Bernie’s Q&A: Pelosi, Loeffler, Wheeler, Blake, and more! (9/4) — Premium Interactive ($4 members)
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Now, let’s get to your questions (and my answers):
Trump offered Ted Wheeler aid to quash the Portland riots, and the offer was refused in a rather snarky letter from Wheeler. Then, Chad Wolf of DHS sent a letter rebuking Wheeler’s response, and stopped just short of threatening to send in the unwanted aid in the form of DHS forces.
Portland (and the other areas under siege) are located in blue states filled with liberal Democrat voters, many of whom suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome. However, now that the anarchists have begun taking their fight to the suburbs, these liberals are starting to get a firsthand taste of what they have been supporting all this time.
So here’s a thought: What if Trump and DHS simply declared to these people that “You say you don’t want any of our repeated offers for help? Okay.... you made your bed, now you sleep in it.” Do you think this would be a good strategy for Trump to use to demonstrate not only the ineffectiveness of the Dems but also the consequences of continuing to vote these dunderheads in office over and over again? Do you think the Democrat voters might finally see the light? Apparently several Democrat mayors in Minnesota recently have. -- “You get what you vote for Regards, from The Emperor
Welcome back Your Emperorness. I've said that I'm of two minds on the issue of rioting in the streets. One mind says send in the armed forces to shut it down. But the other mind says what you've said: You elected these idiots who have repeatedly said they don't need help. This is your problem not ours.
Is it a good political strategy: Joe Biden will continue to say it's happening in Donald Trump's America. You'd think voters would see through this nonsense. But the polls tell us they don't. That they're still backing Biden.
As the rioters move from downtown to the suburbs, reality will sink in. Those liberals who haven't condemned the rioting will see what it's like to have the mayhem on their street, in front of their house.
That's when they may see the light and conclude that they need to vote for Trump. But I'm not (yet) betting on it.
U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, who also owns the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, recently wrote a letter to the league office. An excerpt: "I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement, which has advocated for the defunding of police, called for the removal of Jesus from churches and the disruption of the nuclear family structure, harbored anti-Semitic views, and promoted violence and destruction across the country. I believe it is totally misaligned with the values and goals of the WNBA and the Atlanta Dream, where we support tolerance and inclusion.”
Of course, she is being crucified in the press and by her team and the league. But what about her statement is factually incorrect according to BLM's own web site? And why, as a team owner, isn't she allowed a voice like everyone else in this conversation about justice and equality? -- Steve R.
She is allowed to voice her opinion, Steve. And she has. But she's a lone voice out there. Sports has become one more liberal institution that doesn't appreciate a contrary point of view. I'm glad she wrote that letter. But the response was predictable.
Would it break any laws if during the next session of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy were to present the Speaker with a bottle of shampoo and a brand new hair blower? I have wondered if the Speaker should be given some slack on this subject since it seems obvious thst all she was trying to do was wash that Trump right out of her hair. -- Michael F.
Actually, Michael, McCarthy would be breaking a law: The Shampoo Act of 1913 which forbids the introduction of any kind of shampoo on the floor of the House of Representatives. I'm surprised you didn't know that. Nice nod to Oscar and Hammerstein and South Pacific.
I am 55 years old, and I've never seen the press either lie to the public by commission and (even more prevalent) omission. In the case of Jacob Blake, he is accused by a woman of a heinous sexual assault who called the police to her house (I remember during the Kavanaugh hearings that all women should be believed -- I guess that changed and no one informed me); then on video-tape, Blake resists arrest, gets tased twice with no effect, goes to his vehicle where there was a knife (DOJ stated that Blake admitted that there was a knife either on him or in the vicinity (car floorboard) - unclear) before he was shot by the police.
The press has made Blake out to be an innocent black man who was taking a stroll and the police just decided to shoot him. That Blake is some sort of hero. Not even close. In most of these cases, the black person committed a crime and resisted arrest. Yet, that's not mentioned by the MSM.
Can you explain to any press members that you still associate with, that the public would just like the facts (all of them - no matter how distasteful they may be) so we have the information to make our own decisions? -- Thanks, Frank T.
I could explain to my journalistic colleagues that they have a great big liberal bias but I'd be wasting my time and breath. What you say about Jacob Blake is correct. But it seems to me that even given all that, shooting him 7 times in the back at close range amounts to excessive force. But unlike Joe Biden, I'm willing to wait for the investigation to conclude.
For the presidential debates, I think both sides should JOINTLY select a real time fact-checking group, and have them fact-check as the debate goes on. Flash any false statements across the bottom of the screen, or provide the info to the moderators to confront the candidate who is lying. If they can't reach an agreement on a fact checking organization, then cancel the debates.
As far as drug testing, and the search for the truth, how about Biden and Trump both agree to:
drug testing
release their tax returns
release their school records that Trump has continually bragged about (although he had his attorney send letters threatening his schools with lawsuits if they released them)
Let the debates begin! Am I wrong? -- Mike S.
If there were real time fact checking Michael ... with false statements flashed across the bottom of the screen ... no one would listen to what the candidates were saying. They'd be too distracted by the non-stop info regarding false statements. We have two candidates running for president and I'm not sure who the bigger liar is. As for the rest of your idea ... about drug testing, etc: That could happen. WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER!
If you were starting the Goldberg News Network, and were in a position to hire ANYONE from today's pool of news people, can you name maybe 2 or 3 reporters AND 2 or 3 political commentators who would be at the top of your list? (Keep in mind that you cannot, under these rules, clone Jesse Watters, HA!) -- Ben G.
I like Mike Emmanuel and Doug McKelway both from Fox News. I think John Roberts and Bret Baier are fair. In fact I like most of FNC's hard news reporters. As for commentators, I like Brit Hume and Guy Benson. I also think Judge Anthony Napolitano explains complex issues very clearly.
Bernie, do you think that Trump is right, in that Joe Biden is being controlled by people "in the dark shadows" who load up airplanes with "thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear and this and that" who fly across the country to riot and loot? If so, don't you think it would be smarter for these rioters to at least wait until they land and get to their hotel rooms before changing into their Antifa attire? (Sorry but I couldn't resist) -- Jen R.
Jen, just between you and me, I think Donald Trump is nuts. Enough said?
What are your thoughts about Nancy Pelosi violating her state's COVID-19 restrictions to sneak into a salon (without a mask) to get her hair done, and then... after she was caught... blaming the hair salon for what happened? While Trump has been really bad on virus messaging, it's wild that his hardest critics on the matter are apparently no better. -- Joseph P.
Let me start with your closing comment that Trump's harshest critics are no better. Bingo! You're right. That's why after declaring I would not vote for Trump ... I just might. As for Pelosi: I'm willing to believe that the salon owner (or a representative of the owner) said it was okay to come in -- so she did. What bothers me about the episode is that she knows that salons are supposed to be closed in San Francisco. Yet she got her hair done anyway. More hypocrisy from the powerful who want to tell YOU what you can do but don't think the rules apply to them.
Right now -- if Real Sports asked you to do air-travel for an assignment -- would you be comfortable doing it? I'm guessing they wouldn't even ask, but I'm just curious. -- Louis
They wouldn't ask ... and wouldn't allow it ... and I wouldn't do it if they did.
I can recall a time not that long ago when the terms white nationalists and white supremacists had very clear meanings and reference points: KKK members, skin heads , neo nazis etc. Today we are told (scolded?) the US is a white supremacist country and was founded as such. And now we have millions of white Americans (including corporate America) mindlessly parroting these words and phrases. Obviously this is mother's milk for those on the far left. Have we crossed the Rubicon? Can you foresee a NY, LA, Chicago or other major city dominated by the Democrat party ever readopting classic liberal principles that they seemingly adhered to not that many months ago? Will we essentially become two nations where people migrate away from the blue into the red or vice versa? -- Michael
Great question, Michael ... and you make great points. I'm with you in that white supremacy used to mean something clear cut. Now, as you say, we're told we're a white supremacist country. I recently said I covered stories in South Africa. That was a white supremacist country. The USA is nothing like what South Africa was. Nothing! As for major cities that are dominated by progressives going back to classic liberal principles: Only if the electorate has had enough of the progressive mentality. If voters in NY or LA or Chicago are happy with what they've got then they can live with the consequences. One of which is that a lot of people who pay taxes in those cities are moving out. There's such a thing as a tipping point. And given the despicable jobs a lot of these progressives are doing -- Portland is a pretty good example -- voters may said we've had enough. But who knows when that might happen.
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