I wonder why. Is it just a matter of time? Steel yourself when they all come after you and wait. They'll go somewhere else soon enough.
Or did something else happen that drove the story out of the news? Was it just big news — Trump's "emergency"? Or something that specifically offset the Northam story — maybe the Jussie Smollett story: Maybe some people don't want to think about why Northam made himself into a fake black man if we're worried that Jussie Smollett made up some fake white men.
Smollett's possibly fake white men were outright hateful and they make black people feel that they are hated, and Northam's fake black man was more ambiguous, perhaps more mockery than hate and even possibly admiring (if it really was about imitating Michael Jackson). And, of course, what Smollett did — if he did it — happened just a couple weeks ago and Northam's idiocy is more than 30 years in the past.
ADDED: If it turns out that Smollett staged an elaborate hoax, how do you think it will/should be resolved? Obviously, one answer is criminal prosecution and punishment.
But — especially if he would continue to assert that he was attacked — it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology. I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive.
Another scenario I've pictured is something about mental illness and rehabilitation. We'd learn that Smollett is unwell and will get treatment, which is problematic because it might feel like another hoax.
By the way, I hope it's a hoax. Aware that I'd prefer it to be a hoax, I'm wary of talking about it as a hoax at all. Maybe it happened, and if it did, Smollett deserves empathy for both the attack and the doubting of his integrity.
AND: A montage of media people and politicians conveying Smollett's allegations as if they were proven facts:
February 17, 2019
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361 comments:
1 – 200 of 361 Newer› Newest»We're not talking about Fairfax, either.
It's not idiocy, it's blackface. Harmless entertainment.
It's just the Fickle Finger of fate.
Not talking about it anymore because it was a ridiculous SJW overreaction in the first place, and everyone is happy to have the distractions.
The people who write the checks are friends with Democratic politicians. Or haven't you folks caught on yet?
They're not Republicans, so the "Women" crying #Metoo, don't care about Fairfax...and as for the blackface...Same. They aren't in MAGA hats.
When Rev. Al Sharpton goes dark ..... er ..... silent, you know it's not an important issue for the race hustlers.
I don't think it is an 'if' with Smollett. The two guys that helped him stage the assault were arrested when they returned from Nigeria and immediately flipped on him. Smollett gave them $7000 and they were caught on store surveillance buying the rope that was eventually placed around Smollett's neck.
Jessie Smollett needs to apologize to all Trump supporters for staging a fake crime stating his attackers yelled, "This is MAGA country." He needs to pay the Chicago Police Department for all the costs of the investigation. He also needs to apologize to all the victims of real crimes in Chicago whose investigations were put on hold when they diverted more than a dozen detectives to cover this sham. And then he needs to be charged with falsifying a police report.
Smollett's possibly fake white men...
...And, of course, what Smollett did — if he did it...
Perhaps at this point it's not entirely unreasonable to withhold judgment on whether Smollett was in on staging this incident. But believing that there is a non-zero probability that the perps (whatever it was they perped) were "white men" is quite the stretch.
Northam is going to hold out, and so will Fairfax and Herring. Action only happens if, by some long shot, Fairfax is indicted.
Which is good news for Republican because now they have a precedent to cite while ignoring the twitter mob.
ADDED: If it turns out that Smollett staged an elaborate hoax, how do you think it will/should be resolved? Obviously, one answer is criminal prosecution and punishment.
Reporters from the local Chicago TV stations seem to be convinced that it was a hoax. The Nigerian brothers are apparently spilling the beans. It seems somewhat elaborately planned, but very poorly thought out.
This goes into the rather thick file of leftwing hoaxes.
We can't continue to talk about every outrage forever. That wouldn't leave time to discuss the next outrage.
Also, Northam and company are Virginia politicians. Local scandals can only hold the national spotlight for a short period. It would be interesting to know if this is still a big issue in Virginia.
Al Franken must be feeling pretty stupid by now.
No one's forgotten about Northam. Or Fairfax. Rest assured the story will return. They can't govern it's just that in VA this takes time.
Smollett is not mentally ill. He's a drama queen. He and his political camp and MSM use and coordinate lies as a weapon. An apology would be nice, but I want scalps. We're all through with this. They have no shame. They attack kids, women, old people, deplatform, attack livelihoods, and are otherwise all around shitty people.
Rules don't apply anymore. They don't play by any set of rules while Prof. Althouse effectively says 'can't we all just get along?' No. We can't. They've proven we can't.
Smollett belongs in jail, which I'm sure a gay piece of him would thoroughly enjoy.
Smollet did us a service by again proving the vast majority of hate crimes are self-serving fakes.
Like others, he lacked the planning ability to follow it through all the way.
in Democrat terms, we "need a conversation" about the elevation of racial identity and canonization of victims.
...it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology. I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive.
I don't think this would work. Even if he gave a sincere apology, there would be plenty of other people claiming that, while this one was fake, all the others were true, and the fact that his story was not accepted without question is proof of racism, etc.
faking a hate crime
should be a hate crime
The two blackface politicians are embarrassed, not crucified. The one accused of rape is being investigated by the proper authorities.
That's what should happen.
But that's not what would happen if the party affiliations of those in the line of succession were reversed.
Jessie Smollett needs to apologize to all Trump supporters for staging a fake crime stating his attackers yelled, "This is MAGA country."
And several news media that, if not directly shouting with glee, "Orange Man strikes again" allowed panelists to shout, "See! See!".
But shame is not part of their DNA.
Ann said
I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive.
I'll be happy to forgive AFTER he serves the 3 yr sentence that is specified for this crime. (Assuming he is tried and found guilty)
There are WAAAAY too many of these crimes, fake hate crimes, to allow them to be swept under the rug.
Examples have to be made or else when the crimes really do happen the victim will be afraid to report it and, if they do report it, it will be assumed to be a hoax.
Kind of like rape. When women falsely report a rape, that woman MUST be prosecuted for the false report. Otherwise it harms all real rape victims.
Perhaps Smollett needs help. Fine, he should get it.
But — especially if he would continue to assert that he was attacked — it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology.
More bullshit from our hostess.
Ann, do you think he should have to pay (money) the costs of this fake hoax? Police time that could have been spent investigating real crimes with real victims?
Overtime costs?
Not to say that he should not apologize etc ALSO
Frankly this whole post makes you sound racist. "Awww.... he's a black guy, they don't know any better. They are an inferior race. We can't hold them to the same standards as whites. Yadda, yadda, yadda..."
Madison WI may be the most racist city in the US by the numbers. Perhaps you have been there too long.
John Henry
"I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive."
The message that has to go out is that the law must be followed. There's no longer any sort of shared morality, philosophy, religion, trust. The law isn't even respected anymore, but right now it's the only rule that's common to everyone that could be restored to respectability.
At this point it strikes me as extremely unlikely the Smollett attack was real. Nonetheless, we are already campaigning to show him 'empathy and forgiveness'?? Meanwhile, the so-called Justice dept is sounding like a lynch mob wanting to sentence Manafort to 25 years in prison. Yes, the man is a greedy, slimy tax cheat - but 25 years? Smollett is a greedy, slimy race baiter trying to boost his acting career/pay - oh, poor guy!
Prof. Althouse:
"if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology."
There's a catch there: Would he ever have explained, acknowledged, apologized if his hoax had been widely believed, and the story hadn't unraveled?
This is what happens
when actors try to be script writers
plot holes and obvious endings
Let this incident be a warning to the average citizen that your cell phone and financial records are not private or secure, and that surveillance cameras are everywhere.
Congrats to Chicago Detectives for debunking this
If only the super lame deep state FBI
could do investigations of this quality
rather than invent process crimes
Seems like every hate crime that the press covers, like Smollett, like racist posters on dorm doors, nooses in trees and many more over the past 10 years, have turned out to be fake.
And to have no consequences to the perpetrator.
As Glenn Reynolds only half-jokingly says "If it was for fake hate crimes, there'd be no hate crimes at all"
I am sure there are real hate crimes. We almost never hear of them. That, plus the fact that the ones we do hear about, leads on to believe that there really are no real hate crimes.
I use "hate crime" because that is the popular term. Not because I think it a valid legal concept.
John Henry
Northam is a dem and it doesnt help the dems to focus in it.
Media: move on
Fairfax is a dem.
Media: move on
Smollett is a far left dem actor.
Media: (predictably) already moving towards a "self hate due to rampant institutional racism in the US; jusdie is still a victim; he needs love and counseling; America/Trump/MAGA at fault; move on
It could not be any simpler.
> slimy tax cheat
the only people who aren't tax "cheats"
have no significant financial affairs
The so-called Media is not talking about Northam/Fairfax anymore because it suits their political agenda to disappear the entire story. Smollett will receive the exact same treatment eventually.
The Smollett case and its denouement is completely predictable. No, there won't be accountability for the perpetrators of these hoaxes or for those who cheered them on. How about all the politicians who told us this is a dark sign of the horrid underbelly of Trump's America? We know the next lines, we've heard them all so many times. "It may not have been true, but that shouldn't deter us from talking about the awful crimes committed against [insert identity here]. It highlights the terrible things happening to [insert identity here] every day in America."
Those waiting for an apology, or even a tiny bit of introspection, will wait forever.
Blogger Lucid-Ideas said...
An apology would be nice, but I want scalps.
Damn well said.
John Henry
I think if it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Jessie Smollett was a participant in a crime faking the claimed attack then he must be subject to criminal prosecution and punishment. If this turns out to be a hoax I would consider a plea bargain if all involved admitted their crimes both pleading guilty and publicly confessing. Though I think all involved must be significantly punished beyond a required public confession. These sorts of fake claims of racism are the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater. Currently all the evidence I am aware of indicates this is a hoax.
For some time now, every alleged hate crime has been a hoax.
He needs jail time. I have no doubt that if the surveillance video the police reviewed had included a couple white guys, he absolutely would have said it was them and would have let innocent people do time.
It was an obvious hoax from the beginning, not hurtful at all. Oh look another hoax. Victims are such idiots.
Smollett should be turned into an object lesson for anyone planning on perpetrating a hate crime hoax.
Same with Dr Blasey Ford (Kavanaugh) and Nathan Phillips (Covington).
These acts of bearing false witness will continue if there are no consequences for tbem.
Democrats sure are a corrupt people.
"I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive."
The strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive would be cruel punishment neutrally given such as 3 years in prison.
The strong message that hoaxes like this are perfectly acceptable and ought to be repeated for fortune and fame would be if the hoax is forgiven without punishment, i.e. a fake apology for rubes.
This was always a hoax. There was never a doubt. It was as much a hoax as Obama and Hillary telling the world that an obscure video made a few years ago by an unknown man in California was the cause of the attack on our diplomatic compound in Benghazi. But...when the press latches onto their Preferred Narrative, it has life. When the press deems the narrative 'non-preferred' or unapproved, then it has a lifespan of no more than 10 days. Northam was at first approved, then fell into a gray area because (a) they didn't want to have to also deal with his stand on the Virginal abortion law, and (b) he's a Dem and if he went, the other two behind him would also have to go, thereby leaving a Repub running Virginia. The Dems and Press agree that that a Republican is simply unacceptable. So, blackface, in this case, becomes acceptable.
Hoaxes are always moved up to the front of the coverage when it shows the proper narrative. News is always back-paged when it is shown to not follow the narrative. Or as Jim Treacher puts it: "Modern journalism is all about deciding which facts the public shouldn't know because they might reflect badly on Democrats."
Well we know this is something all Trump supporters want to do, they're just to stupid to figure out how to get their broke-ass selves from Bumfuck to Chicago.
Jussie just wanted to remind us of what we're fighting against. That's important! He should get a medal and a book deal.
Congrats to Chicago Detectives for debunking this
They are under tremendous pressure as the Mayor election is on. Favorite is an anti-police POC.
Where did he get the idea to dump bleach on himself?
that was the dead giveaway - gangs of MAGA hat wearers wandering Chicago at 2 am during polar vortex looking for 3rd string actors to harass... come on!
Assuming that the Nigerian brothers did what they seem to have done and did it at the behest, and pay, of Smollett, did they break the law?
I think that if they knew they were part of a hoax that led to filing a false police report, they would be accessories.
But if Smollett said "Here's $7m, this is what I want you to do" but said nothing about why, wouldn't most of us say, OK, crazy black man, we'll be happy to take the money.
Since they immediately went to Nigeria, they could credibly claim to know nothing about the reports and investigation.
I am also wondering, are they here legally? I am guessing so but don't know.
And since they are probably Nigerian princes, do they get a royal exemption in the US?
John Henry
The mentally ill in particular display many symptoms, such as
1) Pre-emptively planning crimes in advance
2) Colluding with one or more people in a complex fashion
3) Having significant social and high profile relationships
4) Spending large amounts of money to cover wrongdoing
5) Obtaining high profile defense attorneys while claiming innocence
6) Making attempts to destroy evidence and obstruct justice
7) Appearing on evening news broadcasts to 'double down' on fictitious claims
Recognize these signs early and contact your local mental health dept. As soon as possible at 1-800-NOT-REAL. Someone will be by to make apologies and cover for them within 15 minutes while not repairing the damage they've done in any way. Please, have some understanding and care....you racist.
"Another scenario I've pictured is something about mental illness and rehabilitation. We'd learn that Smollett is unwell and will get treatment, which is problematic because it might feel like another hoax."
Mental illness? Why not just picture that the dude has a lot more growing up to do. My picture - and I know virtually nothing about him - is of someone who feels he's on the defensive a lot, doesn't feel believed and, if it's true he staged it, went to great lengths to demonstrate how he feels daily. My first inclination would be to give him the benefit of the doubt in terms of it really being about character and development, in which case he would have to deal with the legal ramifications, and failing that maybe move on to mental illness. I would certainly not start there.
Obvious hoax because it was a complete misreading of the MAGA crowd. Odds drop to zero immediately.
Or did something else happen that drove the story out of the news?
Yes. The Left and the MSM realized that their witch hunts were going to turn control of the government over to a Republican. Which is probably why you are ignoring the sexual harassment charges against the Lt. Governor and the black face problems of the third in line to become governor in this post.
Scott Adams have a live periscope preported to be about spotting a hoax.
It may be that JM used the Post Office to send a hoax letter to himself. If this is true than JM is in Federal trouble. The Feds don't forgive.
A succubus which transitioned to an incubus made him do it.
> gangs of MAGA hat wearers wandering Chicago at 2 am during polar vortex looking for 3rd string actors to harass... come on!
Maybe it was.. THE VAN BUREN BOYS
Seinfeld: Kramer - The Van Buren Boys
TBH, what's worse for liberals right now? This Smollett hoax thing is their worst nightmare even compared to the Virginia fiasco. Now the national discussion will turn to why do black people do racial hoaxes? Bad!
In the left corner, with a soul as black as coal, and with a special skill of hanging albatrosses around his neck with deceptively difficult to weave yarns...
It's...
Jessie "it ain't noose unless it's fake noose" Smollett!
A demonstration of the power of the MSM.
They can suppress as well as amplify.
I suspect the Virginia situation is unresolvable in the short term, so it is now deemed non-existent. A resolution is doubtless in the works and we will hear about it then.
How long before Smollett says it's all because he gave his bank account number to that Nigerian prince?
We aren't talking about Northam any more because the main stream media actively work to censor the news to protect the Left. Democrats should be held to their standards on 30 some year old indiscretions. But the media will not.
I am more concerned about Northam's thoughts on abortion and his vacillating and prevaricating about wearing blackface.
"...it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology."
Now, that sounds like a forward from Grandma.
By the way, I hope it's a hoax. Aware that I'd prefer it to be a hoax, I'm wary of talking about it as a hoax at all. Maybe it happened, and if it did, Smollett deserves empathy for both the attack and the doubting of his integrity.
posted by Ann Althouse at 8:11 AM on Feb 17, 2019
Wow, that's a whopper Ann. He deserves to be put in prison for 20 years.
Blogger Fen said...
Smollett should be turned into an object lesson for anyone planning on perpetrating a hate crime hoax.
Same with Dr Blasey Ford (Kavanaugh) and Nathan Phillips (Covington).
The Covington boys have hired a take no prisoners lawyer to sue everyone involved.
There are about 50 people on the list, including news creeps.
And including Nathan Philipps. Many of the other defendants have deep pockets and will probably pay big bucks in the end. Either as settlements or judgements.
Trying to get anything at all out of Phillips is like blood from a turnip. But they will have the satisfaction of making his life as miserable as he made theirs.
And we will have the vicarious satisfaction of watching.
John Henrh
Demcoratic rules only apply to others.
I suspect Smollet will also fall out of the news quite soon.
But — especially if he would continue to assert that he was attacked — it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology. I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive.
Well of course you would. He's a Lefty and a minority, so he deserves charity and cruel neutrality...right? CBF and Phillips have apparently gotten away with it so why not Smollett too?
Switch out narratives as needed:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/02/trump_as_hercules_cleaning_out_the_augean_stables.html
"We're not talking about Gov. Northam anymore. I wonder why."
I wonder why I wonder why I wonder why I wonder. It's so puzzling!
Anyway, it ain't useful to progs, therefore no more talk. They faced a conundrum. The talk exposed the fact that the Dems are all crooks, racists and rapists and smear merchants, #MeToo believers who suddenly become #MeToo despisers, and so on and so forth. Noting new to us cynics, of course, but inconvenient for progs and the nice women they need to keep on their side. So: stop talking.
"I am sure there are real hate crimes. We almost never hear of them."
How is what Smollett apparently did not a "hate crime"? Pretty much every hate crime hoax out there is an attempt to demonize white people.
"Maybe it happened."
You are so charitable. So Nathan Phillips man-in-the-middle charitable.
But in the best Althouse hair-splitting sense, "it" happened, alright: yet another prog using yet another anti-deplorable smear in yet another fake hate crime.
Smollett was always a transparent hoax. How many white people even know who he is, let alone that he's gay? How many would be hanging around a hardware store in Chicago after midnight in subfreezing temps?
As for Northam, Fairfax, et. al. they always knew the media would have their backs. A little groveling and pandering and it's like it never happened.
Obvious hoax because it was a complete misreading of the MAGA crowd.
The "attack" he described was a pretty trivial - no injuries, no money stolen, etc. Do you think the politicians who pretended that it was an important event believed his story? I thought it was laughably unbelievable.
I can never tell whether politicians are stupid or dishonest, though tend to go with mostly dishonest because they usually have a lot of money.
We don’t yet know alll the facts about the Smolllett incident, but surely we know enough to cancel the Duke lacrosse season.
Hiccup
All hoax hate crimes are anti-white racism. Therefore, they are hate crimes but they're against white people.
Senior people at the FBI were plotting to remove the President.
It is a sign of our culture this didn’t make Ann’s list.
Smollett deserves empathy for both the attack and the doubting of his integrity.
How about Kavanaugh and Sandmann...I haven't seen a lot of empathy for them from certain people.....
He paid his lovers $3500 + $500 each on return from Nigeria.
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/02/16/sources-brothers-released-bought-rope-used-in-jussie-smollett-attack/
> were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 upon their return.
> They left for Nigeria later in the day on Jan. 29, after the attack.
> Sources said one of the brothers held the rope and poured bleach while the other wore a plain red hat and yelled slurs at Smollett.
> The sources say the red hat was bought at an Uptown beauty supply store and that the attack was supposed to happen before Jan. 29. The brothers told detectives the three men rehearsed the attack days prior to it happening.
> Police raided the the brothers’ home on Wednesday, the same day police met them at O’Hare International Airport, as they were returning from Nigeria
> Some of the items seized include a black face mask hat, an Empire script, phone, receipts, a red hat and bleach.
That seems like too much pre-planned fraud for "go and sin no more"
It's not a hoax if you believe it.
"We're not talking about Gov. Northam anymore. I wonder why."
Some predicted this from the outset.
This reminds me of the time Hillary saw the writing on the wall that she might be written out of the script and put together an elaborate hoax.
But as a society, I thought that we have moved to a place of sensitivity in casting. The new West Side Story has actors of at least partial Hispanic lineage playing Sharks. Even Spielber gets it.
So where is the blowback that Smollett casts two black Africans in the roles of white American racists?
What am I not getting?
Did they have to buy their plane tickets out of that 7K?
the $500 was for staying quiet, no?
Anne's lead in is weird and kinda silly. Northam Smollett Fairfax and Phillips are all being ignored because they are Demonrats. Demonratss can be racists. Demonrats can abuse women. It's all OK. #me too ONLY applies when it's convenient for Demonrats. ONOT conservatives can be racist. The media will let you know when to be outraged. Evidence is optional. See Smollett and Blowsy-Fraud.
Talking with my gf last night she said something prescient, "I didn't even know who he was before this all came out!" Neither did I. Never even heard of 'empire'. We all know about it now though...
I'm left wondering if there isn't something deeper, more insidious about what the 'attention economy' has caused. That people or things must resort to this to stay relevant lest they lose their margin in the sea of eyeballs.
It's a scary time, if people and media are actually resorting to this as some kind of marketing strategy whereby the only advertising pop left in a saturated market is to manufacture a crisis to stay relevant. Scary both for their willingness to do it and scary because of how little they understand of its damage and lack of effectiveness. 'Lack of effectiveness'...you might think that's not true because it's worked right? We're all paying attention. Wrong. Look at the Oscars, at ESPN, at NFL, at cinema. All down and the list goes on. This ends up backfiring in the long run.
Maybe they are insane. They keep doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.
But — especially if he would continue to assert that he was attacked — it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology. I'd be happy to forgive if we could get out a strong message that hoaxes like this are cruel and destructive.
Help me, Lord.
By the way, I hope it's a hoax.
Yeah, sure sounds like that's what you want here.
(Me, I'd prefer to believe that you're just impishisly trolling us here with this school-marm obliviousness, but experience with your approach to select topics tells me that's not very likely.)
Aware that I'd prefer it to be a hoax, I'm wary of talking about it as a hoax at all.
It's remarkable how many layers of rationalizing "awareness" some people have to go through before they hit actual self-awareness.
"There's a catch there: Would he ever have explained, acknowledged, apologized if his hoax had been widely believed, and the story hadn't unraveled?"
Well, that's sort of my point.
Let's say the cops can't nail it down 100%, and prosecutors would have trouble winning at trial if they brought charges against Smollett, and the prospect is that some will go on thinking the attack was real and the racists still roam the streets looking for victims and the unsolved crime lives forever the legend of racism in American. If under those circumstances, Smollett stepped up and — with an agreement that he would not be prosecuted — told the whole truth about a hoax and condemned hoaxes and apologized, that might be the best resolution.
they had to buy a red hat because no MAGA hats on sale in Chicago
We should take Smollett at his word. Give him enough rope....
Smollet’s not going to prison.
It’s more likely he’ll be on every talk show sparking a national discussion of race in Trump’s America.
#FakeButAccurate
Nigerians doing the jobs Americans won't do.
This wasn't a good idea.
Maybe somebody took Jussie's creativity through...an orifice.
I think that, like Northam, Jussie will brazen it out, never admitting anything and trying to make it his word against the cops. He’ll say the Nigerians were pressured into confessing and maybe even put up to it by Trump and ICE. Those payments? That was for training services. Everybody knows you can’t believe the Chicago police.
Would you want to take this to a Chicago jury with Jussie shouting “I’m being framed by Trump?”
I see Mike Monico is out of the picture.
Right now, Jussie is staying with I’m a victim.
The cops would love it if he confessed.
If under those circumstances, Smollett stepped up and — with an agreement that he would not be prosecuted — told the whole truth about a hoax and condemned hoaxes and apologized, that might be the best resolution.
Like when OJ got off so he could go look for the real killer.
#TrueDetective
We must ignore results and chase phantoms:
https://donsurber.blogspot.com-nyt-trump-stopped-caravan.html%3F
Look! No evil asshole right wing MAGA loving racists, however hopeful of bumping into a black entertainer, walk about in the middle of the night with a pre-made noose. Really people, how fucking gullible. Also, no fraternity house, ever, had a glass topped table. These are such bad transparent lies.
Sorry.
I will never believe anyone that says they were randomly attacked by people that yelled "This is MAGA country!" without hard, immediate evidence.
You can give anti-Trump political activists the benefit of the doubt all you want. Free country. Me, I'll afford that benefit to any random MAGA supporter until I have a reason not to.
The smollett kerfluffle is in a similar vein with events in bonfire, actually closer to the last novel back to blood.
Exactly, Browndog 9:29. Especially on the streets of Chicago. laughable.
> told the whole truth about a hoax and condemned hoaxes and apologized, that might be the best resolution.
He'd never tell the "whole truth". One way the copy found his lovers is the cops compared the redactions of the calls he submitted to the call log at his cell provider. Guess which calls he clipped?
Whatever happened to lying to cops? Just the stuff we know from Chicago papers is a ton of evidence.
Why is it we always want apologies?
Another post showing Althouse is going soft in the head. Smollett deserves nothing but jail time and an invoice for all the wasted police time, including substantial overtime. Send the hoaxer a bill for $250,000, payable in 14 days. Tell him the CPD will take 80% in settlement, otherwise we'll see you in court, bitch.
And not to worry for him, he'll get a lot of gofundme money. Libs are dumb that way.
People on the left are entitled to lie. Ask the 2400 Kavanaugh accusers. Ask Hillary.
Entitled.
Charity and cruel neutrality toward the guilty is a crime against the innocent.
I've never been married so I've never been divorced, then again I'm relatively young but I really do get the feeling that - at a national level - this is what divorce feels like.
Metaphorically, you've got two people living in a house that no longer fundamentally trust each other. A real divorce is unthinkable for the sake of 'the baby' (read nation's future). One person laments the breakdown of trust that the other person appears to be working overtime to destroy while the person destroying it really actually does, in fact, want to kill their spouse. One person is sending message after message for the other to 'not be crazy' while the other person throws pots and pans within throwing range and 'I hate yous' when within ear shot.
Stepping outside the metaphor, I'll never trust these people again. Their wagons have completely circled around blatant falsehood after blatant falsehood. You wouldn't want to be in a relationship with such people even if you technically didn't have a choice.
Add another brick in 'the wall' and another casus belli for civil war 2.0. These people continue to play with fire.
Fernandistein: Nigerians doing the jobs Americans won't do.
As some internet wags have noted, maybe the media can conjure them into "White Nigerians", same way they can transform any ol' kind of Hispanic into a "White Hispanic" for narrative purposes.
Smollet did indeed commit a hate crime and he needs to be tried and punished.
How sad for our state that he thought he could get away with this.
Maybe it happened, and if it did, Smollett deserves empathy for both the attack and the doubting of his integrity.
Nobody deserves empathy.
1. It's pointless
The empathizer puts himself mentally, i.e. in his fevered imagination, into a situation actually experienced by someone else. On what sane basis does the empathizer construe what he imagines is anything like what was experienced by someone else? The only way to "empathize" with another person's burnt finger is to burn your finger in the same manner. What the hell does that accomplish? Nothing worthwhile, and likely nothing similar to what the users of empathy imagine. However, if the would-be empathize says "Too bad about your finger. May I fetch you an unguent?", that's sympathy, an ancient and perfectly sound concept which might result in repair or relief.
2. It's a metaphysical absurdity
How can I know what you think or feel? I can surmise. I can guess. You and I could jump off the same cliff at the same instant, overlooking the same jagged rocks a thousand feet below, and yet there's no reason to assume we share the same internal experience. I might be on a suicide mission. You might be trying to fly. I might be satisfied when I hit the rocks. You might be disappointed. Empathy is a childish notion. We see at work in toddlers who assume all minds share the same information. At around four years of age, a normally developing person gains the insight that some people know things we do not and the inverse.
3. It's all too often a fraud
An egregious example.
4. It's an intellectually lazy trope that seems to cling to the Woodstock generation like barnacles on a decrepit wharf.
In perpetual adolescence is no way to die gracefully of old age.
When did the definition of "hoax" go from an elaborate joke to staging a crime to frame innocent people?
Trying to get anything at all out of Phillips is like blood from a turnip. But they will have the satisfaction of making his life as miserable as he made theirs.
There is serious money behind him. There is a law firm that coordinated the XL pipeline protests. He was there and got his photo in Vogue, Whether they can be a tied to the Covington hoax is another question,.
Althouse's reactions and justifications concerning CBF, Phillips and now Smollett is yet more proof that the Left is simply incapable of feeling embarrassment or shame.
1 plus 1 equals ...
He's a Democrat.
The media is 99% (okay, maybe I exaggerate) Democrat.
What is the question?
It really doesnt matter now, how the Smollet thing resolves.
The premise is just the thing that sorts out worldviews.
The details are telling.
On one side the circumstances seemed, from the beginning, unbelievable.
On the other they seemed the opposite, just the sort of thing one can expect.
Both are based on the database of information in storage and its filter settings.
At this point this sort of thing will be stored away according to the filters. With time the record becomes impossible to erase.
The result is that much more for either side to hold against each other, justification for hatred. More and more and more.
Its very depressing.
Northam's idiocy is more than 30 years in the past
(1) 1984 was NOT that long ago. (2) His actions in trying to weasel out of what he did were only a couple of weeks ago. And that has included multiple lies and distortions. (3) Whenever it happened, the people of Virginia had a right to know about it BEFORE the election, not afterward. That Northam is governor at all is based upon a fraud.
Instead of Ann's recommended strategy of just telling the truth, jussie is now quadrupling down in his lie and claiming he is shocked, shocked that is personal trainer (is that all he was?) is behind this heinous "attack".
Next up for jussie and his legal team: Assert that a pro-Trump group, working through a russian-controlled cut-out operation, targeted jussie because jussie's criticism of Trump was just too gosh darn effective.
Within 17 seconds of that claim Althouse would be saying we need to hold our fire until it can be fully investigated, Inga will claim Mueller already has the trump operatives in his sites, and LLR Chuck would be explaining why it is necessary to impeach Trump over it...and then he would attack some republican's child via rumor-mongering.
People are actively seeking to destroy trust that they live in a fair and decent society. The problem is not the hoax, but how many people will choose to advance the hoax. We hope for inoculation, but we are seeing a terrible epidemic.
I don't really care what happens to Smollet so long as he isn't babied, pampered and made to feel special by libs like Althouse and Inga.
Browndog: "When did the definition of "hoax" go from an elaborate joke to staging a crime to frame innocent people?"
When the Left's/LLR demand for horrific actions by Deplorables and white Christian males to reinforce lefty/LLR narratives and provide sufficient validation for Lefty/LLR marxist theory far far far exceeded the supply.
We Virginians are not letting go of the Northam, Fairfax, and Herring situations at all.
Two-eyed Jack: People are actively seeking to destroy trust that they live in a fair and decent society."
Lefties/LLR's have every intention of burning this nation and its institutions to the ground so they can build their Peoples Paradise upon its ashes.
"...it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if- "
People forget that Justice exists not only to protect the innocent, but also to protect the guilty from pitchfork-weilding mobs.
I think it's time for a reminder. The likes of whicb will leave these people pleading to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Also Daniel Sheehan's outfit, which has been pulling shakedowns for 30 years.
And how on earth can anyone ignore the Black Hebrew Israelites video and the very real insults that they hurled at the Covington boys and yet get exercised over insults in Chicago which no one recorded and are likely fake. I don't think that is a straw man argument. I think there are living breathing people out there who still believe lies in the face of truth because they are blinded by hatred for Trump voters.
It wasnt a hoax, it was a deliberate attempt to vilify another group of people.
faking a hate crime... should be a hate crime
It's quite obvious Juicy Smollet has nothing but hate for Trump and Trump supporters, else why would he try to frame them?
Of course Northam is off the table since it became increasingly likely republicans would have picked up his seat. That's all we have to know about how seriously liberals take any of this manufactured race baiting , it disappears like spit on a hot griddle if it will ever cost them power.
What's missing in this discussion is how many man hours the Chicago police department put in investigating a lie. Chicago has a lot of real crime, and this fake crime took the police on a ride to nowhere. He needs to pay a fine to cover the costs. After he's paid up, send his ass to jail.
Smollet will host the Academy Awards next year. Someone will make a movie about him and how he was attacked.
As for Virginia, this is what it looks like when the Democrats move to the center. A rapist and racist in office.
"But — especially if he would continue to assert that he was attacked — it might be better for everyone involved if Smollett were allowed to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology."
-- No. There have been too many hoaxes and people suffering from actual racism are being dismissed because of the number of high profile hoaxes. I generally take a wait and see approach, but the media does not. Every time the media burns the public with ANOTHER fake hate crime, when a real hate crime happens, it is that much harder for a real victim to be believed. Just like fake rape claims or insurance fraud, anything that undermines people's trust in the honest and good workings of the system MUST be punished thoroughly.
As for why we're not talking about the VA Governor's blackface issues: It's a lot like the old saying at the bank. When you have a political scandal, it is the party's problem. When all leading members of the party have a political scandal and a member of the other party might accidentally rise to power, it is not a problem. If his Lt. Gov. hadn't been credibly accused of rape and proven to have the improper temperament to govern, and the third in line not also worn "dark makeup" he'd have been out. But, they can't drop all three, and everyone knows that the Lt. Gov. would have to go if they tried to promote him with now two credible accusations of rape over his head, and you can't very well promote the guy who ALSO wore black face after firing the first guy for doing the same. Which leaves them with a Republican.
And that's a non-starter for the Democrats of Virginia.
It wasn't a hoax, it was a deliberate attempt to vilify another group of people.
That sounds a lot like racism.
Oh no! I terribly sorry. I apologize to Inga and Ritmo and all leftwing clowns (sorry, that's a tautology). Black people cannot be racists. Ever.
"It's not idiocy, it's blackface. Harmless entertainment."
-- One set of rules.
And isn't it funny how crude and unsophisticated liberals are when they try to create a racial hoax? The fake trump supporters always conveniently utter "MAGA" just before they attack as they carry around nooses and bottles of bleach. Totally plausible as these were common fixtures at all the Trump rallies I saw in 2016. Didn't Clorox sponsor one of his rallies at "Noose Arena" in Tallahassee, Florida?
"Not talking about it anymore because it was a ridiculous SJW overreaction in the first place, and everyone is happy to have the distractions."
-- Please. This is a state that shot down someone running for office for saying macaca to someone who was literally harassing them for days. If Northam were a Republican, we would still be hearing about. The real issue is that they can't get rid of Northam without having to tear through all the other compromised people at the top -- people compromised according to THEIR OWN STANDARDS.
Add it to the list: fakehatecrimes.org. The good thing about this one is that the corrupt liberal media won't be able to ignore it. And when the next hoaxer comes forth, we can all say: it's just another serving of fake noose.
chickenlittle: "And how on earth can anyone ignore the Black Hebrew Israelites video and the very real insults that they hurled at the Covington boys and yet get exercised over insults in Chicago which no one recorded and are likely fake."
Leftist/LLR marxist Social Justice template required to advance the revolution.
The Covington lads were guilty of all of the following:
White
Male
Christian
Conservatives
Quite frankly, those guys are just fortunate they weren't placed on the next train to the re-education center in some very rural sector of their geographic region.
"Which is good news for Republican because now they have a precedent to cite while ignoring the twitter mob."
-- You know, when Kennedy and Clinton weren't enough of a precedent.
" I think there are living breathing people out there who still believe lies in the face of truth because they are blinded by hatred for Trump voters."
It's not blindness - they are literally trying to craft an alternate reality to give meaning to their lives. "In a world rampant with fascist nazis, one woman stands alone and courageously speaks truth to evil!"
I remember a friend on FaceBook who painted this ridiculous characiture of Republicans. I challenged her narrative and she became hysterical. Took me awhile to understand why, but she wasn't interested in debate - this wasn't about truth, she wasn't trying to convince others. She was trying to convince herself.
She was trying to craft an illusion she could believe in, and I had dispelled it.
Someone will make a movie about him and how he was attacked.
"Vice," the hate Cheney movie, has lost $15 million so far but will be "best picture" at the Oscars. It has 8 nominations.
"It seems somewhat elaborately planned, but very poorly thought out."
-- Like most of the fake hate crimes or the Rolling Stone story, a lot of it hinges on it not being looked at too closely. Stage magic is often much easier than in person, up close magic. Like, making a quarter disappear from several dozen feet away is super easy, comparatively. They bank on there not being a thorough investigation. If it turns out to be a hoax, I bet Smollet wasn't expecting the police to pull all the security camera footage from everywhere or actually ask to see his phone records. He expected them to say: "Oh, you didn't see their faces? How terrible! That's the end of our investigatory powers!"
"We Virginians are not letting go of the Northam, Fairfax, and Herring situations at all.'
Does it matter? At this point it does not serve the MSM propaganda line. At some later time it may, again, with whatever spin they want to put on it. In either case it doesn't matter what anyone else does, as very few will hear about it.
"People are actively seeking to destroy trust that they live in a fair and decent society."
Well, you don't live in a fair and decent society. The only difference of opinion between the two sides in conflict (at least in the popular opinion-base) is in what sense is it not fair and decent. These are entirely opposite each other.
"the prospect is that some will go on thinking the attack was real and the racists still roam the streets looking for victims and the unsolved crime lives forever the legend of racism in American. If under those circumstances, Smollett stepped up and — with an agreement that he would not be prosecuted — told the whole truth about a hoax and condemned hoaxes and apologized, that might be the best resolution."
I can see circumstances in which this might be the best outcome that can be hoped for — given that so far, perpetrators and promoters of such hoaxes generally get away with few, if any, apparent adverse effects.
However, I think it likely that should Althouse's scenario occur, the apology and condemnation would simply be memory-holed, or themselves used as evidence that Smollett was "coerced" into making the apology and condemnation. Maybe if everyone who perpetrated a racial hoax had to do the same, the eventual weight of all those apologies would have some effect on public consciousness – maybe. But the effect of just one would be the proverbial fart in a hurricane.
Althouse is still operating from a mental landscape where logic and argumentation matter. She doesn't realize that there appear to be a lot of people out there, in particular the people she seems to want to persuade, to whom such things are largely irrelevant.
clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology.
Confession is also effective incubus repellent.
I am tired of being called a racist by these fucking pieces of shit.
They have made up these racist hate crime hoaxes repeatedly and they never apologize or repent.
They just keep calling us all racist. My mixed race kids would be shocked of course.
Fuck you people. Fuck your friends.
Smollett belongs in jail. Phillips belongs in jail. Mattress girl belongs in jail.
These people are purposely dividing the country and using these bullshit attacks to push their socialist bullshit which will eventually result in socialists killing off millions of people.
They are willing to smear millions of people with fake racism charges. You are fooling yourselves if you don’t think they want to feed you to the ovens.
One letter explains everything “D”
If its a hoax?
Good Grief, can we stop the bullshit. Of course, its a hoax. Look, its either true or false. It either happened or it didn't. There's no "maybe it happened" or "gosh we'll just never know".
Where is the positive evidence supporting Smollet's story? There is none. There should be video footage - there is none. Where are the cell phone records? Smollett refused to turn it over. All we got is two Nigerians that were somehow involved.
Smollett should be arrested and jailed for filing a false report. And punished. To deter others. As long as fake Hate crimes go unpunished, we'll continue to have them. How many Chicago PD hours were WASTED on this nonsense?
That's why we see people like Inga make up the most bizzare accusations about Trump. She isn't stupid enough to think she can sway us or lurkers with her nonsense. She's maintaining this false reality for herself, where Democrat evils are excused because GOP Nazis are everywhere.
When was the last time you saw a Democrat express shame?
"the Rolling Stone story"
The actual incident, or rather the false report originally made, was not planned at all.
The writer and editor were given explicit instructions to publish an appropriate hit piece on that general subject, that part is well documented. The story itself was an ad-hoc elaboration of a casual lie told by a very foolish girl. There was no plan there at all, other than to find something, anything, to write about to suit the specific political purpose.
Smollett case is a matter for "follow the money". They need to get him to agree to a lesser offense and publically announce it was a hoax.
Hoaxes cost taxpayers thousands and encourage more hoaxes.
As Northam and Fairfax disappearing from the news, the reason is quite simple. The MSM is an arm of the Democrat party and the story is bad for Democrats.
Fake attack by a gay, black racist that virtually no one had heard of before. Northam is a Democrat so he gets a pass. Taking out the three! top Virginia Democrats would put an icky Republican in charge. Can't have that. We are not talking about state sanctioned infanticide either.
This is so far down in the comments I know no one will read this, but:
1. Of course it’s a hoax!
2. A hoax of this nature is bad. Harmful bad. It hurts society as much as an actual attack hurts an actual victim.
3. Of course he should be prosecuted.
People use hoax attacks as a political weapon. A cruel, harmful political weapon.
to escape all punishment if he would only clearly explain that it was a hoax, acknowledge that it was very wrong, and give a sincere apology.
Really?? A guy orchestrates a hoax, and you expect sincerity? He's not capable of such, but I'm sure if you set him in the corner he would find a way to lick his own gonads.
Dorian Johnson, Piaget Crenshaw and Tiffany Mitchell should have been prosecuted for perjury for testifying under oath that they saw police officer Darren Wilson murder Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Those three declared publicly that they saw Brown standing still, holding his hands up, pleading to surrender, at noon on a neighborhood street as officer Wilson shot him repeatedly at close range. Later, those three told the same lies under oath to a grand jury.
The lies that those three told cause racist strife throughout the USA and caused riots and mass arson in Ferguson.
If those thee had been prosecuted for perjury, they would have been convicted. The grand jury that investigated the incident believed that all three were lying, and that is why the grand jury exonerated police officer Wilson.
Making Smollett paid for the cops time will be the best way to stop more hoaxes.
Althouse is still operating from a mental landscape where logic and argumentation matter. She doesn't realize that there appear to be a lot of people out there, in particular the people she seems to want to persuade, to whom such things are largely irrelevant.
If only. Althouse is operating from a mental landscape where only feelings matter.
The approach for a normal, non-famous, unrich person
who catches prosecutorial attention
it to charge him with a crapload of crimes
then plea out
"The Feds don't forgive."
-- Which is why Hillary Clinton and her friends are in so much trouble for lying to the Feds about the investigation into her server.
empathy for Smollett? Fuck him. He smeared an entire race with his bullshit hoax. He needs to do time.
Comment from Twitter: "There’s so little hate in America, a famous, openly gay black man had to fund his own hate crime using two other black guys.
Man, I love the country."
Smear merchants (like LLR Chuck) hardest hit.
@Althouse, regarding your comment at 9:23, there will be some who refuse to believe that Smollett is the author of a hoax even if he publcly confesses to it.
Lock. Him. Up.
Answer me this, Madame Professor Emerita. Do you think that it is a good idea to have one set of laws and punishments that apply only to one group of Americans but are ignored when committed by other Americans? You fell for Christine Blasey Ford, you initially fell for Nathan Phillips, and you feel sympathy for Jussie Smollett. Ask yourself why. Because you’d better start swimmin’ or you will sink like a stone.0
"People use hoax attacks as a political weapon. A cruel, harmful political weapon."
Its been going on for a very long time, and not just through hoaxes. These harmful political weapons have piled up mountains of grievances. Indeed, these things have by now turned into such a mass, with such gravitation, that they can and do attract anything at all to add to the mass. A look, a face.
There is no arguing or talking most people out of under all this - you will get a very few, maybe, but not enough to matter.
This will demand resolution, one day. How I don't know.
rhhardin said...
It's not idiocy, it's blackface. Harmless entertainment.
Harmless until the leftists get power and start starving deplorables to death.
Maduro is already using starvation to keep people in line and the usual pieces of shit are defending him.
We have elected Democrats supporting socialist mass murder because their goal is to make it happen here.
One thing is certain - racism, sexism and homophobia will never be eradicated. Because the victim groups will just make it up.
Ergo, fighting against racism, sexism and homophobia is a waste of time and energy.
"There’s so little hate in America"
There's so much hate in America that at least half the country believed him right off. And will believe anyone else, along the same lines. Or any appropriate spin on any story.
There is a seething mass of hate, demanding release.
“That's why we see people like Inga make up the most bizzare accusations about Trump.”
17 ongoing investigations of Trump. Fen IS stupid.
“Be smart: The president should be worried after his Sunday tweet about "rats." There are known cooperators in almost every single one of these 17 open cases, from Michael Cohen to National Enquirer chief David Pecker to former Manafort aides Sam Patten and Rick Gates, Graff tells Axios readers.
Investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller:
Russian government’s election attack (the Internet Research Agency and GRU indictments)
WikiLeaks
Middle Eastern influence: Potentially the biggest unseen aspect of Mueller’s investigation is his year-long pursuit of Middle Eastern influence targeting the Trump campaign.
Paul Manafort’s activity
Trump Tower Moscow project
Other campaign and transition contacts with Russia
Obstruction of justice
Investigations by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York:
Campaign conspiracy and Trump Organization finances
Inauguration funding
Trump super PAC funding
Foreign lobbying
Investigations by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia:
Maria Butina and the NRA
Investigations by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia:
Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, the alleged chief accountant of the Internet Research Agency who was indicted separately earlier this fall, charged with activity that went above and beyond the 2016 campaign. Why she was prosecuted separately remains a mystery.
Turkish influence: Michael Flynn’s plea agreement includes some details of the case, and he is cooperating with investigators.
Investigations by New York City, New York State and other state attorneys general:
Tax case: In the wake of an N.Y. Times investigation that found Trump had benefited from more than $400 million in tax schemes, city officials said they were investigating Trump’s tax payments, as did the New York State Tax Department.
The Trump Foundation
Emoluments lawsuit: The attorneys general for Maryland and D.C. sent out subpoenas earlier this month for Trump Organization and hotel financial records relating to their lawsuit that the president is in breach of the "Emoluments Clause" of the Constitution, which appears to prohibit the president from accepting payments from foreign powers while in office.
And there's a mystery investigation from an unknown office:
Redacted Case #2: A second, redacted Flynn investigation could be one of the other investigations mentioned here. It could also represent another as-yet-unknown unfolding criminal case or could be a counterintelligence investigation that will never become public.”
https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-federal-state-local-investigations-602d2e21-b087-454f-b887-57f2f5b4dc55.html
Blogger Unknown said...
"faking a hate crime
should be a hate crime"
_^^^^^That^^^^
If there is a Rep with any balls - I know, pure fantasy - they would add this as an amendment to the anti lynching hate crime bill Booker is pushing through Congress.
@JAORE,
Jessie Smollett needs to apologize to all Trump supporters for staging a fake crime stating his attackers yelled, "This is MAGA country."
Yes, he should. It would, perhaps, deter future hate crime hoaxes. But odds are he won't.
I live/work in political ground zero of deep, deep blue, so I have a good sense of how these leftists and liberals think and operate.
In their view, Trump is nothing short of the Anti-Christ. In their warped collective minds, he is an evil racist, who stole the election through the guiding hand of Vlad Putin. And because they live in an insular bubble, this view is magnified and reinforced on a daily basis.
So, what to do? Well, if you're fighting the evil one, no effort should be sparred. Gotta fight fire with fire. Gotta resist and persist. Even if it means lying and fabricating evidence to support the fight. Hoaxes be damned, and half the time they won't catch us.
That's how they roll - that's how Smollett chose to roll.
"Do you think that it is a good idea to have one set of laws and punishments that apply only to one group of Americans but are ignored when committed by other Americans? "
I don't think Althouse has made the connection that real people are ostracized, fired, kicked out of restaurants, have their skulls cracked open by bike locks ...because they are "racist" Trump supporters.
There is no bigger hoaxer than your Trump. Fake Emergency!
"WikiLeaks"
-- You realize that the entire argument that Trump ordered WikiLeaks to release the documents hinges on the initial reporter lying to us about the dates emails and tweets were sent, and when corrected for the actual dates, it turns out that Trump's team didn't mention the WikiLeaks' ownership of emails until AFTER they were released, right?
Also: That's a super, duper sloppy cut and paste. Could you summarize it in something other than a laundry list of sentence fragments?
I don't think Althouse has made the connection that real people are ostracized, fired, kicked out of restaurants, have their skulls cracked open by bike locks ...because they are "racist" Trump supporters.
You have to crack eggs in order to make an omelet.
Inga: "17 ongoing investigations of Trump. Fen IS stupid."
17 and yet nothing on Trump. How does your alternate reality square the fact that none of them have proved Trump did anything wrong?
johnhenry100 said...
"I am sure there are real hate crimes. We almost never hear of them."
There are loads of hate crimes committed in the US. The victims are white and the perps are black. Happens all the time, the MSM just doesn't cover it.
“And because they live in an insular bubble, this view is magnified and reinforced on a daily basis.”
Hahaha, I always have to laugh when I read this. Liberals comment here in Trump Land and have been doing so for many years, when it was just rightist territory. “Insular bubbles”, lol.
Inga: "Trump Tower Moscow project"
LOL. This was debunked a month ago.
Your alternate reality is out of date.
"Liberals comment here in Trump Land"
-- If you consider this Trump Land, you may need to go to actual Trump Land to get an idea of the difference.
There are loads of hate crimes committed in the US. The victims are white and the perps are black. Happens all the time, the MSM just doesn't cover it.
How many stories are running about the five Black teenagers who killed a White man in Nashville last week while attempting to carjack him? (of the few there are, how many mention the races involved?) How many would be running if five White teenagers killed a Black man?
Was that carjacking actually a hate crime, or just a regular crime where the victim differed in race from the criminal(s)?
Buwaya, you say that I don't live in a fair and decent society. While it is certainly arguable that such a society has never existed in all of human history, it is a rather pointless observation. Imperfection and injustice does not obviate fairness and decency. American society is built on appeals to universal values. The question is whether these values are honestly held or are mere pretense. We are being told that the supposed values are fake and that we must reorganize our thinking along tribal lines. I resist this way of thinking and would urge others to do the same.
“17 and yet nothing on Trump. How does your alternate reality square the fact that none of them have proved Trump did anything wrong?”
Are any of these investigations completed? Do you have inside info? You don’t know squat about what is known by investigators about Trump and his cohorts, except for the ones already indicted and in the Manafort case, tried and found guilty. You’re really just too uninformed and unintelligent to engage any further.
Inga: "Hahaha, I always have to laugh when I read this. Liberals comment here in Trump Land and have been doing so for many years, when it was just rightist territory. “Insular bubbles”, lol."
Althouse is not "Trump Land".
You only perceive it as such because you live in an insular bubble.
Thank you for exemplifying the point.
“Buwaya, you say that I don't live in a fair and decent society.”
That’s because you don’t live in the Phillipines.
Blogger Michael K said...
"Congrats to Chicago Detectives for debunking this
They are under tremendous pressure as the Mayor election is on. Favorite is an anti-police POC."
For the life of me, my brain cannot translate, POC, as person of color. It always comes out as, piece of crap.
Can you imagine saying, "You're such a POC." , and be commenting on their skin color?
"...an anti-police POC." See what I mean?
But, let's not let this thread get derailed into ANOTHER fight with Inga over what Mueller knows, and instead, let's focus on the point of it: Why are Northam, Fairfax and the Other Black Face Guy getting a pass?
Was that carjacking actually a hate crime, or just a regular crime where the victim differed in race from the criminal(s)?
Since it was Black people attacking a White man...obviously no. However if the races had been switched....
Fake News about a fake noose. At this point what difference does it make?
People have to decide what culture they want to belong to. Today there are two choices. The left culture says whatever helps the left is true because socialism is what helps society the most. American culture says that finding the truth about each individual case is what helps society as a whole the most. These are two different traditions alive in our time and America is the last country still containing people who are still choosing one or the other.
If you go with American culture you can read Socrates, Shakespeare, Salman Rushdie, Solzhenitsyn, Richard Wright, Thurber, William Bradshaw, Huckleberry Finn; learn calculus; think logically; study art; speak without four letter words and insults; worship your Creator; learn about other cultures. But first you must do a days work for a days pay. You must learn how to to that which means you must learn all there is to know about the economic reality around you and your family and work to improve it.
If you go with socialism you must repeat the story in the media; read grievance narratives only; regard graffiti as the only art; explode with anger at being contradicted; approve of mob action of every kind - physical, digital; shout down the individual voice, the query, the 'I wonder'; report on your neighbors PC status. You must do all this and think that doing all this is looking at the truth about the economic reality around you. No matter what you see, you must believe that these sorts of actions will build at last a just society.
Which side are you on?
It is pointless to engage the Inga's of course. But whatever.
Perspective is not what they are good at.
The mass of education, entertainment and the rest of the mass media ensures that the American "right" cannot, with the best will in the world, and with any practicable means, be insular. It swims in an ocean of its opposite world view. Places like Althouse are few and rare. Indeed, it is a lonely and isolated position. The general conservative position is something like Charlton Heston's, in "Omega Man".
This is one of the genuinely useful observations of Gramsci, the hegemonic quality of the world of information. To be clear, he was more an analyst and prophet than a planner. He proposed measures against the opposing hegemony, but isolated in his prison he did not see that what he proposed was going on anyway.
Why are Northam, Fairfax and the Other Black Face Guy getting a pass?
Because it serves the interests of the Democrats and the MSM.
Inga: "Are any of these investigations completed? Do you have inside info? You don’t know squat about what is known by investigators"
1) Thw Senate Intelligence Committee just wrapped up their investigation of Trump and found no wrongdoing.
2) I work in DC, staffing a Congressional Committee. Guess which one?
“Althouse is not "Trump Land".
You only perceive it as such because you live in an insular bubble.”
Really? Which bubble would that be? I comment here daily. These comments sections sound like the heart of Trumpland to a liberal and if there is a real physical place that is more of a Trump Land, and you’re proud of it, then I’d say deplorable isn’t a strong enough word. Althouse may not be Trumpist ( hopefully, as I still have faith in her), but the majority of her commenters sound like Trumpists through and through.
"That’s because you don’t live in the Phillipines."
There is more free speech in the Philippines. No joke, at this point in time there really is.
Everything considered, including the communal and stratified culture. Its amazing really.
Heck, there is more free speech in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Matthew Sablan said...
"Was that carjacking actually a hate crime, or just a regular crime where the victim differed in race from the criminal(s)?"
Black (or any other victim group) on white, no.
White on black (or any other victim group), yes.
" These comments sections sound like the heart of Trumpland to a liberal "
This is typical of the Ingas. The sort of argument that ignores the rest of, well, everything. There is a world out there outside Althouse. I would say that such a statement is a sign of insanity, if it were not for the certainty that the speaker is insincere. To put it mildly.
“It is pointless to engage the Inga's of course. But whatever.”
Because I’ve seen through you and your hatred of America for a long time now. Occasionally another commenter here catches a whiff of it, but then partisanship ( Trumpism) gets the better of their good senses.
I accidentally read one of Inga's posts and noted she had no comment on the bad actions of the three Virginia stooges or Smollett. I'm sure it was just an oversight, and she has actually commented on the subject of this post elsewhere.
Because I’ve seen through you and your hatred of America for a long time now.
I'm sure there is a line of reasoning that allows you to take the position that those wearing the slogan "Make America Great Again" hate America.
Northam would have been forced out by now except for the fact that the two Democrats in line behind him would also have to be forced out leaving the office to a Republican. So, of course, the media decided to go silent on the issue.
Really, does anyone think the media would have buried these stories if the party affiliations for all 4 men were the exact opposite? I don't.
Having written that, Northam did the right thing by not resigning, but I do wish he had had the backbone to laugh in the faces of his critics rather than groveling like he did.
Inga: "You don’t know squat about what is known by investigators about Trump and his cohorts..."
Actually we know quite a bit about these "investigations", from the mouths of the "investigators" themselves in under oath testimony.
For instance we know from Page, McCabe, Strzok, Baker, Steele testimony us that the hiax dossier was never verified yet was used for 4 FISA warrants, that an obstruction of justice investigation was launched where there had been no obstruction of justice.
We know Rosenstein appointed a special counsel for a counter-intelligence investigation which is completely contrary to DOJ regulations.
And thats just the beginning of what we know...along with Steele's submitted testimony in London that his hoax dossier was unverified.
It just keeps unraveling.
Smollett will never admit the hoax, nor will Chicago prosecute him though I suspect CPD will recommend doing so to the city officials.
Can we admire Smollett for running scam on *Nigerian* and dropping them into process crime.
The eight trimester manufacturing Trump-related process crimes was an extension of Water Closet, and effectively removed investigation of Clinton's global information distribution network, Seth Rich, Obama spying on the Republican party, etc.
The Covington Affair effectively shutdown discussion of The Wicked Solution, Pro-Choice, selective-child, Planned Parenthood, in favor of stoking diversity. This latest invention seems to be an extension of this Affair and its political and journolistic airing serves its motives. #HateLovesAbortion
Then there is the prepubescent feminine-female who was recently raped... rape-raped (hat tip: Whoopi) and impregnated by an illegal alien who crossed the open border, where Democrats are taking affirmative action to deny Americans' civil rights.
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