Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life...
9/14/2021
“Voter fraud” allegations now in Republican playbook
Allegations of voter fraud are flourishing during the California recall election. Larry Elder has proclaimed himself "concerned" about fraud, Tucker Carlson has said voter fraud is only way Newsom can win. Yet another sickening legacy of the sickening Donald Trump.
China Daily clueless about societies with human rights
Writing about the drastic limitations under Hong Kong electoral "reform" for who can run, China Daily states, "No legislature in the world would allow a candidate to enter the electoral race without vetting his or her nationality, antecedents, and loyalty to the nation." News flash: we do not do this in the US.
Blacks moving to South and suburbs
90% of black majority cities in the US are now in the South. Charles Blow writes that many of the cities we associate with the racist South, such as Selma and Montgomery, now have black mayors
Chinese worries about “bleeding hearts”
A liberal Chinese former journalist wrote online fact-checking Trump's campaign statements about Muslims and women. The Guardian newspaper (UK) reports that "some accused him of being a “white left” – a popular insult for idealistic, leftwing and western-oriented liberals; others labelled him a “virgin”, a “bleeding heart” and a “white lotus” – demeaning phrases that describe do-gooders who care about the underprivileged - as he tried to defend women’s rights. This ties in with Chinese attacks on "sissy men." Very disturbing trend in Chinese society.
Vietnam today
Fascinating article on the Vietnam economy in The Economist. One of the fastest-growing countries in the world. Growth heavily dependent on exports and foreign investment. We fought a 15+ year war against them to prevent them from becoming communist. We lost, and they are not communist in any recognizable sense except for being a dictatorship. They are good friends of the US. In retrospect, fighting this war was a mistake.
“Lucky you’re not beheaded”
Taliban guards told a journalist journalist they detained and kicked in the head, "You're lucky you have not been beheaded."
Anti-mask hysteria
An Alaska lawmaker cannot travel on the biggest airline in Alaska because he refuses to wear a mask. Anti-mask hysteria is appalling -- as I have written before, my patience with these people has evaporated.ion fairly. Now that he's become a more serious candidate he has "changed his mind" and declared
Beijing puppets in Hong Kong
Regina IP, a leader of the pro-China lackeys in Hong Kong, has written an appalling article on the upcoming legislative elections. The number of those eligible to vote in this election has gone from the unimpressive 246,000 to the pathetic number of 8000. Ip writes, "In the past 24 years, unfortunately, we have seen how the expansion of the elective element at all levels in our governance system has led to an alarming rise in chaos and dysfunction in society." These Chinese government puppets are a disgrace to Hong Kong. Big business and China are in cahoots against the people of Hong Kong.
“My body, my choice” – anti-masking and pro-abortion rights
A lot of vaccine and mask opposition rallies around the phrase "my body, my choice." What I am about to say is unlikely to make me many friends, but this rhetoric highlights why I have always been skeptical of "pro-choice" rhetoric about abortion. If a fetus is a child, it is not your choice about whether to abort it or not. Don't like selfish, don't tread on me language either by anti-maskers or pro-abortion rights people.
No sympathy for the unvaccinated
Post by my friend Robert Guerra that expresses my thoughts about the unvaccinated exactly: I know it’s not very “Christian” of me but “Yea shall reap what yea sow.” We are born with a free will, but we also accept the consequences of the decisions we make. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever, and am angered by their lack of consideration for the wellbeing of others.