by Robert M. Traxler
Facts are pesky things because they get in the way of feelings.
“For people who identify strongly with one side of the political spectrum or the other, it can feel like their opponents are willfully ignoring the facts. But right or left, both sides believe their positions are grounded in evidence. We now live in a world where there are red facts and blue facts, and I believe these biased motivated-reasoning processes fuel political conflict. If someone firmly believes some fact to be true that you just as firmly believe to be false, it is hard for either of you not to see that other person as stupid, disingenuous or both.” — American Psychological Association.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that there’s “a lot to be upset about” following the not-guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. He joins the President, Vice President, and most of the “impartial” media, upset that the truth has come out.
Facts reported by many of the good folks at MSNBC, CNN, NBC and many others were indeed not facts, but made-up truth they wished to be true and were damned lies.
A few of the lies:
*Mr. Rittenhouse was/is a white nationalist.
*Mr. Rittenhouse was/is a white supremacist.
*Mr. Rittenhouse had no ties to the Kenosha WI. area or even Wisconsin, and had no business being there.
*Mr. Rittenhouse illegally crossed state lines with a short-barreled rifle.
*Mr. Rittenhouse killed three African Americans; he ran them down and shot them for no reason.
*The victims were all African Americans and part of a peaceful demonstration.
*Mr. Rittenhouse’s silence in not talking to the press, police or prosecutors is a clear indication of guilt.
Not one of those allegations is true, but who cares? They sound good, and the left wants them to be true, so they was reported as slam-dunk facts. Tens of millions of people still believe in the made up “facts” as reported by the media, and will go to their graves believing them.
Let’s look at the reported “facts.” No proof exists showing Mr. Rittenhouse was a member of any white nationalist or supremacist group.
Mr. Rittenhouse’s father lived in the Kenosha WI area, giving him ties to the area.
Mr. Rittenhouse was chased by the demonstrators who hit him with a skateboard, stomped his head into the pavement and stuck a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his face.
Mr. Rittenhouse’s rifle was not a short-barreled rifle (a rifle barrel less than 16 inches), and no proof exists he crossed state lines with it.
Three men were shot by Mr. Rittenhouse; none, zero, were African Americans, and two died, not three. A fairly basic fact the media and the head of the DNC should have known after the trial was over, when they again reported it. Until the week of the trial, reporters in other countries were repeating that lie, because it was reported in US media.
The peaceful demonstrations in Kenosha were in response to a police shooting of an “unarmed” Black man; the gentleman shot had a knife that he refused to drop, and charged police. The “peaceful” demonstrations looted and burned millions of dollars’ worth of property, and slung bricks and firebombs at the police.
Mr. Rittenhouse and every other American citizen has the constitutional right to remain silent, a fact the judge forcefully reminded the prosecution of more than once.
The media is “shouting fire in a crowed theater;” they are not stretching the facts, but making them up as they go along. The truth is what sounds good, and they wish to be true anything to stir the fire of hate and discontent.
We must wounder how many Pulitzer Prizes will be handed out to socialist media for their false reporting on the Rittenhouse case and trial. Perhaps as many as were given out reporting on the “Steele Dossier” in the Russia investigation into President Trump, a story the Washington Post has retracted, but not most of the media.
Not be deterred by the innocent on all counts verdict, the media reported that white supremacists celebrated Mr. Rittenhouse’s acquittal, leaving the impression that Mr. Rittenhouse was a member of their hate group; he is not.
It reminds me of an old story that President Lyndon Johnson as a candidate for lower office told his campaign to put out a story that his opponent has sex with animals. When told they had no proof, Mr. Johnson said, “I know that, I just want to hear him deny it.”
The media needs to take a long hard look at the way they report the facts; shading the truth is one thing, out-and-out bald-faced lying is quite another. Left and right media do this, but there is five times the media supporting the lies on the left than the lies on the right, and social media that encourage liberal lies, even banning the true facts in the Rittenhouse case.
My Opinion.
AB,
Wow!!! Excellent!!! Hard to refute those pesky facts………….Well done……..Carry on………..
Question: Who actually in this Country is inciting violence? Still not sure, re-read the above article…..
Cheers!!
Mr. Wilkens,
Sir, thanks for the comment. We will see if the people on the socialist side will refute the facts of the case.
rittenhouse has picture with white nationalist he is racist
As I always maintain, lying is never acceptable in any instance or import. (Of course, I am not including such things as white lies that have a diplomatic element in family or friendship relationships,)
It seems that all media today is guilty of lying, but I have no statistics to determine whether or not the left is five times as guilty as the right.
I did not hear the entirety of Pete Buttegieg’s comments, but is it possible that when he said “there’s a lot to be upset about” he could have been referring to easy accessibility to firearms in general? Or a minor being in possession of a long rifle? Or simply being upset about conditions in America that lead people to demonstrate against valid social issues, or that such situations devolve into violence, or that men are solving their differences with violence instead of discussion? Or that white supremacists in general are increasing in numbers? These are the “lot to be upset about” that occurred to me while I waited for the facts to be sorted out before I weighed in.
I have some real issues with the judge in the Rittenhouse case. He did not comport himself with courtroom protocol in all instances, in my opinion. And at least one instance of his behavior verged on performance art.
The Rittenhouse case was unfortunate on many, many levels. My ultimate feelings were of deep sorrow for all involved. And my feelings include personal doubts about how we treat minors in our judicial system. But that’s an issue for another time.
The United States is in a state of great division and unrest, and I don’t see much movement toward true dialogue or understanding between or among politicians, activists, or other influencers.
It is left to “we the people” to seek reconciliation through voting for more honest and more highly motivated candidates.
As a left leaning democrat I have to say I haven’t heard any of these lies, can you identify anyone who said these statements? The court did make the right decision but the laws need to be changed.
Pete Buttigieg was correct in saying “ there’s much to be upset about”. Not only were there deaths but Kyles life is ruined at such a young age. Doesn’t that make you sad and upset?
The country is so divided. When you write these missives are you trying to change someone’s mind? What is the purpose? Does it help anyone?
Please source your accusations. I’m curious to know who exactly said these things, perhaps it was fox projecting? Most of us are pretty well informed and would agree the statements are untrue.
Deb looks like we struck a nerve. Charges were filed then dropped so they were not made up by the media. Did you notice all the networks A B mentioned were his idols fake news networks . I do not know how you can be a fake news network and be on the air for decades. What A B wrote has nothing to do with his acquittal .We can make it civil can A B make it truthful.
Mr. Longstreet,
You must be referencing CNN as the fake news network?
Deb I never seen any of those lies either. A B is an avid supporter of the biggest liar in the United States. I feel what ever He writes is all bull. If you worship a liar what does that make you. The court may have made the right legal decision but not the moral one. 18 year old kyle not (Mr Rittenhouse )did not need to spend the rest of his life in jail but something more than gloating on fox news.
Ok, to Mr. Longstreet and Ms. Voorhorst, the short, barreled rifle was a charge filed in court latter dropped, against Mr. Rittenhouse. The crossing the State line with a short, barreled rifle charge was filed in court if you did not see that one you never looked. Most of the lies in the column were reported on MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, ABC, NBC, and many more and are on record just spend a few minutes and google them, I did. Mr. Longstreet, can we keep this civil, if what was written in the column was a lie why was Mr. Rittenhouse acquitted on all counts? and if you never heard any of them you did not look some were restated in open court.
Thank you for the comments.
What struck me as noteworthy with the Rittenhouse case was the issue of his rifle sling. It was an afterthought, this appears to be a huge indicator of the level of his preparedness, training, and general awareness of what he was getting into. Things that used to matter, things that we are all guilty of, things that have real and tragic consequences. It seems as though a systemic failure pattern is continuing to be reinforced. We have a culture of pride and dismissal reinforced by our ignorant faith in technology and consumerism. Not only is it seemingly acceptable for untrained, potentially unstable adolescents to have easy access to firearms. Our society encourages focus on the image of firearms culture and unrealistic, unintended, improper training methods through video games and movies – rather than respectful, tempered, training and safety avenues. As long as our focus is on one-uping each other, be it by opinionated divisive rhetoric or unrelenting ignorant consumerism, we will continue to fail these children and travel down these dark paths of outright foolishness. Seems even more obvious after this weeks events. Go ahead, write another article parroting your political party and chosen media source talking points, and feel like you did something positive.
Yeah, has anyone ever noticed AB has never written a story about anything positive? Oh let’s say maybe about his career or his time in the military. This is why I refer him as basement dweller number one, because he’s not living in the real world.
Annable,
You must of missed the series on having cancer? So what is it you want to know about my 20 plus years in Army? I have posted dozens of columns on it, anything in particular you need to know?
I have been in 22 different nations and writen about most of them. Lived in Germany, Korea, and spent years in Alaska and mentioned them in the column. My basement is not in Europe or Asia, Central America or South America.
If we ever talk we can compare life experiences I am sure yours are much more extensive than mine.
Sorry I was late to respond but I haven’t seen or missed your story on your time in Korea, my father served during the Korean war and never heard him speak of it , maybe to many nightmares he also passed away from cancer.But when I see your stories about the left I don’t really pay much attention to the column.
Mr. Annabelle,
With the current president and vice president in charge, we’re not enforcing immigration laws and stopping smash and grab looting of stores in major cities, watching nations not respecting the U.S. and our allies wondering about our stability, drugs flowing into the country in ever greater numbers and people dying in increasing numbers to drug overdoses this can only be identified as a tragedy.
The inflation rising making money worth less, gas prices squeezing workers commuting to work, forcing shipping costs up. Stopping gas and oil exploration on federal lands and stopping pipeline construction.
In less than one year, this administration has failed the American people.
And you want positive stories with all the FUBAR going on? You need clarification on the definition of what FUBAR means, ask any veteran.
I recommend you ask the editor if you can contribute your sunny uplifting stories to Townbroadcast. I’m sure the reading public would welcome your writings. Better yet, you, Mr. Longstreet, Mr. Jones and Ms. Mandaville could collaborate and put pen to paper to create a weekly left wing happy story!
Can’t wait!
Hey Gar Annable, That is just as bad, if not worse. I was “attacking” the words/ideas/actions, you went for the individual with personal, childish, assumptions. It is as if social media has brought the level of common discourse(and the majority of media-both ends) down to that of an easily-offended over-emotional gossiping teen. Beyond pathetic that the concept of maturity needs to be reintroduced. Essentially, GROW UP YALL!