Did This Black Life Matter?

DAVID DORN MURDERED BY A MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTOR

Is It Racist To Say "All Black Lives Matter?"

Did you miss the "mostly peaceful protests" for this black man's brutal slaying?  Did you miss Anderson Cooper cry as he discussed the subject? Did you miss the celebrity tweets expressing outrage at the murder of this innocent man of color? Did your workplace hold a public kneel-in for David Underwood?

(SOME?) BLACK LIVES MATTER

The Dawn of Significant Social Change

We have entered a profoundly new era but we might now realize it yet. When the USSR collapsed, we knew about it immediately. When landmark Supreme Court decisions were handed down, we learned of the verdicts instantly and we held advance knowledge of their significance.

History can turn on a dime: Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, the sinking of The Maine. Other developments are gradual but every bit as profound. We might miss them altogether if the people who are supposed to report on such things choose to ignore them.

The development that I refer to is the collapse of media credibility. It would understate matters greatly to say the media have lost viewership or readership or circulation. No. No. No. Significant numbers reject the news media claim to arbiters of truth.

I am not sure how it happened but our news media but what we now call the MSM constituted an informational supreme court. The UFO phenomenon, the JFK assassination, paranormal activity, holistic healing, the discredited domino theory...the news media decided what topics warranted further discussion. Much like the Supreme Court, the newspeople spoke as authoritatively when they declined a case's hearing. Not worth further discussion. Case closed.

Marcia Linehan, a renowned American psychologist discusses the mindset of the suicidal patient who believes that taking one's life will improve one's fate. "I don't know about that. I didn't read that in the New York Times," (quoted with my faulty memory. Actual statement might vary slightly) Linehan states. The audience chuckles.

There is profundity in her jest.  The topic of life after death has not been approved by the paper of record. Point taken but why does the Gray Lady (the paper, not the shrink) get to make that decision? Who made the NYT the final word or final lack of words on this issue? When? Where? Why? I don't know. I do know that this was decided long ago, and rational people concurred.

News of the shepherd's demise has been largely overstated. Tens of millions of Americans still hold the judgment of the news media to be Gospel truth. The 2018 midterms were very fruitful for the Dems in part because the media advanced a knowingly false conspiracy involving Russia hacking our 2016 presidential election.  We had former intelligence officials make statements on television that contradicted their own sworn testimony. A large segment of the population chose to believe the news channels. After all, they are the news, aren't they?

Yes, the herdsman is alive but he is not well. He does not command the respect to which he had grown so accustomed. The flock has dispersed and his best briards cannot seem to restore order. If you take an eclectic approach to the news, you might have grown accustomed to sudden shifts in narrative that involve things like Pizzagate, the Illuminati, genocidal vaccines, or infant cannibalism. 

More colorful correspondents might segue into secret colonies on Mars, on the Moon and on Antarctica, and talk about things like Project Looking Glass, time travel, dimension-hopping, and reincarnation, as well as more arcane topics. The times have a-changed.

The social orthodoxy imposed by the news media continues its downward trajectory and I don't see that changing. My view is that this is essential if we are to resist totalitarianism. Still, the silver cloud has an ugly lining. Those of us of an age can recall a time when "60 Minutes" delivered nonpartisan journalism on a weekly basis. Nearly every story CBS delivered was a summary of news articles originating in America's newspapers. The Jimmy Olsens and Lois Lanes were not all bad, all the time. We lose something when we can NEVER trust the press.

Even the savviest futurist has been repeatedly surprised at where the Internet has taken us. The decline of media authority produces ripples great and small. Will a new orthodoxy replace the old? Will the old orthodoxy make a comeback? Will we see an array of competing orthodoxies? Boutique orthodoxies? Designer orthodoxies? Tailor-made orthodoxy? Zero orthodoxy?

Who knows? What I can tell you is that for a long time to come, when someone says, "And that's the way it is..." most of us will not believe it.

Let the Litigation Begin

Let the litigation begin!

Now that America has suffered roughly a dozen deaths, hundreds of injuries, and a billion dollars or so in property damage at the hands of rioters, looters, thugs and "mostly peaceful protestors," it is time to call Saul. Or Abe. Or Gloria. Or any member of the bar who has fallen behind on their country club dues.

My legal advice is worth exactly what I charge but here is a nugget that any dream team will endorse. If you received injury to person or property as a result of the civilly-sanctioned riots of 2020, talk to a hungry attorney immediately.

You see, taxation is legitimized by necessity...Public safety is deemed essential...Even if you pay no taxes, your safety is regarded as a constitutional right and if your constitutional rights are violated, you may be entitled to compensation...When an ego-driven mayor tells his police to "stand down" in the heat of battle, that might not be his decision to make...when a police station is sacrificed to "mostly peaceful protestors" it might not be a choice the mayor or police brass can legally render...not every decision is discretionary...

I know I used plenty of dots but trust me, a good lawyer can connect those dots for you. Oh yeah. If dots can connect, there is someone willing and able to make the figure take form.

Public officials are immune from litigation but not the entities they serve. The cities of New York, Seattle, St. Louis, fill in the blank, might have some huge sums to pay out. BLM is not immune from litigation. Antifa is not immune from litigation. Donors to BLM and Antifa are not immune from real or punitive damages.

To the three hundred officers wounded in NYC, the officers who were burned, shot or otherwise injured in St. Louis, as well as scores of other officers, you might think about seeking representation. Whoever bussed in the Rent-A-Riot crew shares in the liability for your treatment and recuperation. I hear Antifa and BLM have deep, deep, deep pockets.

So come on, my good-hearted Americans, let’s perform that most American ritual of rituals. Please, please, please.

Sue the bastards!