5 Stories from this Week Reviewed, with Remembering Rush and Godawful Gavin

Guest Post by PF Whelan

Topic #1: Conservative talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh died on Wednesday at the age of 70, after a lengthy battle with lung cancer.

Thoughts and Observations:

• One of Rush’s catchphrases was the acknowledgment of his “Talent on loan from God.” Rush was, among other things, an observant Christian, and one who rightfully recognized his blessings. And those blessings were immense. May he rest in Peace, and may God bless his soul.

• There were three obvious and remarkable gifts that Rush possessed. He had a unique ability to grasp the reality of situations by sifting through noise and distractions. He could convey complex thoughts and concepts in a simplified way that virtually anyone could understand. And he was frequently able to communicate those ideas using sharp wit and clever humor. He was one of a kind, and we will not see the likes of him again.
• While there were other conservative personalities that preceded him, Rush brought conservatism into the mainstream. He made it cool. And he almost singlehandedly created conservative talk radio. For those of us who offer conservative opinions, whether it’s via print or electronic media, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Rush Limbaugh. Without him, there is no telling what conservatism and alternative media would look like.
• One such beneficiary of Rush’s trailblazing was Sean Hannity, who would no doubt agree with that assessment. A phrase which Hannity uses frequently in greeting guests to his own talk radio show is to declare “You’re a great American.” Rush Limbaugh was undoubtedly a great American. Rush’s political philosophy was based first and foremost on his unyielding belief in American exceptionalism, and that patriotism was evident in virtually everything he did. Rush Limbaugh was one of the greatest Americans of his generation.
• On a personal level, Rush Limbaugh had an enormous impact on me. I began listening to him by accident in the early-1990s. I seldom listened to AM radio at the time, preferring to sing along to Classic Rock on FM stations. One day I tuned to an AM station to catch a baseball game, but the game had been rained out and they were airing Rush’s show instead. I was hooked almost immediately. Rush was essentially summarizing exactly what I already believed, deep down, but had not yet identified within myself. He knew my values and ideals before I did. Rush had an uncanny ability to compel listeners to look inwards and conclude, “Wow, he’s right, and that’s exactly what I think.” It was a truly extraordinary skill.
• Other than Rush, is there another non-liberal celebrity or personality that we can point to as needing only his/her first name as an identifier? In casual conversations virtually anywhere, if someone says, “I heard Rush say such-and-such,” the surname “Limbaugh” is not required. There was only one Rush.
• The reactions from the left to Rush’s death were both sickening and predictable. An actress named Amber Tamblyn stated, “RIP Rush. Rot In Purgatory.” Television has-been George Takei tweeted, “I guess I’m grateful that he lived long enough to see Trump defeated by Biden.” And the hashtag, #RotInPiss trended on Twitter. Can’t you just feel the unity and healing? And the culture war rages on.

Topic #2:  California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s legislature reached agreement this week on a $9.6 billion COVID aid package which includes $600 checks being distributed to almost six million Californians, including illegal immigrants living in the state.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Gov. Newsom is in the midst of a snowballing recall effort, and his job could very well be on the line. So, at the same time the federal government is negotiating  a nationwide COVID relief bill, Newsom jumps out in front to promote his own, state-level package with government handouts. Because, everyone loves free stuff, after all. If you think this move is a coincidence and not linked to the initiative to oust Newsom, I have a bridge in San Francisco I’d like to sell you.
• The only reason Californians even need a COVID relief package is because of Newsom’s own actions. Newsom has essentially kept the state under permanent lockdown since last spring, which has resulted in the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation at 9.0%; and the lockdowns continue. Gavin Newsom is the poster boy for Democratic government ineptitude.
• While California has seen a recent decline in COVID cases, so have most other states including the state of Florida which never went on full lockdown. Nonetheless, California has the highest number of deaths due to COVID in the country, with almost 48,000 dead from the disease. And Florida’s unemployment rate, by the way, is only 6.1%. In other words, Newsom didn’t need to destroy his state’s economy to achieve his lousy COVID results.
•  This one spending bill perfectly encapsulates the leftist mindset and all that is wrong with it. California will be spending money it doesn’t have; to redistribute to people who shouldn’t need it, or to people who shouldn’t even be here; and the motive is to preserve power for Newsom and to facilitate virtue-signaling for legislators. This bill is corrupt, and it is the epitome of government incompetence.
• To say Newsom is spending money he doesn’t have is an understatement. The Golden State is closing in on bankruptcy. California currently has over $3 trillion dollars in state debt, with a debt/GDP ratio of over 19%. Meanwhile Newsom and friends are spending away without a care in the world. Newsom is Nero playing his fiddle as his government suffocates under its own debt.

Topic #3: During an appearance on the leftist news outlet MSNBC on Thursday, New York City’s Democratic Mayor Bill DeBlasio backed up other New York Democrats who have accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of threatening them regarding the growing scandal surrounding COVID in nursing homes.

Thoughts and Observations:

• During the MSNBC piece, DeBlasio answered a question regarding Cuomo’s threats by stating, “It’s a sad thing to say, but that’s classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls.” Is there anything more enjoyable than watching two leftist goons go after each other in cat fights such as this?
• The original accusations of threats came most prominently from Assemblyman Ron T. Kim (D-Queens), who alleged that Cuomo contacted him after Kim had made public statements about the scandal and promised he would “tell the whole world what a bad person you are and you will be finished.” With DeBlasio’s corroboration and more Democrats likely to come forward, the walls are indeed closing in on Cuomo.
• Also during the interview, DeBlasio called for further investigations of the nursing home cover-up, saying, “There clearly needs to be a full investigation. We’re talking about thousands of people who were lost.” DeBlasio’s comments come after it was revealed that the FBI is now looking into the scandal. The fact that so many Democrats are rushing to pile on Cuomo suggests that the governor is not exactly a ‘people person,’ and the animosity that he’s created may very well be his undoing.
• What we know so far about the Cuomo scandal: 1) New York State officials knowingly lied to DOJ investigators about nursing home deaths, 2) the numbers they had previously provided were understated by as much as 50%, and 3) prominent Democrats are going on the record confirming Cuomo had threatened them if they didn’t play along. It sounds like even Cuomo’s brother Fredo could connect these dots.
• Let’s not lose sight of the utter arrogance of Cuomo and his adoring media accomplices. As thousands were in dying New York State nursing homes due to Cuomo’s blatant incompetence, he was going on television every day bashing President Trump and patting himself on the back. Meanwhile, the media was clapping for Cuomo like seals in a circus, as the governor was covering up the tragedy. As this ruse was taking place, Cuomo was simultaneously writing a book called, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” that ended up on the New York Times Best Seller list. Cuomo was raking in the cash, and was even given an Emmy Award, as New Yorkers were dying amid his corruption. This whole scandal would be completely laughable if it wasn’t so disgusting.

Topic #4: During his inane show Morning Joe on Tuesday, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough dismissed any comparisons between the Capitol Riot of January 6^th and the widespread mostly-peaceful Black Lives Matter/Antifa riots from last summer. Included in his rant, Scarborough lectured, “I know there are idiots on other cable news channels that will say, ‘Well, this mom-and-pop store that was vandalized during the summer riots and that’s just as bad as the United States Capitol being vandalized. No. No, actually jackass, it’s not. The Capitol of the United States of America is the center of American democracy.”

Thoughts and Observations:

• For Scarborough, and the rest of the left, that little mom-and-pop store that got destroyed is irrelevant. Forget the fact that the folks who owned it had put a lifetime of toil into it, and ignore the devastating financial impact those riots had on them. Scarborough and his cronies pretend to care about the little guy like, but in reality they hold them in disdain; they only care about leftism and their grip on power.
• Ironically, there was significantly more damage done to federal property during the BLM/Antifa riots last year, including at the Portland Federal Courthouse. And there was literally exponentially more deaths in those riots (25) compared to the Capitol Riot (5).  There is absolutely no comparison between the two – the BLM/Antifa mostly-peaceful riots were far more deadly and destructive. The only reason Scarborough sees things as he does is because he agrees with the BLM/Antifa narrative that America is evil. That’s it, end of story.
• Included in Scarborough’s tirade was this gem, “I’m not going to confuse a taco stand with the United States Capitol. I’m not going to confuse the selling of tacos with actually moving through a constitutional process.” What does Joe Scarborough have against tacos?
• Imagine, if you will, if instead of Joe Scarborough making that argument on behalf of the left, it was a conservative commentator making it on behalf of the right. Imagine if Laura Ingraham had belittled the “selling of tacos,” an ethnic food from a large racial minority. Do you think she might be called a racist? Perhaps? Maybe?
• Do I think Joe Scarborough is a racist? No, of course not. I think he’s a… well, I think he’s a jackass, actually, but he’s not a racist. The problem is the obvious double-standard, and we need to call it out.

Topic #5: On Thursday, NBC News ran a story with the headline, “Nonwhite LGBTQs twice as likely to test COVID-positive than straight whites: study.”

Thoughts and Observations:

• The first, and most obvious question is this: Why was this study even conducted? Nonwhite LGBTQs? Has identity politics taken us to such a level that categorizing people into an identity group with five letters in its acronym is insufficient? We have to further divide them by race?
• The study came from a UCLA think tank called the Williams Institute, and demonstrates the radical leftism of academia. There are still thousands of Americans dying of COVID, and we should applaud any effort to mitigate those deaths. But initiating such a study has only one purpose, and it’s not to save lives. The only purpose of such a study is to further elevate some perceived level of discrimination, thereby serving as another instance of victimhood they can cite.
• What did the study find? It turns out LGBTQs tend to work in different types of jobs and socialize differently. Well, there’s a shock.
• How about this for an idea? Instead of trying to pin statistical differences with COVID – or other challenges and diseases – on some type of institutional or systemic unfairness, let’s focus on solutions. Does it really matter if a person believes their biological gender doesn’t align with how they “identify” if they’re getting sick with COVID? Aren’t they, after all, just people?
• There would likely be statistical differences with virtually any such study of any identity group. For instance, if we were to compare the number of those inflicted with psoriasis within the Armenian-American and Lithuanian-American communities, there will probably be one group that has a higher infection rate than the other. And that information would lead to only one relevant question: So what?

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