Good Idea

Yesterday Just The News reported that President Trump has frozen U.S. funding to the World Health Orgainization (WHO). This move illustrates the difference between having a businessman or a politician in the White House. A businessman fires someone who is not doing their job in a satisfactory manner. A politician generally does not.

The article reports:

President Trump said Tuesday that the United States was cutting funding to the World Health Organization, saying the body put “political correctness above life-saving measures.”

Trump said the WHO’s decision to recommend not banning travelers from China early on during the coronavirus crisis “accelerated the pandemic all around the world.”

“Many countries said ‘We’re going to listen to the WHO,’ and they have problems the likes of nobody can believe,” Trump said, claiming that “countless” lives could have been saved if the WHO had recommended quickly implementing travel bans from China, where the coronavirus originated.

The article concludes:

A University of Southampton study suggests the number of coronavirus cases could have been reduced by 95% had China moved to contain the virus three weeks sooner. 

Most Democrats have a favorable opinion of the World Health Organization’s handling of coronavirus, while most Republicans have an unfavorable view, according to the Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen

The poll found 55% of Republicans had a “Very Unfavorable” or “Somewhat Unfavorable” view of the WHO, while just 20% of Democrats felt the same.

On the reverse side, just 38% of Republicans had a “Very Favorable” or “Somewhat Favorable” view of WHO, compared to 70% of Democrats. Independents were evenly divided. Additionally, most of those with strong positive views are Democrats, while most with strong negative views are Republicans.

I believe that the coronavirus has shown a light on the true cost of the partisanship in Washington. Congress was not able to pass a bill that would simply help solve the problems caused by the shutdown–the bill could not pass without millions of dollars of added pork. There was not consideration given to the fact that at some point in the future the cost of that pork would have to be paid for by our children and grandchildren–instead the passing of the bill was held up until the Democrat’s pet projects were funded–even though those projects had nothing to do with the problem at hand. Until we elect people who put the interests of the country above the interests of their party, we will not thrive as a country.

Supporting Patriotism

The Washington Times is reporting today that Arizona Governor Doug Ducey will be cancelling be the incentives offered in a deal with Nike in response to the athletic company scrapping plans for a Betsy Ross-inspired sneaker. Just as Nike is free to scrap its plans for the sneaker, Governor Ducey is free to withdraw his offer of incentives to the company.

The article reports:

The sneakers, featuring a U.S. flag with 13 stars on each heel, reportedly was canned after former football player and political activist Colin Kaepernick said the design could be seen as an offensive symbol of slavery.

…Mr. Ducey said the state was supposed to announce a deal with Nike but then “this news broke yesterday afternoon.”

Nike is an iconic American brand and American company. This country, our system of government and free enterprise have allowed them to prosper and flourish. Instead of celebrating American history the week of our nation’s independence, Nike has apparently decided that Betsy Ross is unworthy, and has bowed to the current onslaught of political correctness and historical revisionism,” the Arizona Republican tweeted.

“It is a shameful retreat for the company. American businesses should be proud of our country’s history, not abandoning it. Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here,” he said.

Would someone please explain to Mr. Kaepernick that history needs to be viewed in the context of its time–not the context of today. In the time of Betsy Ross, slavery was practiced all over the world. There was nothing noteworthy about it. Indentured servitude was also practiced. Mr. Kaepernick might want to take notice of the fact that there are countries today where slavery is still an acceptable practice. If he is so concerned about slavery and its ills, he might want to see what he can do to help the countries that practice slavery end the practice.

Kudos to Governor Ducey for taking a stand against misguided selective outrage.

 

The Impact Of Political Correctness On Art

Breitbart posted an article today listing 17 classic Hollywood movies that could not be made today because of political correctness. The latest wave of political correctness says that only a person with the disability can portray a disabled person in a film or that the person playing a character in a film has to have the actual characteristics of that person. I thought it was called acting for a reason. That creates some interesting challenges that probably could not be overcome in making these classic movies.

The list:

1. Dustin Hoffman – Rain Man

2. Daniel Day-Lewis  – My Left Foot

3. Tom HanksForrest Gump

4. Matthew McConaugheyDallas Buyers Club

5. Sean Penn – I Am Sam

6. Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything/The Danish Girl

7. Leonardo DiCaprioWhat’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

8. Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

9. Jamie Foxx – Ray

10. Al Pacino – Scent of a Woman

11. Patty Duke – The Miracle Worker

12. Holly Hunter – The Piano

13. Julianne MooreStill Alice

14. Hillary Swank –  Million Dollar Baby

15. Eric Stoltz – Mask

16. John Hurt – The Elephant Man

17. Nicolas Cage  – Leaving Las Vegas

Please follow the link above the read the entire article. It is eye-opening.

Beam Me Up, Scotty. There’s No Intelligent Life Down Here.

Posted on YouTube:

This is the height of political correctness, and it is dangerous. Immigrants need to understand that some cultural practices that were acceptable in their former countries are regarded as totally unacceptable in their new countries. I am sorry if an immigrant is offended by the idea that killing their children or wives for questionable behavior is barbaric. If they choose to live in a western culture, they need to know what is acceptable behavior and what is not.

The Cost Of Political Correctness

Fox News posted a story today about a report investigating the Fort Hood shooting in 2009. The report was conducted over the course of two years by former FBI Director William Webster.

The report deals with how information on Major Nidal Hasan was handled by the FBI.

The article reports:

Five months after the San Diego Field Office for the Joint Terrorism Task Force sent a lead to the Washington D.C. office with concerns about Hasan, the report said, headquarters conducted their review, only to determine Hasan was not “involved in terrorist activities.” 

After the San Diego office complained, neither office took any additional action. 

The article later reports:

The report also quoted a San Diego official who claimed he suggested to headquarters in June 2009 that it would be appropriate to interview Hasan. 

The Washington officer told him, according to a paraphrase in the report, that: “This is not (San Diego), it’s D.C. and (the Washington office) doesn’t go out and interview every Muslim guy who visits extremist websites.” 

The San Diego official also said he was told the subject was “politically sensitive.” 

Thirteen American soldiers who were on their own base in America are dead and thirty-two were wounded–all because a subject was politcally sensitive??!! This cannot be allowed to continue.

There are some people in Congress who understood instantly what led to the Fort Hood shootings:

Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate homeland security committee, said the report “reinforces” conclusions they had already reached about the “inadequacy” of the FBI probe. 

But they added: “We are concerned that the report fails to address the specific cause for the Fort Hood attack, which is violent Islamist extremism. And we are skeptical that FBI analysts are now well-integrated into the FBI’s operations, as the report states.” 

On December 8, 2011, the Daily Caller posted the following:

Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation’s Armed Forces at home.

Fort Hood was not workplace violence. People engaged in simple workplace violence do not stand up and yell, “Allahu Akbar” before they attack. We need to admit that there are people within our government preventing us from clearly seeing and dealing with the problem of Islamic extremism. Most Muslims in America are peace-loving, freedom-loving, non-violent people who are glad to be here. But we need to remember that there are some Muslims who have come to America to aid in the establishment of the world-wide caliphate. Until our government is willing to recognize the problem is Islamist extremism, they will not be able to successfully deal with it. 
 

 

We Lost A Great American On Tuesday

Geno's Steaks at dusk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Image via Wikipedia

On Tuesday, Joey Vento died at the age of 71. Joey Vento is the founder of Geno’s steaks in Philadelphia. He received national attention when he placed signs at his cheesesteak restaurant requiring customers to order in English. I have been to Geno’s steaks and was touched by the number of posters on the wall expressing support of those who have served or are serving in America’s military.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Huffington Post posted stories about Joey Vento’s life.

The Huffington Post reports:

According to Geno’s website, Vento learned the cheesesteak business from his father, who had opened Jim’s Steaks in the early 1940s. The site says Vento opened Geno’s in 1966 “with $6 in his pocket, two boxes of steaks and some hot dogs.”

He came up with the name after seeing a broken door in the back of his store upon which a neighborhood boy named Gino had painted his name, and he changed it to Geno’s to not conflict with a food chain of the era, the site says. The south Philadelphia location, however, was a given, because “he figured that if he was going to sell a steak, he had to be where they were already eating them.”

His story is an inspiration to anyone with a dream.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

Mayor Nutter issued a statement that recalled Vento as “a colorful, larger-than-life Philadelphian who loved his city and excelled as a businessman. Mr. Vento had strongly held views that were matched by a commendable desire to give back to his community.”

When the split three-member human relations commission ruled that Vento’s sign did not convey a message that service would be refused to non-English speakers, Vento was pleased.

“It’s a good victory,” he said, and added: “The bottom line is that I didn’t do anything wrong.” Vento always insisted he served everyone, no matter what their language.

Some commentators and websites portrayed Vento as the heroic victim of political correctness. Vento was grateful for the publicity.

“They made me famous throughout the world,” Vento said at the time. “I’m way ahead of the game. I became a hero. I’ve got to thank them for that.”

Joey was a colorful character who cared about his community and the people around him. He was known for helping the people in his community when they were in need. He will be missed.

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