One of my favorite political pundits and moderator of “Meet the Press” on Sunday mornings was liberal Tim Russert. Hard hitting (on both sides), fair, probing, presenting great questions and insights, he was a wonder to behold and nobody since has come close to his fairness and even-handed treatment of guests and issues.
I once was a Democrat (I voted for both George McGovern and Jimmy Carter (twice!)). I was set in my liberal ways and not thinking clearly. After starts and stops in my factory career based on economic conditions through the prism of federal initiatives (more taxation) and me being at the entry level, I was constantly being laid off – six months on, thee months off, six months on — for a few years it remained.
Then Ronald Reagan appeared and was voted in as president. I didn’t vote for him the first time, but did the second time because I saw what his initiatives produced — more jobs, lower tax rates (helping everyone), more opportunity, opening a market of pent-up demand, resulting in more jobs, and more raises. I remember the 1980s well, the decade of the American Dream realized.
I’m not going to argue with those thinking opposite mine. The facts speak for themselves; I and most others I knew were prospering and advancing. If you weren’t, you either weren’t trying too hard or on drugs.
Now we have, after two consecutive stretches of ineffective presidential terms (both Bush and Obama) a person who is outside of the Washington Swamp, not a politician, nor wanting to be, but was so sick of the downslide of the country and thought it was time he put up or shut up. He put up himself to media ridicule and hate mongering by the left and the left leaning media.
Nobody, but nobody, thought he had a chance, but he took his campaign to the people who were looking for a leader and they supported and voted for him in fly-over country (every state between the left and right coasts) and he won what he had to win to secure the presidency. Economic growth exploded after him taking office (pent up demand again) and told CEO’s to bring their businesses back home. He encouraged manufacturing instead of saying those jobs are never coming back (thanks President Obama!). He opened up areas to drill for oil. He lowered taxes. And what happened — the same thing that always happens when taxes are lowered — more economic activity, thereby increasing tax revenue and opportunity for everyone to get a job.
But now there are those on the extreme left; nut-jobs known as Antifa. I don’t know what these people do, but not much brain activity is present when they speak. Vile, hate filled speech, threatening to kill or harm the President Donald Trump.
Antifa, as I heard, was created because of the lies surrounding two shootings — one by a civilian tasked with patrolling the housing area in Florida, checking on a suspicious person he didn’t know in the area. He was jumped and struck by the suspect and pummeled to the ground. It was observed by a nearby person the suspect was “grounding and pounding” the helpless person beneath him. Trayvon Martin was killed for his actions after George Zimmerman pulled his concealed weapon and fired, killing Martin.
Then in Ferguson, Mo., Michael Brown was killed when he was shot six times in the front (not in the back as reported by Brown’s friend, with his hands up saying “don’t shoot”). He tried to wrestle the officer’s weapon from him while the officer was in the patrol car and unsuccessful, fled, then turned and charged the officer once he started to pursue Brown.
Of course, President Barack Obama also piled on the racial animus when he commented the police “stupidly” reacted and cuffed Harvard Professor Louis Gates, when Gates couldn’t get in his house, a neighbor called police saying there was a man trying to break into the house, not evidently knowing the person “breaking in” was the owner Gates. When the police arrived, they placed Mr. Gates in cuffs, per procedure, until it was unraveled what happened and he was the person who owned the house.
It was blown up as a racial arrest, even though Mr. Gates tried to get into his house without his keys and it appeared to who called someone was breaking into the Gates house. What would you do as an officer arriving on the scene, not knowing the situation?
Antifa was born on lies, because they needed something to use as a hate tool, even though these killings and arrest of Gates happened under the previous administration. Antifa is classic unhinged leftist hate and ignorant of facts. But leftists never let facts get in the way of a good riot. And who are the young whites marching with Antifa and why aren’t they kicked out as wannabes?
The bloodletting in Chicago continues, but how can that happen? No shootings can happen because there aren’t handguns allowed in Chicago! How many deaths does it take to bring in experts to handle the out of control situation? When will Chicago get smart and quit electing the same idiots that have run the city for decades?
Before you attack the messenger, have you been to Chicago lately? I think President Trump called it right for some countries as defecation holes – they are, as are many places now in America – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and many others run by the same Democrat party that keeps the poor downtrodden and with no hope of getting out of the s-holes these cities have become.
You want to keep up the charade and say there is nothing to see here, move on?
The rotting of America from within continues…
A very good article, just waiting to see what those who disagree have to say.
Ranger Rick stirs up the pot and gets a valuable debate going. What angers most who disagree is he is correct but politically incorrect.
AB, in my humble opinion you are correct on the observation that RR is politically incorrect. You are also correct that he stirs the pot of debate. What I regret about his writing is that, although there are occasional, well written gems from him, too much verges on ranting that is difficult to abide to get to the message and try to digest it. I would prefer to hear his views with less anger and more objective narrative to his points. He should not be dismissed out of hand, but he sure makes it hard.
I wonder if Ranger Rick continues to use his pseudonym because he’d be embarrassed to take credit for the stuff he writes here. It is drivel, and I suspect even he knows it. Show some integrity, own your words, and start using your real name, “Rick.”
It’s a bit dubious to think the deep thoughts here meander anywhere near the vicinity of “correct.” I would guess that in Rick’s questionable, unsubstantiated history he provides here, he is mixing up Antifa (not a real organization — simply a Fox News concoction) with Black Lives Matter. Even the title of the deep thoughts here — “Antifa a good example of leftists’ hatred” —woefully misses the mark. Antifa is not remotely in any way a good example of liberals. These rag-tag California hooligans barely have a blip of significance, certainly not anywhere near resembling the sort of bogeyman that Fox News constructs them to be.
None of you know anyone who is an Antifa, none of you know anyone who knows anyone who is an Antifa, and none of you have ever been affected by an Antifa. There are no Antifa in Michigan, and there are certainly no Antifa in Wayland. To say this “group” is a good example of lefties is absolute garbage.
“Rick” has already exposed himself by sharing his bigoted racist white nationalist rhetoric in a previous column this year. He clearly has the heart of a Nazi. His pseudonym here is his white hood. Unfortunately there will likely always be remnants of people of this ilk. If you want to explore what feeds the left’s contempt, look into how so many people with otherwise noble conservative values have been duped into aligning themselves with this epidemic of white nationalism, of otherwise decent Americans selling their souls to call themselves Trumpees. There is nothing in it for them, and we are all the worse for it.
Mr. Giess,
I attempted to find a factual number on the members of Nazis and Antifa but believable numbers are hard to find. The same argument you make on Antifa also gos for the Nazis (I would think Antifa is larger than the Nazis) but you and others have no problem using Nazis in the way the right uses Antifa. Ranger Rick is not a Nazi, he is not a White Nationalist and you are way out in tinfoil hat and derangement land calling me and all who support the President White Nationalists.
You sir, are doing the exact same thing you wrongly accuse Ranger Rick of doing.
Others on the left have used a pen name in the Town broadcast and you have not went after them for it, funny how that works.
And, Mr. Gless there are Antifa groups in Michigan, Google it.
Let’s all agree it is a bit of a false equivalency to compare white nationalists to a group whose mission is to oppose them. (You’re becoming quite adept at using the full range of logical fallacies–maybe you can add that to your pen name: Army Bob, King of the Logical Fallacies.) Let’s all agree that between anti-fascists and white nationalists, one is more morally righteous than the other. Simply put, if someone opposes the people who oppose Nazis, what does that make him? Again, I will reiterate my point that none of you have ever been negatively effected by anti-fascists. Meanwhile since Trumpism came to town, there’s been a significant uptick just in the number of Confederate flags being flown in Wayland alone. These flags create a hostile community for our children, and they make our town look like trash, aka., for those who merely think about personal financial gain, it lowers property value. Let’s all agree to denounce racism, not take its side.
Regarding “Ranger Rick” and “Basura,” again you’ve presented a false equivalence. While Basura has explained his completely rational logic for using a pen name, again Rick uses his out of cowardice and shame. And he quite explicitly IS a white nationalist. The stuff he writes here is textbook white nationalism. If this doesn’t epitomize white nationalism, I don’t know what does:
https://townbroadcast.com/staging1/?p=18198
Yes I know the Trump party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. But why so many people have willingly chosen to fall in line is beyond comprehension.