Getting children to lead them
As National Review's Jim Geraghty noted, "No one wants to have a political argument with someone who has lost a loved one in a sudden tragedy. But those who are grieving can be as wrong as anyone else."
And this is precisely why Parkland, FL students are pushed to the front of the stage. It puts their opponents in a rhetorically dangerous position, where any slip will spark outrage (real or manufactured) and help gun control advocates win their policy preferences.
Jazz Shaw at HotAir has a lengthy examination of the arguments the child leaders are making. Perhaps not surprisingly, their arguments are not innovative or particularly persuasive.
The push has been explicitly partisan. Student Cameron Kasky told anchor Anderson Cooper Friday, “Everything I’ve heard where we can’t do anything and this is just out of our hands—it’s inevitable, I think that’s a facade that the GOP is putting up.” He continued, “I think that that’s what they want us to think. I think that after every shooting the NRA sends them a memo saying send your thoughts and prayers. Say let’s not talk about this now. Say this happens.”
This is the same tactic North Carolina progressives employed against former Governor Pat McCrory, when they put a 12-year old up as the voice of voting rights.
Twelve-year-old Madison Kimrey may not be old enough to vote, but she is determined that North Carolinians should be able to do so without any kind of suppression.
A participant in “Moral Monday” protests and writer of her own blog about politics, Madison has started a MoveOn petition to meet with Governor Pat McCrory, as she calls it, “citizen to Governor.”
Using kids - especially kids who were at school when a shooting occurred - to argue your position helps insulate your argument from criticism. This is purposeful.
As is the advocacy of news operations in pursuit of restricting gun rights. Like this:
This statement is simply false.
It is not easier to purchase "an assault rifle" than it is to obtain cold medicine.
GOP tax plan is now popular
Huh. Weird.
The GOP tax plan was really unpopular when it was passed because it was going to raise everyone's taxes... by cutting taxes. Or something.
Well, the tide is turning, apparently.
The tax overhaul that President Trump signed into law now has more supporters than opponents, buoying Republican hopes for this year’s congressional elections.
The growing public support for the law coincides with an eroding Democratic lead when voters are asked which party they would like to see control Congress. And it follows an aggressive effort by Republicans, backed by millions of dollars of advertising from conservative groups, to persuade voters of the law’s benefits.
That campaign has rallied support from Republicans, in particular. But in contrast with many other issues — including Mr. Trump’s job approval rating — it also appears to be winning over some Democrats. Support for the law remains low among Democrats, but it has doubled over the past two months and is twice as strong as their approval of Mr. Trump today.
It's almost as if there was a concerted disinformation campaign waged by Democrats and the media against the tax plan, but that once people saw the reality for themselves, they changed their minds.
The latest effort to remove "Silent Sam"
The News & Observer reports a series of identical petitions have been filed to have the statue removed from the UNC Chapel Hill campus, because it is "an ongoing threat to public safety."
...citing potential violence between protesters and counter-protesters, continued police presence at the monument and even UNC’s deployment of an undercover officer who befriended protesters last year. The petitioners quoted previous statements from UNC Police Chief Jeff McCracken, who wrote last year that “the statue now serves, more than ever, as a magnet drawing together extreme factions intent on committing acts of violence.”
The oddest skiing event ever
Seriously... what the heck?
It turns out that the skier here schemed her way into the Olympics, according to CBS.
Knowing that she likely would never have a chance at making the Winter Games while competing for a spot on the very-competitive United States team, Swaney instead decided to ski for Venezuela (her mother's home country) before switching over to represent Hungary, where her grandparents were born, in 2015.
Skiing for Hungary gave Swaney a better chance at meeting the International Ski Federation's requirements and qualifying for Olympic participation. All she needed to do was show up at a bunch of international events and complete her very basic runs without crashing and she would slowly score points and work her way up the rankings.
I just find this sad and unethical.