after the producers quickly put up the Applause Cues.
Craig Minassian has since become the Chief Communications Officer for the scandal-ridden Clinton Foundation. Stephen Colbert makes $4.6 million annually on CBS to read prepared scripts on behalf of the Clinton Machine. A self-styled champion of the 'real American', Colbert has an estimated net worth of $45 million. So much for another Corporate Media fraud.
Following last October's revelations that American infant morality rates are rapidly reaching Third-World levels, the Center for Disease Control released 2016 statistics on life expectancy and mortality. For the first time since 1993, life expectancy in the US has dropped; following a long and steady climb in some mortality-related demographics.
Men of all races suffered the greatest statistical decline, with the rates of unintentional injuries and suicides pushing their numbers downward. The numbers stayed relatively static for minority women, but white females declined as well.
It would appear that these stories would indicate that our 'Exceptionalist Culture' with the world's greatest healthcare system isn't so great or exceptional after all. Especially when we consider that increases in the 10 leading causes of death are wholly lifestyle-related. Heart disease, stroke, diabetes: all three have relationships associated with chronic obesity. The CDC reported this year also that obesity rates among Americans are the highest ever: with white American women now at 40%. These are all categories of death that impacted white females the most.
It also cannot be denied that record numbers of Americans addicted to prescription dope and sky-high poverty levels are contributing factors as well. Respiratory diseases was another category that was up among all races and genders---a frequent side effect of chemical poisoning, as in drug use or environmental pollution. Cancer rates were one of the few areas that declined.
The suicide rate---and the closely connected 'unintentional injury' category has been escalating among American men of all races for some time. In 2014, White males accounted for 70% of all suicides, rising to 72% this year. But since this number affects White men, nobody in Academia or Media is particularly interested in investigating the causes or looking for solutions.
Another suicide statistic which is largely covered-up (although for a different reason) is the extremely high suicide rate among so-called LGBTQ people. According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, around 1/3 of LGBTQs have attempted suicide at some point. But that number doesn't fit the Politically-Correct social narrative that Gender Identity Disorder is not a mental illness and perfectly healthy lifestyle choice that should be celebrated and embraced.
What these numbers indicate overall are two things: First, that Obamacare hasn't done a single thing to improve American healthcare (other than enriching Insurance Cartels and Big Pharma). Second, it illustrates that American culture is really sinking to the level of pre-Industrial societies. All of these declining health factors are related to social breakdowns at nearly every level.
The American public above all needs to get out of its state of collective denial that these problems exist. The Trump Team is showing a few positive steps with proposals to reform our predatory healthcare system and at least an intention to raise national living standards. But we have a long way to go, as these numbers clearly indicate.
The Pope has said much recently about the irresponsibility and corruption of the Western Media and today gave one of his strongest denunciations of their shameful practices. Francis brought up the issue in an exclusive interview with the Belgian news service, Tertio.
"The media has a very great responsibility," Francis reminded the reporters, "Given the mass-media's reach, they have the ability to form opinions. Media are the builders of a society and, as such, are meant to foster a fraternal exchange of ideas; to educate and to make one think. Media is not inherently evil, but we must remember that we are all sinners and have our temptations."
Then, following Christ's example in defending the woman accused of adultery, the Pope challenged the Media Pharisees to determine who was worthy to cast the first stone:
"First of all, media can be tempted to slander or defile innocent people, especially in politics." the Pope noted, "Every person has a right to a good name; and we must especially be on guard against the temptation to defame. To bring to light a problem from someone's distant past and hold them responsible even if they have repented and rectified the situation is defamatory to that person. It is serious, it is damaging, and nullifies that person. This is not right; it is a sin and does harm."
His Holiness wasn't finished with the now-humbled Belgian Press. Unlike Christ, he didn't allow the reporters to put down their stones and quietly slink away to another topic. Francis pointed out that spreading disinformation was lying, and as bad as slander:
"Telling one part of the truth, but omitting part of it is to misinform. Because you, the media, have the whole truth but cheat the public of the other half. The public is thus robbed of the ability to make a moral judgment on the complete truth. Misinforming people is probably the greatest harm that the media can do. It is designed to channel opinion in one direction only."
Francis went on to give his opinion of the Postmodern Media's quality. He stated this as diplomatically as possible, befitting His Office, but many of us certainly share the Pope's sentiments:
"Media figures must learn to be very clean, very clean and very transparent. Their current obsession with scandal resembles the sickness of Coprophilia" (a neurotic condition characterized by an abnormal obsession with feces) "If the media can avoid these temptations, they can be builders of opinion, they can edify, and do an immense, an immense amount of good."
This is not the first occasion in which Pope Francis has called out collective Media malpractice. In September, the Pope scolded journalists while addressing an international media forum in Rome. Later that same month, he called on social media users to reflect on their Christian attitudes before spreading stories about others.
Naturally, the US Corporate Media discreetly ignored the Pope's words; lest the public start drawing some conclusions from them. But Francis touched upon another issue, which should be addressed further. In the past, there were media conglomerates too; though competitive and not in collusion as they are today. What news media professionals of the past understood was that the bottom-line for their success was not exclusively economic, but rested on their credibility. The minute the public lost confidence in a media outlet, that media organization was finished. True, advertisers had leverage over media content---though not nearly to the degree they have today---but that system worked both ways. An advertiser wanted his product associated with a news source that people trusted; and wanted nothing to do with sources that no one took seriously. It should be noted for example that in the past, advertisers paid top dollar for a spot on a major source but avoided tabloids like the plague---even though tabloids often had high profit-margins and wide readership.
The Pope is right that the Media can become a force for good again; but it must shake off the tendency to chase dollars by appealing to society's lowest common denominators and focus on the public interest again. Unfortunately, the US media is going the opposite way; even calling for---or at least not opposing---governmental restrictions on the free press. This should be a red flag to indicate that our press is already to some degree unfree. Media reform is going to have to come from within and through public demand, censorship will worsen the situation.
Michael Flynn, Jr., the son of Trump's nominee for NSA chief, was unceremoniously booted off the presidential staff for defending Comet Pizzeria attacker, Edgar Welch. Flynn has been drawing criticism for his support of Pizzagate for the past few weeks; but the final straw came when Flynn said of Welch's arrest:
"Until Pizzagate is proven false, it will remain a story. The Left seems to forget the Podesta e-mails and many coincidences tied to it."
Welch arrived at the Comet Pizzeria armed with an M-16 and has told investigators that his intent was to rescue children allegedly held prisoner in tunnels said to be under the pizzeria.
As for Flynn, he should understand that under American Law, the burden of proof is on the accuser.
Let us get a grip on reality here. Comet Pizzeria is less than 5 miles from the White House. Government officials who go there have all undergone FBI background checks. Obama has been to Comet himself, with his entourage of Secret Service agents. Now whenever the President of the United States visits a locale like this, the Secret Service shows up long before he does, and goes over the building with a fine-toothed comb. And yes, they do collect names of employees and vet them first. And we're to believe that somehow all of the criminal activity at Comet escaped the US Secret Service's notice.
The Comet Pizzeria is also just a little further away from FBI headquarters. Presumably, FBI agents have eaten there. FBI agents who routinely investigate child sex-trafficking rings and Satanic cults. And they noticed nothing.
Consider too the number of times that our Government's databases have been hacked. Edward Snowden revealed extensive NSA domestic espionage. We should assume that NSA would be fully aware of Comet's alleged criminal activities, yet Snowden has never said anything about it. Not just internal hacking, but we know that foreign governments have breached sensitive databases. Why wouldn't Russian or Chinese Intelligence expose Pizzagate? Yet the media in both countries dismiss the story as 'fake news'.
In fact, not even the North Korean media has reported on Pizzagate and that speaks volumes: that the North Korean government considers the story too incredible even for anti-American propaganda purposes.
This is why Trump did the right thing in firing Flynn. Men like this who believe online conspiracy theories over international intelligence services are a positive danger if they're anywhere sensitive national security systems. This is further a positive sign that Trump is distancing himself from elements of the Far Right.
Well, maybe 'desecration' is a mild way of putting it. Shiite militias engaged in the Battle of Mosul captured an ISIS bomb-factory where they discovered several copies the Koran modified to serve as booby-traps. The infuriated soldiers turned the evidence over to Hezbollah---with whom they're affiliated---and Hezbollah reported the outrage on Lebanese television. Here is what one of the deactivated devices look like:
They are designed to explode when the Islamic Holy Book is opened. Hezbollah reported that Iraqi forces had found such devices previously in the 2015 Battle of Tikrit, but hadn't released the information for security reasons. Iraqi sappers reported recently that they had also discovered booby-trapped toys intended to kill children in liberated districts of Mosul.
The US Corporate Media engaging in nonstop Trump-bashing and supporting elements who want the Election results overturned, take note. Hilary Clinton made such activities possible for ISIS. But we are talking about people who riot in the streets, threaten Trump properties, and make death-threats against Electoral College members; so Clinton supporters probably see little wrong with ISIS' methods.
We speak a lot on this site about the danger of cults and radicalized fanatics. This kind of story exemplifies the nadir of human depravity to which such movements ultimately lead. ISIS' stated goal is to save Islamic Civilization and create a new Islamic Order; and they end by building bombs designed to kill Moslems and their children. There is obviously no strategic value in planting devices of these kinds. These are acts motivated by sheer hatred and a desire to exact revenge on innocents who reject ISIS' fanaticism.
We see the same level of hatred among fanatics in our own country; and that fanaticism is not limited to Wahhabi Jihadists. Purportedly Christian writings---mostly spread throughout the Manosphere---are salted with lurid and violent fantasies among their comments sections aimed at women, Jews, Blacks, and others. We came close to a violent incident on Sunday over the whole Pizzagate controversy.
This is why we as a society have to take such radicals seriously---whether politically or religiously veneered; hatred is the underlying and unifying dynamic between them all. Just because some have not engaged in violence, groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the BLM Anarchists, the Satanic Mexican Drug Cartels---all demonstrate that the capacity for violence is present among such people and liable to break out whenever and wherever there are numbers of them and access to weaponry is available.
In a free society, we always walk a tightrope between the freedom for political radicals and religious cults to exist; and the need to safeguard our liberties from such groups' intentions to overthrow them. The Corporate Media and some opportunistic politicians are calling for censorship in the wake of the Pizzagate attack. Censorship is not the way: public involvement is. Public involvement certainly can (and should) include responsible corporate venues voluntarily suppressing radicalism, as has happened recently on Twitter and Reddit. But it's not the job of the government---it's the job of the people. The Government only gets involved when things have gone too far and pizza parlors are attacked; nightclubs are shot up; and police are ambushed, etc.
It is a peculiar psychological trait among radicalized that government censorship has the opposite of its intended effect. Radicals are typically paranoid among their mental problems; and censorship almost invariably convinces them that the government, or some other group, is suppressing the 'truth'. Prior to the Civil War, Jihadist propaganda was heavily suppressed and censored in Syria---which only convinced the Wahhabi Cult that the Syrian Government was 'covering up' for anti-Islamic interests. Even now, the threat of censorship in the US has many on the Alt-Right seriously claiming that Edgar Welch's attack on the Comet Pizzeria was a false-flag to cover up the 'truth' about Pizzagate.
The more that radicals actually are free to say, the more warning that the public has against their psychopathic tendencies. Free speech works both ways; being aware of them and being free to denounce and expose them are the reason we don't have things like Aleppo or Mosul happening in our own country.
Vox Day, a Manosphere/Alt-Right blogger of the Red Pill/Game Cult has published another attack on mainstream Christianity: this time going after Evangelical Protestants. These types of assaults on Christianity and Conservatism are fairly common these days among the Red Pills. Their goal has long been to set their own religion and its concomitant neo-Fascist sociopolitical theories up as the exclusive alternative to Leftist Cultural Marxism.
The article which has aroused Vox' indignation appeared in The New York Times last week, and is more or less just another standard NYT tantrum over Trump's Election. The problem here is not that Vox criticized the NYT article; the issue is that he presented it as representative of mainstream Protestantism. Nowhere in his own critique does he mention that the article was written by Tony Campolo---one of ex-President Clinton's advisors who recently disavowed any connection with term 'Evangelical' and does so again in the NYT piece.
But Vox instead informs his readers that "Evangelicals, and many evangelical organizations are now following the example of other Christian denominations in walking the broad and easy path towards Hell, and they are doing so on the basis of their mealy-mouthed Sunday-School churchianity."
The term churchianity is usually aimed by the Red Pills against Christians not aligned with their cult. Vox doesn't explain which 'other Christian denominations' the Evangelicals are supposedly following into apostasy; that is left for the readers' imaginations. Campolo himself admits that most Evangelicals voted for Trump---of which he disapproves, of course. But he and Vox both share the belief that political positions define one's spirituality; Vox claims, for example that Evangelicals are "a group of people who have given themselves over to untruth."
Campolo argues that young Whites are leaving Evangelicalism, while the sect is growing among minorities. Instead of seeing Christian conversions among minorities as a positive thing, Vox accuses the Evangelical leadership of racial treason: "Moreover this demonstrates that at least when it comes to Churchianity, race trumps religion in the hierarchy of identity politics"---apparently not noticing that this is the very thing that his own Red Pill Cult does. "As usual, the Alt-Right perspective is the only one that makes any sense of this incoherent and degraded evangelicalism." Such is what we would expect from an author who recently praised Nazis Richard Spencer and Andrew Anglin as theological experts.
Campolo and Vox Day are not in opposition; they are really two sides of an Anti-Christian coin. History has shown that both Cultural Marxists and the Far Right will use religion as a cat's paw to advance their agendas; modifying religion to suit their ideologies when it's necessary and discarding it altogether when it isn't. This is why our Founding Fathers wisely separated Church and State---because they knew from experience that politics corrupts religion and that a traditional religious morality is necessary for self-government. The Far Left and the Far Right despise self-government as much as they do traditional religion.
What Christians need to do in this volatile sociopolitical climate is to be especially on guard against demagogues coming from both political directions. We've seen earlier from the Soros Scandals that the Far Left uses pseudo-Christian front-groups to insinuate themselves with church leadership; and we see now the Far Right offering a Trojan Horse up to Christians under the guise of defending cultural traditions. We need to ground ourselves in the authentic Christian traditions to avoid being misled by either.
On the previous article, blogger and sometime commenter Insanity Bytes left an insightful comment about the radicalization of young men. This stems from yesterday's incident at the Comet Pizzeria in Washington, DC where a young fool decided to get answers about 'Pizzagate' at gunpoint. Currently, the suspect---one Edgar Welch---is attired in a striped suit in a DC jail facing 5-10 years on a rock-pile.
"I think what concerns me about radicalizing young men is that they haven't learned about the rule of law and how to channel their aggression," Insanitybytes wrote, "Worse, they've lost their trust in the entire legal process. In a civilized world, you encounter something like Pizzagate and you turn it all over to the FBI."
One of the noteworthy things about Pizzagate, is the complete absence of any endorsement from legal or law-enforcement specialists. While our legal process is certainly flawed these days, it is not completely dead, as many have been incited to believe. Some Pizzagate proponents argue that the FBI would cover up a sex scandal involving DNC power-brokers, but some who've also assumed that, found out otherwise.
The radicalization process begins when young men are taught that traditional and conventional legal and social processes have failed. The next step is to introduce a nebulous and all-powerful force behind these failures.
"The nature of this radicalizing that goes on now, however, convinces the foolish that society has broken down and it plays off men's biological pull to be heroes trying 'to save Western Civilization'. Or if you are an Islamic terrorist, to destroy it." More accurately, the Wahhabi Jihadists actually see themselves as heroes, too, trying to save Islamic Civilization. The dynamic is the same. Their Imams teach that Islamic society is on the verge of collapse via Western corruption of it. She continues: "You see this common theme in far-Left rioters, in BLM, and on the Far-Right too."
Insanitybytes is correct here: this is a common theme binding all radicals. While there are plenty of female radicals in all these movements, we rarely see them engaging in these violent actions. It needs here that males are psychologically bound by nature to fear insignificance and also to act when their community is perceived as threatened or under attack. This is why those who radicalize young men need to invent a formidable threat to channel these instincts into concrete action. The Far Left imagines that Christians and Conservatives are plotting against them; BLM believes that there are racist cells operating in positions of authority; the Alt-Right believes that the Jews and SJWs are working for the demise of the White Male; and the Jihadists believe that the West is plotting to overthrow Islam.
She also correctly points out in her comment the way to fight radicalization. "Start teaching young men about honor, about the rule of law, about community and civilization...we certainly could reduce the amount of misery by replacing these cultish tactics of isolation and conspiracy theory with the idea of promoting male honor and respect for the legal process."
Exactly. There are no shortages in our society of real dragons for men to slay, without inventing imaginary ones. Our system---in fact, all civilized systems---are based on a rule of law. What men need to start doing is reforming (or in some cases, calling for enforcement of) these laws. Change is not going to happen by looting department stores, assassinating policemen, shooting up pizza-parlors, or burning down churches. And it's especially not going to happen by doing what the Red Pills in the Manosphere advise: by walling themselves off from women, the Church, the community at large.
