What’s interesting in the news today?
I know. I went a little crazy today. We have political correctness running amok in our govt., and elsewhere. I just wanted to point it out.
1. First up, more PC nonsense from the Pentagon.
From PJMedia “The nation’s top military brass gathered in the Pentagon auditorium Monday to pull out their pens and sign a ceremonial document vowing to “create an inclusive environment that values diversity and fosters mutual respect and cooperation among all persons.”
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey led the signing of the 2014 Human Goals Charter: “the cornerstone document governing the Defense Department’s fair treatment of people, as well as its diversity and equity programs.”
“Honestly, ladies and gentlemen, having these goals is really very good, but being able to say that this department is the frontrunner in these goals is exactly what we can be proud of today. This has been an unprecedented era of change, truly, since the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948 to the accomplishments of the present,” Wright added. That includes, she said, “fundamental changes in our views of sexual orientation.”
“We have extended the benefits to same-sex spouses of uniformed servicemembers and the department’s civilian employees. We have and we will continue to open military positions to servicemembers who were able to perform those duties, regardless of their gender, and those are just a few of the accomplishments,” Wright continued. “…Diversity is more than race or gender or religion. It’s a variety or mixture of thought. It’s the variety and mixture of ability, background, language, culture and skill. Fairness and dignity and respect and cooperation are among all members of our department, and that is an integral part of our mission accomplishment.”
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2. The EPA as well.
From EAGNews “As reported at the Brenner Brief, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, “argues often that climate change is the ‘lunch counter moment’ for the younger generation.”
The EPA chief encouraged black students, who are “most vulnerable to climate change,” to become “champion climate justice advocates” by supporting some of the FDA rules currently being pushed by environmental activists. McCarthy mentioned “greenhouse gas emission standards for new power plants that the agency released last fall, and the rules for existing plants” that are set to be released on June 1.
It is a matter of “equity,” the EPA chief said, as minorities have been “overburdened by pollution and environmental health hazards for far too long…”
“You can’t ensure environmental justice, and we can’t deliver on this president’s promise of opportunity for all,” she continued, “without giving people clean air and clean water and clean land to live on…”
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3. Let’s not forget the NBA. As bad as what he said was, this is way over the top. PC run amok.
From CBSNews “NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday Clippers owner Donald Sterling will be suspended for life and fined $2.5 million following racist remarks he made in a recorded audio clip.
Silver spoke to the press at an 11 a.m. news conference from New York, stating he will “do everything in my power” to force the sale of the Clippers.
“The hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of Mr. Sterling. The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. That they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage,” Silver said. “I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers association or the NBA. Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices, he may not be present at any Clippers facility, and he may not participate in any business or decisions involving the team.”
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4. Not to be out PCed, the CBC wants the NBA to have the power to strip ownership from anyone making insensitive racial remarks.
From TheHill “Congressional Democrats said Tuesday that the NBA’s swift response to racially charged comments by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was a strong first step, but league limitations might not discourage similar behavior in the future.
The lawmakers, including several members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), suggested the league should wield more authority over individual owners — including more power to strip ownership — while maintaining the capacity to levy larger fines for racially insensitive behavior.”
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5. The feminists are getting in on the act. They want a monument on the National Mall. Does anyone doubt they’ll get it?
Just picture it, maybe a statue of the racist, abortion loving Sanger, or something equally tacky….
From Heritage “Background: The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) currently exists online “to raise awareness and honor women’s diverse experience and achievements.” For a number of years the museum and its vocal activists have been advocating for a physical location on the National Mall. H.R. 863 would establish a committee to study the creation of that location. The committee would make recommendations on the structure and governance of the site and explore fund-raising options. NWHM alleges that no taxpayer funds would be used to commission or construct the museum. While the idea of honoring the great female leaders of American History is noble and shared by all, many conservatives are concerned about the leftist ideological implications of this legislation.
Lack of Safeguards. While NWHM claims a nonpartisan agenda, there is no mechanism in place to ensure that the museum is not used as a platform to promote liberal propaganda (even if that museum is still in its infancy). The women typically celebrated by federally monitored or federally commissioned institutions are of the “progressive era” or the “sexual liberation movement” (consider particularly the characters and events promulgated by Smithsonian institutions or nationalized educational programs). These figures glorify the elements of women’s history that have furthered disrespect for human life, destruction of the family unit and general harm to the wellbeing of women. As the CEO of the Concerned Women for America said in an open letter to Congress:
To indoctrinate American children, who visit the Nation’s capital, with leftist views is so distasteful that within this climate we respectfully decline our own museum. We would prefer that students visit the other 19 Smithsonian museums and galleries to hear about women’s history than to have one that propagates a false narrative.”
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6. The UN and Obama admin are always quick to jump on climate change deniers as un-PC and anti-science. Lying, fudging the numbers, and rewriting the science is apparently the PC thing to do nowadays.
From TheDailyMail “A top US academic has dramatically revealed how government officials forced him to change a hugely influential scientific report on climate change to suit their own interests.
Harvard professor Robert Stavins electrified the worldwide debate on climate change on Friday by sensationally publishing a letter online in which he spelled out the astonishing interference.
He said the officials, representing ‘all the main countries and regions of the world’ insisted on the changes in a late-night meeting at a Berlin conference centre two weeks ago. Three quarters of the original version of the document ended up being deleted.
Prof Stavins claimed the intervention amounted to a serious ‘conflict of interest’ between scientists and governments. His revelation is significant because it is rare for climate change experts to publicly question the process behind the compilation of reports on the subject.”
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7. Meanwhile the EPA is withholding more job crushing regulations until after the mid-terms to aid Democrats. Can’t have them voting against America’s economy right before the election, now can we? Bad optics and all…
From TheFreeBeacon “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delayed issuing a final regulation limiting greenhouse gas emissions for new power plants until after the midterm elections.
The agency pushed back publishing the rule for two months, allowing vulnerable Senate Democrats to avoid a vote on the measure six weeks before voters go to the polls.
President Obama directed the EPA to issue a proposal requiring new power plants to reduce their carbon pollution by “no later than” Sep. 20, 2013. The EPA posted the proposal on its website that day, but did not submit the rule to the Federal Register until Nov. 25, 2013. The rule was then published in the Federal Register on Jan. 8.
Once a rule is published in the Federal Register, agencies are required to finalize it within one year. As a result, the EPA does not have to finish the regulation until Jan. 8, 2015, instead of this September, just weeks before the midterms.“
Just like with Benghazi, the IRS, the ObamaCare Individual Mandate, the ObamaCare Employer Mandate, etc., etc….. It’s a pattern with these frauds. 🙄
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8. Why does it matter? Because they’re already regulating the economy to death. This will just make it worse. It’s Cap and Trade, without that messy legislative process.
From Investors.com “After years of rapid growth during the Obama administration, the cost of federal regulations is now bigger than the entire economies of all but nine countries in the world.
That’s according to the latest annual report on the regulatory state issued by the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute, titled “Ten Thousand Commandments.”
Compiling reports of compliance costs from various government agencies and outside sources, author Clyde Wayne Crews found that the “regulation tax” imposed on the economy now tops $1.86 trillion. By comparison, Canada’s entire GDP is $1.82 trillion. India’s is $1.84 trillion.
The problem, Crews notes, is that the combined cost of this “tax” never shows up anywhere in the federal budget — or any other official report — even though it is now bigger than individual and corporate income taxes combined.”
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9. And speaking of Benghazi…… another update.
From Mediaite “On Tuesday, an email obtained by the government watchdog Judicial Watch revealed that a senior American advisor informed then National Security Advisor Susan Rice to emphasize that the deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya was the result of a spontaneous protest arising from an inflammatory YouTube video. Transcripts later revealed that senior defense officials had informed the administration on the night of the assault that the event was a “terrorist attack.”
Fox’s intel correspondent Catherine Herridge reported that a September 14 emails links White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes advised Rice to focus on the YouTube video during her appearances on a variety of Sunday morning news programs:
Among the goals Rhodes outlined for Rice was for her “to underscore that these protests are rooted in an internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”
Which is exactly what it was. A complete failure of policy. Can’t have folks believing the truth right before an election now can we? 🙄
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Wandering Views 
It couldn’t have been a failure of policy, because they didn’t have one.
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We don’t have no more room on the mall for monuments.
It used to be that the purpose of the military was to kill people and break things. That was when America was a strong nation.
I’m beginning to wish Don Sterling had never said anything. A guy called Rush yesterday. He seemed to know what he was talking about. He said Sterling was set up to make him get rid of his team. It seems to be working. He has said worse things before, but the timing wasn’t right.
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It isn’t that this administration is incompetent.
It is that it is evil.
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How do we separate this administration from Democrats? They voted for it. The wanted it. They keep on voting for it.
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Sure they did Chas.
Their policy was to switch sides, arm muslim extremists, and to smuggle weapons into the hands of the really bad men they had installed into power, the MB. They accomplished their mission, but they didn’t want anyone to know that right before the election.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2610598/Group-US-switched-sides-War-Terror-facilitating-500-MILLION-weapons-deliveries-Libyan-al-Qaeda-militias-leading-Benghazi-attack.html
“‘The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,’ Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline.”
‘Remember, these weapons that came into Benghazi were permitted to enter by our armed forces who were blockading the approaches from air and sea,’ Lopez claimed. ‘They were permitted to come in. … [They] knew these weapons were coming in, and that was allowed..
‘The intelligence community was part of that, the Department of State was part of that, and certainly that means that the top leadership of the United States, our national security leadership, and potentially Congress – if they were briefed on this – also knew about this.’ The weapons were intended for Gaddafi but allowed by the U.S. to flow to his Islamist opposition.”
“‘The White House and senior Congressional members,’ the group wrote in an interim report released Tuesday, ‘deliberately and knowingly pursued a policy that provided material support to terrorist organizations in order to topple a ruler [Muammar Gaddafi] who had been working closely with the West actively to suppress al-Qaeda.’
‘Some look at it as treasonous moves,’ said Wayne Simmons, a former CIA officer who participated in the commission’s research. ‘And our men and women had to follow what many purport as, qualify as treasonous moves.'”
Mission accomplished.
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I don’t follow basketball so I’d never heard of Sterling before (I know the team, of course). OK, so what’s a married 80+ year old guy doing with a 20+ year old girlfriend? Sheesh.
And I’m certainly never going to defend the things he said (though it was, after all, a private conversation, recorded and released for revenge, I guess?).
But … I’m growing weary of our culture’s near hysterical “Off with his head!” mass responses. It’s starting to remind me of some of those cautionary short stories we read back in the day, where whole towns got swept up and went on a rampage, pointing the collective finger at people just before they were hanged to a cheering crowd.
We still have the freedom in this country to say vile and offensive and stupid things, right?
Granted, he’s a public figure so some kind of punishment is called for — but “banned for life”? I don’t know, maybe I’m missing something, but the reaction seemed borderline comical to me.
And I guess this means he and his little girlfriend are breaking up? So sad. 😉 True love thwarted, I’m sure.
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Interesting, someone agrees with me:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/30/two-prominent-black-voices-offer-a-very-different-perspective-on-sterling-punishment-mob-rule-is-dangerous/
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“We still have the freedom in this country to say vile and offensive and stupid things, right? ”
Absolutely, we do! Mr. Sterling had and still has that right and that freedom. He exercised that freedom. He has not been arrested, thrown in jail, executed, charged with any crimes for his statements. Nor will he, nor should he!
What he does not have is the right not to be criticized and face consequences for his statements.
This xkcd comic strip (which I believe is from before this incident) seems very apt: Free Speech
To quote the last two panels:
“It’s just that the people listening [the NBA] think [he’s] an a**h**e, and they’re showing [him] the door.”
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In other news: From The Washington Times
“Last week more than a hundred Nigerian students, girls between 15 and 18 years of age were kidnapped by the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist of Boko Haram. Most of the girls are still being held. That should be a big story, don’t you think?”
Not if we have a racist statement by pro basketball owner, or a plane that was lost a month ago to talk about. I mean, only so much air time and priorities, you know.
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Donna, why is “some kind of punishment is called for?” I agree with your underlying opinion and am feeling like calling for punishment contradicts it.
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Chas,
That story get’s even worse.
http://www.france24.com/en/20140430-nigeria-boko-haram-abducted-schoolgirls-wives-jihadists/?&_suid=139887005648807419247222132981
“On Tuesday, a local Chibok elder told the AFP that some of the girls had been taken to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon. They were then sold as brides to Islamist fighters for 2,000 naira ($12) each, said Pogo Bitrus.
In an interview with the BBC, Bitrus said the community had been tracking the girls and has learned that, “one of the ‘grooms’ brought his ‘wife’ to a neighbouring town in Cameroon and kept her there,” he said before adding, “It’s a medieval kind of slavery”.
There has however been no independent confirmation of his report from the Nigerian government.
According to Bitrus, 43 of the abducted girls had “regained their freedom” after escaping, while 230 were still in captivity. His figure is higher than previous estimates.”
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Roy,
So you’re OK with stripping someone of their livliehood and property if they say something offensive? If so, Harry Reid called me a terrorist and I want him stripped of power, his job, and I want him fined millions.
But even I know that’s not a reasonable response to Harry’s stupid name calling.
I can’t help but think you’d scream like crazy if someone did the same to you. We all say things we later regret, stupid things, but this is a ridiculous response. Should we Christians start demanding that liberals receive the same treatment when they say something offensive to our faith? That happens daily. Should we destroy your livelihood as a result?
Of course not. Stop with the emotion and think it thru. Is this really the standard you or anyone else should be held to?
No. Not at all.
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AJ,
Lots of poeple get fired for saying something their employer doesn’t like. Fairly or unfairly – happens all the time.
Are you willing to do away with (probably limit, would be more accurate?) the concept of employment at will? If I bad mouth my boss, my co-workers, my employer on my facebook page, will you say it’s unjust to fire me, depriving me of my livelihood, just because I exercised my freedom of speech? Or will you say that I should have thought before posting, and such is the natural consequence of biting the hand that feeds me?
Sterling has every right to say what he said.
The NBA has every right to say, in response, “We don’t want you in our club”
If the NBA doesn’t, fans have every right to boycott his team.
Whether you or I think those actions by the NBA or the fans are fair has nothing to do with it. In their view, he bit the hand, and this is the consequence.
As for Harry R. he’s basically employed by the voters of his state. Politicians constantly are losing elections for shooting off their mouths and saying stupid, ugly, hateful things, be they Republican, Democrat, liberal, or conservative. If you can convince enough of those voters, Harry might lose his next re-election campaign, stripping him of his power and job. I would have no problem with that outcome, and think it quite reasonable.
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There’s nothing wrong with making fun of Christians. I hear that Bill Maher makes a living at it. But I’ve never seen his show. I read about it in The Washington Times.
The quote about the Nigerian girls was a quote from a page long article.;
We can’t put Harry Reid out of office, but we can put him out of power in November.
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I meant to correct that, but clicked too soon.
I see my avatar still isn’t up.
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What he does not have is the right not to be criticized and face consequences for his statements. …
? Huh?
Never said he didn’t.
It’s the mob “Hang him” mentality that seems to sweep over these cases — one of my young, fellow reporters who’s biracial was also saying today that frankly, it’s all a bit over the top. But whatever.
And Linda, consequences, not ‘punishment,’ was the correct word.
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Frenzy. I guess that’s what all of these things remind me of now. And it’s unhealthy.
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A frenzy, btw, that is fueled by the Internet & media. It is swift, thoughtless and extreme.
I don’t see how people could not find this of concern.
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OK, file this under beating a dead horse if you will, but …
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/04/nba-grandstands-sterling-is-punished.php
“… To be sure, the NBA needs to protect its business (or its “brand,” to use the current jargon). Accordingly, it needed to take some action against Sterling. But declining to impose the draconian measures Silver came up with would not have hurt the NBA. If Silver had opted for fairer, less severe penalties, players would have continued to play and fans would have continued to watch. Show me the player who would have forfeited part of his paycheck if, for example, Sterling had been suspended for half a season…. “
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