Stroke! Plus: BLM, anti-Semitism and Biden

Stroke. From the Papaya Pinochet himself:

Mike Pence was never put on standby, & there were no mini-strokes. This is just more Fake News by @CNN, a phony story. The reason for the visit to Walter Reed, together with the full press pool, was to complete my yearly physical. Short visit, then returned (with press) to W.H... https://t.co/GUVdbJRvqD

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 2, 2020

Wait a minute. The original story was that Trump went to Walter Reed to begin his physicals.

Like many other people, I think that Pence's claim that he does not "recall" being put on standby is baloney. For any veep, a moment like that would be a crystal clear memory.

If only more people in the media would accuse Trump of abusing Adderall! Trump, who always takes the bait, would issue an "I do not take Adderall" tweet -- complete with misspellings and multiple exclamation points. It'd be hilarious.

Jet pack. This bizarre story had me flashing back to the poster for Thunderball. How much harm to an airliner could be done by a guy with a jet pack and a weapon?

Although jet packs are much better now than they were in 1965, I can't help wondering if hoaxers might have been at work. I've seen YouTube videos of mysterious "flying men" who -- to my eyes -- looked like helium-filled dummies, suitably clothed.

The "Sister Souljah" moment. This humble blog has argued that the time has come for Biden to distance himself from BLM, which the public now -- rightly or wrongly -- associates with violence and property damage. A reader responds thus:

Calling for a halt to #BLM protest wouldn't work. It would cause a number of influential BLM members to turn on Biden as a reflex, and if the protest didn't shutv down it would be seen as a loss for Biden. Besides Trump would just claim responsibility and that he had "broken" the movement (and defended the *good white folk").

Instead Biden should do the double whammy of calling for the protest to follow in the footsteps of Dr King and Ghandi, by being completely non violent and peaceful.

He has already done that. It was a damned fine speech, but he needs to do more.

I have an idea.

This story -- which threatens to metastasize -- has been making a ruckus in the right-wing press, and has also hit the Israeli press.

An elite private school in Baltimore founded by Jews is revamping its curriculum in response to a pressure campaign by Black Lives Matter activists demanding an examination of the school's "wealth hoarding" and "tolerance of Zionism", The Washington Free Beacon reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, BLM activists' latest academic target is Baltimore’s Park School, which was founded in 1912 by Jews who were barred entry into the city’s existing private schools.

In a letter to the school, an anonymous group identifying itself as the "Black at Park Organizing Collective" calls for "an examination of Park’s history: its inception, early exclusions, culture of whiteness and wealth hoarding, its tolerance of Zionism, and its parasitic relationship to Baltimore City."

The language in the letter highlights the prevalence of anti-Semitism in Black Lives Matter activism, according to the report. Across the country, protesters associated with the movement have defaced Jewish institutions, demanded that American Jews denounce Israel, and embraced Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has condemned American Jews for years.

Obviously, I would prefer a better source than the Washington Free Beacon. Still, the Farrakhan link is quite real; BLM really does have an anti-Semitism problem.

In what is a widely underreported event, protesters from the Black Lives Matter group of Los Angeles purposely met in the oldest Jewish neighborhood in the region to destroy Jewish businesses, schools and synagogues. In all, they managed to loot a large number of stores, three Jewish schools and five synagogues. The next day, locals woke up to scrawled graffitied images reading an obscene message attacking Jews, “Free Palestine,” and, perhaps scariest of all, “Kill the Jews!”

I predict that we're going to hear a lot more about BLM's anti-Semitism before election day. It will be galling if Trump -- the leading fascist of our era -- profits from calling the other guy "soft on anti-Semitism."

Biden should get out in front of the problem. Play offense, not defense.

The way to do it is not to single out BLM per se, but to attack all current manifestations of anti-Semitism. Biden needs to warn the nation about the growing menace of fascism.

Yes, the wording would be tricky, but I'm sure that Biden's speechwriters can find the proper phrasing. Joe knows when to stick to the script.

It's possible to stand with black people who want an end to unfair policing while simultaneously standing against anyone -- of any color -- who advocates anti-Semitism. I am convinced that the vast majority of Jewish people do not want police to kill African Americans, and I am also convinced that the vast majority of black people are repulsed by the phrase "Kill the Jews."

(This blog has always opposed Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinians. But one form of bigotry does not excuse another. Always keep in mind: Putin's manipulative troll armies will capitalize on every possible means to dis-unite the United States.)

In this same speech, Biden should direct most of his rhetorical firepower at the anti-Semitism displayed by Trump's supporters. He could decry Trump's embrace of the QAnon cult, which has resurrected the most outlandish anti-Jewish tropes of former times -- up to and including the claim that "elites" use the blood of children in evil rites. Biden could also mention the scheduled RNC speaker who (I hope inadvertently) retweeted a Jew-hating rant based on the Protocols hoax. There's also this guy.

One could cite many further examples. The Alt Right gives us no shortage of material.

Here's the beauty part: If Trump responds with his own denunciation of anti-Semitism, he will annoy the Q cultists.

No decent person would decry Biden for denouncing anti-Semitism. If Biden gave such a speech, he would demonstrate that he is beholden to principle, not to any organization or ideology or (to use Trump's phrase) "people in dark shadows."

I want Biden to warn the nation: "Fascism is near." The time has come for him to use the F word. He may be the only thing standing between decency and the Apocalypse. 

Sister Souljah: A look back. In recent days, we've seen many references to the "Sister Souljah moment." Unfortunately, Bill Clinton's statement has been twisted by liars and revisionists.

Fact: Clinton was 100% in the right. Fact: At the time, most black people understood that he was in the right. Fact: During the worst days of the Lewenski scandal, Clinton's approval rating among black people was but one point away from Obama's rating in 2016.

What Clinton said in 1992 was not tactical; it was righteous and necessary. I'm sure that he would have preferred not to make that statement -- but, as I will show, he had no choice.

Unfortunately, many on the left now believe that non-whites have a right to engage in hate speech. This willingness to excuse the inexcusable has provided the soil in which the weed of Trumpism took root.

Allow me to republish an excerpt from a 2016 post, which was occasioned by an infuriating moment on Bill Maher's program. 

*  *  *

There has been a lot of lying recently about Bill Clinton's "Sister Souljah" incident from the 1992 campaign. The myth was repeated on Bill Maher's Real Time last week.

Let's set the record straight.

Rap artist Sister Souljah, decrying black-on-black violence, said these words: "Why not have a week and kill white people?" Her lyrics had included even worse sentiments: "So if you're a gang member and you would normally be killing somebody, why not kill a white person?" And: "If there are any good white people, I haven't met them."

Don't pretend that context excuses these undeniable calls for violence. She meant what she said. 

Bill Clinton spoke in front of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition -- at an event that also featured Sister Souljah. The situation forced him to respond; not to respond would have been cowardice. Clinton said: "Her comments before and after Los Angeles were filled with a kind of hatred that you do not honor." By "you" he meant the audience at that Rainbow Coalition gathering. He also said: "If you took the words ‘white’ and ‘black,’ and you reversed them, you might think David Duke was giving that speech."

Well put. Those were precisely the words he should have said. His statement was inarguable. Presidential.

On Maher's show, a false version of history was put on display. A guest claimed that Clinton said these words in front of a white audience. That's a damned lie, and I was stunned to see Maher allow it to go unchallenged.

Maher and his guest refused to let the audience know that Sister Souljah had called for blacks to kill white people. Worse, Maher refused to let the audience know what Bill Clinton actually said: Scurrilously, Maher left that part to the audience's imagination.

By deliberately leaving out all of the key details, Maher allowed the audience to believe that Sister Souljah had said something innocent (or at least defensible), and that Bill Clinton had responded with words deeply insulting to all black people.

In short: Maher pretended that Clinton had offered a racist shout out in order to win the white racist vote.

In front of the Rainbow Coalition? Ridiculous!