News of the Week for August 23rd, 2015
- Obama Scandals
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Obama Scandals
Los Angeles VA was caught shredding veterans benefits claims without processing
Responding to an anonymous tip, the Inspector General for Veterans Affairs sent a surprise inspection to the offices of the Los Angeles VA. The results of that inspection were made public this week and they are damning (PDF).
Gun Rights
Your Phone’s Gun Emoji Could Soon Be Banned
Leave it to the left-wing anti-gun nuts to try and get something like this banned.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
California measure fails to create green jobs
Three years after California voters passed a ballot measure to raise taxes on corporations and generate clean energy jobs by funding energy-efficiency projects in schools, barely one-tenth of the promised jobs have been created, and the state has no comprehensive list to show how much work has been done or how much energy has been saved.
EPA draws ire of Navajo Nation after water arrives in dirty oil tanks
The EPA spill that contaminated rivers in Colorado and New Mexico was bad enough, but now Navajo Nation officials are fuming after a delivery of water for livestock and crops arrived in dirty oil tanks.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Scott Walker Takes Dead Aim at Obamacare
Scott Walker is the first top-tier Republican presidential candidate to propose a concrete alternative to Obamacare.
California Health System Innovations: Shredders and Death Plans
LA VA shreds claims, rates jump, assisted suicide bill proposed.
War & Terror
Bangkok bomb: Deadly blast rocks Thailand capital
A bomb has exploded close to a shrine in the centre of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 120.
“They rape us. We kill them”: Yazidi singer forms all-female fighting unit to take revenge on ISIS for forcing their sisters into sexual slavery and beheading their brothers
“Sun Girls” brigade was formed by the renowned Yazidi singer Xate Shingali
In parts of Yemen, rebels have lost control. No one else has it yet.
Even as the Saudi-led invasion of Yemen has started to make rapid gains against rebel forces, lawlessness is plaguing newly liberated areas, and al-Qaeda militants are moving in to take advantage of the power vacuum, Yemeni residents and fighters say.
Bangkok bomb: Erawan shrine attacker “is part of network”, police say
The bomb attack that killed 20 people at Bangkok’s Erawan shrine on Monday was carried out by a “network”, Thailand’s chief of police has said.
UN to let Iran inspect alleged nuke work site
Iran, in an unusual arrangement, will be allowed to use its own experts to inspect a site it allegedly used to develop nuclear arms under a secret agreement with the U.N. agency that normally carries out such work, according to a document seen by The Associated Press.
Senators: Obama Admin Hiding Secret Iran Deal Letters
White House promising to be soft on sanctions if Iran violates nuclear deal
Violent Patterns Emerge in Putin’s War on Ukraine
Russian dictator and shameless propagandist Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of escalating warfare in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. “I hope there won’t be full-scale direct clashes,” Putin said while visiting the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
Islamic State “selling off the organs of women kept as sex slaves to fund terror attacks”
A new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute – which monitors ISIS online – claims militants are openly discussing slavery on social media.
Clinton server contained “Born classified” information
Hillary Clinton’s current defense of the fact that, contrary to her initial defense, her email server contained classified information is that the information wasn’t “marked” classified at the time she received it. (Clinton apparently still denies sending classified information, period). The implication is that because the information wasn’t marked classified, it wasn’t classified, and therefore she did nothing problematic when she received it on a private server.
The More We Learn, the Worse the Deal Gets
In his March 5 Address to Congress, Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that the Iran deal would leave a vast nuclear infrastructure with a break-out time that would be “very short — about a year by U.S. assessment, even shorter by Israel’s.” The last four words were a diplomatic way of noting Israel’s lack of confidence in the one-year assurances of the Obama administration. Based on the extensive analysis released this week by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), “Breakout Timelines Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (JCPOA), Israel’s assessment is more accurate. The ISIS study concludes that the likely breakout time is seven months.
3 Americans praised for subduing gunman on European train
One serves in the Air Force, another recently served in Afghanistan in the National Guard, another is studying physical therapy in California — and all three Americans are being hailed as heroes for disarming a gunman on a high-speed train who may have been known to intelligence services in three countries.
European Train Attacker Another Case of “Known Wolf” Terrorism
Quick action by unarmed off-duty U.S. servicemen on a high speed train from Amsterdam to Paris narrowly averted tragedy yesterday as they subdued a terrorist gunmen before he could begin his rampage. And according to multiple reports, the suspect in custody was known to multiple European intelligence agencies – yet another case of what I have termed “known wolf” terrorism.
“My first reaction was to sit down and hide. Then I heard an American say ‘go get him’.”
That was once typical of Americans, and, who knows, maybe will be one day once more.
Huge explosions at US army base in Japan as warehouse burns and emergency services rush to scene
A helicopter is circling the military area in Sagamihara city after a series of massive bangs were heard from a warehouse which stores ammunition
National
Environmentalists circulating image of girl carrying Walker’s decapitated head
A member of the Facebook page titled Citizens Preserving the Penokee Hills Heritage Park posted a artist depiction of a small girl carrying the severed head of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
Scott Walker Confronts Union Protesters at Iowa State Fair
“I am not intimidated by you, sir.”
Officer Beaten by a Convicted Felon Hesitated for Fear of Being Called Racist: Welcome to Post-Ferguson Policing
A police officer in Birmingham, Ala., was beaten unconscious by a suspect during a traffic stop last week because the officer did not want to be pilloried in the media as a racist for using force against a black man.
Hillary’s email firm was run from a loft apartment with its servers in the BATHROOM, raising new questions over security of sensitive messages she held
Democratic White House front-runner used Platte River Networks of Denver, Colorado, to maintain her controversial “home brew” server
Black Woman Rips Council over Illegal Aliens
Chanell Temple, a black woman originally from Huntington Park, delivered a strident, politically incorrect speech against illegal immigration on Monday evening at the local city council meeting.
Rubio, Walker push ObamaCare replacements
Have we reached the point of delving into actual policy proposals? Donald Trump kicked off the substantive part of the primary cycle yesterday with a high-profile release of his immigration plan.
“Gender Inclusive Classrooms” Guide: Say “Friends” or “Students” Instead of Girls and Boys
To help “create a classroom where students aren’t limited based on gender stereotypes,” teachers should address classes using words like “friends or “students” rather than girls and boys, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) advises in a new back-to-school guide.
Elderly Tuskegee Airman has car and cash stolen while lost in St. Louis
A 93-year-old Tuskegee Airman had his car stolen and was robbed in two separate incidents on Sunday night. The robbery happened Sunday at McPherson and Sarah in North St. Louis
Animas activists “chase” Sen. John McCain off the Navajo Nation
A group of activists voiced their frustrations about the Gold King Mine spill by protesting during Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain’s visit to the Navajo Nation Friday.
HUD Allows Over-Income Tenants to Stay in Public Housing
A new report from the watchdog for the Department of Housing and Urban Development chastises the agency for allowing tenants earning far more than the maximum income for public housing to remain in the government subsidized housing.
Huntington Park Citizens Storm City Council
Council gets “Rule of Law” lesson from engaged, enraged residents.
Clinton pulls plug on testy presser over server questions
Hillary Clinton dismissed the controversy surrounding her private email server and defended her conduct as legal during a press conference in Las Vegas.
Kamala Harris, Dem Rising Star, Goes for the Jugular on Conservative Nonprofits
The Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether California’s ambitious Attorney General and candidate for U.S. Senate, Kamala Harris, has violated the First Amendment and federal law protecting confidential tax return information.
California Legislature could ignite rush to smuggle cigarettes
“Tax ’em if you got ’em.” That could be the motto of the California Legislature – about everything, but especially cigarettes.
Planned Parenthood Clinic Cut Through Dead Baby’s Face to Get His Intact Brain
In the latest video produced by the Center for Medical Progress, Holly O’Donnell describes a medical technician using scissors to cut through the face of a newly aborted but nearly fully developed baby boy at a Planned Parenthood facility so that his intact brain could be extracted.
Planned Parenthood whistleblower: Heart of aborted fetus was still beating
A whistleblower describes extracting brain tissue from a fetus whose heart was still beating, in a seventh undercover video targeting Planned Parenthood that was released Wednesday morning.
Did Black Lives Matter Organizer Shaun King Mislead Oprah Winfrey By Pretending To Be Biracial?
An investigative blogger has accused Shaun King, a key figure in the Black Lives Matter movement, of misleading media icon Oprah Winfrey by pretending to be biracial in order to qualify for an “Oprah scholarship” to historically black Morehouse College. The blogger says King is white and has been lying about his ethnicity for years.
How Ironic: Media Largely Ignoring Horrifying Planned Parenthood Videos Receive Awards … From Planned Parenthood
This is almost as sickening as the videos themselves.
Leading science publisher retracts dozens of papers for fake peer reviews
Springer Publishing, one of the world’s leading publishers of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM) books and journals, issued an announcement this week that 64 different professional articles, primarily in the medical field, had been retracted. It turns out that the vaunted peer review process, designed to ensure that multiple sets of experts evaluate the quality of the work before it hits the presses, had fallen apart. The peer reviews in some cases were found to be “highly suspicious” with bogus email addresses and questionable credentials.
Md. Rep. Cummings hires Senate fundraiser
A veteran Senate campaign fundraiser is now working for Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), a potential sign that he will run for higher office.
Nine Year-Old #Ferguson Girl Shot Dead in Her Bed in Drive-By Shooting — No Protests Planned
A nine-year old Ferguson girl was shot dead in her bed in a drive-by shooting on Tuesday.
Facebook co-founder Moskovitz: Tech companies risk destroying employees’ lives
The tech industry threatens to cannibalize itself, forcing its talented and young workforce to pursue work over life with the inevitable end result being compromised results and miserable employees.
Pro-Choice Group Takes Down Story Slut-Shaming Pro-Life Activist
RH Reality Check exposes sexual preferences of opponent because she is anti-Planned Parenthood.
Republicans recruiting more women candidates to hold the line in state-level races
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) has a daunting task ahead: funding a $125 million effort over the next several years to make sure Republicans maintain the dominance they have in their respective states’ legislatures. Right now, two-thirds of the governorships are in Republican hands, and the GOP controls the most state legislatures since 1920.
Rep. Elijah Cummings issues an impotent threat letter to the Center for Medical Progress.
Let me give you yet another example of Why Elections Matter. Let us imagine, for a moment, that we lived in an alternate universe where the Democrats still retained control of the House of Representatives. Let us also imagine that, in this world, that the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) had still conducted a sting operation that had caught Planned Parenthood and associated corporate customers engaged in ghoulish baby-harvesting.
Researcher Demonstrates How to Suck Carbon from the Air, Make Stuff from It
A novel electrochemical process sequesters carbon in the form of a versatile building material.
Instagram Account Of St. Louis Man Killed By Police Has BEEN SCRUBBED From The Internet
I reported yesterday finding the social media imprint of Mansur Ball-Bey, the 18-year-old who was shot by police in St. Louis during the service of a warrant. Today that entire account has been deleted. It contained a lot of images of Mansur with guns from his rap videos.
Democrats Are Gunning for Prop. 13 – For Real
On June 6, 1978, a political earthquake rumbled through California in the form of Proposition 13 – officially named the “People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation” and enshrined in our constitution as – what else? – Article 13A.
Shariff Hazan’s Quest in the California’s 37th District
Conservative readers are likely not familiar with the name Shariff Mordechai Hazan…yet. But if you do not know him now chances are good you will hear about him before too long. Shariff Hazan is launching a bid to take on entrenched congresswoman Karen Bass representing the 37th congressional district of California, covering the territories of Culver City, South-Central Los Angeles and the Pico-Roberston community.
Appeals Court Says Obama Can’t Force Little Sisters of the Poor to Obey HHS Mandate
In a victory for the pro-life fight against the HHS mandate, a federal appeals court issued a ruling today saying a Catholic religious order, the Little Sisters of the Poor, does not have to comply with Obamacare’s abortion mandate while its lawsuit against the mandate continues. The mandate compels religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions.
Wolf airs first ad in campaign to unseat Blumenthal
August Wolf, a former Olympic shot putter seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2016, is airing his first commercial: a cable television ad urging U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to oppose the proposed U.S-Iran nuclear deal.
8th Shocking Video: StemExpress CEO Admits Planned Parenthood Sells Fully Intact Aborted Babies
Just a short time after a judge issued a ruling that the biotech firm StemExpress can’t block the Center for Medical Progress from releasing another video that shows what it does with aborted babies Planned Parenthood sells to it, the pro-life group put up a preview of the 8th video in its series showing the scandal of Planned Parenthood selling aborted baby body parts.
Actress Ellen Page Tries to Corner Ted Cruz on LGBT Issues. Gets OWNED…
What’s that? You’ve never heard of Ellen Page? She’s starred in X-Men, Juno, Inception, and a variety of Canadian movies and television. Kind of a big deal, apparently.
Leftists looking to reverse Bush-era policy on religious freedom
A policy created by President Bush that exempted religious organizations from non-discrimination policies in their hiring practices is under assault by far-left groups.
Scott Walker Rejects Meeting with Black Lives Matter Mob Members
Scott Walker was polite but dismissed suggestions that he meet with Black Lives Matter protesters.
Former Satanist: “I Performed Satanic Rituals Inside Abortion Clinics”
In an interview with the Lepanto Institute, former Satanist Zachary King shared about his 26-years in the occult and his involvement in ritual abortions.
Wikipedia Denounces Dewey Decimal System for Its “Anglo-American World View”
Did you know that even the Dewey Decimal System used to organize books in libraries is ethnocentric and presumably racist? It must be true; I read it in Wikipedia
“Free speech is not about being sensitive,” Says Chapman University President
Jim Doti speaks out on campus free speech issues and the value of a liberal arts degree.
Biden consults with Warren as he mulls 2016 presidential bid
Vice President Joe Biden left the seclusion of the Delaware home where he’s been weighing a presidential run to meet Saturday with Elizabeth Warren — another influential Democrat who has faced calls to enter the 2016 race.
Rand Paul sells Kentucky GOP on presidential caucus
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) avoided a major headache Saturday after Kentucky Republican Party approved a rule change that would allow him to run for president while seeking reelection to his Senate seat.
High School band barred for playing hymn, crowd sings it instead
Just when you’re starting to think that the entire country is going down the tubes sideways, a story comes along to remind you that it all just might work out in the end after all. Todd Starnes at Fox news uncovered one of those small town stories of political correctness infecting the courts and running completely off the rails this week. At Brandon High School in Mississippi, the traditional Friday Night football game was missing their halftime show. The school’s marching band had been ordered off the field because their presentation included the hymn How Great Thou Art. That may sound strange, but it was the result of a court order.
Doctor To Conservative “Die Soon, There Are Liberals Waiting For Your Organs”
Earlier this morning, a man who appears to be a resident at St Jude Medical Center in California named “Reneh K” took to Twitter to hate on Conservatives.
Oops! Jeb Bush Sends Out Poorly Photoshopped Mailer=> With Extra Black Man’s Hand
You’d think with all that big donor cash they could afford to hire someone who knew how to Photoshop?
Economy & Taxes
Venezuela’s currency is now so worthless that people are using it as napkins
An image is going round that sums up just how ridiculous Venezuela’s economy has become.
International
With Jeremy Corbyn’s Rise, the Lower Depths of British Socialism Are Suddenly MainstreamShare article on Facebook
Jeremy Corbyn is a back-bench Labour member of Parliament, so back-bench that very few people had ever heard of him until this moment. In his mid-sixties, he has made his life in the lower depths of Leftist politics, amid little splinter groups that see themselves taking to the streets under the banner of revolution. The frame of mind of such people is a psychological oddity. Somewhere on their path through this vale of tears they got stuck, becoming unable to distinguish between illusion and reality. At demonstrations, they may have rough encounters with the police but usually they are more of a danger to themselves than to anyone else.
Paintball Guns Given To Belgian Cops In Bid To Stop Another Charlie Hebdo
Police chiefs say that the new semi-automatic firearms are designed to be used in densely-populated areas
Sexual Revolution Rolls On: Half of British Youth Neither Straight Nor Gay
Half of Britain’s youth say they are neither gay nor straight, but somewhere in between, a new poll has found. And while nearly a third of people thought that sexuality was binary, gay or straight, nearly two in three people believe it to be a sliding scale.
Infestation of Opossums Kills 17 Babies in Venezuelan Birth Ward
Newly-minted parents at Venezuela’s Dr. Luis Razetti Hospital in Anzoátegui are denouncing its maternity ward for killing 17 babies in a week, the victims of sanitation so poor the ward is overtly inhabited by a swarm of opossums.
Facebook Mod Says “Tone Down the Sarcasm” After REMOVING an Anti-ISIS Post
Social networking website Facebook has apologised to the nationalist Britain First group after removing a critical post about ISIS involving a roll of toilet paper made up of the black flag used by the terrorist group.
Tsipras resigns, paving way for snap Greek election
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned on Thursday, hoping to strengthen his hold on power in snap elections after seven months in office in which he fought Greece’s creditors for a better bailout deal but had to cave in.
Corbyn’s Labour Share article on Facebook
Writing in the Spectator, Nick Cohen, a man of the (center) left has a very smart take on the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, the sinister Chavez wannabe who now looks likely to head Britain’s opposition Labour Party.
Sweden’s establishment is afraid of the voters
A new poll came out showing the Sweden Democrats to be the number one party in Sweden right now. That’s good news for reformer right.
Swedish “Press Ombudsman” Declares “Freedom of the Press is Not a Given Right” in Response to “Xenophobic” Sites Being Shared by Swedes After the IKEA Murders
The Swedish establishment is up in arms. Yes, again. It must be any day ending in “y”. What’s the outrage du jour in Sweden right now?
Bread Lines In Cuba: Change We Can Believe In?
While President Obama would like to forgive the Cuban government all their sins, the people still suffer on.
The Sad Case of Mogens Camre: Criminalizing Dissent in Denmark
Danish politician Mogens Camre has become the latest casualty of the war against free speech.
Sweden’s nationalists lead polls for first time
More people support Jimmie Åkesson’s Sweden Democrats than any other political group in Sweden, according to a new poll which puts the nationalists in the lead for the first time in history.
Ruling in Twitter harassment trial could have enormous fallout for free speech
What’s believed to be the first case in Canada of alleged criminal harassment-via-Twitter is just a judge’s decision away from being over.
Opinion
Fund Aims to Help Christian Baker Offset Wedding Cake Losses
Family and friends of a Christian cake designer hope to help him with a fundraising campaign after a Colorado court ruled Thursday that he must create cakes for same-sex weddings despite his religious beliefs.
Feminism’s Radical Transvaluation
Amy Austin (@amymarieaustin) is mentally ill and bisexual, and also a feminist, but I repeat myself. Last year Ms. Austin, a British university student, wrote a rant entitled, “Patriarchy and the Problem of Being Born Female”.
The Great Unlearning
Bill Whittle explains how America became so stupid.
We Don’t Need “Great” Leaders – We Need Constitutional Ones
The Founding Fathers knew what Lord John Dalberg-Acton knew. And far too few of us know the totality of Lord Acton’s sage sentiment: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
Five Serious Truths About Illegal Immigration That GOP Candidates Have To Accept
Hey, GOP primary losers, you better get out there fast with a real immigration plan, because right now you are losing to Donald Trump and that makes you the epitome of loserdom. But unlike Trump, you should be serious about ending the illegal immigration nightmare. His supporters are. Hell, his opponents are, too. Yet some of you haven’t just flirted with amnesty – Rubio tried yet couldn’t score, but donor class puffball Jeb Bush has gotten to third base with amnesty and is trying to round home.
Feminist Tumblr: Mentally Ill Lesbian Hates “Totally Useless” Fathers
Feminists believe everything any man does is wrong, simply because (a) he’s a man, and (b) he did it. No man can ever do anything to deserve praise from feminists, who never say anything about any male except to condemn him for his maleness.
How Art Became Irrelevant
In 1971 the performance artist Chris Burden stood against the wall of a California art gallery and ordered a friend to shoot him through the arm. That .22 rifle shot was the opening salvo of a movement that came to be called “endurance art”—an unnerving species of performance art in which the performer deliberately subjects himself to pain, deprivation, or extreme tedium. Try as he might, Burden never quite matched the shock of his spectacular debut (and he did try, once letting himself be crucified onto the back of a Volkswagen Beetle).
“Feminist Men” = Progressive Misogynists
Victoria Brownworth (@vabvox) is a lesbian feminist who hates “mansplaining from men asserting they are feminist allies”
Stop Universities From Hoarding Money
WHO do you think received more cash from Yale’s endowment last year: Yale students, or the private equity fund managers hired to invest the university’s money?
Transgender Regret Is Real Even If The Media Tell You Otherwise
They don’t want you to know: regret 20 percent, attempted suicides 41 percent, mental illness 60-90 percent among transgendered population.
Nothing Is More “Conservative” Than Birthright Citizenship
Eliminating birthright citizenship means overthrowing the Constitution and the thousand-year history of English common law.
Mitch McConnell is Professor Chaos
I’ve long contended that if RedState had an archvillain nemesis, it would be Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 58%. He is the absolute antithesis of just about everything RedState stands for, and more than once he has actively tried to squash any conservative uprising that RedState has backed. However, I am starting to feel that I was perhaps too generous in likening him to Lex Luthor or The Joker.
The left is rapidly losing its moral authority on racism
On Monday, Jeremy Corbyn was questioned by Channel 4 News about yet another Holocaust denier and anti-Semite of his acquaintance. And now the BBC’s World at One has asked Corbyn about another.
Our Moral Superiors™
Bailey Poland (@the_author_) reacted rather predictably to my noticing her typical feminist expressions of sadistic cruelty. You see, if you read what a feminist writes, and then express criticism of what she has written, you are “inciting harassment,” because no one can ever be permitted to disagree with a feminist. Once you understand the rules of feminist discourse, you expect these reactions.
The White Guilt-White Privilege Shakedown
Posturing is a basic element in conflict, at least at the primitive level. Many animals and even fish can make themselves look bigger and more dangerous than they actually are, and, as stated by chess grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch, “the threat is stronger than the execution.”
Set Phasers to Kill! SJWs Burn Down The Hugo Awards To Prove How Tolerant And Welcoming They Are
At the seventy-third annual Worldcon science fiction convention on Saturday night, social justice warriors did their best impression of the nightmare firemen of Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451, choosing to burn down the Hugo Awards and damage science fiction instead of seeing works of heretical authors outside of their exclusive clique winning awards.
What’s Wrong With Liberalism in Two Sentences
The New York Times today carries a long news piece about the growing panic in Hillary world that has forced her to—gasp!—interrupt her Hamptons summer vacation to campaign among the plebes in the Midwest.
Feminists: Calling Your Daughter “Princess” is Supporting “Rape Culture”
It makes me sound aged to declare that I can fondly remember a time not too long ago where boys could be boys and girls could be girls. Girls would play with Barbies and my friends and I would *gasp* play war with our toy guns. It was a simpler time known as the late ’90’s and while it was far from perfect, somehow, we all survived just fine.
War Against Human Nature: Radical Feminism’s Anti-Maternal Rage
Guys often react to the rants of angry young feminists with a two-word explanation: “Daddy issues.” Having spent more than a year researching radical feminism, however, I always point out that many feminists have even worse “Mommy issues.”
Radical Feminism and the “Equality” Trap
Radical lesbian activist @EllenPage decided that @TedCruz needed a lecture from her about equality and discrimination
SO Tired of the Bull Excreta
Okay, this is an odds and sodds post, but the first thing to do is to say that while I thought Captain Comic’s pamphlet juvenile, I didn’t think it was unfunny, I certainly didn’t think it was offensive (ah, yes, the famously bad word genitalia. Let me clutch my pearls.)
Burning Down The Field in Order to Save It
So, I thought I didn’t care about the result of the Hugos, because in making the establishment lose their collective sh*t at the “non approved” nominations, we’d proven our point: that there is a political color bar in SF/F; that the self-proclaimed elites of sf view what fans like as problematic and therefore view the supposed “fan” award as the toy of the glitterati; and that NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS marched in lockstep with the narrative of a tiny clique over an award that in the past has sometimes been given with hundreds of votes (after which display it’s pretty hard to claim that the left doesn’t have a death lock on the media. And btw nothing was weirder than being told by the National Media we were the ones wanting to drive people off the field, while nominee after nominee was hounded off the ballot by leftist who — since WE have no political color bar — were often their co-believers.)
