Category: Politics

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 11, 20243:33 pm

You Choose Which

During last night’s Presidental debate, Kamala Harris led Donald Trump to the slaughterhouse and gave him a quick kick. He marched inside, where the two ABC News moderators butchered him. That’s a fair assessment of how efficiently Harris taunted Trump, and he overreacted. Over and over.

The tactic let the Democrat largely ignore most questions directed by the moderators. She repeatedly deflected by switching to Trump, effectively making his record—and let’s be honest, ego—topic du jour. Not only did the moderators fail to call out her lack of answering, or ask her follow-up questions, they pestered the Republican with corrections even though, by my count, her lies massively eclipsed his. The, ah, event started out one-on-one but quickly disintegrated into a three-on-one beating.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 22, 20247:59 pm

When is a Donkey a Jackass?

The Democrats’ convention ends today (finally). Like last month’s Republican event, I bothered not to watch the speeches. My disinterest is all the greater for this week’s political powwow in Chicago—if for no other reason than Joseph Biden’s virtual assassination. As previously stated, it was clear to me weeks before his disastrous debate performance on June 27, 2024 that he was being set up.

I still can’t reckon why Biden and his team chose to take on Trump before the convention, or delegates’ virtual role call beforehand. Debates are always held in September and October, after candidates are formally chosen. Who voted for Kamala Harris? Nobody. Biden’s ouster removed the democratically chosen candidate during the primary voting process. Stated differently, at least for this election cycle, Democrats have proven to be undemocratic.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 16, 20249:31 pm

That’s Nothing to Brag About

I hope my neighbor doesn’t see this post; no offense is intended, but she surely will be offended. The sentiment expressed in her lawn sign responds to Republican Vice-Presidential candidate JD Vance and comments that he made during a 2021 interview about Democrat “childless cat ladies“. Looking around my neighborhood, dogs would be even more applicable.

San Diego, like most of California, is largely liberal and relatively young. Median age is 35.8 years. I see plenty of couples going about, but rather than push baby carriages or walk with youngsters, the majority pull leashed dogs—often two or three. I loathe the commonly used euphemism “pet parents”, but it punctuates the point Vance tried to make in that interview.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 13, 20249:11 pm

Democracy Under Fire

Somebody sure seems set on changing up the Democrat and Republican candidates running for President. I am not one to peddle conspiracy theories, but, gosh, there are suspicious activities at work that shouldn’t be ignored when evaluated one against the other.

Early evening, Eastern Daylight Time, Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt by a whisker, as the saying goes, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Watching local news coverage from a TV station in Pittsburgh, I listened to an expert explain that three inches left would have been Trump’s nose, rather than his ear. The gentleman explained that, from the shooting distance, the difference was the slightest shift in the wind.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 7, 202411:13 pm

Do you Feel…?

You may want to rethink that yes, if the answer. We have come to perilous times, where conspiracies make more sense than commonsense. Take, for example, Joseph Biden’s debate debacle with Donald Trump. An astute observer should have seen Biden’s cognitive decline years ago. I am no expert, and it was obvious to me—and plenty of other folks. Now, post-debate, Biden’s brain, and the continuation of his campaign, are the dominant topics seemingly everywhere. But something smells fishy here—and it ain’t good.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan organization, is responsible for organizing the face-off between candidates, which typically starts some time following each respective political party’s convention. CPD had scheduled four debates, with the first slated for Sept. 16, 2024, at Texas State University in San Marcos. In a statement, the organization explains that it received a “letter dated May 15, 2024 from Jen O’Malley Dillon, Campaign Chair for the Biden-Harris Campaign, in which the Biden-Harris Campaign informed the Commission that President Biden will not agree to debate under the sponsorship of the Commission during the 2024 general election campaign”. The B-H campaign decided to organize its own debates, and Trump agreed to participate.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 27, 20246:49 pm

Politics Stress Relief

As I write, the first Presidential debate, between presumptive candidates Joseph Biden and Donald Trump, is underway. For now, my intention is not to watch. Later, I will start with clips and possibly peek at a recorded version through which I can fast-forward and pause. The live event promises to be pure poison.

Or stated differently: Various manifestations of elder abuse. Seriously? You ask. Yes, Biden for his sheer presence and demand to stand and be mentally present for 90 minutes or so. Trump, for the abrasive handling by the hostile CNN moderators.

Society by Joe WilcoxJun 5, 20249:56 pm

Seven Movies Every Journalist Should See

Periodically, I update my picks for must-see movies about news reporting. More than eight years have passed since the last list, in February 2016—before the tumultuous Presidential election that thrust Donald Trump into the White House and precipitated disastrous changes across American newsrooms.

Editorialization of news, once taboo, is widespread. Many stories are subjective and slanted, pushing progressive—or, to lesser degree, conservative—values over impartial presentation of facts. The changes are evident in headlines or deks but more earnestly descriptive modifiers used for emphasis, where none should be.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 7, 20249:11 pm

One Day in April

On this date 17 years ago, I visited the Capitol Mall for the second-to-last time before our relocation to San Diego about six months later. Nearly six years after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, against the Pentagon and World Trade Center, Washington, D.C. had returned to some semblance of normalcy.

Fast-forward to today, and what’s not different? The craft of politics is a toxic enterprise. Congress is a case-study in paralysis. If only Elon Musk had developed a Neuralink that could get government moving again. I can’t imagine going back, even while regretting having left.

News Media by Joe WilcoxApr 3, 20245:32 pm

Clickbait, Misinformation, or Both?

I don’t write enough about the dreadful disdain that my profession deserves. But, occasionally, some story is so ridiculously egregious that I must admonish the story, its writer, and the editors. This afternoon, when turning on Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, Windows 11 Start menu teased with news that might interest me. I clicked mainly curious why our AI overloads would pick something about the Republican presumptive presidential candidate.

From Newsweek, headline: “Donald Trump Stung in Primary As Huge Number of Republicans Vote Against Him“. Lede: “Donald Trump suffered a blow in a number of primary votes on Tuesday, after thousands of Republicans refused to vote for him”. Well, yeah, that would be news if true. But, before proceeding, let’s dispatch any confusion caused by semantics.

Culture by Joe WilcoxFeb 8, 202411:15 pm

The Interview Heard Around the World

Today, Tucker Carlson released perhaps the most important interview of our time—and one not sought by traditional, Western news media outlets, if I correctly understand things. Recorded on Feb. 6, 2024, the journalist sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

My wife and I watched the first 55 minutes of the more than 2 hour interview; we will finish it tomorrow. My interest: Context and record-setting straight by Putin and the questions Carlson poses. The liberal American news media cannot be trusted to get the facts—for reason nobody openly discusses, because maybe for fear of being called homophobic. Sharpen your nasty labels, baby, and let’s get to it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 26, 202410:36 pm

I Stand with Texas

The Featured Image might seem to you an odd choice for this post’s title but I must disagree. Suddenly, on my walks, I see many more American flags displayed—and in places that are new to my eyes, like this one outside a North Park market. Makes me wonder: Are some San Diegans quietly, but affirmatively, expressing their patriotic support for Texas’ standoff with the Federal government?

Under a program called “Operation Lone Star“, Texas seeks to “hold the line to defend the Southern border”. Bolstering that effort, Governor Greg Abbott has mobilized state national guard units as part of a vanguard laying razor wire and blocking U.S. Border Patrol agents from processing immigrants. A Supreme Court ruling favors Federal efforts to cut (and remove) the razor wire. Abbott and his attorney general are defiant.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 14, 20249:52 pm

‘Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution’

These posters suddenly are all about my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. Ah, do these people not know the killing machine that is communism? I did some quick Googling this evening seeking an answer.

Marking a century since the 1917 revolution, Wall Street Journal published, on Nov. 6, 2017: “100 Years of Communism—and 100 Million Dead“. Dek: “The Bolshevik plague that began in Russia was the greatest catastrophe in human history”. Same year, October 28, from Cato Institute: “100 Years of Communism: Death and Deprivation“.