I shared a thought on Twitter yesterday that led to a rather unusual backlash, one led by a former college friend who has been a troll for years already.
Reacting to a story about CNN blaming Tucker Carlson and "replacement theory" for the horrific mass shooting by a racist gunman in Buffalo, I pointed out that to the extent "replacement theory" is a problem, at least in its non-racial sense, it derives its power from the fact that it provides the best explanation for Democrats' complete refusal to guard the U.S. border.
Boy, did that set the cat amongst the proverbial pigeons. I was called a racist, a white supremacist, you name it. I endured all kinds of abuse, some of which I won't bore you with. But through it all, I had a thought: I bet this isn't an article.
You see, when I screw up, or post something stupid, it almost invariably ends up as an article somewhere -- at Media Matters, or at some other left-wing website. It might still happen, but thus far, nothing: pure crickets.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be an article, you see, because I felt that my critics would not want the whole tweet to get out. Because not only to I allow for the fact that "replacement theory" might be a problem, but I point out that Democrats lack an alternative explanation for their failures. And the fact is that there really are political motives for Democrats' inaction on the southern border.
Sure enough, today: silence. At least so far.
https://twitter.com/joelpollak/status/1525869457435807744?s=20&t=ymm42t69LYc42_TrWr46-A
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
