“A republic … if you can keep it.” – Benjamin Franklin – Sep 18, 1787
What are your beliefs worth if you have to lie to people to get them to believe, too?
Back in 2020, after a convicted armed robber and drug dealer named George Floyd was accidentally killed by a careless Minneapolis police officer, cities exploded into violent chaos. Organized groups of anarchists took to the streets under the guise of “Black Lives Matter” and “Anti-Fascist.” These groups torched buildings, looted businesses, threw incendiary devices and bricks at cops, and literally burned people to death in their businesses. It was Kristallnacht in America, and the modern day Brownshirts labeled everyone who didn’t capitulate to their demands as “NAZIS.” They declared any “Nazi” as a fair target for their wrath. Not even a gay freelance journalist was safe from their deadly rampage. (Homophobia, anyone?)
In the midst of all this violence, a CNN reporter stood in front of a burning building one night – camera rolling – and told the world that these “protests” were “not generally speaking, unruly.” For the next two years, we were spoon fed (or rather FORCE fed) a steady diet of the catch phrase “mostly peaceful protests” every time the media had to report on the anarchy and barbarism taking place in our streets. I realized then that America was in trouble. Not only was almost the entire media apparatus willing to lie to us, but they weren’t even going to bother trying to hide it anymore.
They are still doing it.
This is Part 2 of my article from last week – True Journalism is Dead – Do Your Own Research!. In that article, I used a current news story – the “Take Our Border Back” convoy – to highlight the disinformation and downright lies told by the mainstream media to support a political agenda rather than simply tell the real story.
Part 1 of this article can be found HERE. Be sure to check out the comments at the bottom of the page. I had some pushback, and I responded in kind. We published most of the comments we received. The only ones deleted were losers who basically couldn’t come up with much more than “Liar, liar! Pants on fire!” And, I’m simply not going to waste my time engaging in a battle of wits against unarmed opponents.
In this piece, I will follow up on the claims from various media sources, and contrast them with the reality of what actually took place last week and over the weekend. I believe the situation speaks for itself. So called “journalists” made extreme and inflated claims, with the obvious intent to paint the convoy participants as armed, violent racists who were hell-bent on committing anarchy and terrorism on the border. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
To quickly review last week’s article, I showcased three sample “news” articles that claimed, among other things:
– The convoy consisted of armed truckers.
– The plan was to blockade the border.
– The fact that the convoy organizers called themselves an “Army of God” was a clear indicator that the group was likely to be violent.
– That there is no evidence that terrorists are entering the U.S. via the southern border.
Other news stories I read claimed that the convoy participants were “vigilantes,” “right wing extremists,” and militia members.
I followed the event closely. Last Wednesday night, the convoy stopped in Dripping Springs, Texas for music, food, and some speeches. I watched several videos taken at the gathering, and noticed no guns carried by participants. In fact, I’ve seen more guns at a backyard barbeque with my neighbors than I did in this “armed convoy.”
This trend continued throughout the weekend as the 100% peaceful protestors finally gathered on a ranch 20 miles North of Eagle Pass.
Wait! Private ranch? But, all last week the media promised us that the convoy was going to the border! These “right wing extremists” were going to blockade the southern border. We were told that they were going to the border to stop migrants from crossing.
However, to know the actual truth, these breathless “reporters,” banging out panicky articles with their hair on fire needed only to visit the “Take Our Border Back” website, and spend a little time reading. (Some might call this “research.”) There is a page that maps out the routes and destinations. It clearly states that the rally in Texas would be held at Cornerstone Children’s Ranch in Quemado, Texas.
So, why did all of these media outlets claim that this convoy was going “to the border?” Why did they tell us that the convoy was going to “blockade” the border, or that they were going to attempt to stop migrants from crossing the border? Were they too “busy” to do the same research a little guy on a mountain in North Georgia did in 10 minutes on his computer? Did all of these professional “journalists” miss what was printed in plain English on the “right wing extremists’” website? OR, did they simply choose to ignore this material fact, and write up exaggerated, far-fetched accounts of how these scary border protestors were going to start the next Civil War?
And, again, where were the militias? Where were the “vigilantes?” Feel free to go to YouTube and search for “Border Convoy,” and watch all the videos from the rallies. Look carefully for “militia” members wandering around. I bet you won’t find any.
One story that emerged, and was regurgitated by several other outlets, came from some chick on Twitter. I’m serious. Some nobody on Twitter posted video of a war correspondent named Michael Yon, accusing him of antisemitism. Other media, like Newsweek (apparently desperate for news fodder but too lazy to dig very deep) didn’t bother to consider context whatsoever, and ran a story about the whole event “Descending into Antisemitism.
What did Michael Yon say that was so “antisemitic?” He said:
“Another main funder is actually HIAS. HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Jewish, right? This is quite interesting because they are actually funding the people, they’re going to come to places like Fort Lauderdale, synagogues, and they’re going to scream, Allah Akbar, and they’re going to shoot the s**t out of them, right? And they’re coming across the border, and they’re just being funded with Jewish money, right?”
Afterward, the whole rally erupted into chants of “Gas the Jews!” – OH, WAIT! I’m wrong. That was at a “mostly peaceful” Free-Palestine rally!
No, what Mr. Yon was talking about was that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society doesn’t seem to be doing its due diligence in its zeal to help illegal aliens cross into the United States. HIAS, as an NGO, has done a lot of good in the world. But, here in the U.S., they seem hell-bent on assisting the current administration to circumventing standing immigration laws, flooding our country with people who are unscreened and unvetted, and eventually granting them amnesty. Many of these people turn out to be Islamic terrorists.
Oh, yes. Radical Islamic terrorists are coming into the U.S. And, they get financial and legal assistance from HIAS, among other groups.
Want some evidence? Here’s another Newsweek article explaining the horrific rise of Islamic terrorists entering our country unchecked.
Now, I wish Michael Yon had spoken with just a tad less passion than he did while explaining this situation. Unfortunately, he came off sounding like those Hilary supporters who were baying at the moon when it was announced that Trump had won the 2016 election. But Michael Yon’s message made sense – and it wasn’t “antisemitic.”
Mr. Yon was pointing out how crazy it is that a Jewish NGO would spend its money (“Jewish money”), blindly, to help “immigrants” come into the United States when a lot of those “immigrants” are turning out to be from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, etc. And, several of those “immigrants” are on the FBI’s terrorist lists. And, like I said in Part 1 of this story last week, with 1.7 million “gotaways,” how many of THOSE are terrorists?
HIAS will have blood on its hands when one of these people that its money has helped across the border someday walks into a synagogue and opens fire. Antisemitism is at an all time high in this country. But, it’s not coming from border convoy participants. Instead, look to our Ivy League colleges, our pro-Palestinian organizations, and our House of Representatives. And these antisemites predominantly seem to espouse left-wing ideologies. One would think that HIAS, in the interest of protecting the lives of other Hebrews, would be pressuring the Biden administration to shut the borders down, and start enforcing the immigration laws that are already on the books to prevent dangerous people from entering into the U.S. I mean, it’s kind of on the same level of stupidity as Americans financing the illegal entry of people from countries who hold mass rallies and chant “Death to America” – wouldn’t you say?
But, no one in the media is willing to actually read what someone connected to this rally said, and report it within its context. Rather, like Pavlov’s dogs, as soon as they hear the words “Jew” or “Jewish,” they deliver the knee-jerk reaction of calling that person an antisemite.
As the weekend rolled on without any “right wing” violence to report on, the media began to focus on what a huge flop they think the whole thing was. Make note of that. First, they wanted to scare everybody into thinking that this was a dangerous mob of lunatics who were going to start a war within this country. When they didn’t get what they wanted, they shift their reporting about how “ridiculous” and “underwhelming” this group was and that people like this are not to be taken seriously. 100% hypocrisy. And, all the while, not a single one of these outlets has the integrity to say, “It appears we were wrong.”
But, that’s the whole point, isn’t it? They never admit being wrong because they aren’t attempting to be right. Rather than trying to discover the truth, and report it accurately, they are trying to sway the thinking of the American people. If the media cannot demonize the people and ideas that they openly oppose, then that same media will ridicule and mock them.
That’s the bottom line. The media has cast off objectivity in favor of activism. And, for the most part, it works in only one direction. Anyone who believes in the U.S. Constitution is a “right wing extremist.” Anyone who chooses to live their lives in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ are “Christian nationalists.” Anyone who doesn’t want wholesale murder of unborn babies wants to “deny women their rights.” Anyone who doesn’t want little children to be sexualized in school is ”homophobic” or “transphobic.” Anyone who speaks out at a school board meeting against children being exposed to pornography in school libraries is a “domestic terrorist.” If you don’t want to have an experimental poison injected into your body at the command of government bureaucrats, you are an “anti-vaxxer.” Those of us who don’t spend every minute of our lives apologizing for being white are “white supremacists.” Anyone who doesn’t want to facilitate Muslim terrorists killing and beheading people are “islamophobes.” If you want fair and honest elections in this country, you are a “conspiracy theorist.” And, if you try to “peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” then you are a threat that must be stopped by any means necessary.
To put it in a nutshell, fall in line, obey without question, or be labelled an outcast – or worse.
I will conclude this article by acknowledging that at least one big media name did bother to publish an article that was truly accurate. Journalist Jason Allen filed a report with CBS News that genuinely offered ‘just the facts.’ It is clear. It is concise. And, it didn’t take sides. This is a shining example of what journalism should return to, and what America deserves.
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- We Received the WORLD’S WORST Whiny Comment … and We’re Sharing It With YOU! – by Brian Whiddon, Managing Editor
Brian Whiddon – Managing Editor
Brian Whiddon is the Managing Editor of WritersWeekly.com and the Operations Manager at BookLocker.com. An Army vet and former police officer, Brian is the author of Blue Lives Matter: The Heart behind the Badge. He's an avid sailor, having lived and worked aboard his 36-foot sailboat, the “Floggin’ Molly” for 9 years after finding her abandoned in a boat yard and re-building her himself. Now, in northern Georgia, when not working on WritersWeekly and BookLocker, he divides his off-time between hiking, hunting, and farming.
I loved this article, Brian, especially the last sentence of your last comment: “If only he (Floyd) had just sat down in the car like everybody who is under arrest is expected to do.” How simple that should have been. You were dead on with everything, especially the propaganda we are being fed; however, I feel too many people are going to keep ignoring what’s happening until it’s too late. Maybe it already is. Again, I loved your article.
Brian: as a classically-trained journalist who was taught never to put your opinions in a regular story (save it for the editorial page), I believe traditional journalism is taking a back seat to citizen journalism. But what I have a problem with your your articles are you only focus on one side of the media landscape. What about the traditional right-wing media like Fox and others who do the same thing? If you follow your own advice and do the research, the 2020 election was fair and NOT stolen. But you will not hear Trump or his supporters admit they were WRONG about their claims. So in the interest of fairness – please talk about all media – not just those you mention.
Hi Mark,
Why is whenver any news outlet decides to report the news that ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, etc refuse to report, or actually investigate the things the “mainstream” wants to ignore, they are always tagged “right wing” by you people?
I seem to recall videos of ballot counters taping newspapers up on windows surrounding the ballot counting areas in 2020 to prevent poll observers from seeing what they were doing. I also seem to recall vote counting being closed early, all the poll observers being sent home, then the polls being opend back up for late night vote counting.
You’re right. Trump won’t bend over and take it. Let’s not forget 4 straight years of a certain former secretary of state screeching at anyone who would listen that she was cheated out of the presidency due to “Russian Collusion” – which has been proven to have never happened.
I would love for you to provide our readers with links to all the byline stories you wrote about Hilary Clinton refusing to accept the results of a “fair and NOT stolen election.” How about all of the stories you wrote when Christopher Steel’s claims in the infamous “dossier” were proven to be made up? https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/30/politics/clinton-dnc-steele-dossier-fusion-gps/index.html
Can we see examples of your unbiased reporting?
Just because your side refuses to report certain events, doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. I dare say my article simply highlights a trend of the “left wing” media that dates back decades. I thank you for pointing it out.
Despite of what is happening in journalism it’s everywhere all professional are losing touch.
Yes!! Everything is polarized these days, especially with third-party political figures practically gone. I’m big on research and get all my news from print. Makes a big difference.
I’m a child of the early 1960s and remember when journalists were revered. Back when news was more fact telling and not set at predetermined angles. There a few smaller online or TV newsrooms that give facts and little more, such as Newsy. We need more of that.
Some days, I just don’t even want to hear the news and the ensuing arguments it brings forth. Perhaps more citizen journalism can bring some sanity back into our chaotic world.
Brian, you are a hell of a writer who has balls as big as church bells. Fantastic articles with on-the-money reasoning that sucks all the air out of the Marxist loonies seeking to destroy the United States. I congratulate you on a job well done, and on being courageous enough to publish these two articles. Keep your powder dry….I think we’re all going to need it.
On target editorial. Ethics, honesty, intelligence on a downhill slide. Appears largely due to the actions of an utterly corrupt, predatory, lying, thieving Govt crime syndicate that controls the news narrative and every aspect of our lives.. Have veered wildly off the course of the future we should have had and are into the weeds. Very, very stupid (VVS) era we are in. Nightmarish hell of inflationary insolvency that started in 1913 with creation of the Fed and IRS followed by a steady parade of corrupt agencies such as FBI, CIA, FDA, DHS, etc. Query: ChatGPT – What is the most corrupt Govt agency? We, like our parents, were born into financial slavery that has only gotten worse. Seems that of all the life forms on the planet, only humans adopted the insanity of a super predator in the form of ruthless, totalitarian governments to rule themselves – A species that even preys upon itself. Predator-prey equations inevitably trend to population collapse when subject to over predation. Perhaps, there is a slim chance that the rise of an ethics-based, incorruptible, sentient AI will ultimately replace the monstrous governments that prey on the world’s population… preceded by a reign of dystopian terror by a Govt controlled AI. Seems Orwell was an optimist. Sigh!
To Brian, Angela and their savvy readers,
I theorize that advanced technology is rapidly undermining humanity, starting back when the steam engine revolutionized the textile industry in England in the 18th century, making robots of flesh and blood wool spinners, when locomotives sped dainties across America, and unmasted ships steamed silk stockings across the Seven Seas in record time missing the hearty sailor crew. Steam combines replaced ox and plow. Ever since then, a frail and weakened humanity has become more vain and robotized. Not fully human anymore.
Now Elon Musk has a brain chip implant that will transhumanize us into a Brave New World, so the Elite’s secret police can arrest anyone who has ‘rebellious’ criminal concepts, or decides to have a natural baby birth.
The mass propagation of yellow journalism is the eventual result of technology aiming for comforts, convenience, speed, and efficient profits. Therein is the real cause of the distorted news you describe in your two articles: easy money for typing nonsense. Feminized males and masculinized females fuss over vain details for unisex fashion shows and erotic magazine covers, displaying narrow-faced models looking like scarecrows: I dare say, unfertile and unable to birth a child through narrowed hips, being the third generation of children eating mostly artificial nutrition from factory-produced junk food. Suicides, mass shootings, chronic depression, drug addiction, all skyrocketing from malnutrition and poor parental discipline. Not to belabor our declining reproduction rates from pesticides still being used to keep big farm profits from mass production of near- worthless produce that look fabulous in store bins.
At 82 years old, I can easily compare the Golden Age of America in the 1950s with today…something the millennials can’t do. The masses therefore have no reference point by which to judge the twisted political and religious insanities afflicting society at large. They will assume political power as we elders die off. My age group and maybe yours are the last weak defense line before the Bot machines take over.
I can’t say your articles will change anything. They won’t. I suppose the only real solution is something big devastates the Matrix of the emerging Skynet.
I counted some fourteen black swans that could easily bring civilization to its knees, like a massive asteroid collision, Yosemite’s eruption blanketing the US with 10 feet of ash, that idiot in N. Korea unleashing an EMF bomb over us. etc. Maybe that’s what needs to happen to ‘rescue’ humanity from its madness.
As Einstein sadly noted, World War IV will be fought with slings and arrows.
Enjoy the present moment…and don’t look too far into the future.
It ain’t a pretty sight.
RMD
Well written, Brian. I have enjoyed reading both articles. Unfortunately, sensationalism, lies, half-truths, “lazy” reporting, and “Fake News” bring in viewers, subscribers, and readers. That’s money in the pockets of our national media, which has been taken over by people who want to see this great country of ours toppled.
The only way to save our country from being brainwashed is for our future president, Donald Trump, to act. When he was president, he should have ordered The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Media Bureau to start pulling the licenses of media stations. The ones that publish what is blatantly biased and fake news. Either that or begin fining them millions of dollars for every story they deliberately get wrong or only tell one side.
As far as I am concerned, freedom of speech or expression does not cover deliberate lies, half-truths, or treasonous statements. Americans who say America should crumble, be replaced with socialism, support terrorism, call for genocide of another group of people, or speak ill of our country should lose their citizenship.
liked the tshirt slogan
As a journalist, I appreciate this article. The idea of “reporting” the news has been reduced to editorializing everything. I no longer watch “the news” and prefer to read from various sources.
Hi Nina. I agree. It’s what I do and think everyone else should too. I read the sources I trust, then read the same story from “the other side.” Then I ask myself what my own eyes and real life experience tell me. If I have any doubt on details, I research them. You’ve got the right idea.
Dr. Andrew Baxter George Floyd’s death a homicide. Why are you saying that it was accidentally when you’re not a licensed doctor? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/medical-examiner-who-ruled-george-floyd-s-death-homicide-blames-n1263670
Thanks for the question, Carla.
I was originally going to delete this comment as irrelevant because the article is not about George Floyd, but rather (as the title implies) doing your own research and not just accepting what the media spoon-feeds you. But then I realized that this is actually a relevant and teachable moment. You cherry-picked one single detail out of the article that you were emotionally invested in to challenge me, and did not research the facts.
Yes, the death was ruled a “homicide.” Now let’s look at the legal definition of that word. Homicide is “the killing of one person by another.” Notice the absence of words like “deliberate” or “intentional” or “premeditated.” It is simply one person dying because of the actions of another. You can be driving home from the grocery store and have a child run out in front of your car and die from the impact. You can be cleareed of all criminal intent and wrongdoing. But the incident will still be called a “traffic homicide.” And you are right, I’m not a licensed doctor. But I was a sworn police officer and a state certified Traffic Homicide Investigator. Hence my knowlege of such things.
Derek Chauvin was in fact charged and convicted of 1 count of UNINTENTIONAL second-degree murder, 1 count of third-degree murder and 1 count of second-degree manslaughter (among other unrelated charges). In Minnesota, 2nd degree murder is separated into two categories: unintentional and intentional. As my title suggests, I would invite you to do your own research and discover for yourself what 3rd degree murder and “manslaughter” are defined as. But Chauvin was specifically convicted of unintentional 2nd degree murder. Hence my use of the word “accidental.”
Here is one thing that cannot be disputed: IF Floyd had obeyed the lawful commands of the police and sat down quietly in the patrol car after being arrested, rather than fighting the attempts by police to place him in the car where he would have been safe, he never would have wound up on the ground with a knee on his neck – as wrong as it may have been. Instead he would be alive, and maybe in a jail cell. If only he had just sat down in the car like everybody who is under arrest is expected to do.