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NASA: Fires In Amazon ‘Close To The Average In Comparison To The Past 15 Years’

The Amazon is often referred to as "the lungs of the planet." It’s home to 10% of the world’s species and creates 20% of our oxygen. There have been more than 74,000 fires in the Amazon since January, a massive increase over last year. https://t.co/rYmRqBKUMI pic.twitter.com/zGDtr2OWKg — ABC News (@ABC) August 22, 2019 Whipping up […]

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Left soils itself in toxic vulgarity at the death of David Koch

I have exactly one memory of David Koch and from it, I learned just one thing: He was a nice man.

A few years ago I was at a rich-patron’s type conference at an institution I won’t name and two famous people got into a fight, one of them inexplicably aggressive, the other baffled and furious. Koch, who I could see was there but never actually met, stepped in to smooth the ruffled feathers and act as the peacemaker between the two. No one else knew what to do because the situation was so strange and unexpected. Koch, who wasn’t the guy running the thing, just a participant, is the one who showed the most class.

So with the news of Koch’s death, it was right to feel sadness. He was a person who mattered. He was a bright chemical engineer who had enough talent and enterprise beyond that to create value with his brother with their major company, Koch Industries, employing tens of thousands in well-paid jobs. He also did whale-sized philanthropy, on wonderful things, such as medical centers, fine arts, performing arts, education, donating $1.3 billion that we know about, probably much we don’t. He survived a plane crash in 1991. He endured cancer. He was a victim of the Obama administration’s illegal leaking of his tax information, something no one was ever punished for. And yes, he was a principled libertarian, always exploring new avenues for the development of ideas favoring freedom, even pairing with a far-leftist like Van Jones on prison reform - because it is after all, a libertarian principle to oppose the unchecked power of the state. He in fact unabashedly promoted conservative and libertarian ideas, something those of us who hold those views are forever grateful for. Yes, he was a bit of an anti-Trumpster, but that was probably a function of his disciplined temperament. For someone who did so much good on so many levels — and who showed such strength of character – his death indeed was sad.  

But on the left, some of the most barbaric behavior ever seen at the death of the man is now out there. Just look at this revolting collection of spewings:

Bill Maher Dances on David Koch’s Grave: ‘I’m Glad He’s Dead and I Hope the End Was Painful’ –Daily Beast

Is this a person, or a pig?

Bette Midler lobs profane attack at leading conservative who honored David Koch –Fox News

Does this person have a problem?

After Life of Incalculable Harm, Billionaire Climate Denialist and Right-Wing Villain David Koch Dead at 79

“Death is an escape hatch for David Koch while the rest of us are left scrambling for the emergency brake before we go over the cliff.” –Common Dreams

Not satire. Can you say “hysteria”? 

The Koch Money Was a Primary Vector for the Prion Disease That’s Infected the Republican Party –Esquire

File under ‘crackpot,’ ‘crank’ and ‘conspiracy theorist.’

PJMedia’s Nicholas Ballasy has curated a choice collection of tweets from no-name leftists on Twitter, with the same kind of grotesque reactions. One of them claims that karma from the Amazon rainforest fire did him in, another is crowing that he’s won the lottery. Others are sinking into a goo of obscenities and scatology, which the left often likes to do, inarticulate in their ravings.

Then there are those who say the man is in hell, something that up until now, the left has argued for decades doesn’t exist. How convenient to have a suddenly invented hell.

Fox News reports that other leftists are calling for the death of the other Koch brothers, or yelling about how ‘hated’ he was (by them, obviously, not normal people). Fox characterized the response as “vulgar” and “vicious” and a “toxic cesspool of negativity.”

Folks, this is the left on display. This is what unhinged, boiling-with-hate creeps look like.

Koch was a good man who would have extended his hand to any of them, and apparently, it makes them crazy. Now they’re soiling themselves, throwing out the most revolting statements — not about Koch, really — but about themselves.

David Koch, RIP.

Image credit: Fred D. Thompson via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

I have exactly one memory of David Koch and from it, I learned just one thing: He was a nice man.

A few years ago I was at a rich-patron’s type conference at an institution I won’t name and two famous people got into a fight, one of them inexplicably aggressive, the other baffled and furious. Koch, who I could see was there but never actually met, stepped in to smooth the ruffled feathers and act as the peacemaker between the two. No one else knew what to do because the situation was so strange and unexpected. Koch, who wasn’t the guy running the thing, just a participant, is the one who showed the most class.

So with the news of Koch’s death, it was right to feel sadness. He was a person who mattered. He was a bright chemical engineer who had enough talent and enterprise beyond that to create value with his brother with their major company, Koch Industries, employing tens of thousands in well-paid jobs. He also did whale-sized philanthropy, on wonderful things, such as medical centers, fine arts, performing arts, education, donating $1.3 billion that we know about, probably much we don’t. He survived a plane crash in 1991. He endured cancer. He was a victim of the Obama administration’s illegal leaking of his tax information, something no one was ever punished for. And yes, he was a principled libertarian, always exploring new avenues for the development of ideas favoring freedom, even pairing with a far-leftist like Van Jones on prison reform - because it is after all, a libertarian principle to oppose the unchecked power of the state. He in fact unabashedly promoted conservative and libertarian ideas, something those of us who hold those views are forever grateful for. Yes, he was a bit of an anti-Trumpster, but that was probably a function of his disciplined temperament. For someone who did so much good on so many levels — and who showed such strength of character – his death indeed was sad.  

But on the left, some of the most barbaric behavior ever seen at the death of the man is now out there. Just look at this revolting collection of spewings:

Bill Maher Dances on David Koch’s Grave: ‘I’m Glad He’s Dead and I Hope the End Was Painful’ –Daily Beast

Is this a person, or a pig?

Bette Midler lobs profane attack at leading conservative who honored David Koch –Fox News

Does this person have a problem?

After Life of Incalculable Harm, Billionaire Climate Denialist and Right-Wing Villain David Koch Dead at 79

“Death is an escape hatch for David Koch while the rest of us are left scrambling for the emergency brake before we go over the cliff.” –Common Dreams

Not satire. Can you say “hysteria”? 

The Koch Money Was a Primary Vector for the Prion Disease That’s Infected the Republican Party –Esquire

File under ‘crackpot,’ ‘crank’ and ‘conspiracy theorist.’

PJMedia’s Nicholas Ballasy has curated a choice collection of tweets from no-name leftists on Twitter, with the same kind of grotesque reactions. One of them claims that karma from the Amazon rainforest fire did him in, another is crowing that he’s won the lottery. Others are sinking into a goo of obscenities and scatology, which the left often likes to do, inarticulate in their ravings.

Then there are those who say the man is in hell, something that up until now, the left has argued for decades doesn’t exist. How convenient to have a suddenly invented hell.

Fox News reports that other leftists are calling for the death of the other Koch brothers, or yelling about how ‘hated’ he was (by them, obviously, not normal people). Fox characterized the response as “vulgar” and “vicious” and a “toxic cesspool of negativity.”

Folks, this is the left on display. This is what unhinged, boiling-with-hate creeps look like.

Koch was a good man who would have extended his hand to any of them, and apparently, it makes them crazy. Now they’re soiling themselves, throwing out the most revolting statements — not about Koch, really — but about themselves.

David Koch, RIP.

Image credit: Fred D. Thompson via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

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Did the District Attorney Leak Info to Antifa On Pro Trump Indictments In Portland?

 

 

 

 

 

Joey Gibson speaks during a rally in support of free speech Thursday, April 27, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. Demonstrators gathered near the University of California, Berkeley campus amid a strong police presence and rallied to show support for free speech and condemn the views of Ann Coulter and her supporters. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

 

As the purge of the dissenters continues in Portland, there seems to be conflicting and confusing information regarding the indictments that have been handed down to six pro Trump activists who are accused of Riot, Class C Felony, in the aftermath of a brawl that took place on May Day outside of antifa hangout Cider Riot.

Let’s examine the matter.

Joey Gibson, head of the pro Trump group Patriot Prayer, seems to be the focal target of the investigations and charges. Gibson tells The Gateway Pundit that he found out about the charges from Antifa posting about it. “There was a glitch in the system that revealed secret and sealed case information, Antifa got hold of it and posted about it, then 5 minutes later it was gone. I called in to ask about it, and they said there was no warrant. A reporter called the DA to ask about it and the DA said he couldn’t comment. The reporter was dumbfounded and had never seen something like this before. He was hesitant to run the story because he couldn’t confirm anything.”

The reporter was able to confirm the existence of a warrant through a detective at the Portland Police Bureau.

So did the Anfifa activist just happen to be looking on the site, searching for Joey’s name, when the data just happened to accidentally get made public, or did someone inside the DA’s office tip them off?

It’s odd that they told Gibson there was no warrant, because it turned out there was one and that charges were being filed for Riot. Gibson turned himself in on Friday, August 16th, then self bailed out on $500. Deputy District Attorney Bradley Kalbaugh had motioned to seal the arrest warrant affidavits and the arrest warrants themselves on August 12th, before any of the defendants even knew they were being charged with a crime, before any indictment was found, before any witnesses had been ID’ed, before any “victims” came forward, before a grand jury convened to take up the matter.

Multnomah County deputy district attorney Brad Kalbaugh, shown from his days as a public defender

The Gateway Pundit has obtained copies of some of the case documents. Here is the warrant for Gibson’s arrest, issued August 12th. This is the first time Gibson himself is seeing this documentation, as he hasn’t been given anything yet by the district attorneys. We suggest readers save copies of these images in case the courts try to order us to remove them.

Here is a copy of the motion to seal the information. This particular document was filed on the case of Russell Schultz, one of the six defendants. The exact same motion was filed for the cases of all of the defendants.

The grand jury eventually convened on August 15th, and brought forth three witnesses: Christopher Traynor and Jerry Cioeta (both Portland police officers), and Justin Chance Allen, who has admitted that he was an infiltrator, spying on Patriot Prayer.

Here is a copy of the indictment. The indictments read the same for three of the defendants. Three others have additional charges.

One of the defendants, Mackenzie Lewis, was wearing a Go Pro body camera during the incident. That camera, with the Cider Riot content on it, was later stolen during an incident where an antifa terrorist pulled a knife on one of the pro Trump people. Rumor has it the files on that camera from Cider Riot have been obtained by police and are now being used as evidence. From a stolen camera. Illegally gathered evidence. And they’re trying to use it against the guy who had the camera stolen from him.

Both Joey Gibson and one of the other defendants, Russell Schultz, claim they were just standing around while the melee ensued and were not engaging in tumultuous behavior. When the warrant for Schultz went out, apparently district attorney Brad Kalbaugh listed him as a “fugitive from justice” and the US Marshals apprehended him at his home in Washington. Same story with Mackenzie Lewis.

Not a single Antifa terrorist has been charged with anything from the Cider Riot brawl, despite at least two people attempting to make police reports after being attacked by Antifa; One was a student filmmaker who had his camera broken, and was assaulted and pinned to the ground while they poured beer on him. The other was Andy Ngo, who had to shout from the rooftops to get police to acknowledge that he wanted to make a report.

Additionally, not a single antifa terrorist has been ID’ed or charged with the attack on Andy Ngo on June 29th, which happened literally right out front of the police headquarters, with no police officers anywhere as hundreds of people were marching in the streets.

In this video from Stumptown Matters, you can clearly see several antifa terrorists chasing down Gibson and crew, and assaulting the videographer with a baton, while others threaten him with some sort of shank and brass knuckles.

But those are the good guys, according the police and district attorneys. The victims. No charges for any of them.

In fairness though, the Portland “police” actually are trying to identify a whole two of them.

Gibson tells The Gateway Pundit that he hasn’t even seen any of the documents on his case. His next court date is Tuesday, August 27th, 2:10 PM, for an arraignment on the indictment.

Apparently Cider Riot weren’t even the ones who called the police about the brawl, it was a neighbor.

“I feel like people are awaking to the deep corruption,” Gibson says. “With Ted Wheeler as the police commissioner, it’s a conflict of interest. The DA doesn’t charge antifa but charges other people for doing less. This is an act of control.” When asked if he thinks the charges will eventually be dropped, Gibson says “It depends how stupid they are. I won’t plead. This will be a waste of their resources. It’s only a win for them if I don’t fight back.”

Here are some of the other documents that have been obtained by the Gateway Pundit.

We encourage our readers to save these images in case we are ordered to remove them.

The post Did the District Attorney Leak Info to Antifa On Pro Trump Indictments In Portland? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Hong Kong: Regime Enforcers Attack Protesters with Batons, Tear Gas

(AFP) — Hong Kong riot police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters who retaliated with a barrage of stones, bottles and bamboo poles, as a stand-off in a working-class district on Saturday descended into violence, breaking an uneasy peace that had lasted several days.

Thousands of demonstrators, many wearing hard hats and gas masks, marched through the industrial Kwun Tong area, where they were blocked by dozens of officers with shields and batons outside a police station.

Frontline protesters pulled together a barricade of traffic barriers and bamboo construction poles, spray-painting walls with insults directed at the police.

As the afternoon wore on some fired stones from slingshots, prompting a charge from police wielding batons and pepper spray.

Tears gas swept across the road as protesters retreated, leaving a trail of broken bottles and at least one small fire in their wake.

Several of the black-clad protesters were detained as officers swept through, with police justifying their charge on “a large group of violent protesters” who had set fires and hurled bricks at cops.

Tension flickered throughout Saturday’s march, where dozens of the most radical demonstrators known as “braves” had gathered, battle-hardened by a three-month street campaign.

“I understand being peaceful will not solve the problem,” 19-year-old student protester Ryan told AFP, giving one name.

“The government won’t respond to peaceful protest. If I am arrested it is because I come out to speak for justice.”

The city had appeared to have pulled back from a sharp nosedive into violence, with the last serious clashes taking place a week and a half ago just after protests paralysed the financial hub’s airport.

Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully last Sunday, as a key protest group sought to regain the moral high ground in a city shocked at the level of violence.

But Saturday’s face-off underscored the dangerous deadlock into which the city has sunk — with the government unmoving in the face of protester demands, and demonstrators stubbornly refusing to leave the streets.

‘No future’

Protests started against a proposed law that would have allowed extradition to China, but have bled into wider calls for democracy and police accountability in the semi-autonomous city.

Hong Kong’s police force have become the target of the protesters’ ire for their perceived heavy-handed response to the months of demonstrations.

As evening fell, scores of “braves” dug up bricks and tied metal barriers together a few hundred metres from the police as they appeared to dig in for more clashes.

One frontline protester explained his motivation for joining the street struggle.

“The government chose not to solve the problem through communicating with the protesters,” Lueng told AFP.

“I don’t see our future-facing this regime, so gradually I stepped closer and closer to the front line.”

Protesters say Hong Kong’s unique freedoms are in jeopardy as Beijing tightens its political chokehold on the city.

Soaring living costs and few job opportunities have also driven many of the mainly young protesters to the streets.

Older Hong Kongers are divided on the motivation and tactics of the movement which has brought unprecedented chaos to a city once known for its safety and stability.

“The youngsters who come out have put their future at stake… they are doing this for Hong Kong,” said 65-year-old Dee Cheung told AFP earlier, before explaining why he joined the protests.

“There might be some things we don’t agree with, like the ‘braves’ who tend to charge. But let’s think about why they do that?”

burs-apj/kaf

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Delingpole: Black Conservative Headmistress Hits School Results Jackpot; Left Throws Tantrum

Children at an inner London state school in one of the roughest, most deprived, ethnically diverse parts of Britain have won spectacular results in their exams.

But instead of celebrating the children’s success, the left is spitting blood:

Why does the success of the Michaela School so infuriate the left?

Because though the headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh is black, she’s the wrong kind of black: a conservative who doesn’t believe in playing the race card or identity politics.

Because though the kids come from largely working-class, migration-background families, they are the wrong kind of working-class immigrants: ones who don’t know their role is to be victims and to blame their failures on racism and government inaction.

Because though the results are some of the best in the country, they were achieved using the wrong kind of methods: not the “child-centred”, supposedly creativity-nurturing, discipline-lite laissez-faire approach as recommended by the leftist educational establishment — aka the Blob — but with teaching methods so rigorous and demanding that classes are like a cross between a Trappist monastery and a Marine boot camp.

I know because I’ve been to visit the Michaela School — anyone can, with a bit of advanced notice — and was utterly blown away by what I saw.

It’s non-selective (so it can’t be accused of cherry-picking the best local talent); it’s most certainly not in a wealthy catchment area (very few of the kids are white; only one in the entire school is middle-class; many if not most of the girls wear hijabs); and it receives the same per-pupil funding as any other British state school. Yet astonishingly, its first ever GCSE results (the exams taken by British 16-year olds) were among the best in the country.

Just have a look at this video (keep the sound turned down because there’s a lot of screeching) of one of the girls discovering she got the highest possible grade in every single one of her subjects.

These are children who, had they gone to your average state school, would have had their studies disrupted by kids who didn’t want to work in classes run by teachers who couldn’t keep discipline. It’s highly unlikely that they would have done anywhere near as well.

So what, exactly, is Michaela School’s secret?

It’s no secret at all, really. Good teachers and good schools have known it for generations, but decades of dominance by “progressives” have largely consigned these methods to the dustbin of history.

Basically, it boils down to discipline; dedicated, enthusiastic, teacher-led classes; hard work from the children; traditional, rote-learning methods including times tables, grammar, and regular tests, strict marking, and no “all shall have prizes” rewards just for turning up — no excuses.

I sat in some of the classes. They are conducted in near-total silence. Only the teacher is allowed to speak. The pupils only speak once they’ve raised their hand and have been invited to do so by the teacher. There’s lots of eager competition to answer any questions the teacher asks (academic attainment is valued; no one thinks it’s cool to slack or do badly).

Between classes, pupils move swiftly (but running is banned) and silently. Lateness is punished. So is turning up to school with incorrect uniform or without the correct stationery or textbooks. (Most of the textbooks are produced by the teachers themselves — the ones available on the market not being deemed insufficiently rigorous).

When you visit, you have lunch with the children. Before they sit down, the children all have to declaim in unison one of the old-fashioned, uplifting poems they have to learn — Kipling’s If;  Invictus by William Ernest Henley; etc. Then, as they wolf down their food (there isn’t space for all the children to eat at once, so lunch has to be conducted in two very swift sittings), they engage their visitors in conversation.

These are children in their early teens, often from the kinds of backgrounds where their peers are either knifing one another or buried in Fortnite. But very much unlike their peers they do not communicate in grunts and they look you in the eye.

I was very impressed by Michaela, its headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh, its dedicated teachers, and its extraordinary kids. Their success doesn’t surprise me at all but I’m glad they’ve had it because they totally deserve it.

Let me tell you the most impressive thing of all I found at Michaela: when we talked about Brexit, half the kids on my table made an intelligent case for it. Can you imagine that happening anywhere else in the brainwashed, left-indoctrinated state sector?

The Left hates Michaela because it’s an indictment of all the “progressive” values which have failed kids in Britain, the U.S. and elsewhere for decades. Michaela is a shaming reminder of how good state schools could be if teachers pulled their socks up, stopped blaming their pupils’ failures on inadequate funding or ethnicity, and got on with the job of actually teaching.

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Madonna Changes Lyrics to her ‘Holiday’ Song, Bizarrely Sings of ‘Assassination’ in Front of Her Children

It wasn’t that long ago that Madonna was talking about blowing up the White House.

At the Womens March in Washington D.C. in January 2017 Madonna stated that she had thought about “blowing up the White House.”

After threatening to blow up White House she also proceeded to go on a rant dropping multiple F-bombs on live national television.

Now this…
On Thursday Madonna posted video singing about assassination.

Singer Madonna changed the lyrics to her song “Holiday” and sang about assassination in front of her children.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

New Madame ❌ manifesto………..#sneakers #commedesgarcons #madamex #rehearsals

A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Aug 21, 2019 at 5:14pm PDT

Hat Tip Kurt

Those are four of her children with her.
Everything she has said about the President Trump like “blowing up the White House” coupled with apparently the buzzword of the week since Joe Biden mentioned it, is just strange.

Clearly Madonna is testing the waters.

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Biden is whining about Trump ‘poaching’ his donors — without a clue about what’s really going on

Taking a breath between gaffes, Joe Biden is whining that President Trump is “poaching” what are “his” campaign donors. According to CBS News:

In a fundraising email sent to supporters Thursday, the Biden campaign pointed out that if someone types “donate Joe Biden” into a Google search, the first link to appear is one that directs them to donate to Donald J. Trump for President.

…and…

“Trump’s campaign is paying money to run ads online so that their donation link is the first thing you see when you search ‘donate Joe Biden,'” the email read. “But, listen, here’s the thing: We can’t stop them because we’re out of money to run online ads for the rest of the month.”

The CBS reporter investigated these claims, quite well, I’ll add, and found them to be true. The Trumpsters probably did indeed place the ad, as well as one that appears right below Biden’s own site in the next item, which is a site done by a Republican consultant, showing Biden gaffing and groping women. 

Biden apparently think the motive was to mine “his” money, arguing that someone looking for a donate Joe Biden site will somehow end up making a donation to Trump, based on what shows up at the top of the Google page.

How stupid does he think donors are, even his donors? He seems to think that donors are the same as low-information voters who could be fooled by such a stunt, something which is far more unikely in matters of money. 

To anyone with political savvy, it’s probably something else – a Trump head-fake intended to freak the Bidenites out.

As they stew about what they think must be lost money, the Trumpsters on the election campaign are probably thinking two steps ahead of these poor galoots.

CBS notes that they have only done this to Biden’s campaign, not the others, splashing out big dollars to do it.

That means just one thing: That the GOP sees the primary game as over. Joe’s going to be the nominee, not the clown car denizens, and with that the case, it’s time to concentrate resources on fighting to knock him out, including through tweakative ads which make Joe think he’s losing money and drive him bonkers. I doubt anyone donating money is going to be fooled by the ads, but amazingly, Joe is, and that says a lot about how easy it is to get him tangled up in fake crises.

 Mission accomplished. Now, as Joe howls, one can only expect that Republicans in the Trump reelection camp cook up quite a few more.

 

Taking a breath between gaffes, Joe Biden is whining that President Trump is “poaching” what are “his” campaign donors. According to CBS News:

In a fundraising email sent to supporters Thursday, the Biden campaign pointed out that if someone types “donate Joe Biden” into a Google search, the first link to appear is one that directs them to donate to Donald J. Trump for President.

…and…

“Trump’s campaign is paying money to run ads online so that their donation link is the first thing you see when you search ‘donate Joe Biden,'” the email read. “But, listen, here’s the thing: We can’t stop them because we’re out of money to run online ads for the rest of the month.”

The CBS reporter investigated these claims, quite well, I’ll add, and found them to be true. The Trumpsters probably did indeed place the ad, as well as one that appears right below Biden’s own site in the next item, which is a site done by a Republican consultant, showing Biden gaffing and groping women. 

Biden apparently think the motive was to mine “his” money, arguing that someone looking for a donate Joe Biden site will somehow end up making a donation to Trump, based on what shows up at the top of the Google page.

How stupid does he think donors are, even his donors? He seems to think that donors are the same as low-information voters who could be fooled by such a stunt, something which is far more unikely in matters of money. 

To anyone with political savvy, it’s probably something else – a Trump head-fake intended to freak the Bidenites out.

As they stew about what they think must be lost money, the Trumpsters on the election campaign are probably thinking two steps ahead of these poor galoots.

CBS notes that they have only done this to Biden’s campaign, not the others, splashing out big dollars to do it.

That means just one thing: That the GOP sees the primary game as over. Joe’s going to be the nominee, not the clown car denizens, and with that the case, it’s time to concentrate resources on fighting to knock him out, including through tweakative ads which make Joe think he’s losing money and drive him bonkers. I doubt anyone donating money is going to be fooled by the ads, but amazingly, Joe is, and that says a lot about how easy it is to get him tangled up in fake crises.

 Mission accomplished. Now, as Joe howls, one can only expect that Republicans in the Trump reelection camp cook up quite a few more.

 

via American Thinker Blog

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Ted Malloch: True Virtue vs. Virtue Signaling

Guest post by Ted Malloch

The “Woke Left” and its counterpart, the mainstream media, are guilty of constantly virtue signaling — without a clue about the definition, meaning or purpose of true virtues.

 

They have no idea where true virtues come from, how they fit together or how they undergird a beneficial life for the good or a society of ordered liberty.

 

They are in a word: unschooled.

 

They need to go back and read Benjamin Franklin to get informed.

 

In 1726, at the tender age of just 20, Franklin devised a system to develop what he rightly called, Character.

 

In it he listed thirteen Virtues as:

Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.

Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

This is a lasting and indispensable guide to right living from one of our most important Founding Fathers.

It was a systematic way to check behavior and guide one toward the good, the right, and the just.

Benjamin Franklin, one of our nation’s most revered thinkers, the quintessential American in many ways, was a man of uncommonly fine common sense. His Poor Richard’s Almanac was full of proverbs and aphorisms.

Which are your favorites? Share them with us…

Although he was never able to finish his project of compiling a comprehensive compendium of practical wisdom, (he was busy writing the Declaration of Independence, starting a university, a newspaper, a fire department, a library, a science museum and inventing all sorts of things) he was able to lay down the beginnings of this work in his later writings.

Collected within one volume are Franklin’s writings organized around his timeless philosophy on living well, containing his thoughts on justice, moderation, and chastity.

The Art of Virtue is a simple, concise, and illuminating guide to living a virtuous and fulfilling life.

It makes perfect reading for young and old alike.

In fact, it should be mandatory reading, because unlike the silly signals sent today by the Left, it is grounded in a philosophy and religious impulse as old as Cato, Cicero, Solomon, Socrates and Jesus.

For him virtue was a life well lived, grounded in deep morality and decency.

It led to a good character, strong civil institutions, and a sound society. The three go together, hand in hand.

It was not a posturing or a shrill political exhortation but rather a means and manner intended for noble purpose.

Paste this list of true virtues to your screen and see how you are doing day to day, week to week, and year to year. Improve yourself, take responsibility.

In a word, be more like Ben Franklin and less like the Democratic candidates, the inane CNN talking heads, i.e.,  Fredo, and the lame and totally biased professoriate.

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