{"id":67873,"date":"2019-03-12T18:15:26","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T22:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=67873"},"modified":"2019-03-12T18:15:32","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T22:15:32","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-march-11th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=67873","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, March 11th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Monday, March 11th, 2019…but before we begin, in honor of the great Thomas Sowell, we offer a couple random thoughts on the passing scene.\u00a0 Thought #1 was occasioned by the following headline:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Texas mom, 28, abandoned 5 kids to take trip to Myrtle Beach, SC<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

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It occurred to us, if these<\/em><\/span> children have been separated from their\u00a0mother because of her<\/em><\/span> incredible irresponsibility and violation of the law, why should the offspring of those who drag, or allow others<\/em><\/span> to drag, their ninos over 1,000 miles to illegally enter the United States…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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…be afforded different treatment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thought #2: TLJ and we just watched Indictment<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span>, an account of the McMartin Preschool “trial” <\/span>starring James Woods.\u00a0 For those either too young or who don’t recall, the McMartin “trial” (we use the term in quotes because what transpired was half farce, half kangaroo court) was part of a nationwide wave of hysteria<\/em><\/span><\/a> brought on by a mix of misinformed, overreacting parents, a gullible public, inaccurate, biased coverage by the MSM and a children’s version of the #MeToo movement spearheaded by an older generation of self-promoting Feminazis and self-proclaimed “experts” on child sex abuse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was the Tawana Brawley and Jussie Smollett scams on steroids…and every bit as fabricated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The McMartin witch hunt would be followed by similarly preposterous indictments and trials in Malden, MA<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and Wenatchee, WA<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 The WSJ’s Dorothy Rabinowitz<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a>\u00a0(who subsequently earned a Pulitzer Prize for her dogged defense of the Amiraults’ innocence) reports the bizarre and nonsensical nature of the “facts” which convicted the defendants in the Massachusetts madness:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“…Gerald, it was alleged, had plunged a wide-blade butcher knife into the rectum of a 4-year-old boy<\/span><\/em>, which he then had trouble<\/span> <\/em>removing<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong> <\/span>When a teacher in the school saw him in action with the knife, she asked him what he was doing, and then told him not to do it again, a child said. On this<\/em><\/span> testimony, Gerald was convicted of a rape which had, miraculously<\/em>, left no mark or other injury<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong> Violet had tied a boy to a tree in front of the school one bright afternoon, in full view of everyone, and had assaulted him anally with a stick, and then with “a magic wand.”<\/span> She would be convicted of these charges.<\/strong> <\/span>Cheryl had cut the leg off a squirrel.<\/p>\n

Other than such testimony<\/em>, the prosecutors had no shred of physical or other proof that could remotely pass as evidence of abuse<\/em><\/span>. But they did<\/em><\/span> have the power of their challenge to jurors: Convict the Amiraults to make sure the battle against child abuse went forward<\/em>.<\/span> Convict, so as not to reject the children who had bravely come forward with charges<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n

Sound at all…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…familiar?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing at AEI<\/em> back in May of 2014, comparing the ’80’s child abuse frenzy with the then-flowering but equally non-existent “rape culture”,\u00a0Christina Hoff Sommers noted<\/em><\/span><\/a>, it’s a “panic where paranoia, censorship, and false accusations flourish.<\/span><\/span>“<\/strong><\/p>\n

And as Stanton Peele, Ph.D. wrote in 2010 at Psychology Today<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“McMartin was one of the first Multi-Victim Multi Offender (MVMO) child abuse cases. It lasted six years — the longest US\u00a0criminal\u00a0trial in history<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> At a cost to the state of $15 million, it was also the most expensive<\/em><\/span>. No convictions were obtained<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> The main evidence of abuse was based on what the children testified were\u00a0memories\u00a0of repeated, sadistic, ritual molestation. Years later<\/em><\/span>, child psychologists realized that such memories can be easily implanted in children’s minds by the interview techniques which were used at the time<\/em><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Since psychologists and police investigators have changed<\/span> their methods of interrogating young children, no more MVMO cases have surfaced in the U.S<\/span>.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

None…zero…zip…zilch…nada.\u00a0 What are the odds?\u00a0 And all thanks to Progressives battling monsters which existed only in their own minds.\u00a0 As proved by the borking of Brett Kavanaugh and knee-jerk support for Jussie Smollet, both of which flew in the face of the facts as well as common sense, nothing’s changed<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, added proof even a broken clock is right on occasion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ilhan Omar: Obama\u2019s a \u2018pretty face\u2019 who got \u2018away with murder\u2019, ‘Hope and Change’ was an illusion<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

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The Dimocratic Freshman class of 2018: truly the gift that keeps on giving<\/em><\/span><\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more on this most defective of timepieces, we turn to NRO<\/em> and this commentary from David French:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ilhan Omar Shows How Intersectionality Can Elevate Bigotry<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

Her identity grants her credibility, her experience grants her authority, and her progressive friends see it as their responsibility to act as her allies<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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“S<\/span>omething remarkable is happening on the Democratic side of the aisle. Faced with multiple anti-Semitic statements from freshman member of Congress Ilhan Omar, the Democrats are actually struggling to unite to condemn her remarks. This disunity is made all the more remarkable<\/em><\/span> by the fact that there is nothing at all subtle about what Omar has said<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span> In the past she\u2019s tweeted that Israel has \u201chypnotized the world.\u201d Recently, she\u2019s claimed that American support for Israel was \u201call about the Benjamins\u201d and has now twice raised the argument that support for Israel involved \u201callegiance\u201d to a foreign country.<\/p>\n

Each of these statements represents a classic anti-Semitic trope, and the latter statements were made\u00a0after<\/em><\/span>\u00a0she came under fire for her previous comments.<\/span> She knew<\/em><\/span> she was under scrutiny and yet doubled down<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

While multiple Democrats have condemned her comments forcefully and unequivocally, she\u2019s also enjoying a curious wave of support<\/strong><\/span>…<\/p>\n

…This is campus activism come to Congress<\/em><\/span>. Did you wonder why campus incidents so often seem to elevate the most radical voices?<\/span> The same dynamic applies. Activists who possess the<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>proper identity<\/span><\/em> then speak with absolute authority<\/em><\/span>, and the only acceptable woke response is to ally with their demands<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, there is an element of intersectionality that simply comports with common sense \u2014 after all, people from different identity groups do experience the world differently, and any diverse society values diverse voices. But identity isn\u2019t a substitute for credibility or authority or morality<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> We respect people enough to treat them as adults and weigh their ideas on their own merits.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By that<\/em><\/span> standard, there is no merit to Omar\u2019s noxious thoughts<\/em><\/span>. Accusations of Israeli hypnotism, purchased loyalty, and dual allegiance don\u2019t represent thoughtful critiques of Israeli policy<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Omar\u2019s challenging childhood isn\u2019t the fault of the Israeli government<\/em><\/span>, and it doesn\u2019t relieve her of the obligation to shun the vicious anti-Semitism that plagues the extreme Left<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, anti-Semitism is no small matter<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Carol Roth gets this exactly right:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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We might also add that, immediately<\/em> after<\/em><\/span> the Holocaust, multiple Arab nations united in a generation-long effort to use massive military force to wipe out the world\u2019s only Jewish state<\/em><\/span>. And even today, Jews in the most advanced nations of Europe face a level of anti-Semitism and violence that is utterly shameful.<\/span> Americans shouldn\u2019t be so arrogant as to assume that our nation is immune to those ideological currents.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, given the zealous defense of Ilhan Omar, the continued reign of the anti-Semites perched atop the Women\u2019s March, and the ongoing acceptance of Louis Farrakhan, it\u2019s clear that parts of the American Left are drifting in the direction of Jeremy Corbyn\u2019s Labour party.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Identity cannot be a substitute for or a supplement to reason and morality<\/em><\/span>. Anti-Semitic voices are no more valuable coming from a refugee than from a redneck<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> If Democrats cannot recognize that fundamental fact, then intersectionality will have encroached on decency, and bigotry will have made yet another cultural advance.<\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

Jonah Goldberg put it this way at\u00a0NRO<\/em><\/span><\/a>…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“…Asked if Omar\u2019s comment about Jewish dual loyalty was anti-Semitic, Representative Emmanuel Cleaver of Missouri offered this profile in courage: \u201cIt may or may not be. I haven\u2019t thought deeply about it.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Leave aside the fact that whatever<\/em><\/span> happened to Omar in Kenya or Somalia, it has nothing to do with Israel or Jews<\/em><\/span>. Are we going to have greater tolerance for bigotry based on a time-since-victimhood score<\/em><\/span>?<\/span> Slavery was even longer ago than the Holocaust. Does that<\/em><\/span> make racist<\/em><\/span> comments less outrageous<\/em><\/span> than anti-Semitic<\/em><\/span> comments?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On Thursday, Pelosi announced that the House would vote on a resolution condemning all forms of \u201chate.\u201d It\u2019s a transparent dodge to avoid condemning a specific kind<\/span> of hate<\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It might do the trick to turn the page.<\/span> But it will almost surely be a temporary<\/span> respite<\/em>, because Omar (and others) come to their anti-Semitism honestly<\/span><\/em>, and<\/em><\/span> they\u2019re inclined to be honest about it<\/span><\/em>. So we\u2019ll be here again<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

…while the Journal’s Elliot Kaufman termed it thusly<\/em><\/span><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“…Ms. Omar has been consistent not only in attacking the pro-Israel lobby, but in purveying a conspiratorial view of the world. The evidence-free<\/em><\/span> accusation that illegitimate moneyed or foreign interests are corrupting her opponents and dictating U.S. policy is her modus operandi<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Anti-Semitism is the ultimate conspiracy theory<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> It\u2019s the point at which the far right and far left meet to indict the shadowy moneyed elite controlling the government, the banks and the media, oppressing the masses and betraying the nation<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

(For those interested, Goldberg offers another excellent commentary on what he terms The Aristocracy of Victimhood<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a>.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s the juice: it’s the height of both hypocrisy and ingratitude when someone of Ilhan Omar’s background and religion chastises America, her adopted country, about ANYTHING!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’re with the fictional Colonel Nathan R. Jessup on this one:<\/strong><\/p>\n