The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

The Taylor Lorenz-ing of Journalism

Posted on | July 31, 2023 | Comments Off on The Taylor Lorenz-ing of Journalism

Wes Pruden, back in the day

To explain what’s gone wrong with American journalism is a task so enormous that it’s hard to know where to begin. Whatever faults and failures the profession had back in the days of printing words on paper — yes, kids, that actually happened — there were nevertheless certain standards that were enforced, because you couldn’t just delete an article that got the facts wrong. No, if you got it wrong, you had to print a correction, and when I was at The Washington Times, we didn’t have to print very many of those, while we used to laugh at the numerous corrections that appeared every day on Page 2 of our hated cross-town rival, the Washington Post. Every word in the paper got read by at least four different editors before it went to print.

My job, on most days, was as the very lowest level — an assistant desk editor — and when I was finished editing the story, it got sent to the copy desk, where two more editors read it. Eventually, the news editor (Geoff Etnyre) would read it, and oh, my God! You did not want to be the desk editor whose initials were on a story with a mistake in it that somehow got past the copy desk and made it to Etnyre. He was a very serious man with a very short temper. This was because Etnyre was the next-to-the-last line of defense before a story made it to the eyes of the one reader who mattered most, our editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden, Jr.

Here’s the big thing: Working for The Washington Times was not an entry-level job. To get hired as a reporter at TWT, generally someone had to have 3-to-5 years experience working at another paper, like the Winchester (Va.) Star. By the time I joined TWT as an assistant national editor in 1997, I already had more than a decade of experience at smaller papers in Georgia. The national desk was a pressure cooker, and our reporters were all experienced professionals. Our youngest reporter at the time was Stephen Dinan, who’d served his time covering Virginia politics on the Metro desk before moving up to the Capitol Hill bureau.

My point is that, in the old days, kids fresh out of college weren’t writing stories about national politics. Most reporters started at some dinky small-town paper out in the sticks, and learned their craft covering city council meeting, etc. In his memoir, Prince of Darkness, Robert Novak recalls that when he joined the D.C. bureau of the Associated Press in 1957, he was the only reporter under 30 in the entire bureau. Novak started his career as a teenager writing local sports for the Joliet Herald-News at the rate of 10 cents per column-inch. In college, he wrote for the Champaign-Urbana Courier, then after serving in the Army during the Korean War, joined the Associated Press in their Omaha, Nebraska, bureau. It took him five years to make his way from Omaha to D.C.

That was how you did it back in the day — you paid your dues. But nowadays every callow punk with a laptop and a wifi connection seems to think he should be commenting on Important National Political News, and almost nobody’s getting the experience of doing basic local news stuff that was once the training ground of young reporters. Having sufficiently vented my spleen on that topic, now here’s this:

Surveying the disgraceful condition of our nation’s 21st-century news media, there are times when the question occurs to me, “What would Wes Pruden do?” During the decade I worked as an assistant editor at The Washington Times, I occasionally had the misfortune of angering our esteemed editor-in-chief, who had a low tolerance for errors. Being called on the carpet in Mr. Pruden’s office was an experience one never wished to repeat. As the conservative newspaper in the nation’s capital, our work was always critically scrutinized, and Mr. Pruden enforced high standards to ensure that the news reporting in The Washington Times was always accurate. “Get it first, get it right,” was his motto, and woe be unto he who got it wrong.
Mr. Pruden died three years ago, but his memory lives on, and I have to wonder what he would make of a headline that appeared this week in the Huff Post: “RFK Jr.’s Latest Tweet Is Being Widely Interpreted As A Nazi Dog Whistle.” The key phrase there is “Widely Interpreted,” by which they mean, random people on Twitter are saying stuff.
Where did it come from, this business of turning Twitter content into “news”? The root cause of this phenomenon is probably laziness. Rather than pick up the phone and call some sources about what’s happening in the real world — or, God forbid, leave Mommy’s basement to see for yourself what’s happening — it’s much easier just to cut and paste something you found on the Internet and pretend that this is “reporting.” . . .

Read the rest of my latest column at The American Spectator.



 

Category: Journalism, Media Bias

Rule 5 Sunday: Eri Yoshida

Posted on | July 31, 2023 | Comments Off on Rule 5 Sunday: Eri Yoshida

— compiled by Wombat-socho

The 31-year-old “Knuckle Princess”, Japanese protege of former major league knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield, fought back from injuries that confined her to coaching to take another stab at pro baseball in the US. Having played previously for the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden State League, she’s back this year with a traveling team in the Empire Professional Baseball League, another independent league in New York. Considering the longevity of most knuckleball pitchers, she could be pitching for another decade…and still looking like a teenager. 
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

ANIMAL MAGNETISM: Rule Five Infinite Number Of Days Friday, Rule Five Blackout Friday, Saturday Gingermageddon (last week), and another Saturday Gingermageddon for this week.

EBL: The Real McCoys, Special Ops: Lioness, “Ever plow a field, Summer?”, Tom Brady Bounces Back With Irina Shayk, Where In The World Is Fu Xiaotian?, Sinead O’Connor RIP, MAGA -Doug Burgum, and Saturday Girls With Guns – Alaska

A VIEW FROM THE BEACH: Rule 5 Saturday – Kalani Hilliker, Fish Pic Friday – Cassie Zero, Family Tree, Pennsylvania to Get $25M for Cow Farts, The Wednesday Wetness, Maryland, My Maryland, Tanline Tuesday, The Monday Morning Stimulus, Random Celebrity News, Sunday Sunrise

FLAPPR: T.I.T.S. For June 28

Thanks to everyone for all the luscious links!

Amazon Warehouse Deals

Visit Amazon’s Intimate Apparel Shop
Shop Sex & Sensuality Gifts




Category: Rule 5

FMJRA 2.0: SUUUURGE!

Posted on | July 30, 2023 | Comments Off on FMJRA 2.0: SUUUURGE!

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Official soda of the 1971 Washington Senators.
Our manager, of course, prefers Moxie.
A fine homestand this week: first we got a split against the always-troublesome Royals, then swept the Braves in three games, which puts us just one game behind the A’s and two games up on the Twins. Our next series series is against Pete’s Brewers before heading out on the road to face the 23-24 Angels and the division-leading Daytraders, who are 30-17. We’re 28-19, so I think we’re going to do all right.
Administrative note – going to be on the road to Vegas on Monday for VA appointments Tuesday, and then off to Rio Rancho (turning left at Albuquerque, as one does) for a funeral before retiring to Alamogordo to hang out with my little brother for a couple of days before heading home. Blogging may be irregular.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

Fly the Curly W flag!

Crazy People Are Dangerous
EBL
357 Magnum

‘Joys of Progress’ Update
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

FMJRA 2.0: National Radio Waves – On The Wire
A View From The Beach
EBL

Rule 5 Sunday: Communication Failure
A View From The Beach
EBL

The Hottest Team in Baseball
Flappr
EBL

Feds Are Mystified Why Syrian Named Mohamad Planned Terrorist Attack
The DaleyGator
Flappr
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.25.23 (Afternoon Edition)
The DaleyGator
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.26.23
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.27.23 (Afternoon Edition)
EBL
357 Magnum

The Science Is Settled!
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.27.23 (Evening Edition)
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

Judge Wrecks Hunter’s Sweetheart Deal
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

Crazy People Are Dangerous (Special California Hate Crimes Edition)
A View From The Beach 
EBL
357 Magnum

If Trump Has Lost Ace of Spades…
Hogewash
A View From The Beach 
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.28.23
A View From The Beach 
EBL
357 Magnum

Top linkers for the week ending July 28:

  1.  EBL (15)
  2.  357 Magnum (12)
  3.  A View From The Beach (10)

Thanks to everyone for all the links!

Amazon Warehouse Deals




Category: FMJRA Award

Friday Evening News Dump: Biden ‘Speaks Out’ (But Not Really) About Cokehead Son’s Arkansas Love Child

Posted on | July 29, 2023 | Comments Off on Friday Evening News Dump: Biden ‘Speaks Out’ (But Not Really) About Cokehead Son’s Arkansas Love Child

Does anyone besides me remember Mike McCurry? He was White House press secretary during the Clinton administration. Whenever someone in the press corps raised a subject that he had previously addressed, McCurry would reply: “Asked and answered.” It didn’t matter whether the reporter was asking about some new angle in the Paula Jones case or whatever, if McCurry wanted to avoid talking about it, he would say, “asked and answered,” endeavoring to make it seem like the reporter was being rude. Another favorite tactic of the Clinton White House was the Friday evening news dump. If there was something they didn’t want the press to report, they’d just release it at 7 p.m. ET on Friday — guaranteeing that it couldn’t make the network evening news, and making sure the press secretary wouldn’t have to address it until Monday, by which time McCurry could dismiss it as “old news.”

So, at 5:02 p.m. Friday, People magazine got an “exclusive”:

President Joe Biden has offered his first statement on 4-year-old grandchild Navy Joan Roberts, the daughter of Hunter Biden and Lunden Roberts, an Arkansas woman who filed a paternity suit against the president’s son in May 2019.
“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,” President Biden said in a statement provided exclusively to PEOPLE.
Navy, one of the president’s seven grandchildren, has recently been the subject of headlines as Republicans have criticized the president for previously touting his “six grandchildren.”
“This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter,” President Biden’s statement continues. “Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”
A source familiar with the situation tells PEOPLE that the recently resolved child support dispute between Hunter and Lunden has dictated how the relationship has played out so far.
“You have to remember there were some fairly contentious legal proceedings between Navy’s parents happening until just a few weeks ago. As grandparents, the Bidens are following Hunter’s lead,” the source says, adding, “They are — and have been — giving Hunter and Lunden the space and time to figure things out.”
The legal dispute between Lunden and Hunter worked its way through Arkansas courts for more than four years and led to a November 2019 ruling that, despite his denials, Hunter did father the child (which was confirmed with a DNA test).
Speaking to PEOPLE, the source notes that the situation is a family issue.
“Thousands of families have faced similar circumstances, working it out in private, versus the spotlight,” the source says. “At the center is a 4-year-old girl and everyone wants what is best for her, including all of her grandparents.”

Oh, really? “Thousands of families” have had their crack-addicted son father a “love child” with a stripper from Arkansas? But the most deceptive thing in the article is the headline: “President Biden Speaks Out.” He did not actually say a word. The White House issued a written statement with Biden’s name attached, while he was already in Delaware for the weekend. The whole point of doing it this way is so that Biden does not have to “speak out” about it — in other words, so he can avoid being asked any questions about it and, if some reporter does shout a question to him? “Asked and answered.”

Also, as Karen Townsend points out at Hot Air, this not-so-coincidentally-timed release functions as a distraction from the (much more important) story about Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal getting wrecked by a federal judge. The fact that the DOJ was clearly trying to give Hunter special treatment is not something the White House wants to talk about, so instead they steer the media with this heartwarming Hallmark card stuff about “giving Hunter and Lunden the space and time to figure things out.” No intelligent person is deceived by this, of course, but Democratic voters . . . Well, if it weren’t for stupid people, Democrats would never win any elections at all.



 

Category: Joe Biden, Scandal

Mark Lamb for U.S. Senate: The Candidate the Left Fears the Most

Posted on | July 29, 2023 | Comments Off on Mark Lamb for U.S. Senate: The Candidate the Left Fears the Most

Sometimes politics is easy, and Republican voters in Arizona have a no-brainer in next year’s U.S. Senate race against “independent” Kyrsten Sinema. The Democrats are going to pick one of the various “progressive” kooks in their clown-car primary, and Sinema will run for re-election as an independent, creating a dream scenario for Republicans, who will probably need just 40% of the vote to win in the resulting three-way race. The candidate for Arizona Republicans is obviously Mark Lamb:

Sheriff Mark Lamb is a husband, father, grandfather, and God-fearing patriot. Lamb has served as Sheriff of Pinal County since 2017. Lamb serves on the frontlines at the Southern Border, fighting the criminal cartels to prevent the flow of deadly fentanyl and human trafficking. In 2020, Sheriff Lamb took a courageous stand against COVID lockdowns, as well as mask and vaccine mandates, ensuring that his people lived free, businesses remained open, and children stayed in school. Through this steadfast dedication to liberty, Lamb earned the nickname “America’s Sheriff”.
Now, Lamb is determined to take his fight to the U.S. Senate. Our Constitutional rights are under attack, the timeless values of our Republic are eroding, and America’s standing on the world stage has been imperiled by the failed leadership of Joe Biden and the Democrats. Lamb will fight to secure the border, stand up for Law and Order, protect the Second Amendment, bring fiscal sanity to Washington, and restore American strength on the world stage. Sheriff Mark Lamb is the conservative fighter Arizona needs to defend our values of God, family, and freedom.

“Gee, Stacy, what caused you to endorse this candidate?”

The answer: Research. Because of his frequent appearances on Live PD, I was already familiar with Sheriff Lamb, but it was while researching a completely unrelated topic that I came across this story:

Talk about a backhanded endorsement! Left-wing writer Matt Shuham has exactly one job at HuffPo, doing smear-jobs on Republicans, and if he’s attacking Lamb as “far right,” what more do you need to know?

He’s repeatedly referred to immigration at the southern border as an “invasion” and called for labeling drug cartels as terrorist groups “just like we did to ISIS.” As sheriff, he refused to enforce anti-COVID measures in his county — even saying at one anti-vaccine rally, “We’re going to find out who is willing to die for freedom.” He also teamed up with True the Vote, the conspiracy-theory-driven group that spent years fundraising on the lie that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats.
On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Lamb blamed the mob in D.C. on Democrats, and on the Supreme Court not “hearing our voices.”
Lamb may still find willing ears in Arizona’s electorate, and his presence in the Senate would swing the relatively moderate caucus, at least compared to their House counterparts, sharply to the right. . . .

(Please, please, stop begging! I endorse him 100%!)

During an interview last October with Jack Posobiec — a far-right media personality who the Southern Poverty Law Center noted months prior had “extensive ties to white supremacists” — Lamb echoed the so-called “Great Replacement” theory, or the racist idea that Democrats are attempting to “replace” Americans (typically portrayed as white Americans) with immigrants. . . .

(Now you’re making me want to donate to his campaign.)

“He is very much both a mouthpiece for, and a creation of, the far-right movement in Arizona and nationally,” [left-wing activist Devin] Burghart said.

With endorsements like that, how can I resist?

MARK LAMB FOR U.S. SENATE
Because we want to see Democrats with their
heads exploding like that scene in ‘Scanners’


 

Category: Arizona, Election, Senate

In The Mailbox: 07.28.23

Posted on | July 28, 2023 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 07.28.23

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Usual weekend deadlines for the usual weekend posts.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

Dystopia takes many forms.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: NY Post Editor Behind the Hunter Biden Laptop Story Testifies About Censorship
EBL: Corb Lund – Spanish Armada
Twitchy: Sleepy Joe Finally Acknowledges His 7th Grandchild, Miranda Devine Notes Who Has & Hasn’t Gotten Secret Service Protection, and “Off To Delaware!” Special K stammers
Louder With Crowder: Monster tries stealing 87-year-old woman’s purse, winds up eating pavement thanks to good samaritan, also, Hundreds of employees left unemployed after Bud Light’s latest attempt to recover from Dylan Mulvaney debacle
Vox Popoli: Neocons are Evil Hypocrites, also, Ticket-Taker Taken to Task
According To Hoyt: The Competency Crisis, The Antidote for the End of the World as We Know It, and Zafiil: A Review By Kermit Grenoille
Monster Hunter Nation: Small Town
Gab News: Restoring The Soul Of American Christianity

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: Gosh, It Sure Keeps Happening!
American Greatness: The Left Hates Sound of Freedom Because They Hate Children, Biden’s Corruption Implicates the Entire Political Establishment, and What Israel’s Protests Are Really About
American Thinker: ‘It’s Murder’: Remdesivir Victims Decry FDA’s Shocking New Move, also, The Left’s War On Joy
Animal Magnetism: Rule Five Blackout Friday
Babalu Blog: Did communist Cuban entrepreneur really call for free market economy at island’s fake parliament?, Cuban dictatorship brags about abundant fish for tourists, tells Cubans ‘no fish for you’, and Costa Rica’s parliament condemns Cuban dictatorship, calls for release of political prisoners, return to democracy
Behind The Black: Argentina signs Artemis Accords, Rocket Lab revises design of its new Neutron rocket, NASA changes have cost Northrop Grumman $36 million on its Lunar Gateway module, Contact lost with Voyager 2, hopefully temporarily, NASA puts off planetary mission competition for budget reasons, and Black diversity administrator fired for demanding color-blind policies files lawsuit against university
Cafe Hayek: In Praise of Parking Lots, or Paradise Has A Price, also, An Law & Economic Center Event With the Great Bruce Yandle
CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday
Da Tech Guy: Every Time I think the Culture Can’t Get Worse It Does
Don Surber: Count Floyd’s Monster Chiller Climate Change Theater
First Street Journal: Killadelphia: Another story I didn’t find in The Philadelphia Inquirer
Gates Of Vienna: Richard Jomshof: “We Should Talk About and Criticize the Muslim World”, also, Coup in the Heart of Darkness
The Geller Report: Senate Democrats Clear the Way for Boycott of the Jewish State, also, Biden Bribery Ignored But Trump And His Maintenance Guy Slapped With New Charges, Republicans Furious, ‘We Cannot Allow This to Stand’
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, An Evaporating Planet?, also, The Gathering Storm
Hollywood In Toto: Deadline: Only Gavin Newsom Can Save Hollywood!, also, Tom MacDonald Doubles Down on Aldean’s ‘Small Town’ Rage
The Lid: Inmate on Death Row for Killing 2 Babies Now Getting Breast Implants Courtesy of Taxpayers
Legal Insurrection: Supreme Court Allows Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction to Continue, Rep. Chip Roy Reviving DeSantis Bill That Would Make Schools Pay for Bad Student Loans, Facebook Removed COVID Posts, Memes Due to Pressure From Biden Admin, Internal Polling Must Have Been Brutal: Biden Acknowledges Granddaughter For First Time, and Oakland NAACP: Declare State of Emergency After ‘Progressive Policies’ Like Defund the Police Cause ‘Public Safety Crisis’
Nebraska Energy Observer: Scattershot Friday
Outkick: FIFA President Leaves Women’s World Cup After Begging Fans To Buy Tickets, Attending Every Game Of Men’s Event, Colombia’s Linda Caicedo, 18, Collapses While Training For World Cup, Paige Spiranac Transforms Herself Into ‘Golf Barbie’ To Promote Her New Pink Shafts, Tick Tock: Pac-12 Fallout Continues While George Kliavkoff Tries To Salvage What’s Left, Public Scrutiny Growing Everyday, Ex-ESPN Reporter Allison Williams Shares Emotional Journey About Losing Job Over COVID Jab, and Oregon To The Big Ten? Now Is The Perfect Time
Power Line: A devious plea deal, Maybe Black Lives Matter After All, and Thoughts from the ammo line
Shark Tank: NRCC Targets Darren Soto After Controversial Vote On Veterans
Shot In The Dark: It’s A Wet Heat, also, The Progress Of Every Hot Button Social Issue
The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday: Do We Need a Federal Community Property Act?
This Ain’t Hell: We Love Admin Fatwas, Valor Friday, Trouble in Tuberville?, Senators pushing $1.1 billion of military aid for Taiwan, and Politicians get credit for green initiatives; constituents’ wallets get hammered
Victory Girls: Prayer Breakfasts Now Include A Side Of Sex
Volokh Conspiracy: Court Rejects First Amendment Challenge to School District’s Ban on Students “Misgendering” Classmates
Watts Up With That: Offshore Wind has a Cost Crisis, Global Boiling Has Arrived!, and Dumpster Diving NASA Climate Scientist Peter Kalmus: ‘Biden must declare a climate emergency’
The Federalist: Alone And Confused, A Majority Of Americans Ditch Free Speech, Question For Leftists: Why Do You Want To Rob Black Slaves Of Their Rich History?, Ken Makes The Patriarchy Look Awesome, Biden’s ‘My Son Has Not Made Money On China’ Debate Lie Isn’t Looking Too Good Right Now, and Expect Climate Alarmism To Heat Up In California This Wildfire Season
Mark Steyn: Live Around the Planet

Amazon Warehouse Deals
Refurbed Fire Tablets Up To 47% Off
Smart Fire TVs Starting At $79.99




Category: Linkagery

If Trump Has Lost Ace of Spades …

Posted on | July 28, 2023 | Comments Off on If Trump Has Lost Ace of Spades …

It’s never been my habit to over-interpret anything — a Foucault-style textual analysis is just more work than it’s worth — but today I saw Ace of Spades take a shot at Donald Trump and thought, “Hmmmm.”

Yesterday the special counsel added new charges to his indictment of Trump over #DocumentGate (or whatever they’re calling it) and in his reaction to this news, Ace felt the need to add these comments:

So now comes my least favorite phase of every new Trump indictment, the ranting by Trump’s more passionate defenders that Ron DeSantis isn’t doing enough to defend the man who slurs him as a pedophile and homosexual!! His statements aren’t STRONG enough in swearing for the honor of a man who smears him dishonorably!!! and that Trump’s legal problems — almost all of which are self-inflicted– are a reason to elect him president to fuck up all over the place some more, rather than a reason to elect a strong president who will pardon Trump and let him live peacefully and free as a private citizen.
Every one of Trump’s problems gets weaponized against DeSantis, and then people wonder — Gee, why aren’t DeSantis’ supporters more interested in talking about Trump’s problems?
Tell you what: If Trump issues a STRONG statement clearing him from the previous lies that DeSantis is a pedophile, gay, cheats on his wife, killed more people with Covid than Democrat governors Newsom or Cuomo, then I’ll join you in your calls for STRONG statements clearing Trump of crimes which, let’s face it, he probably did commit.

To repeat myself: “Hmmmm.”

Something I realized long ago, sort of Rule Number One for survival in the conservative blogosphere: Never piss off Ace of Spades.

Ace has very good instincts about who is or is not Down For The Agenda. If he ever starts taking shots at somebody, you can bet that sooner or later that person will prove himself to be an unprincipled quisling.

But why bring up Allahpundit at this late date, eh?

If you look at the RCP average, Trump is beating DeSantis 3-1 and, quite frankly, DeSantis is starting to look like This Year’s Scott Walker. It is therefore remarkable that Ace would take this stance just now, when Trump looks like a shoo-in for the 2024 GOP nomination.

After my experience in 2011-2012, I stopped trying to influence Republican primaries because, despite what some people may imagine, the voters don’t seem to give a damn about the opinions of bloggers. If my herculean efforts to stop Mitt Romney from getting the GOP nomination were futile, why even bother commenting on primaries?

Basically, I’m agnostic on the matter of who gets the Republican nomination, as long as it’s not someone named “Bush,” or a useless blob of frustrated impotence like Chris Christie. Everything I’ve seen so far suggests to me that Trump is a lead-pipe cinch for the 2024 nomination, however much anyone may wish otherwise, or however much better DeSantis might be as a candidate in the general election.

Is there some way that could change? I don’t know, but maybe some of Trump’s more outspoken supporters should think about toning down their rhetoric just a wee bit, because they appear to be in danger of violating Rule Number One: Never piss off Ace of Spades.

Trust me. You never want to see an angry ewok.



 

Category: Ace of Spades, Donald Trump

Crazy People Are Dangerous (Special California Hate Crimes Edition)

Posted on | July 28, 2023 | Comments Off on Crazy People Are Dangerous (Special California Hate Crimes Edition)

Carl Chan (left); James Lee Ramsey (right)

In April 2021, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce was assaulted on the streets by a man who yelled, “F–k you Chinatown! F–k you Chinaman!” A week later, 25-year-old James Lee Ramsey was charged with felony assault and a hate crime against Carl Chan, and the case was scheduled for trial in August 2021.

In September 2021, however, Ramsey got a plea deal:

Ramsey, 25, pleaded no contest to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury in exchange for the hate crime allegation being dismissed.
“As long as he’s receiving help and not going out into the community hurting people. I think that’s the important thing,” says Chan.
The district attorney’s office has the option to ask the judge to sentence Ramsey to serve his time in a secured mental health facility. He faces up to four years in state prison.

It was at this point that “activists” got involved:

On April 29th, James Ramsey, a 25-year-old Black Oakland resident with a documented history of serious mental illness, allegedly knocked over, potentially by accident, 62-year-old Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President Carl Chan.
Mr. Ramsey has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and told officers he had been off of his medication for about a month when he was arrested for the alleged assault. Instead of being provided sufficient treatment, James is potentially facing years in prison.
[The Oakland Police Department] is using this alleged assault as justification to get more money from the City, and Carl Chan, in his role as Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President, is pushing for more policing.
The Anti Police-Terror Project condemns anti-Asian hate and stands in solidarity with Asian people and oppressed people everywhere. However, in this case, we see a man with disabilities in need of intensive care, not someone committing a hate crime.
James Ramsey’s sentencing hearing was rescheduled for Thursday, November 18th at 9:30am.
Join us at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse at 1225 Fallon St, Oakland, CA 94612 to demand the charges be dropped!

Whoa! It’s one thing to give the guy a plea bargain — proving “hate crime” charges can be difficult — but it’s something else entirely to “demand the charges be dropped.” Crazy is as crazy does. The state cannot be in the business of policing people’s delusions and fantasies, so whatever was going through Ramsey’s mind while he was off his meds is between him and whatever psychiatrist may be assigned to treat him. But assault? We’re going to just give crazy people a free pass on assault?

And just who is this “Anti Police-Terror Project”?

The Anti-Police Terror Project is a radical-left anti-police activist organization based in Oakland, California. The organization advocates defunding the police, supporting cutting half of the budget of the Oakland Police Department and redirecting those funds towards various social welfare programs including mental health and wellness services.
The group has alleged that the police have caused “community trauma” in the Black community and other communities of color. It has demanded more resources to research “police-related trauma” and the use of any research to shape the policies of the police. . . .
Cat Brooks is the co-founder of the organization. . . .
According to its 2021 tax return, the organization the organization had $5,709,289 in revenue and $313,631 in expenses. It had $5,403,517 in assets.

So, what do we know about Cat Brooks? Conn Carroll explains, “In June [2021], the Oakland City Council voted to cut $18 million from the city’s police budget and spend that money instead on a variety of social programs.” Cat Brooks actually organized a protest at the home of one of the two council members who voted against this measure:

Foremost among those advocates [of defunding the police] is Cat Brooks, the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, one of the main groups pushing for defunding the Oakland Police Department. She was brought up in Las Vegas by a white mother who was an anti-domestic violence activist. Her father, a black man, struggled with substance abuse and ended up in prison. “I watched him be terrorized and traumatized by law enforcement,” she recalled.
While pursuing a career in acting in Los Angeles, Brooks stumbled into political activism, which eventually brought her to Oakland. In 2018, she ran for mayor, coming in second with about a quarter of the vote.
When I asked Brooks about the two Council members — both black — who voted against the reduction in the police budget she was unambiguous in her contempt. They are “representing the interests of the police, and they’re representing the interests of development,” she said. “If they were representing the interests of the people, then they, too, should want black bodies to stop falling.” . . .
When I asked Brooks if she supports the abolition of police, she said, “Absolutely. Unapologetically.” Describing the role of the police in society, she said, “Their job is to maintain the status quo. And the status quo is race-based capitalism. And so they are the front line soldiers of the larger system of white supremacy, which is the engine of this country, both here locally and globally.”

So, her father was a dopehead who went to prison and therefore, the cops are the bad guys, “front line soldiers . . . of white supremacy.” And rich people gave her $5.7 million to promote this lunatic idea.

Well, how’s that working out for James Lee Ramsey?

James Lee Ramsey, a 27-year-old Oakland resident, was arrested on July 21 after kicking and assaulting an 88-year-old Asian woman and reportedly attacking a witness at the scene, NBC News reported. Ramsey avoided prison in 2021 after having hate crime charges against him dropped by former Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley.
The elderly woman was rushed to the hospital and is currently in stable condition, according to NBC News.
Ramsey is now in police custody and is being charged with elder abuse, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and battery causing serious bodily injury. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail.
San Fransisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called the crime “horrific” and promised Ramsey would finally face proper justice, according to NBC.
“The crimes that Mr. Ramsey is accused of are horrific. I am grateful to the witness who was able to detain him until police arrived ensuring that he did not flee,” Jenkins said in a statement. “My office, on behalf of the victims, and every San Franciscan who is fed up with brazen violence like this, will stand for justice and seek to hold him accountable for his crimes.”
O’Malley previously dropped hate crime charges against Ramsey in 2021 after he assaulted Carl Chan, president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Ramsey plead no contest and walked free after his public defender cited mental health challenges, the San Fransico Chronicle reported.

It is not mercy to let crazy people run around the streets attacking innocent strangers, and certainly it is not justice. It is folly to permit our sympathy for those afflicted with mental illness to override the need to protect public safety, which is the first duty of any government.



 

Category: California, Crime, Racism
« go back — keep looking »