Don's Tuesday Column

             THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson Red Bluff Daily News   6/06/2017

                Violence, corruption for leftism ok

Numerous stories that have paraded across our newspapers or TV screens have some not-so-hidden lessons. The increasing frequency of stories almost overwhelms our ability to discern, let alone retain, any longer term narratives or revelations. Here are some examples:

It is probably to former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s benefit that the “news caravan” has moved on from her most recent speeches. She managed to simultaneously take full responsibility for losing the election while adding to and expanding her list of reasons why other people, groups (“white men”) and events beyond her control were the reasons she lost.

It should be unsurprising that Republicans and Trump voters find that such blame-shifting and “sour grapes” support our collective rejection of Hillary; look up “Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Hillary Clinton” or “Sore Loser Hillary Clinton won’t go away” (Michael Walsh, 5/27). Given such narcissistic conspiracy-mongering, I must ask local liberals if they still really wanted President Hillary—not why they despise President Trump and wish he’d lost—to lead us with that fractured, warped mind?

Before answering, consider that “even the Left can’t stand her constant bellyaching.” Such solid lefties as The New York Times’ Glenn Thrush (tweeted it’s “mea culpa-not-so-much” and she “blames everyone but self”), and Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod (“Clinton said ‘I’m responsible’ but apparently doesn’t feel that way”), are signaling that Democrats should walk away. Walsh: “Let’s start with the most salient point: it is utterly shameful for the defeated candidate to join a ‘resistance’ against the lawfully elected winner, [just because] she lost.”

There is a shameful similarity of psychosis, perhaps, in the pathetic way so-called “comedian” Kathy Griffin seamlessly transitioned from sick purveyor of “Trump-beheading-as-performance-art” to tear-streaked victim of the justifiable outrage from conservatives in general, and the Trump family in particular. Don’t forget the “kill (and behead) Bush” themes from lefties in college papers, plays, books and protest posters and signs; violence flows from their ideology.

Look up “How The American Left Made Political Violence the New Normal,” by Ben Shapiro, written after the multiple episodes of leftist violence against Trump supporters last summer. “Liberals Embrace Violence,” by J. Hinderaker, included a video montage of liberals advocating, even committing, political violence. “Their recently-defeated vice-presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, has called on his fellow liberals to become street fighting men.”

Then there’s the serious potential of violence against undercover CIA agents, one of whose identity was recently blown by the New York Times (“New York Times defends decision to identify undercover CIA agent,” by Eddie Scarry, 6/02). Remember, the NYT led the charge against the revelation of (non-clandestine agent) Valerie Plame’s CIA employment. It was, in their collective liberal news organs’ view, nearly treasonous; never mind that her husband, Joe Wilson, and Richard Armitage of the State Dept. were actually responsible for the revelation. Nevertheless, now that despised Republican Donald Trump is the President, a genuine act of perfidy—naming the CIA’s head of operations related to Iran—must now be just a civic duty.

Now, let’s turn to “The Scandal Hiding in Plain Sight” (powerlineblog.com) or, as circa.com writers John Solomon and Sara Carter opined, “Obama intel agency secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years” (May 24). You’ve not likely heard much about it, what with all the “trumped up” conspiracy theories over Russia/Trump collusion in the election. A rather loaded, almost rhetorical, question headed a USA Today column by Glenn Reynolds, University of Tennessee law professor and proprietor of pjmedia.com/instapundit: “Was Obama administration illegal spying worse than Watergate?” Why report real news when fake is easier?

Solomon and Carter based their reporting and analysis on recently declassified documents, pointing to the title they gave their circa.com piece: “The National Security Agency under former President Barack Obama routinely violated American privacy protections while scouring through overseas intercepts and failed to disclose the extent of the problems until the final days before Donald Trump was elected president last fall, according to once top-secret documents that chronicle some of the most serious constitutional abuses to date by the U.S. intelligence community…

“The normally supportive (FISA) court censured administration officials, saying that the failure to disclose the extent of the violations earlier amounted to an ‘institutional lack of candor,’ and that the improper searches constituted a ‘very serious Fourth Amendment issue,’ according to a recently unsealed court document dated April 26.” (lengthy quote needed for accurate analysis) Another piece, by Debra Heine at pjmedia.com on 5/30, provides the rhetorical answer, “Shock: Complete MSM News Blackout on NSA Illegal Spying Bombshell.”

You owe it to yourself to go to DonPolson.blogspot.com where I’ve posted links to those articles; you can decide for yourself whether we are witnessing the complete flipping of the vaunted themes the news industry has given itself: “Speak truth to power” (unless you are a virtual mouthpiece for the ideology whose power you support). A widely-acclaimed quote from Finley Peter Dunne said that journalism is “to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” I guess that no longer applies if the comfortable are liberals and the afflicted are conservatives.

             The above may rightly shock readers on the right; progressives and liberals will probably rationalize this all away because political, journalistic corruption is ok if it advances leftism.