53percenter's Blog

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has some very big fans, but few if any are quite as fanatical as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez herself.

The newly minted nominee for New York’s 14th Congressional District managed to defeat a powerful incumbent, strike an important blow for democratic socialism and the proletariat, and turned “I am not the expert on geopolitics on this issue” into an acceptable answer for her frequent talk of the “occupation of Palestine.”

If you’re a liberal visiting us because you want to induce a blood pressure spike or something, you probably think that we’re absolutely green with envy that a 28-year-old nominee is getting more attention than almost any GOP House candidate.

To which I respond: Are you kidding?

Ocasio-Cortez has been the feel-good comedy of the summer. It’s sort of like watching a Pauly Shore flick except one where Shore thinks he’s the most brilliant comedian since Richard Pryor. You can’t make up something that good.

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It’s been a hilarious, gaffe-prone OTT mistake-fest on par with “Road House.” Almost anyone with a humorous molecule in their body can’t help but laugh.

Well, except for Kaniela Ing.

For all I know, Ing is a fellow with a goodly dollop of humor added to his constitution. He’s a state rep and democratic socialist who was vying for the seat in Hawaii’s 1st District this fall.

Ocasio-Cortez, of course, has been big about lending a helping hand to democratic socialist candidates across the fruited plain, including outside of the contiguous United States. With Hawaii’s primaries fast approaching, she visited our nation’s 50th state Thursday to give a boost to Ing.

One problem — she forgot to introduce him.

Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks, walks off stage in Hawaii, forgetting to introduce endorsee Kaniela Ing — at his own rally.pic.twitter.com/l1KWJYBC2t

— Ryan Saavedra 🇺🇸 (@RealSaavedra) August 12, 2018

As you can see, she was so wrapped up in her own address that she didn’t even introduce the man who she was supposedly there for. To paraphrase the inimitable Terrell Owens, she loves her some her. The entire world revolves around her campaign — including someone else’s campaign.

Twitter users, as always, had fun with it:

Not even September yet she has completed volume 2 of her mini series “I’m an idiot the complete bloopers and stumbles” 😂

— Tony Joe (@Hesaiddat) August 12, 2018

RELATED: Democrat Candidate Caught on Camera Stealing Opponent’s Flyer

She was distracted by the catcalls.🙄

— Jak Addison (@JakAddison) August 12, 2018

The catcalls, for those of you who missed the news cycle last week, involved her decision to call an invitation to debate with Ben Shapiro a “catcall.” Shapiro quickly found a post showing her demanding a debate with Rep. Joe Crowley.

Her Hawaiian walk-off may not be quite as bad as her quote about flipping Kansas red or literally anything out of her disastrous PBS interview with Margaret Hoover, but it certainly doesn’t look good. As for Ing, meanwhile, he finished a distant fourth in Saturday’s primary with 6.3 percent of the vote, losing to Ed Case with 40 percent.

Ocasio-Cortez strikes again. As for myself, I don’t see any way this could possibly get funnier — unless, of course, Pauly Shore is a democratic socialist.

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For those of you blaming the Trump administration for the mess down in Puerto Rico in the 11 months since Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island and caused unspeakable havoc, 10 trailers full of supplies would like to have a word with you.

“Donated food sent to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria were left to rot in a parking lot of a government facility,” CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reported on Friday.

“Additionally, about 10 containers filled with non-perishable supplies sat at the government facility for 11 months.

“Video of supplies covered in rodent droppings was first posted by a Puerto Rican radio station Radio Isla on Thursday. When Begnaud visited, the trailers with the containers were locked Friday.”

The video seemed to highlight some of the issues surrounding the government inefficiency in Puerto Rico during the hurricane relief effort, although officials swore that wasn’t the case. If the CBS report is correct, and the supplies have been sitting unused for 11 months, that means the unused material has been there since virtually the hurricane passed.

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“Nicolás Gautier, an official at the facility, told CBS News one of of the containers had ‘food for dogs, and apparently several of the boxes were broken. After the placement in the van, that brings a lot of rats and it infected everything,’” CBS reported.

“The goods were at Puerto Rico’s elections commission, which has been serving as a collection site for donations.”

The discovery of the trucks opened old wounds for residents of the island territory, where a fierce battle raged between local politicians, who blamed Washington (and very specifically President Donald Trump), and Washington officials who blamed a Puerto Rican political infrastructure long past repair, where boxes of supplies sat rotting in warehouses while public officials preened for the cameras.

Yes. Because Trump is a racist, he literally FORCED the Puerto Rican government to leave food rotting in warehouses for eleven months.

Honestly. You people are clowns. https://t.co/NoZIgt44EV

— Ian McKelvey (@ian_mckelvey) August 11, 2018

In case you were still wondering which side “won” this sordid dispute, consider San Juan Mayor Yulín Cruz, who earned the briefest 15 minutes of fame I’ve ever witnessed with her anti-Trump diatribes.

Fast-forward to this summer and several high-ranking officials from Ms. Cruz’s party — the Popular Democratic Party, a Puerto Rican party linked to the Democrats — are facing charges of siphoning off millions in federal funds for their own personal use. But the fact that Puerto Rico remains ravaged is still Trump’s fault.

The real losers in this, sadly, are the Puerto Rican people.

It would be profoundly unkind to say that these are voters who got the government they deserved.

No one deserves this — not even followers of Yulín Cruz, who famously stated that “what is really nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people,” and said (with a straight face) that her people “are dying, and you (Trump) are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy.”

RELATED: Puerto Rico Mayor Facing Fraud Charges Over $3 Million in Federal Funds

Those trailers full of supplies are waiting, Mayor Cruz. They tell a story of greed, incompetence and ego that likely cost lives.

The truck may not be able to hear your answer, but your city and your island will.

Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers’ newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.

Gallup reported Monday morning that “Democrats have a more positive image of socialism than they do of capitalism” for the first time since the company began polling that question over the past decade.

The major shift, Gallup says, has been that Democrats have lost faith in capitalism — even as the economy has exceeded 4.1% growth and unemployment has hit all-time lows:

Attitudes toward socialism among Democrats have not changed materially since 2010, with 57% today having a positive view. The major change among Democrats has been a less upbeat attitude toward capitalism, dropping to 47% positive this year — lower than in any of the three previous measures. Republicans remain much more positive about capitalism [71%] than about socialism [16%], with little sustained change in their views of either since 2010.

The poll mentions Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has become a national figure since defeating incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary race in New York while running as an unabashed “democratic socialist.”

Gallup notes that there has been “12-point decline in young adults’ positive views of capitalism in just the past two years and a marked shift since 2010, when 68% viewed it positively.” That result comes in spite of growing opportunity for young people in the growing economy.

It would appear that Democrats, and young people, may have a view on capitalism that is not driven by economic reality but by politics and aesthetics.

A Reason-Rupe poll in 2014 found that two-thirds of millennials distrusted government — but that a similar proportion also wanted government to provide more necessities like health care.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

As we head into another NFL Season I wanted to share some photos. The young man on the right of this photo bought these tickets to take his Dad to the 2012 playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. It was Tim Tebow’s last game as a Bronco.

Zach used his pay from being a LCpl ($1,918.86/month) in the USMC to treat me to the game. He left the Marines in 2014 as a Sergeant.

Football was something Zach and I shared. We both loved it. I saw every game he played and we thrilled to talking about the games over the phone while he was in the Marines. I used to send him the stats and articles about the previous week’s games while he was deployed to the Middle East.

The National Anthem/Flag Controversy has cost the NFL me as a fan. I will do everything in my power to dissuade friends, family, anyone from supporting the NFL in any way. I’m sure many of them are nice young men. Many with families who share the same sensibilities that I and my son share.

The NFL players are paid enormous sums of money to do what they do — because it is entertainment and American’s have bought into football as our game. That is no longer the case.

It is the players’ choice to kneel, sit, spit, or exercise their right to object to the flag and National Anthem. Their opinion is their right. My opinion is my right. Decisions have consequences.

I will not support the NFL because they don’t get . Roger Goodell is a fool. The fact that the NFL owners gave him a raise proves their elitist arrogance and that they are as worthy of my derision as their players. Their arrogance, self-importance, and contempt for their brand and for their customers is exemplified by their disrespect for the US Flag and the National Anthem. It is no longer a unifying or even fun event to sit in the stands and support “my team”.

I will not be lectured about my politics by Bob Costas, or any other announcer on ESPN or any other network. The players, owners and announcers need to know that my contempt for them exceeds whatever they may hold for me as Joe Nobody former football fan.

It’s not just the anthem controversy but that is the genesis of my disgust. I no longer trust the game. Let me explain. Following the Anthem protest in last season’s Oakland vs. Washington game in September, 2017 it is alleged that the offensive line of the Raiders, upset at their quarterback’s failure to support their protest, allowed him to be sacked and ultimately injured.

Now, it’s not just the players’ political opinions that separate us, it is their potential lack of integrity that I question as well. Did this player drop the pass because of some other event? Did that player miss the tackle because he wants to send a message? What about that tide turning fumble? I no longer have to worry about it. But, you as a fan, player, coach, owner, sports-writer or announcer do.

In 1919 the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the World Series. They succeeded and eight players were identified as the conspirators. Major League Baseball had to figure out how to save their brand and the game. The owners brought in Kenesaw Mountain Landis as commissioner, and whatever his faults, he restored the American public’s trust in baseball.

Major League Baseball has no Anthem controversy. In fact, this year’s MLB All Star Game went out of its way to recognize 29 Congressional Medal of Honor Awardees and all other veterans. They honored these men. The stadium announcer introduced each of these men as the true heroes they are. Tears were shed. Players and all in the stands seemed awed and humbled. I know that I was.

I was thrilled to see those true heroes recognized. Roger Goodell and the NFL Owners should take note of baseball’s greatness as the NFL grovels for a decreasing share of a diminishing market.

(These other two photos are of me, 2nd Lt TS Ziegler, in Beirut, Lebanon, October, 1983. LCpl Zach Ziegler leaving San Diego with VMFA 323 in 2013.)

Tim Ziegler is the Co-author with Scott Swett of To Set the Record Straight – – How Swift Boat Veterans, POW’s and the New Media Defeated John Kerry. He is a former Marine Captain, Chef and Spice-Expert who now lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his family.

As we head into another NFL Season I wanted to share some photos. The young man on the right of this photo bought these tickets to take his Dad to the 2012 playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. It was Tim Tebow’s last game as a Bronco.

Zach used his pay from being a LCpl ($1,918.86/month) in the USMC to treat me to the game. He left the Marines in 2014 as a Sergeant.

Football was something Zach and I shared. We both loved it. I saw every game he played and we thrilled to talking about the games over the phone while he was in the Marines. I used to send him the stats and articles about the previous week’s games while he was deployed to the Middle East.

The National Anthem/Flag Controversy has cost the NFL me as a fan. I will do everything in my power to dissuade friends, family, anyone from supporting the NFL in any way. I’m sure many of them are nice young men. Many with families who share the same sensibilities that I and my son share.

The NFL players are paid enormous sums of money to do what they do — because it is entertainment and American’s have bought into football as our game. That is no longer the case.

It is the players’ choice to kneel, sit, spit, or exercise their right to object to the flag and National Anthem. Their opinion is their right. My opinion is my right. Decisions have consequences.

I will not support the NFL because they don’t get . Roger Goodell is a fool. The fact that the NFL owners gave him a raise proves their elitist arrogance and that they are as worthy of my derision as their players. Their arrogance, self-importance, and contempt for their brand and for their customers is exemplified by their disrespect for the US Flag and the National Anthem. It is no longer a unifying or even fun event to sit in the stands and support “my team”.

I will not be lectured about my politics by Bob Costas, or any other announcer on ESPN or any other network. The players, owners and announcers need to know that my contempt for them exceeds whatever they may hold for me as Joe Nobody former football fan.

It’s not just the anthem controversy but that is the genesis of my disgust. I no longer trust the game. Let me explain. Following the Anthem protest in last season’s Oakland vs. Washington game in September, 2017 it is alleged that the offensive line of the Raiders, upset at their quarterback’s failure to support their protest, allowed him to be sacked and ultimately injured.

Now, it’s not just the players’ political opinions that separate us, it is their potential lack of integrity that I question as well. Did this player drop the pass because of some other event? Did that player miss the tackle because he wants to send a message? What about that tide turning fumble? I no longer have to worry about it. But, you as a fan, player, coach, owner, sports-writer or announcer do.

In 1919 the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the World Series. They succeeded and eight players were identified as the conspirators. Major League Baseball had to figure out how to save their brand and the game. The owners brought in Kenesaw Mountain Landis as commissioner, and whatever his faults, he restored the American public’s trust in baseball.

Major League Baseball has no Anthem controversy. In fact, this year’s MLB All Star Game went out of its way to recognize 29 Congressional Medal of Honor Awardees and all other veterans. They honored these men. The stadium announcer introduced each of these men as the true heroes they are. Tears were shed. Players and all in the stands seemed awed and humbled. I know that I was.

I was thrilled to see those true heroes recognized. Roger Goodell and the NFL Owners should take note of baseball’s greatness as the NFL grovels for a decreasing share of a diminishing market.

(These other two photos are of me, 2nd Lt TS Ziegler, in Beirut, Lebanon, October, 1983. LCpl Zach Ziegler leaving San Diego with VMFA 323 in 2013.)

Tim Ziegler is the Co-author with Scott Swett of To Set the Record Straight – – How Swift Boat Veterans, POW’s and the New Media Defeated John Kerry. He is a former Marine Captain, Chef and Spice-Expert who now lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his family.

There’s been something of a revolving door going on inside the Trump administration, with various staff members coming and going at a rate at least equal to (if not surpassing) most other modern presidencies. And as with past administrations, those departing the White House need to find new employment. Several of them have followed the paths of their predecessors and taken positions in academia. These include Marc Short, who took a position with the University of Virginia, and Corey Lewandowski, who was named a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics.

Both of these appointments resulted in protests, particularly by liberal faculty members who didn’t feel that anyone associated with the Trump White House should sully the good name of those institutes of higher learning. But what to do about it? One of Lewandowski’s new colleagues at Harvard has a modest proposal to address this crisis. Dani Rodrik, a Turkish born economist and Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard, penned an op-ed in the Boston Globe suggesting that the academic world needs to stop offering jobs, fellowships or any sort of honors to anyone who was in any way associated with the Trump administration.

Of course, Professor Rodrik takes great pains to assure you that he’s not trying to stifle free speech. Perish the thought! He wants conservative voices, including those from the Trump White House, to be able to speak or show up on campus. A failure to do so would give the appearance of heavy-handed suppression of thought.

The Trump administration confronts universities with a serious dilemma. On one hand, universities must be open to diverse viewpoints, including those that conflict with mainstream opinion or may seem threatening to specific groups. Students and faculty who share Trump’s viewpoint should be free to speak without censorship. Universities must remain for free inquiry and debate. Moreover, schools and institutes of public affairs must offer student and faculty opportunities to engage with the policy makers of the day.

So far, so good. But what is this “dilemma” of which you speak, and how do you propose to address it? Here’s where we get to the meat of Rodrik’s very one-sided demands.(Emphasis added)

On the other hand, there is the danger of normalizing and legitimizing what can only be described as an odious presidency…

Those who serve with him are necessarily tainted by the experience. Trump’s close associates and political appointees are his enablers — regardless of their personal merits and how much they try to disassociate themselves from Trump’s utterances…

The most important principle to uphold is the distinction between hearing someone and honoring someone. Trump’s immediate circle and senior appointees should be welcome for discussion and debate. They should be treated in a civil manner when they show up. But they should not be accorded the degree of respect or deference that their seniority and government positions would normally merit. We do not, after all, have a normal administration that can be served honorably.

This means no honorific titles (fellow, senior fellow), no named lectures, no keynote speeches headlining conferences or events. While individual faculty members and student groups should be free to invite Trump appointees to speak on campus, as a rule such invitations should not be issued by senior university officers.

There you have it. A call from a senior figure from Harvard to establish what can only be honestly described as a blacklist. It doesn’t matter what the person’s individual opinions, qualifications or record may include. Simply having served anywhere in the White House or any of the Cabinet departments under President Trump marks one as being “tainted by the experience” and they should be disqualified from employment or honors in the academic community. For the sin of having answered the call to serve your government, you should henceforth be treated like a black person trying to get a drink from the whites-only water fountain during the early part of the 20th century.

I assume that the professor would include people such as UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has amassed a formidable record of both domestic governance and international diplomacy credentials while frequently contradicting positions taken by the President. Too bad, Ambassador Haley. Having served in this “odious” administration, you should now be barred for life from any form of service in academia.

The sad part is that this proposal will doubtless be taken seriously across much of the higher education spectrum. While perhaps not being publicly or officially adopted, it’s not hard to see this attitude taking hold. It’s discrimination, pure and simple. This is ironically one of the things that the professor accuses Donald Trump and his supporters of demonstrating. We have a serious problem in our nation’s universities and it’s not one that’s going to change without a generational shift in attitude. Perhaps we could start by eliminating the tenure system.